Thank you to Alexandria Bellefleur and Berkley Publishing for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own. ❤️

All Sam wants is to be with Hannah. All Hannah wants is to move up and be with anyone she considers "going places". After getting her heart shattered by Hannah while attempting to propose, Sam meets Daphne. A demon. Yes an actual from Hell, forked tongue, little tail demon. Daphne makes her a deal she can't refuse: six wishes for her soul. Anything she wants. Including getting Hannah back. The only problem is, making deals with the devil goes exactly how you think it would. The Devil isn't fair and neither are his demons.

What follows is a love story that's absolutely heart stoppingingly sweet, and swoony, and down right sexy! While it seems this book would be a bit campy and out there, it's exactly the opposite. Sure, there are Top Chef style competitions in Hell and multi-million dollar food heists, there's also a beautiful story that shows just how far true love will go, and while yes a ton of humans leave a lot to be desired, it's still worth finding the special ones.

I absolutely adored this book! Every last page. So far it's my top read of the year, and believe me when I say, it'll be hard to top! Alexandria Bellefleur is absolute magic, and only the queen of sapphic romance could make me fall in love with a demon! 😍

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Devil She Knows was a fun take on ‘what could be’ alternative paths and be careful what you wish for. Samantha is the wisher here having been dumped by her long term GF Hannah after she proposes. She gets stuck in an elevator with Daphne, who turns out to be a demon who trades wishes for souls. I loved the paths Sam took with her wishes and some realizations about her life. Even more I adored the romance between Daphne and Sam, one which took a somewhat enemies to lovers turn and which revealed even demons can be vulnerable. I hope to see more romances like this one, with as much action and character development as the romance itself!

This book was completely unexpected in the best way. I had so much fun watching Sam burn through her wishes one by one, and the twist in the story genuinely surprised me. Alexandria Bellefleur pulled off a funny, sharp romcom that had me absolutely rooting for the demon. The banter, the chaos, and the unexpected turns kept me flipping pages, always wondering where the story would go next.

Fresh take on romance. I’ve read a lot of books and the dynamic between Sam and Daphne is top notch. I only wish it had been longer!

Disappointed that this one didn’t really work for me. I LOVE the cover and thought the premise sounded so fun, but the execution just fell… flat? I honestly couldn’t get into the romance. I felt like Daphne was really underdeveloped, the humor was forced at times, and I just never truly felt the chemistry between her and Sam. Also, Sam is chasing after Hannah for a majority of the book (Hannah is awful, btw) and by the time Sam and Daphne get together, I still didn’t really care that much about them. Bummed!

This book is soulful in a way I wasn’t expecting. From the poetry to the nuanced demon to the commentary on human nature and relationships…Don’t let the cover fool you, this romance is way more than a dalliance with the devil. It kept me up late at night thinking about the characters and how it would all play out. In the end, the romance is far sweeter than the title implies. The characters are all well developed and their storylines and attraction made sense to me. The references to Hell were interesting and Sam’s recipes were mouthwatering. My only critique- I wanted a little more from the spice but I love how it ended (not how I expected!). Really clever all around, a delightful read.

Short summary: all Sam wants is to be with Hannah, so much so that she’s willing to trade her soul…but what she gets is so much more than she bargained for.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

The Devil She Knows is a light-hearted take on the "sold you soul to the devil' trope. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and know exactly a few others who I will pass on the recommendation. It was a tad on the nose but sometimes, that's just what is needed, right?

scattered thoughts, proper review TBD:

-I'm trying to pull my punches with this one because it was an attempt on my part to enjoy a contemporary romance novel in good faith and I . . . didn't. Which might be a me problem! But even if that is the case, then:
-the structure of this book is such that the character development is lopsided: we see all of Sam's journey (although it's mostly just Daphne alternately poking at and handholding her through her personal growth) and absolutely none of Daphne's. Daphne has some funny lines, but a compelling love interest she is not. She doesn't grow, she doesn't change, she doesn't overcome any personal defects. She's just there.
-also Sam is supposed to be this amazing person who's so attractive that she makes a demon fall in love with her, but she, uh. Isn't. There's nothing wrong with her, but nothing makes her stand out either. She's just a nondescript twentysomething who's good at baking and has cats. I don't want to sound like I'm siding with her shitty ex when I say she's too boring for all this fuss, but . . .
-also her arc is about not chasing a relationship that was bad for her, but then she immediately dives into a new relationship and also attempts <spoiler><i>to sell her soul</i> for this woman?</spoiler> I do not think the right lessons were learned here.
-why do I feel like this book only has a sex scene because the editor insisted on it.
-Hannah is way too obviously shitty for Sam's pining to be sympathetic for more than five minutes. Like, she sucks from minute one, and then we also find out that she's <spoiler>cheating on Sam with her mean boss?</spoiler> WE GET IT.
-on a personal note, I cannot wait until this trend of chef protagonists is over because every time I have to read another extended description of croquembouche de flambe au chocolat or whatever, it makes me queasy. Reading about food is never as fun as making or eating it.

anyway. no more contemporary romance for me.

omg. daphne [redacted] CALL. ME. i need her badly, i fear. i’m about to start putting out some eau de woe to attract a sexy demon of my own. she was so much fun to read about, especially as her dynamic with sam developed — she’s such a little freak!! personally if i was sam i would’ve gotten on board the daphne train a lot faster, but i get it. she had some work to do.

i absolutely tore through this in the airport & on my flight to vienna, which feels like a perfect setting for reading this book — after all, liminal spaces are a demon’s favorite place. this was such a fun read, and an incredibly unique one, too. even though everything happened incredibly quickly (which i’m usually not a fan of), it somehow didn’t feel rushed to me. i’ve been a fan of alexandria bellefleur for a while now, and i think this one might be my favorite of hers yet!

thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I started reading this book with a cursory glimpse at the cover and blind faith in Alexandria Bellefeur. God did it pay off. Every single doubt I had about the romantic buildup between Daphne and Sam was tossed out the window. This book was so funny and weird and tender and cute perfectly dramatic for the paranormal romance that it is. Phenomenal.

Thank you, NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group, for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was cute! I loved the concept—girl down bad meets a hot demon in an elevator and makes a soul-selling deal to win her ex back? Sign me up. The vibes were right, the banter was fun, and I was definitely entertained.

That said… I never fully bought into the romance, and the pacing felt off. We spent a lot of time chasing the ex before things shifted, and by then, the chemistry just didn’t fully land for me. Daphne started out spicy and intriguing, but got a little too soft too fast.

Still, if you’re in the mood for a sapphic romcom with some supernatural sparkle, this one could be a fun weekend read.

So, here's the thing. This was alright. I'm quickly realizing that horror-adjacent romcoms are not my cup of tea because they lean closer to romcom than horror. Which is to say, that my main critique of this book is that Daphne is not nearly evil enough. Also I didn't buy the romance. That's related to my second critique. The pacing in this is just Not It for me. For the first 3/4 of the book, Samantha is going through her wishes and desperately trying to win Hannah back. It takes her soooo long to finally realize that their relationship is not going to work. And then once she does, she's like... totally fine. No mourning period. Then we jump immediately into the romance with Daphne, whose personality changes once they get together and she loses her bark and her bite. And then the solution kind of had me rolling my eyes but I wasn't expecting any different, really.

All in all, this is a serviceable and cute sapphic romcom with a supernatural twist. It's not a very good demon romance because it's not super interested in developing Daphne as a demon (in my opinion!! I like when people are evil in books lol evil people deserve romance too!) I was drawn in my the super cute cover and by lesbians......... and I didn't dislike my time within the world of the book but it wasn't everything I was hoping. Leaps and bounds better than the last demon romance I read though. I'd recommend this to people who like more supernatural facets rather than true monster elements. It's still a fun read.

The devil she knows is sooo fun, from the start we’re thrown into an elevator where our main character meets the devil and their banter is e v e r y t h i n g. I was actually laughing out loud while reading it. I’ve never read anything with a similar premise so I was so intrigued. I couldn’t put it down! I loved the wishes and the different ideas that the love interest (devil) threw our main character Sam into. It was so so fun!

while this had such a compelling premise, i’m honestly let down by the execution of it all. daphne was giving the genie in a bottle vibes and the wishes were of course all teaching a moral lesson, but the romance was so underdeveloped i can’t say i was ever really rooting for them to end up together. i think sam’s internal struggles were the most interesting part of this book and the rest was not utilized to its full potential. as a long-term reader of bellefleur’s novels, this is my least favorite thus far but i will be eagerly anticipating her next release!

I really loved a lot of this book but what I liked the least was actually the romance. It really seems out of left field and it took them very long to get together because Sam was trying to be with someone else. I loved the concept and the ending but I just felt like the romance fell flat for me.

The Devil She Knows by Alexandria Bellefleur is a fun, fiery romance with a supernatural twist that delivers on both charm and chemistry. The characters are instantly engaging, and the witty dialogue keeps the story moving at a satisfying pace. Bellefleur blends humor, heart, and a touch of magic effortlessly, creating a world that’s as enchanting as it is emotionally resonant. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read that fans of paranormal romance will devour.

A charming story that’s romantic, a little devious, and thoughtful. I really liked the premise and the middle of the book really shined for me. The ending felt a bit rushed, however, the bases were covered and the ending left me satisfied. I did find myself skimming through text so I could get to the dialogue quicker. Regardless, I would recommend!

This was the strongest of Bellefleur’s romances that I’ve read. I loved the focus on getting over a bad breakup and going from wanting to do anything to get it back to realizing that maybe it was for the best. The actual romance between Sam and Daphne felt more like a subplot and the pacing of it felt a little rushed in order to make room for the main story, but I didn’t mind that.

Overall this was a fun read! I’d recommend it.

4/5

The Devil She Knows is the latest in a long line of incredible romances from author Alexandria Bellefleur, but her first dabbling in romance of the paranormal variety. A Faustian type bargain between a contracted demon and a down on her luck chef becomes the love story of legend in this devilish contemporary romance that takes place—for the most part—entirely in an elevator. From the moment the premise for The Devil She Knows was first revealed I knew Bellefleur was going to deliver another romance masterpiece. This is truly a story only Alexandria Bellefleur was capable of drumming up. The Devil She Knows is like It's a Wonderful Life, but instead of an angel saving you from cashing in that life insurance policy it’s a demon showing you six alternate realities and how deeply terrible your ex is. Cloaked in Bellefleurs classic wit, The Devil She Knows details an unlikely love story with a contemplative center. Hot as hell takes on a whole new meaning in this romance where hell is the backdrop affording bargains and stealing souls for dark purposes. Hellish romance is the new standard thanks to Bellefleur and The Devil She Knows has me wanting to bargain for more.

My full review is now published on my blog!

The Devil She Knows is a lovely quick read that truly just made my heart happy. Spooky queer romance where our heroines are victorious? Spooky meet cute? Absolutely! I can see myself going back to this book whenever I need a sweet pick me up, and I can't wait to recommend it to everyone I know.