This was such a fun read. I enjoyed reading how the main character has to go through the trials to try to go home and all the different drama that comes with living in Asphodel which is basically Hell and her trying not to be tempted by Sath who is the Devil.

🔥 Bookish Thoughts
I will never say no to a demon paranormal book! A Match Made in Hell definitely brought all the demon vibes and gave me a wave of nostalgia for those 2010s paranormal reads.

Willow, our FMC, drove me a little nuts at times. She was stubborn, impulsive, and clearly thought directions were just light suggestions 🤣
But I loved her fire! She literally landed in Hell and refused to take crap from anyone, including King Sath.

One quick note: this is marketed as YA, but it really reads more like New Adult. Willow feels a bit immature, but the themes and the setup push this out of traditional YA territory.

Overall, a solid 4 stars from me!

🖤What to Expect:
• Deal with the devil
• Seven deadly sins
• Reluctant Allies
• Demon royalty

📖 Final Score: 4 stars
📅 Pub Date: September 30, 2025
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you Simon Teen & Netgalley for the eARC!

3.75 stars rounded up!

I had so much fun reading this book & thought it was perfect for the little pre-fall/summerween mood i've been in! Falling in love with the handsome devil?! Say less!!

I think this book was super easy to read & I finished it in almost one sitting! I loved the dark ish but light & funny atmosphere the author created?? It's definitely a more so paranormal rom com vibes!!

I thought the trials that Willow had to go through were interesting to read about! I loved her chemistry with Sath!! I really enjoyed seeing all of Willow's growth during the book and I thought the ending was satisfying.

The cover for this book is also so beautiful!!! Will definitely be recommending this book to all my besties needing a fun paranormal romance this fall!

Man, I came away from this book feeling like it was an AI-generated romantasy prompted by someone who watched someone play Hades without paying any attention to the setting/characters besides the names of the regions and the main character being a hot black haired young guy fighting 'demons'. I really don't know where to start here.

As someone who loves Greek mythology (which does include being an active player of Hades), this book's setting was bizarre. The regions are named after the three areas of the underworld in Greek mythology and there are some cosmetic similarities like the reference of the boat bringing the souls in, but otherwise seems to just put a Judeo-Christian skin for Hell/Purgatory (or Hell-ish)/Heaven over them, but doesn't concern itself with rectifying the differences or clarifying the structure of this afterlife. While I expect the author was trying to say 'no one/everyone is right', it just felt very sloppy and arbitrary. It also seemed to take some very Hades-specific ideas of the regions that are unique to the game like Asphodel being flooded by lava which gave yet another layer of odd deja vu. When I finished the book, I still am confused what exactly the role of the king/queen of Asphodel is. Just gatekeeper? Which bring us to the characters.

Ugh, I don't even know where to start here. Our main is the most aggravating girl-bossing I-can-do-anything-despite-being-horribly-flawed. I have not read such a participation trophy character. I never felt like any of her wins were truly won, just passed for either 1) the sake of the plot or 2) manipulation of our love interest. If (2), I'd give the book more credit, but then the ending is completely undeserved. Each challenge felt more eye-rolling than the next. While Willow does become less whiny and more appreciative of this very heavenly locale, I never did come to like her, just tolerated her long enough to get to the end. And now let's talk about Sath. He is yet another Rhysand-clone marshmallow yet even worse since he really doesn't seem to have backbone most of the time. He never really grows a personality beyond the powerful immortal who somehow immediately falls for our unlikable main. Also, inconsistent/incomplete characterization: we never learn his name, we know he is 400 years old yet he plays board games despite that. When and with who did he learn play Scrabble?! His powers include black flames (so edgy) and has jasmine candles (always with the Jasmine scent in romantasy). Then he's such a wimp in the end. *sigh*

The plot left much to be desired, following very cookie-cutter plot beats and an overly convenient resolution. Of course one annoying dumb romantasy heroine just had to stumble in to fix what all the other rulers couldn't in millennia. I was pretty much hoping for the great solution to fail and Harper somehow be picked up by Elysium or something while everyone else succumbed. Regardless, thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me access to this work.

I don't know why but I expected this to be a dark, angsty read. Instead, it just made me... sad. And mad. I read this months ago so I barely remember any details. I do remember being frustrated with the FMC. And feeling absolutely nothing for the romance. This could have been so good.

Willow White has made mistakes…lots of them. Her biggest mistake resulted in her death and her arrival in Asphodel as she waits to find out where she will go to spend her afterlife. Determined to find a way back to earth and back to living, hoping to right her wrongs, she makes a deal with the devil. Her task? She must deny the seven sins.

As Willow goes on her journey, she begins to develop feelings for Sath, makes friends, and reconsiders whether or not she could have a happier “life” in Asphodel. When she uncovers a shocking truth, she must decide whether her initial desire to leave is what she truly wants.

The book had an interesting concept, however, certain parts read too mature for my particular age group of students. I wouldn’t recommend for middle schoolers, as this is technically new adult.

Falling in love with the devil? Please. You don't even need any more! This was so good, and I loved that this was more on the NA side than YA. The trials for the seven sins kept me going, but I definitely stayed for the romance.

Thank you so much Simon Teen for the e-arc of this book!! I’d give this 3.5 stars. I think it was super entertaining from page one. I love the whole idea of this story and the world was really interesting. Although it had dark themes, it had more of a feel of a rom com for me. I loved the idea of having trials that relate to the Seven Deadly Sins, however the trials did seem pretty easy. Stay with it so you see why. The book is a bit steamy and has a couple spicier moments that tie into the theme of the Seven Deadly Sins. The main issues I had with the plot had to do with the FMC. She really thinks she’s special for most of the book, and at times it can be frustrating. But that is to build up the moment of character growth by the end. I also wish we would’ve known the Devil’s real name. I honestly think this would make a fantastic movie!!! The plot was refreshing for a Romantasy because I can’t say I’ve read something like this. Overall, I think it has an audience and while the characters didn’t work for me at times it was a very entertaining read.

There's so much I feel about this book. I read it in two days. I stayed up until nearly midnight on a weeknight to finish. It's a great popcorn read. What makes a book good? Can it simply be fun? Is it not enough to have a hot devil(y) dude and strong character development? Who doesn't want to read about a 21-year old screw up personal growth-ing her way through trials based on the seven deadly sins while exploring the afterlife and confronting her past in a way that is therapeutic without giving into a cliche power fantasy? As I write this review I'm thinking this book may be better than I even gave it credit for as I read it. How do I describe the feeling of reading beside informing you I was giggling most of the time but in a good way?

As to the question on everyone's mind, yes I absolutely think this doesn't belong in a Teen section, it should be Adult Romance with one or two peppers for spice. But it's here, and I imagine will be getting Teen librarians in trouble before the year is out.

Thank you NetGalley for a free eArc in exchange for a honest review.

3.5⭐️
A Match Made in Hell was a fun, easy to read fantasy. It was advertised as a YA, but I definitely think it was more NA because of some explicit scenes. I did enjoy reading this one because of how easy and interesting it was. That being said, it was kind of more shallow with the romance and plot. There wasn’t much build up for their connection and they don’t really get to know each other that well. You’re left with a lot of questions when it comes to the world building and magic system. So if you’re ok with just a light fantasy that isn’t that deep, then you will enjoy this one!

This is not a poorly written book, but it was not the book for me.

Likes:
-The purgatory idea was intriguing
-The magic was cool (if underutilized)
-The potential friendships were good
-I rooted for the FMC

Dislikes:
-Her calling him the "Devil" and referring to the place as "Hell" when neither one of those things are correct
-The FMC literally having the WORST people in her life and never realizing/growing from that when it's such a huge part of her trauma
-The 7 deadly sins trials made no sense and were cringe
-I didn't feel the romance

I didn't enjoy some pretty big story points, so that made it so I couldn't like the book. If you like typical, popular romantasy books-you'll probably enjoy this. If you like tall, dark haired, brooding men-you'll probably like this. BUT I like tall, dark haired, brooding men and I didn't like this so.... that might depend on how much you care about good character work... (as in I didn't think it was good in this story...). ANYWAY I truly think your enjoyability of this book will depend on your taste. If the synopsis sounds good to you, you'll probably enjoy it.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

The cover is what hooked me initially. This was an enjoyable read, and it tackles some heavy themes along the way. The pacing was great and very spot on. It has the perfect balance of fantasy, tension, humor, and emotional depth. I giggled, I snorted, I awed, and I didmt want it to end.

This was such an enjoyable read, though it tackled some weighty themes along the way. The writing was strong, with spot-on pacing. It struck the perfect balance of fantasy, tension, humor, and emotional depth. I laughed, I swooned, and I never wanted it to end. would love to add that the cover is gorgeous and it immediately drew me in! the title as well!

I loved this! The banter?? Top tier, and the spice? Off the charts! This was a lot of fun and the writing was addictive I read this in one sitting, the plot wasn't overly complex but I didn't mind that, an easy, fun romantasy!

Imagine if Dante's Inferno and Doctor Faust had a baby and it was a romantasy. That is basically A Match Made in Hell. It was an interesting concept and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a summer read.

I’d probably make a deal with a devil too, if that devil was a tall, handsome, broody man with a killer body.

I expected this to be a quick, sexy read - and it was definitely both but also, the emotional depth?! That was unexpected!

Whats to love…
- broody MMC, who’s really just a softy
- FMC with some serious emotional trauma
- mommy issues (FMC)
- Trials that this trial hater didn’t mind
- morally grey MCs
- STEAMY AF
- the banter was bantering
- I loved their romance so much! I was rooting for them big time!

What’s not to love…
- there was so much potential for some really meaningful character growth and yet, it fell so flat. I really felt let down by the lack of a resolution with Willow’s mommy trauma.
- The stuff with the sins got a little too weird for me at the end
- that ending was a little jumbled and rushed

🌶️- Publisher Age Rating = 16+ This is definitely New Adult, there is plenty of tension and 2 fairly explicit scenes Ch. 25 & 35

3.5 🌟

I’m always interested to read a story set in the afterlife. It gives the chance to be creative with what could be out there. When I read about willow’s life and slowly uncovered more truths, I noticed that the afterlife was a blessing for her. Of course, as a character she doesn’t see that but reading her trajectory and arc in Asphodel was what hooked me to read this book.

Even thought it was very predictable to me. The trials still give that level of entertainment to keep going. Then, once we get to see Willow and Sath go to earth and see her old friends, I was very angry for her. But as a reader, it makes you see that Willow accepts her death and how miserable she was in life. I admit I was a bit surprised that she ends with Sath’s job. That betrayal does cut but it made sense. I wish we knew a bit more of Sath’s past and more aftermath about Willow’s death.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
A match made in Hell by Charlotte Ingham is a fantasy romance standalone that follows Willow White as she tries to (and fails) to accept her death and Sath, the leader of Asphodel, who agrees to make a deal with Willow to deny the sins to gain her life back…. So super easy.. Right
This book was great, the romance was amazing, the tension oooooh the tension don’t get me started. Sath is the definition of NA guy in a YA book. While on that topic, I saw some people arguing about the rating. This book is definitely middle to upper YA, but personally, I wouldn’t consider it NA.
Usually, in books like this, I hate the FMC, and I never really wanted to throttle her, which is big in books like this, so kudos to the author. But I did hate all of her living friends from page one sooooooo. Sath was just *chefs kiss*, no notes, beautifully written, and pathetic for the FMC just like he should be.
My only real problem with this book was that the pacing of the story was a little off, with not a lot happening at the beginning and the middle, and seemingly everything happening at the end, but all in all, this book ate no further notes 4/5 stars was an easy, fun read.

The story hooked me right away, I love a plot that wastes no time and drops us into action - Willow arriving in Hell! I love the concept and tone of voice. Making this a comedic romantasy instead of really dark like it could be with this concept is chef’s kiss.

However the first half of the book almost lost me. I wasn’t invested in the characters, wished I experienced more side characters that revealed more of Willow and Sath’s personality by interacting with others. Obviously I knew they would be love interests but there was no tension, banter or giddiness to keep me engaged in this first half. I also wished that the tasks were more extreme (though later understood why they were so simple). I've learned that as a reader the sooner I'm invested in the will they/won't they of the love interests relationship the more engaged I am.

BUT the second half of the book won me over (to be precise 48% in is when I felt LOCKED IN). I became invested and couldn’t put it down. I got the tension, banter, the will they/won’t they, the plot thickened, I understood more about Willow’s background that made her feel real to me and her motivations click into place. I started getting little clues to answer the questions building in my brain and could start to form theories. I was excited to see how the story played out and started hardcore rooting for Willow and Sath. My heartstrings were being pulled in all directions - I brought my kindle on the Peloton with me because I had to know what happened next!!

I wish I was locked in to the story sooner because I fear if this wasn’t an ARC and just a book I picked up I might have DNFed in the first half and missed out on the second half. The first half of the book was a ~2 star read for me, and the second half was easily a 4 star.

I think this book is great for rom com readers who want to dip their toes into romantasy!! And romantasy readers who want a more cozy, light read but don’t want to read about everyday, boring life.

I want to call out that this book notes it’s for 16+ which I feel is completely appropriate. But Amazon currently notes it as ages 11-12 which could anger parents and also turn people away from the book because they think it will be too juvenile (which it is not!).

**Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book**

Good, trashy, kick your feet in the air and giggle. Ticks all the boxes for a slightly spicy poolside read. The book seemed over too soon, like the author could have added more to the world and the characters other than Willow. Would defiantly recommend for anyone who might like a supernatural Harlequin romance.