Demon for the Win

Much Ado About Demons

By: Meghan Maslow

Narrated by: Darcy Stark

Dryad Tuli Cato has three rules he lives by: No relationships, no drama, no trouble.

When a gorgeous incubus offers a night of no-strings passion, Tuli readily agrees. Only that no-strings night sure feels like a lot more.

Okay, Tuli has two rules he lives by: No drama, no trouble.

Being the sous chef at the most exclusive restaurant in town makes no drama a challenge. Especially when the kitchen’s in an uproar after a staff member turns up dead. Murdered.

Um, Tuli has one rule he lives by: No trouble.

Surely, he can stick to this 1 simple rule...except it turns out, he might be the murderer’s next target.

Incubus Kem Balthasar has only one rule he lives by: Enjoy life.

It’s a lust demon’s nature, after all. Creatures either want to be him or do him. Or maybe a bit of both.

When Kem lays eyes on a slender dryad hottie across a crowded sex club, suddenly he’s thinking of another L-word and it’s not one he ever thought he’d feel.

Okay, Kem has two rules he lives by: Enjoy life, romance Tuli.

Convincing the skeptical dryad that Kem’s a worthy—and faithful—partner is hard enough. But it’s even harder to date a guy who might wind up dead.

Right. Kem has three rules he lives by: Enjoy life, romance Tuli, and keep the little dryad safe.

Easy, right?

Demon for the Win is a 40k just-one-night, fated mates, novella set in the Much Ado about Demons world. Each book stands alone. This book contains a little black book with loads of secrets, jealous trees, night club shenanigans, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

©2022 Meghan Maslow (P)2023 Meghan Maslow

Another wild ride

Story: 3.75⭐️
Audio: 4.5⭐️

I absolutely adore Maslow's world-building and her takes on various mythological creatures, and "Demon for the Win" is no different. Mostly taking place before the events of Nico's book "Must Love Demons", the story follows Nico's bff and fellow incubus Kem who finds his soul's perfect match in Tuli, a socially shy but confident in the kitchen chef. Tuli gets dragged along to the sex club Kem works at but never in a million years plans to hook up with someone, especially someone as hot and charming as Kem. Tuli's ex did a number on his self esteem and cemented his belief in his inability to pick partners. Although he has the night of his life with Kem, he chalks it all up to it being Kem's job and their explosive chemistry to lust magic.

When the pair run into each other two months later, Kem knows that what he feels for Tuli is special and is determined to woo the wary but sweet Tuli. Tuli can't imagine what Kem could see in him or if Kem can even be faithful given he's a lust demon, but finds himself wanting to trust Kem despite his doubts. The couple have great chemistry and great personalities. Both are nice, giving creatures with Kem having an easy-going, laid back charm and Tuli being shy but delightful when he feels comfortable. As usual, the story is filled with so many interesting secondary and tertiary characters, and of course I LOVED seeing Nico again.

That being said, Maslow's trademark is mischief, magic and murder and for a story this short I think it was chocked a bit too full of her 3Ms. Between magic spoons, an irascible and deeming executive chef, predators of various varieties, Incubi politics and murder (just to name a few plot strands), the novella doesn't have much time for Tuli and Kem's relationship. They literally go on one date before their relationship is fast-tracked at the end of the main story with time jumps. As the narrative is in dual 1st person POV, there is enough of each person's thoughts to track their feelings and development, I just wish more time could have been spent on their romance given how sweet their courtship is...when not being interrupted by all the shenanigans.

The story also does that thing that movies increasingly do that drives me crazy: establish rules that the narrative goes out if its way to lay down...then break them bc the "rule of cool" for an action scene trumps everything else. There's a scene that is great for what it shows about Tuli and his capabilities, but should have been basically impossible given what the reader is told (and is reinforced in dialogue in the scene) and where it happens; I found it distracting and just something else that gets more time than the MCs as a couple.

All in all though, it is a fun story with great characters, and Darcy Stark does a great job bringing them to life. While his delivery for the narrative is a bit too deliberate and slow enough compared to the dialogue to be noticeable and distracting, his character voices are distinct and diverse. His cadence, emotional beats and tone work well and none of the many characters ever feels similar or interchangeable. Stark makes the most of what the MCs show in their POVs to make the small amount of time they get together feel impactful and full of emotion. Another fun, chaotic installment to Maslow's irreverent and gleeful catalogue.

I love this world and its characters

The magical city of Verona is full of some fascinating people! I have loved all of them so much. Now we get the story of Nico’s best friend Kem and his perfect match Tuli. Absolutely loved it!!! And Darcy Stark does such a great job with these characters. I am going to go relisten to Must Love Demons now!

Loved it!

This is my favourite in the series. Kem and Tully are so very different, yet so cute together. Misunderstandings are expected when you pair an incubus and a dryad. They do work it out and figure out they are meant to be together.

Narrator has done an excellent job, I'm on my second listen.

Incubus for the Win!

Tuli and Kem on audible are even sweeter! Darcy Stark did a phenomenal job of narrating. Tuli has been hurt in the romance department, so he is wary of love and does not trust easily anymore. He is certainly not going to give up the chance at some sexy time with Kem though! Kem is an incubus, so he is all about carefree, fun-loving encounters. Turns out though Kem becomes quite caring and protective of Tuli. I adored these two together and all the other familiar guys we get to see here made it even more fun.

so cute!

Really cute story about a sweet dryad (Tuli) and a sexy incubus (Kem) who unexpectedly seem to fall in love... there is some intrigue and a bit of anguish, but mainly it is sweet and funny, and a very entertaining story. And it has the advantage of giving us the chance of meeting again some of the characters in previous stories in the same universe
I simply loved Darcy Stark performance. He manages to bring the characters alive, giving each one of them different nuances that makes it simply a delight to follow his narration
So good!
I received an ARC and this is my voluntary review