Thank you so much to Simon Teen for sending me an ARC for an honest review!
When I first picked up Match Made in Hell I was instantly absorbed into the story. I loved the premise and how can you go wrong with trials of the seven deadly sins and the devil himself?
As the book went on I felt the pace of the book slow down only to jolt forward. It felt like there were conflicting timelines. The main character, Willow, was fun to follow along with but then her actions became frustrating and repetitive. She was hot headed and stubborn with really slow growth only to have it rushed at the end. I did really enjoy Sath's character. He seemed genuine and fit in his role as the devil nicely. He was supportive without being overbearing. I liked seeing some of his turmoil during the trials as well.
I also had a hard time with this being labeled as YA. The characters are both over 21 but I don't think people under the age of 18 should be reading this book since there are multiple explicit scenes.
Overall, the book was okay and I recommend it to adults looking for a thrilling adventure of sins and growth!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher and Libro.fm for the opportunity to read this.

So per my usual, I started the ebook of this and moved to the audiobook once it was available.

I did really enjoy the audiobook. I liked the narrator and thought she really captured the right vibe for the main character. I enjoyed her accent as well. She was easy to listen to.

Sadly, I didn’t love the story here. It didn’t make a ton of sense. I feel like the plot was flimsy and if you thought too much about it, it fell apart.

I liked the romance and banter but found that it’s not appropriate for YA. That’s one of my biggest hangups with this book, it’s being marketed incorrectly in my opinion. This is adult, new adult fantasy at best. The main character is 21 and her love interest is 26. That’s not YA at all. Also, describing any YA as “spicy” just feels kind of icky.

I’m shocked that this is coming from Simon’s Young Readers imprint.

I did like it well enough but I’m an adult who reads YA. This isn’t something I’d recommend to a young adult in the marketed age bracket.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

thank you to netgalley and the author for granting me this ARC!!!


loved this! the beginning is sad and the more you go it gets in the feels. I loved the characters and the premise of hell in this story. I definitely recommend this book especially if you enjoy a nice short read.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t connecting with the writing or the story. I read 19% but that was over 3 different times and I had to keep forcing myself to read. I’m not sure why this story wasn’t for me, I love the synopsis and was excited to start reading it. Maybe it just isn’t the book for me at this time and I would be open to trying to read it again in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.
I wasn’t sure how I’d like this book but the description reminded me a bit of Kingdom of the Wicked so I wanted to give it a shot - especially with spooky season coming up.
It was SO good. I genuinely enjoyed Willow and Sath.
While I appreciate that this is a stand alone novel, I do wish we could’ve had more time to appreciate the friendships Willow made once she accepted Asphodel and the ending felt rushed so more time could’ve helped with that too.
Overall, I loved the story and the characters and I want more!

Thai book was amazing! I have never read a book like this one but I loved it! The story is very well written and packed full of swoony moments.

Thank you netgalley and Simon teen for my early copy! All thoughts are my own.

Imagine dying and then striking a deal with the “devil” to get to come back to life. All you have to do is complete 7 deadly sin tasks.

This story was unique, fun, and just super fast pace. I couldn’t put it down. The only thing I wish is that we got closure with her sorry excuse of friends and boyfriend. I really wish she could’ve told them to F off.

So much love for Sath though. I think him and Willow are preciously HOT!!!

I can’t wait to read other pieces of art by this author because if they are anything like this book, then I know I’ll love them!

I really liked this book and thought it gave the vibes of kingdom of the wicked x assistant to the villain writing. I do wish the ending part of the story happened a bit earlier and that some of the middle part was a bit more concise - just to make the story more succinct. Otherwise it was a really fun time and I quite enjoyed the world and the plot twists. The romance had moments of tension and I wish there was more talk about the betrayal - but still pretty nice otherwise!

This story was such an easy and fun read!

Willow’s has seven trials to win her way back to the human world and it hooked me from the start. I loved watching her growth with each challenge she faced, and the TENSION between her and King Sath was so good!

I also really loved Harper and how she cared for Willow!

Fans of trials will definitely enjoy this read!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Teen for the ARC.

3.5 stars. Thanks a bunch to Simon and Schuster’s Children Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!! I want to preface this by saying this is NOT a YA book. The spice level is AT LEAST a two and it’s about a 21- and 26-year-old.

~Tropes~
🔥 Trials
☠️ She falls first, he falls harder
👹 Afterlife romance
👻 Mommy issues

Overview: Willow White is dead. But she isn’t supposed to be. She isn’t done with her life, and needs to go back. That’s where King Sathanas of Asphodel comes in. He’s the only one with the power to take her back to Earth, but to get there, she has to pass a series of tests based off the seven deadly sins. While exploring the afterlife, learning more about it and its ruler who might be more than he seems, and undergoing grueling trials, Willow works to navigate her new life, err, afterlife.

Thoughts: It really isn’t YA. It was a lot spicier than I thought it would be. However, there are a lot of good themes and general messages. I love Harper too. She’s literally the most wholesome person and legitimately cares about Willow. It was an interesting read and the romance was pretty decent. I wished we could have had a bit more of one of the game nights, but alas. Overall, pretty good, especially if you like trials, fiery FMCs, and a cool afterlife setting. 🧡

I absolutely adored this book from start to finish. The writing hooked me immediately with its humor and snappy pacing, but what surprised me most was the emotional depth. If you liked The Chilling adventures of Sabrina, The Kingdom of the Wicked Series, or even the Lucifer show, then the vibes of this book will be right up your alley! Willow’s journey felt authentic, from her sass, to her stubbornness, and even the trauma she carries. All of it made her a relatable and layered protagonist. Sath, meanwhile, was the perfect morally grey love interest: broody, magnetic, and with just enough softness beneath the sharp edges to keep me swooning. Their chemistry was explosive. I adored the banter, the tension, the heat. it all kept me turning pages until 2 am lol.

I loved how the story wove in the seven deadly sins as trials, each pushing Willow to confront both external threats and her own inner demons. It gave the book stakes beyond the romance, while still keeping the tone light and compulsively readable. The plot twist near the end had me gasping, and the ending was so satisfying. 10/10 definitely pick this up!

DNF

Nothing hurts my soul more than a gorgeous, drool-worthy cover wrapped around a book that reads like reheated leftovers. This cover? Chef’s kiss. This premise? I was READY. And then the actual story slapped me in the face with disappointment.

Let’s talk about Willow. My beloved main character. Except… no. From page one, she’s giving full Karen energy—“Can I speak to the manager of the afterlife?” vibes. Girl, you are dead. Sit down. Instead, she spends her time being impulsive, sarcastic, and eye-roll-inducing in the worst way. Authors keep thinking this “unapologetically bold FMC” thing is quirky and relatable. It’s not. It’s exhausting. Willow questioning the Devil himself like she’s got VIP access was peak delusion. Who are you!? What makes you special!? (Spoiler: nothing.)

The backstory reveal? Came too early, held zero depth. The mental health themes were clearly trying to land, but it all came off contrived and shallow. Yes, she’s sad about never being enough for her mom, but… that’s it? That’s the reason she’s here? That’s the grand tragic arc? Please.

And don’t even get me started on the Seven Deadly Sins trials. I was expecting tension, fire, drama. Instead, I got the literary equivalent of a PowerPoint presentation with stock clip art. Anticlimactic doesn’t even cover it.

Now romance. HA. The MMC has the sex appeal of a soggy paper bag—and the chemistry between them is about as sizzling as cold oatmeal. I kept waiting for the sparks, the tension, the swoon… instead, I got two mannequins standing awkwardly next to each other in the clearance aisle of Hell’s Walmart.

So yeah, I DNF’d at the halfway point because my patience is strong, but not “survive this book” strong.

If you love sarcastic heroines and tall, brooding love interests, maybe you’ll like this. But I also love those things, and I did not. So either I’m broken or this book is. (I’m going with the book.)

Final verdict: Gorgeous cover, tragic insides. Like buying a fancy cake and discovering it’s made of cardboard.

🖤✨A Match Made in Hell by @writesalotte 🖤✨

🖤Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🖤Spice: 🔥
🖤Releases: 9/30/25 in the USA

🖤Synopsis:
Willow White is dead and she’s annoyed about it. She’s supposed to living her life and proving to her family she can succeed. Now, due to an accident, she’s found herself in another dimension called Asphodel, or is it Hell?? Determined to find a way out, Willow makes a deal with the ruler of Asphodel, King Sath. If she can complete his seven tasks, she can return, but the temptation might just be too much 😈♥️

🖤Thoughts:
This book was a lot of fun! I enjoyed Willow’s character development from the beginning, especially through completing the tasks. I also enjoyed how she helped Sath grow and develop as well. Willow brought with her a lot of bast trauma from her life, and Sath and the friends she meets help her work through it. I also love that she’s saves herself in the end 💪🏼 the plot twist 😳


🖤Thank you to the author, @netgalley, and @simonandschuster for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for my review 🫶🏻



🏷️
#paranormalromancebooks #fantasyromancereaders #simonandschuster #netgalley #arcreview #bookreviews #bookrelease #newrelease #books #book #fantasyromancebooks #booksbooksbooks #bookish

This may be a bit harsh, but not even how much I love this cover could make me enjoy this.

Willow (and her choices) irritated tf out of me, and I struggled so hard to like her. Sath had a lot of potential though, but even his character fell a bit short of the morally grey mark for me.

I really loved the concept of A Match Made in Hell though, and it had a lot of potential to be great, but just wasn't for me.

The concept of A Match Made in Hell had me intrigued right away: a heroine who dies too soon, lands in a witty, twisted version of the underworld, and has to resist the seven deadly sins while sparring with an unfairly attractive ruler. It’s a premise with so much room for snark, romance, and danger, and Charlotte Ingham delivers plenty of humor and atmosphere in the opening chapters.

Willow’s voice is engaging—sarcastic, flawed, and determined to prove she’s more than her mistakes. Her banter with King Sath shows early promise of a fun slow-burn dynamic, and the underworld setting has flashes of creativity that I think many readers will enjoy. The mix of tasks, temptations, and danger feels tailor-made for fans of romantic fantasy with a dark edge.

That said, while I appreciated the setup, the pacing and worldbuilding didn’t quite hold my attention the way I hoped. I found myself wanting the story to move a little faster and dig deeper into its stakes, and ultimately, I decided to set it down.

Verdict: A Match Made in Hell is brimming with potential and will likely be a great fit for readers who enjoy banter-heavy slow burns, morally gray love interests, and underworld adventures. While it wasn’t the right match for me, I think others will find plenty to enjoy in Willow and Sath’s fiery, sin-filled journey.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing/Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers for an ARC of this book!


I really liked this over all, and I had a good time. This was a very surface level, not super duper in-depth read, and that's FINE, some of the most entertaining books can best be described this way. I just personally wish it had a few more layers because I did infact like it SO much, I just wanted more from it. But as I always say , that's just me being greedy. There was such a high-level of realness the author brings to this book, especially our FMC, that I really enjoyed. Because let's be real.. most of us would be in Hell, wondering if we can get chicken nuggets. This was definitely a super cute and fun read. And a book I personally will be purchasing and reading again.

This is my review which as of today can be found on the following platforms:
Goodreads
Fable
StoryGraph
Bookmory
Tiktok

Probably more like a 2.5/5, I'm really torn about this one. This book is being marketed all wrong. I've seen it described as YA (it certainly is not), I've seen it described as romantasy (I feel like that doesn't quite fit either). It's more like a DARK romantic comedy set in Asphodel ("hell"...even though there's also Tartarus and Elysium) and you really can't take it seriously.

I feel like I have to give the trigger warning. Willow, the main character, dies and wakes up in Asphodel. She's only 21, a college dropout, and her father abandoned her and her mother died. She's still grieving from the loss of her mother about a year before her untimely death. At first she's in denial and thinks it's an accident but, and here's the trigger warning, it was a suicide. Not only that, it was straight up an attempted murder-suicide from our main character. Completely wild.

Willow wants to get back to life and find a way out. She learns from Sathanas, the (of course) hot, brooding ruler of Asphodel, that if she can pass 7 trials representing the seven deadly sins (okay Phantasma), then she can go back to life. But as Willow makes friends with her fellow dead humans and Sath, learns what Asphodel has to offer, and discovers that the gates of Tartarus are threatening to open and make Asphodel into Hell 2.0 I guess, she has to decide whether getting a second chance at life is really what she wants.

Things I enjoyed: Willow's internal monologue could be overly dramatic in a comedic way. Once we learned that she attempted murder-suicided her way to Asphodel I was like oh okay this is (in my opinion) like a dark comedy. The author was super inventive when it came to describing Asphodel and what the afterlife was like, what the demons were like, etc. Asphodel basically has anything you could want, short of the perfection of Elysium. Movie theaters playing Twilight, libraries, gardens, luau-themed food halls even though the dead don't need to eat, arcades, nightclubs, etc. When the truth about the trials gets revealed, too, I was like oh this is a delicious little betrayal. But overall, I thought this was a bit too long. I think Sath and some of the other humans in Asphodel were really underdeveloped because the book is so focused on a very internal monologue. It's first-person POV, yes, but there aren't even really detailed conversations between Willow and any of the other characters except for Sath, somewhat. Anyway I'm giving points for creativity here, I think. One last mention: THIS IS NOT YA.

Netgalley and Simon & Schuster provided me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t really know where to start, I liked it but have a few problems that impacted star ratings.

A Match Made In Hell is a cute book centered around a (kinda) forbidden romance and a traumatized FMC trying to be better, featuring trials and the seven deadly sins. Which I overall liked given the banter, morally gray MC and character growth. It was also a nice break from fragile FMCs as Willow can and will mess you up.

While I did like the book I have three (rather large) problems with it:
1. (plot related) The trials seemed very simple and could have easily been longer/more complex. This is really only a problem if you are reading for the plot as it is the main driving force, but if you are simply reading for the romance or sex scenes it (probably) wouldn’t matter.
2. (plot related) The stop-n-go pacing simultaneously makes it feel like everything and nothing is happening at the same time. Though this could partly be due to the trials.
3. (My biggest problem) This book seems to be marketed/presented as YA (based on cover and marketing). When it VERY MUCH IS NOT and contains multiple explicit and very steamy sexual encounters.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 50%

I liked this book but didn’t completely love it, which was why I couldn’t push myself to finish it all the way through. I liked the premise and it was the reason I picked the book up in the first place, but I personally think it would have worked better if it was darker (and maybe written more upper YA/NA). Instead, this book read like a rom com and the writing was kind of juvenile, which is mainly what I didn’t like about it. I also didn’t connect with the romance aspect of the story!

Again, these are just my thoughts and doesn’t mean others won’t enjoy it! I just wasn’t really invested in the story at all.

Thank you to Simon Teen for an advanced copy!

3.5/5 Stars
I wanted to like this more then I did, but parts of this book fell extremely flat. I feel the titles a bit misleading since the characters aren't necessarily in "Hell". Another issue I had with this, was how simple the trials were, they seemed so simple for something so serious and it was too easy for Willow to do. That took away from the book, because I felt there could've been so much more dramatics regarding these trials, instead of the simplicity they actually were.
Regarding characters, Willow did have things she needed to learn, but she felt a little annoying..? Which I guess made her and Sath perfect for each other because the entire time something felt off about his character, and maybe its because he was just so simple.
Otherwise, the book was fun and fast paced and I did enjoy reading parts of it. So it wasn't that bad.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.