Thank you so much for this ARC! It was amazing. My apologies for the delay is review, I was traveling and needed a bit of extra time. 🖤

<strong>Shadow playboy / Sassy witch</strong>

Iris has true trauma after being forced by her mother to make a blood bond and she HATES demons. Not enough to fall for our tattooed, very pierced shadow playboy, Meph.

Meph seems like the happy go lucky demon without a care in the world but he’s got a big shadowy secret behind all his sunshine and it’s not just his love of dark art.

But don’t worry, “it’s only physical” between these two. They just have to scratch an itch. 😉

Grumpy x sunshine
Enemies to lovers
Shadows, claws, and MINE
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Lots of spicy hot scenes and even a touch of why choose!

This was a very fun to read paranormal romcom set in a modern world (mostly). It’s a standalone read in an interconnected world. AND THERES A PUPPY!

I can’t help it - I will always enjoy these books, no matter how unhinged they may get.

Meph is pretty great and I really enjoyed getting to read more about is backstory and what he went through. The demon brothers continue not to disappoint as a whole and I can’t wait to read more of them and Raum’s story.

This book had so much smut. I didn’t feel any chemistry between the two characters that would last past friends with benefits.

Let me start by saying I haven’t read the other two books in the series yet but this is one one of those interconnected standalones that actually can stand on its own. Enough of the back story was given to help you understand what’s going on without slowing the story down. I’ve read plenty where I was completely lost because not enough information was given so this book was refreshing.

Iris and Meph were the perfect example of enemies to lovers. There was just enough tension to hook you and make it satisfying when they finally let each other in. Iris and Meph grew tremendously throughout the story. Watching Iris come into her power and forgive herself for the loss of her parents and the secrets she kept from Lily was awesome. I loved how Iris saw all of Meph and loved him fully. She fell in love with him and his demon side. I’m also a sucker for animals in books so a hellhound puppy made my heart happy.

I definitely intend to go back and read the other two books because this one was so good.

🖤 What to Expect
• Enemies to lovers
• Demon MMC
• Hot-headed witch FMC
• Found family
• Emotional healing

Well… I devoured this book! I was sucked in from the first page till the last! I loved everything about this book! I really love, love the way the author writes, she’ll have you hooked on her stories! Meph can be MY demon any day! Everyone needs a tattooed demon in their life. I loved the banter & spice, it just flowed so nicely and I truly enjoyed it. The spice 🌶️ was on point!!! This book had me laughing & smiling so much! So much chemistry, heat & steam between Iris & Meph, & I was here for it! Everyone needs this book in their life! A must read! Easy 5 ⭐️ from me!!

I tore through Demon with Benefits and it was better than I anticipated. Iris is a witch, and not just a regular witch, a bitchy one. I definitely loved her rude attitude but the love and begrudging acceptance of the demons in her life. Mostly because her twin was in love with a demon, you gotta support your sister. Meph a demon with past trauma (duh he’s a demon) who has taken up sculpting to express himself. It’s seriously my favorite thing about him, because it’s so unexpected. Iris and Meph are definitely attracted to each other but Iris’s hate for demons makes it hard for her to admit. When they decide to make it a demon with benefits situation it’s gets freaking wild. Watching how their relationship grew while Meph was in his human form was kind of cute. But when both Iris and Meph were taken to hell, Iris finally got to meet his demon form. I’m definitely going back and reading the first two books in this series.

I really tried to get into Demon with Benefits, but I found myself losing steam around the 43% mark and had to put it down. I’m pretty sure most of that is on me — I went into this standalone thinking I could read it without having picked up the first two books in the series. But turns out, there are a lot of interwoven plots and callbacks that left me feeling a little lost and disconnected.

To Aurora’s credit, she does a decent job filling in the blanks from previous books, but it just wasn’t quite enough to keep me fully engaged in the moment.

That being said, the chemistry between the two MCs is undeniably hot 🔥 and their energy together was probably the biggest highlight of the story for me. I haven't completely given up hope — I’m planning to go back and read books one and two before giving this another shot, and I’m hopeful it’ll make a difference!

Though I will say… the overuse of “damn” in the dialogue made me cringe a little more than once 😅

Thank you to Aurora Ascher and Kensington Publishing for the ARC — I’ll definitely be revisiting this with more context!

Oh. My. Gods. This got weirder in the best of ways. Tentacle tongue. 😹. Just wow. But, for real, Meph & Iris banter finally turns to banging. Woohoo. Now the story, it’s taken some of the crumbs from the past books and was woven wonderfully into a tale of fighting back and taking control of one’s power. This series continues to be such a fun source of joy. @aurora.ascher.author keep them coming!

𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘽𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝘼𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙧𝙖 𝘼𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧

★★★★★

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻. 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜'𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸, 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗼𝗱𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲."

Thank you to Aurora, Hambright PR and Kensington for the ARC! ♡

I kept seeing this series floating around and didn’t pay much attention at first. And now?? Tell me WHY I put this series off for so long!! I had the absolute time of my life reading this, and now all I want to do is binge the rest of the series immediately.

Meph. What. A. Menace. 😭 I love him. With Iris feeling inadequate and Meph carrying a traumatic past and deep hurt, the way these two collide is electric. The chemistry is explosive. While their stories touch on darker themes—past trauma, insecurity, feeling lost—it’s balanced with sharp wit, funny moments, and the kind of banter that has you grinning.

From the snarky back-and-forth to the through-the-roof sexual tension, and then finally that kiss I’d been waiting for since page one, Aurora delivered it all perfectly. I love how she balanced seriousness, spice (that ONE scene, OMG. Iykyk), banter, and emotional healing. Nothing felt rushed, nothing was glossed over. Everything had weight, and it made the satisfying moments hit even harder.

Anyway, don’t mind me, I’m just sprinting to grab the first two books in the series because clearly, I’ve been missing out 🙂‍↕️

So this is the third book in the Hell Bent series. During this series we follow a few demons who broke free from Hell and decide to continue their time in the mortal world. In this third book we follow Mephistopheles, who is called Meph by his friends. At first Meph seems to be the typical douchebag fuckboy, but with a little heart and a passion for art. His human form is completely covered in tattoos, which can come over quite intimidating. But not at all to Iris, a witch whose twin sister got involved in demonic relations. Of the demonic brothers, Meph is considered the joker, using his funny face as a mask for what lies beneath. And Iris is the blue haired witch with quite a temper and a traumatic past. And has also had her fair share of toxic relationships.
From the moment they met, there has been sexual tension between the demon and the witch, and at some point, the need to scratch that itch overcomes everything and the two agree on a friends with benefits situationship. However, the two of them might just exactly be what the other needs…

Just like the rest of the series, this was really funny. Reading this book was like watching another episode of tv trash romantic comedy, which was exactly what I needed. In all honesty, the writing isn’t that good. But sometimes it’s just really nice to turn off you brain and just enjoy the show. I think I could compare this book series with the tv show Lucifer, only with demons and an pleasant amount of spice. While reading this book, I definitely chuckled a few times. There’s a bit more action going on in this book compared to the first two books. Normally I like that, but this time I had a bit more trouble with getting through that. That might also be because my romcom mood was a bit oversaturated.
Overall I enjoyed this book. It’s perfect if you just want to turn your brain off, read some spice and have a good laugh.

Argh I love Meph and Iris!!

I really enjoyed Aurora's writing style, I absolutely fell in love with both our main characters, I loved that she didnt humanise or change the demons - they were what they were supposed to be and Iris still fell in love. Misunderstood monsters deserve happy ever afters as well!

We got emotional damage, friends with benefits, an actual plot with great banter and spice - this has been one of my more enjoyable reads this year :) Will definitely read the others in the series.

🦋 Iris, an immortal blood-born witch, finds herself in a friends-with-benefits situationship with Mephistopheles (Meph for short), a rogue demon who’s hiding from his demon master on Earth. When the two are kidnapped and carted off to hell, the true feelings they’ve developed for each other may be the only thing that can save them from their abductor.

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨.

Though the story started a bit slow and seemed to initially focus heavily on spice with little plot, everything came together in the end and I really enjoyed it. It’s primarily a redemption arc for both Iris and Meph. Each is wrestling demons of their past trauma, as well as feelings of insecurity and inadequacy that they hide beneath (admittedly hilarious) snark and banter. It’s only when they confront those demons, literally and figuratively, that they can truly master their individual powers and save themselves. Even the aforementioned spice plays a necessary role in that confrontation that makes it especially gratifying.

✅ Check this one out if you like an extra spicy, he-falls-first, found family, dark paranormal romantasy with a morally gray MMC and a snarky FMC. Pairs well with your favorite hoodie and a giant fluffy canine friend.

ARC Review: Demon with Benefits
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Demon with Benefits was such an enjoyable read! Meph is that classic jokester type who uses humor to cover up the pain underneath, and Iris? She’s a total firecracker with walls a mile high—and for good reason. Their chemistry is so palpable from the start, and watching them clash, flirt, and slowly let their guards down was super satisfying.

The story does a nice job balancing the spicy moments with actual plot (always a win), and while the pacing felt a little uneven in spots, it never dragged enough to lose my interest. What really stood out was how both Iris and Meph had some real emotional baggage to work through—and they actually do the work. It’s messy, it’s intense, and it makes their relationship feel earned.

If you’re into paranormal romance with snarky banter, damaged-but-loveable leads, and just the right touch of darkness, this one’s definitely worth picking up.

Thank you to @aurora.ascher.author and @hambright_pr for sending me an ARC to review!

Meph might be my favorite demon boy yet. I think its the two sided damagedness of him—which I will absolutely need to talk to my therapist about... I am also completely obsessed with Meph's relationship with Eva's mom. That dynamic just warms my heart so much.

This whole series reads as Lucifer the TV show mixed with Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver and I really enjoy that combo. The books are getting a bit darker as they go along, but in a way that is anticipated and tasteful.

Thank you, Kensington Publishing | Kensington and Netgalley, for the ARC of this book.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶🌶.5/5

I love Aurora Ascher! Her writing is my cup of tea. This one was so fun. I loved the characters and banter throughout this book.

This one was my favorite by far. I loved Meph. He was fun and I loved the storyline in this one. Iris is sassy and she doesn’t love demons but there’s something about Meph that she craves.

I think I have just decided that this series isn't really for me, but I can see a lot of other people liking it. I think that all of the relationships in this series feel rather insta-lovey for my personal preference.

I do really like the overall friend group in this series, I think they're quite funny and entertaining. I do think that made this couple more likable than in the first book in this series. These characters have much more banter (and better banter) since they were friends first. It definitely gave them more chemistry than in the first book.

I do wish that there was more plot to this book, this one felt like it had less than the first book. I think that made this story feel rather slow, nothing was happening besides the romance for the most part.

And I didn't find that these characters really went through any sort of change, growth or development. Nothing really changed for them from the beginning to the end of this series. That is a bit disappointing for me and I cannot put my finger on why.

I think the covers in this series are really cute though.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

The writing itself was solid fast-paced, witty, but the storyline just wasn’t for me. Meph and Iris had some fun banter and tension, but I couldn’t quite connect with their dynamic or the overall plot.

If you love a dark, monster adjacent, enemies to lovers romance with lots of steam and snark, this might hit better for you. It just didn’t quite hook me emotionally the way I hoped. Still, fans of the Hell Bent series will likely enjoy this installment.

Demon with Benefits started out a bit slow for me, but once it got going, I was fully in. The deeper I got into the story, the more invested I became, and by the halfway point I didn’t want to stop reading.

The book follows Iris, a sharp and guarded witch, and Meph, a demon who cracks jokes to hide what he’s really dealing with. They’re kind of forced together due to her twin sister being with his 'demon brother', and the chemistry between them is immediate, even though they both try to fight it. Watching their relationship shift as they face real threats and unpack their pasts kept me turning the pages.

Even though this is the third book in the Hell Bent series, I had no trouble following the story. The author does a great job of making it feel complete on its own. That said, reading this one definitely made me want to go back and see how the earlier characters' stories played out, especially since a few of them show up here in interesting ways.

What really stood out to me was the found family aspect. I loved seeing this mix of demons, witches, and other magical creatures building bonds and having each other’s backs. It gave the book a lot of heart to balance out the action, spice, and sarcasm.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. If you like paranormal romance with banter, emotional layers, and a solid group of characters who feel like family, this is worth checking out.

4.5⭐️
Holy demon smut!
Another book I went into completely blind, and holy hell, this one was such a fun time!

We get Iris, a feisty little witch who’s unsure of herself and pretty much just unhappy with the direction her life is going. She tries her hardest to keep Meph at bay, but he just keeps flirting and bickering with her. Iris hates demons with a passion, but once she gets to know Meph and everything he’s been through, that hate slowly shifts to love. The attraction, the tension, the banter, everything was there!

Both characters have been through a lot, carrying internal demons and emotional damage. But God, the character development they went through? It was fucking incredible.

The humor mixed with trauma, the nonstop back and forth, the piercings, and the tentacle tongue?
Yeah, I was in hell.
They were so explosive together. 🫨♥️

What To Expect:
• paranormal romance
- witch x demon
• enemies to lovers
• found family

⚠️: mentions of past slavery, panic attacks, kidnapping, loss of parents, and more.

Thank you to the author, Kensington Books, HamBright PR, and NetGalley for an ARC of this title. All opinions are my own.