A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DATING A DEMON

Naomi doesn't want anything to do with the boys at her Lyceum. She's too busy deciphering ancient manuscripts and keeping her grades up to secure her scholarship for another year or two. And they're only asking her out to get introduced to her influential aunt anyway. So she invents a betrothed. One nobody will dare question. She's betrothed to a demon, and that's enough to make these unwanted suitors back off. Little did she know, speaking his name would summon him to her side.

Finding Daziel lounging in her student flat: surprising. Very surprising, since she made him up. But here he is. And he won't leave. She's his betrothed, after all. She said so herself.

Annoying as Daziel turns out to be, Naomi's got bigger things to worry about than a demon betrothed following her to her classes. With the city's magic becoming unstable, everyone's on edge, including Daziel. And the longer he's hanging around, the more Naomi thinks he might be able to help solve their problems... if only she can get anyone to listen to her.

THOUGHTS

This book was so fun! I was hooked on the idea, but I wasn't sure the execution would be there after reading The Summer of Lost Letters (and being entirely underwhelmed). But Hannah Reynolds absolutely pulls this one off! An excellent balance of romance and fantasy, this book is a breath of fresh air and the type of fantasy I haven't read in so long. I'm so, so happy with this one!

PROS

Judaica	It's so nice to read a fantasy book steeped in a not-so-Eurocentric culture, and the love for Jewish tradition, folklore, and religious practice in this book really shines through. The mythology and mythos of this book feel so fun and so different, and clearly Hannah Reynolds loves incorporating this part of her own background. That much was true enough in The Summer of Lost Letters, and it is even more clear here! I adored it.

Balance	It is so rare to find a "romantasy" book that truly balances the fantasy with the romance without one or the other being compromised, but Hannah Reynolds definitely pulls it off. This book is as much a romance as it is a fantasy, and it has both a fantasy plot and a romantic arc that pull equal weight. I loved it. It has been so long since I've read a fantasy like this one, so carefully balanced, and I absolutely loved it. I loved it. What else can I say?

Urban Wonders	The scholastic city that Hannah Reynolds builds in this book is really fun. It's the type of setting so full of nooks and crannies that it feels alive. It feels like you could get lost here (and enjoy it). I loved the rattling of the ever-changing winds. I loved the old buildings and older libraries. I loved the long hours spent doing archival work, and the weekends populated with pub hangouts and knockball games. It feels like life can happen here, in this book, tucked in between the big plot moments, and that sense of life is so important and so rare.

CONS

There were inexplicable moments in this book that just absolutely pulled me out of the wonderful fantasy world Hannah Reynolds creates. When I hear the word "croissant," it comes with such a cultural localization that it felt very strange, like a jumpscare of a word, in this second-world fantasy. This isn't the only instance, but it is one example. And these little things just threw me off, because what are croissants doing in this city? Are there French people in this world? What's going on?	World-Breaking

This book spends a fair amount of time dissecting and translating ancient manuscript fragments. AndI understand simplifying something for the sake of a plot (or the sake of simply not getting bogged down in all the details), so I guess I can't really complain too much. But translation is difficult. Very difficult. And the older and more foreign the language, the harder the task will be. So some of the shortcuts that this crew takes to get to the kind-of-usable solution really makes the task feel... too easy. It's not easy. It is very much not easy. But the assumptions this crew of scholars makes had the scholar in me asking questions. But I might be a touch more analytical on this point than other readers, since languages is my specialty.	Simplified

This is such a vivid book in terms of characters, worldbuilding, and the like, that when I got to the final scene and couldn't quite picture it, I was at a loss. This book feels so alive that not being able to be there right alongside the characters in this finale felt so strange. I knew physically what was happening. I wasn't lost in that way. But so much happens so fast that the atmospheric and immersive nature of the book kind of fell away. The payoff for this plot is still there. Don't get me wrong. But it just didn't quite hit the way the rest of the book did, at least not in my reading experience.	All At Once

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8/10

Those who loved R.F. Kuang's Babel will like following this group of scholars as they dig into the great, magical mysteries of the world. Those who loved the gentle romance of R.M. Romero's The Ghosts of Rose Hill will like this new romantic fantasy.

Details
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books For Young Readers
Date: February 3, 2026
Series: N/A
Add to Goodreads
Buy it HERE

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley and Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.

Search This Blog

Gateway Reviews