What is your opinion?
Fabulous read
"I thoroughly enjoyed this story, caused massive procrastination of life until I finished it. Beautiful writing, fun characters, with wit and meaning. I look forward to reading more from this author"
Loving this.
"I canāt get over how human Thorne is and his relationships with those human and demon alike are honestly beautiful. Romy in real life would be my best friend for real!"
Great book
"Entertaining and witty book and characters! This book is something else, unique and a must read "
A demon story that has you in stitches and makes you cry
"This book is just amazing! You will be laughing, crying and feel your heart warm from emotions. It's so original and different but in all the best ways. I even dreamt about the characters and their amazing story and connection. It's so true to real needs and struggles but even though it's raw, it still makes you smile and laugh throughout the whole book! A must read š"
Almost read the whole thing in one sitting...
"Yeah, this one got me to log in on PC, 'cause it deserves a keyboard critique and phones suck for editing text. TL;DR: This is a gem. Not in the rough, but a polished, beautifully cut piece set in a delicate filigree of dry, British wit. You may laugh, cry, and entertain the possibility of mustache autonomy--all at once, even. A former court jester may make you want to give him all the nice things (but please, no horses). A florist with far too many crucifixes (for defense) may mystify you with impromptu holy rites and a handbag of holding. Betwixt the romance, an old widow will absolutely be the best wingman you could ask for, all while deadpanning demonic possession like it's on the same level of inconvenience as warm orange juice. At some point, a priest, a demon, and a florist will walk into a granny's flat and proceed to scramble your emotions. Eventually, the term "AA battery" will take on an unconventional definition. And both Heaven and Hell will do all the paperwork for you! Worth a read. Worth a series. Worth writing the monstrosity I'm about to embark upon. PROSE/TECHNICAL STUFF: The writing overall is almost at the level of what you would find in a traditionally published novel off a bookstore shelf. I saw maybe two typos; someone else pointed them out, so I didn't bother noting them. Punctuation is used like the author keeps the CMS open on a permanent tab. Verbs are applied correctly, agreements are made, and conjugations are jiggy with it. Woodward is more wordsmith than writer, so the end result is prose that flows like a gentle stream through a colorful assortment of chaotic landscapes--both British and Hellish. The story progression takes you along so smoothly that you could very well end up bingeing the whole thing in one sitting like a pack of Fig Newtons. (Probably shouldn't be doing this to my body, but sleep is for the weak, I guess.) CHARACTERS: The strongest aspect of the story is definitely the characters. Thorne is...utterly adorable. Like, you just want him to be happy, despite the fact that he's a demon whose job it is to send people downstairs. He's not all that brooding, but he still gets in some of the best dry retorts this side of Purgatory. He's got a tragic backstory, but not so tragic that you'll wonder how he's still functioning so well; if anything, Leonard the horse will have you laughing inappropriately for hours (IYKYK). And it only gets better from there, because Thorne grows so naturally throughout his interactions with Maud and Romy, while still somehow keeping this uncertainty about him that makes you want to squeeze him tight and tell him it'll all be okay. Also, he's a for-some-reason-rare male lead who actually puts the work in to get the girl he falls for. He's respectful, gentle, and every interaction with Romy is filled with the vivid impression that he'd do anything to make sure she has the happiest outcome possible. In short, he's a good boy, and good boys deserve HEAs. Our FL Romy, meanwhile, has a majority stake in tragic backstory, and watching her go from a cloistered seedling in a sidewalk crack to almost-Yggdrasil is SOOOO satisfying. Witty, hectic, and all-round the sweetest of the entire bunch. (I was eating grapes through at least four chapters, so the pun is intended.) Romy's character arc sees probably the most drastic changes out of everyone (except maybe Kozgor), and she deserves every bit of confidence and love she gains. Her relationship with her car is somehow both hilarious and heartfelt, her relationship with Maud will have you itching to call your loved ones, and her relationship with Thorne will have you oscillating wildly between hyena cackles and quiet sniffles. Romy is also refreshingly smart. It pains me how rare this is, but she makes informed decisions and handles things like a proper adult. She's a miracle on two legs with an old Nissan and all the heart in the world. And the last of the leads--MAUD. Oh, Maud. She is a trip and a half. She wields sass as a weapon of mass instruction. You read that right; she sasses people into being better. She sasses Hell's denizens into chilling with a priest, a demon into growing his heart three sizes, and a florist into opening her own heart wide enough to gently cradle that aforementioned extra-large demon heart. And all the while, Maud sasses her way into YOUR heart until her wellbeing is at the top of your priority list. If there's an overall leader of this motley crew, it's All-Grandmother Maud. She deserves a crow army. Just saying. The pigeons are getting uppity. As for the primary supporting cast, you get a grumpy demon who will steal your heart from the sidelines with tsundere and a slingshot, a shapeshifting demon who becomes MVP of traffic collisions and in-flight entertainment, one deskwork demon who appears mostly in text messages yet somehow still manages to be an impressively fleshed-out character (pun very intended), and an irl-accurate priest who pushes for therapy before exorcism; all of whom are little treasures in their own right. You also get some angels WHO ABSOLUTELY DESERVE THEIR OWN BOOK. No spoilers, but they are hilarious and kind of hapless in the most useful way. They also cram more character into a veritable sliver of page time than too many books can manage with their entire manuscript. Quite impressive. The antagonists are primarily in the background, but do serve as an appropriately menacing threat with the stunts they pull. Not much character development, but that's not their purpose, so I can't complain. Wouldn't have minded a little more Lucy, but the real big-bad makes up for it with the ending sequence. (Also, Lucifer would be better served in a sequel or side story, I think.) And that's it for characters! (Kozgor is love. Kozgor is life. We serve none but Kozgor.) PLOT: The plot is surprisingly simple. Just a demon (Thorne) accidentally falling in love with a human (Romy) while possessing an 82-year-old woman (Maud) as he collects on past deals, and his journey towards the HEA he deserves. But here's the thing: that same simplicity allows the writing so much room to breathe. It allows the characters to develop organically as the story progresses. Of course there are speed bumps, and of course there are tangents, but everything ties so nicely together in the end. It's especially lovely how each soul collection manages to add to Thorne's character arc in a meaningful way (and even Romy and/or Maud's, in some cases), before culminating in a climax as heart-stopping as it is hilarious. There are twists, but I'm not naming them here, for obvious reasons. They fit in very well, though, are plenty twisty, and ramp up the tension in wonderfully tragic ways. Also, the plot is free of several tropes I personally find tiresome in a romance--no romantic competition throwing a stick in the spokes every three chapters; no murder-happy, shrieking harpy exes or fiancƩes; and, somehow, the FL has a functional central nervous system. (Our Romy is actually SMART!) Most importantly, Romy and Thorne are perfectly balanced--no exploits, no abuse, and no wandering eyes or libidos. Just heartwarming, very necessary arguments and adorable, roll-on-the-bed-while-kicking-your-feet banter. They are what I wish every lopsided "power" couple could be, but never becomes. POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS: Well, if you're gonna twist my arm, I wouldn't mind a little more heat. That's not to say it isn't spicy, 'cause slow burn's gonna burn slow, and emotional tension and release is the meat of it. However, these two have such a nice dynamic that I wouldn't mind some extra bedroom development on top of all that delicious relationship development. (Kinda funny how the stories with leads I adore usually have less smut, while the stories with at least one lead I borderline hate are filled to the brim with flailing genitalia.) Hmm...and I guess there are a couple of phrases used fairly often? Like saying "[someone's words] landed/hit/sank/settled" during serious dialogue. Also, silences "stretching." There's definitely a pattern happening there; though, falling into a couple of common patterns is something most authors do, I've noticed, so I consider it a minor critique. Oh, and this is my own idiosyncrasy, but the word "claim" being used to describe intimate interactions makes me think of filing insurance claims, or staking a claim on a plot of land. My brain just categorizes it as legalese rather than romantic language. Probably also doesn't help that too many modern supernatural romance novels--werewolves, I'm squinting at you!--use "claim" like it's the only word in the entire English lexicon capable of describing a kiss, so I'm especially fatigued at this point, given how I'm a near-exclusive reader of this subgenre. To temper the above, I do appreciate how this isn't a twisty-turny, gotta-read-it-three-times-to-understand kind of story, nor is it the kind that makes me take a break every other chapter because it's too heavy to process all at once. Those of course have their own special place in my heart and on my bookshelves, but everyone needs the occasional palate cleanser between the novels that sit in you like a stubborn pool of existential mercury, and this one absolutely fills that gap. CONCLUSION: Just read it. If you enjoy demon contracts, sweet characters, facepalm-free relationship angst, infernal puns, and/or British comedy of any flavor, then you will enjoy this book. Possibly even love it. And if you're on the fence...well, meticulously crafted prose demands a discerning reader's attention, so give it a shot already! All right, I'm done rambling. Thank you to the author for writing such a lovely story! (Goodness, I hope this gets the series treatment...)"
How to Collect Souls and Influence People
"Absolutely loved this book! It will be going in my favourite folder. Beautiful written, characters I fell in love with, and parts that made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. "
Loved the Hell out this!
"Loved this book, and definitely giving it another read through. I loved the wit and humour threaded through every chapter. I especially love that I love all the characters too, a rarity! I feel like there could easily be some spin-offs here, but really Iām just sad thereās no more weekly chapters. Thank you for putting this out there for us. "
Witty, original, and a touch demonic in the best way
"Donāt let the āchapters readā number throw you offāI promise I read every single word of this wonderful novel, just elsewhere š HTCSAIP has it all; itās original, clever, suspenseful, sexy, and quite frankly hilarious. Nicole has truly delivered another masterpiece. Canāt wait to see it in print one day!! š Nicole, thank you endlessly for allowing me to come along for the behind-the-scenes portion of this storyāit has been a true joy to watch it all come together. There seems to always be an unhinged brainstorm happening at an ungodly hour for at least one of us, often both, and Iām SO here for it šā¤ļøāš„ Proud of you, love š„°"
A delightful story
"This story has quickly earned a spot among my all-time favourites on Inkitt and, in my opinion, is the finest work this author has produced. The writing is as polished as ever, but what truly sets it apart is an original plot that draws you in through a cast of wonderfully crafted characters. Both the leading and supporting characters are a mix of humans and supernatural beings, and most of them are either super likeable or interesting enough to hold your attention. At its core, the story is a romantic comedy. Still, it also delivers unpredictable dramatic twists and well-placed suspense until the satisfying finale, followed by an epilogue that leaves the reader smiling. A particular highlight is the British setting, which feels less like a backdrop and more like a natural extension of the characters and story itself. It is so perfectly matched to the tone and personality of the plot that picturing it anywhere else feels almost impossible. In short: read this. You won't just enjoy it ā you'll be delighted, for real. "
Good read so far
"I like the plot so far, its a good read. Im hoping it doesnt drag out the chapters because I like this book haha cant wait for the next chapter."
How to collect souls and influence people
"What a story! A good demon making Lucifer's life hell and hopefully finding his own heaven on earth. You are a very talented author, with many strings to your bow (or nibs to your pen?) This book is different to the Fae series, of which I have read (and enjoyed) two books so far, but the underlying humour, the tenderness between the main characters, the way the writing flows and reads so easily are part of your style. Looking forward to reading more of your books and hopefully seeing you in print someday. Can't wait for Thorne and Romy's remaining story. Regards Anne"
Original and fun!
"An original, funny and quirky story! Very much enjoying it and delighted that it's being updated. Interesting POVs that show us that life is not always black and white. Impecable writing style too, a pleasure to read :) "
