Review of Sidney Ayers's Demons Like It Hot

Title: Demons Like It Hot (Demons Unleashed #2)

Author: Sidney Ayers

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Format: Mass Market Paperback & eBook

Source: NetGalley

Publication Date: December 1, 2011

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This is the first book by Sidney Ayers that I’ve read, and it was really cute! It’s a contemporary paranormal romance, which made for a nice break from the historical romances I’ve been reading lately. Demons Like It Hot is the second book in the Demons Unleashed series, and I suggest that you read the first book (Demons Prefer Blondes) before the second, because I was a little lost at times. Still, the humor and romance were fun, so I’ll be reading more of this author.

Serah SanGermano is a caterer who is deeply in denial about her growing paranormal abilities. She’s always been a bit clumsy, but suddenly she’s able to sense the presence of demons, and they keep appearing and causing serious mischief in her life. In the first book of the series, she and her best friend Lucy opened a chest, unleashing demons (Oops! Note to self: don’t open mysterious chests). Because Serah’s friends are worried about her, she’s assigned a demon bodyguard, Mattias Ambrose, hottie former demon mercenary. But Serah’s plans to drum up clients for her catering business by participating in the reality show American Chef complicates Mattias’s plans to keep her safe, as does the attraction he feels for her.

I love the sense of fun that pervades this novel. Ms. Ayers clearly enjoys her characters and employs humor throughout, which makes this a delight to read. There are lots of snarky jokes, and Serah’s cat, Mr. Whiskers, is a hoot.

The interaction between all the characters is a selling point for me as well. The romance between Mattias and Serah is sizzling, but I really like the strength of Serah’s friendships, especially Lucy. At first the host of American Chef seemed a bit off to me (he was so happy all the time I wondered if he was drinking the kool aid), but his character grew on me over the course of the book. And while Mattias was clearly a loner at first, part of Serah’s appeal for him is the sense of family and belonging he gets from her and her friends.

My one big complaint about the novel is that Serah is INCREDIBLY stubborn about admitting that she does have powers, and this gets annoying fast. She acknowledges to herself that something’s going on and that she’s never had these powers before opening the chest with Lucy, but she refuses to admit it to anyone else. This just drags out for too long, even after demons appear out of nowhere and attack her (at one point blowing up chocolate fondue – good times!). Her friends keep calling her on her stubbornness, but she keeps refusing to believe, which frankly drove me batty.

A minor point that bothered me was Mr. Whiskers’s accent. He’s an imp disguised as a cat to protect Serah, and his dialogue is all written in “Scottish” brogue. I usually have no problems reading accents, but this one was a bit of a struggle, which is a shame, since Mr. Whiskers is hilarious.

This was a cute paranormal with appealing characters and lots of humor. I like that there are good and bad demons, not just evil demons fighting the angels. The secrets in Mattias’s past kept me turning the pages, leading to a somewhat predictable revelation towards the end, but the path to the resolution was so enjoyable, it’s easy to forgive.