The Glimmer Falls Series by Sarah Hawley
Content Warning: Sexual Content, Emotional Abuse, Toxic Relationship, Violence, Depression/Anxiety.
We begin with Mariel and a baking endeavor gone wrong. Instead of summoning flour, Mariel summoned Ozroth the Ruthless, a bargaining demon who can’t leave Mariel’s side until their bargain is complete. But Mariel is kind of fond of her soul and Ozroth is fond of Mariel’s emotions and they’re both fond of this awkward roommate situation they have fallen into. Nevertheless, once a magical wetland is endangered, Mariel and Ozroth team up to foil the plot of the upper elite witch, Cynthia, who wants to destroy this natural oasis.
Only a few days after Mariel and Ozroth’s story ends, we follow the chaotic week that Calladia (Cynthia’s estranged daughter and one of Mariel’s closest friends) and Astaroth (Ozroth’s Demon mentor) have to navigate. Our main characters take a road trip to find the witch in the woods in order to restore Astaroth’s memories. With Calladia’s “punch first, ask later” attitude and Astaroth being kind of ineffectual (since he doesn’t have any of his memories), the road trip has a lot of pitfalls, one being in the form of fire balls as another demon keeps popping up trying to kill Astaroth.
Now, A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire takes place roughly two years after the events in A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon and A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch by kicking off with an event that connects our previous characters to Ben (Mariel’s friend and boss). Ben is giving a speech among his friends but realizes that everyone’s happiness is putting into perspective that Ben is lonely, even with his thriving plant shop and support for his friend’s happiness. This leads to Ben drunkenly purchasing a supposedly possessed crystal from eBay and completely forgetting about the impulse purchase for two weeks until it’s delivered. Enter Eleanora, a vampire-succubus from the medieval period who was truly trapped in the crystal by the witch in the woods (yes, the one from A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch), and now Ben’s new roommate. But could this brash, aggressive vampire be the answer to Ben’s loneliness? And can Ben and Eleanora navigate the growing attraction between them while looking to break her curse?
This series is a fresh take on contemporary paranormal romance that will make you laugh out loud. It has some heavy themes (mentioned above) that our characters have to navigate and not only face on their own, but have to be vulnerable enough to allow others to help as well. Hawley has truly made the quaint town of Glimmer Falls a magical setting, one that readers will thoroughly enjoy in this page-turning trilogy.
Kayleigh Dyer is a Library Technical Processing Assistant at May Memorial Library. Contact her at kdyer@alamancelibraries.org.