I was recently introduced to Amy Padilla and her Dallying with Demons series, and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for the fifth (and final) book. "Saving a Demon" debuts October 1, 2024.
["Aziel’s family wants him dead. That’s been true since he was a kid. To stay alive, he keeps his head down and follows orders, including becoming a guardian for his youngest cousin. He knew the job would be a pain in the ass. So when he gets a call from the school about a fight, it didn’t really surprise him. He was determined not to let his cousin become like the rest of his family. Even if it meant making him apologize to a human.
Declan had pretty much one goal. To make sure his little brother got a better hand than he did. So when his brother’s bully comes to apologize, he figures it was a step in the right direction. But the bully’s cousin keeps hanging around. And he’s acting really possessive. He had to wonder, was there something dangerous coming? Or was this guy hoping for more?
Aziel thought it couldn’t get any worse, but when an oracle told him he had to submit to the human to earn his freedom, Aziel considered that fate really didn’t like him. There was no way he was bringing a human into his mess. Even if it meant going against the vision meant to save his life."]
And the bonus tags (because they're arguable better than the blurb itself): ["violence, Aziel becomes a guardian, he never agreed to this, little cousins are annoying, school fights, divination, Dante learns a lesson, tattoo artist, Declan has trust issues, piercings, yes, those kinds of piercings, Aziel is possessive, but in the good way, family drama, secrets, friends are annoying too, Athena is kinda scary, make up sex, torture, sorry, the author doesn’t control the bad guys"]
It through me for a loop that there wasn't instant-love (or even instant-lust) when these two met. There was ZERO looks of appreciation or overly detailed descriptions of muscles or jaw lines. There was just pure contempt (borderline hatred, actually). Their love wasn't instant. It wasn't easy. It was filled with trepidation and tentative trust and giving up control (inside and outside the bedroom).
It was a harder read (all those trigger warnings). Neither Az nor Declan were 100% great people; they both had their pasts, their worries, and their prejudices. But growing closer, whether wanted or not, they grew as people, learned more about their world, about their wants, about themselves.
And then, just as things were really getting great, as with any romance (with angst) worth its salt, shit hit the fan and everything was nearly ruined forever. At least it wasn't their fault.
I think if I would have been breathing through the last 30% of the novel, I would have cried (sobbed), but I guess that's a plus of anxiety-spiral-speed-reading, no tears.
Trigger Warnings: homophobia, emotional/physical/mental abuse, threats of abuse, bullying, torture, and more.
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