Must Love Demons by Meghan Maslow

Narrated by Darcy Stark

Confession time. I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I began listening to Must Love Demons – I picked it principally because of Darcy Stark, whose narration in Eden Winter’s Diversion series has so impressed me that I’ll take any opportunity to listen to him! The synopsis promised a grumpy/sunshine romance between an incredibly sweet demon and an incredibly grouchy warden (investigator), with a bit of mystery and magic along the way – and I’m pleased to report that the audiobook delivered exactly that; a fun and sexy love story, a mystery that is intriguing but which doesn’t overshadow the romance and a pair of well-drawn, chalk-and-cheese protagonists who are perfect for each other. Oh – and the narration was awesome, too.

Incubus Nico Azertiran was kicked out of his Legion because his magic doesn’t work the way an incubus’ magic is supposed to – instead of spells that create lust and sexual desire, his magic causes people to fall in love with their soulmates. Luckily for him, he’s managed to land a job as a cherub-in-training, learning how to fire cupid’s arrow (literally) – but he’s not doing so well and keeps screwing up. It’s not entirely his fault though – a seven-foot incubus having to using bows and arrows designed for creatures half his size is bound to be awkward.

He’s on desk duty at Cupid Inc. when he’s confronted by a very angry – very handsome – phoenix shifter who also happens to be one of the city of Verona’s most effective and most feared wardens. Sir Flambeau Illume – known by most as ‘Sir Flame’ – has come to demand his name be taken off the lovestruck list; he’s sick and tired of having arrows shot at him every hour of every day by enthusiastic cherubs, despite his previous complaints, his insistence that he doesn’t want to find love, AND the restraining edict he obtained – and he wants it to stop. NOW. Nico tries to explain that the list doesn’t work like that; the cherubs don’t make it, they just follow instructions and fire their arrows at whoever is on the list. Sir Flame doesn’t care. He just wants them to leave him alone.

Well, of course that isn’t what happens. The next day, Flame is on the way to meet an informant – he’s investigating a recent spate of poisonings of high-profile citizens – when a series of mishaps sees him accidentally bound to Nico by a Lariat of Love, a magical rope that binds two people together until they fall in love. Needless to say, he’s not impressed.

Neither is Nico. He’d been on a training exercise when he’d been told who his target was to be, and adamantly refused to fire his arrow at someone who had made it very clear he didn’t want to find love. Unfortunately however, the arrow – with its attached lariat – was loosed in Nico’s altercation with his trainer, and the trainer has no idea how to remove it. Nico suggests to an angry Flame that they should visit Cupid Inc.’s R&D department straight away to get it removed, but Flame has a job to do; he’s got several murders of the rich and famous to solve and hasn’t got the time for detours. Being well and truly stuck together, Flame has no alternative but to take Nico along with him to the meeting with his CI, and by the time they finally make it to Cupid Inc. the place is in darkness. There’s no help for it – Flame takes Nico back to his home for the night, where the difficulties of their situation become even more apparent. After an awkward night and morning, Flame once again has to take Nico along with him as he continues his investigations, and to his surprise, finds Nico to be intelligent, helpful and enjoyable company. Flame can’t help but be drawn to Nico – but this is more than just because he’s an incubus and therefore built to inspire attraction and lust in others. The stakes are raised considerably when Nico appears to have attracted the wrong kind of attention and becomes a target – and Flame is forced to face up to the truth of his feelings for the gorgeous demon. But once the lariat is removed – what then? Will Flame remember what Nico has come to mean to him? Or will his emotions reset – as they’ve done throughout the seven-hundred-plus years of his life?

This is such a fun listen. The fantastical world populated by mythical creatures and magic the author has created is vivid and imaginative, and the two leads are intensely likeable with chemistry that sparks and sizzles from the moment they meet. Nico is the sweetest demon ever (!). He’s big-hearted and a bit shy, finding the attention he attracts by virtue of his spectacular good looks uncomfortable, and he just wants to find someone who will see beyond his looks and his heritage and get to know the real him. He’s looked down on, his magic seen as worthless by other incubi, and the cherubs don’t really want him either because his magic is stronger than theirs and doesn’t produce the sort of insta-love their clients seem to want. He’s set up for failure at every turn, yet he maintains his optimism; he’s kind and bright and really dedicated to helping people to find their true love despite not having much luck in that department himself. Flame is his polar opposite; grouchy, no-nonsense, impatient and intimidating. It’s not that he’s uninterested in love, it’s that he knows it’s not for him; as a phoenix shifter, his regenerative powers make it impossible for him to fall in love, so instead, he’s devoted himself to his job and hides his inner softie beneath sharp-tongued arrogance.

There’s a lot going on in this story, but it never feels rushed and the author makes the romance work, balancing the fast-paced plot with quieter moments of intimacy and introspection that round out the characters, clearly showing their deepening affection for one another and just how well they complement each other.

Must Love Demons is part of a multi-author series called Magic Emporium; each book features a shop called Marden’s Magic Emporium which, rather like Harry Potter’s Room of Requirement, appears – only once – to those in dire need. I haven’t read or listened to any of the other books – Goodreads shows a dozen in total, and not all of them are available in audio – and there is a short prequel to the series called In Fair Verona (also narrated by Darcy Stark) which introduces Nico and sees him having to solve a murder.

Darcy Stark delivers an exceptionally good performance here, with clear and appropriate vocal characterisations for all, and it’s well-paced, expressive and expertly differentiated throughout. He adopts a slight accent for Flame that sounds vaguely European, and adds a gruff, gravelly note to his voice that really fits the character’s grumpiness, but is also able to bring out Flame’s hidden vulnerabilities by means of a softened, warmer tone. He portrays female characters convincingly, and most impressive of all, the English accent he uses for Nico is easily one of the best I’ve heard from an American narrator, with none of the usual giveaways and slip-ups, and he maintains it consistently throughout. He’s a fabulous voice actor, too, and I felt as though I really got to know Nico and Flame through his interpretations of them because he captures their personalities so perfectly. The only criticism I can level is a tiny one – I noted a few mispronunciations here and there, but really not enough to mark down the performance overall. It’s wholly engaging and animated, and adds considerably to the appeal of the story and characters.

So Must Love Demons proved to be an unexpected hit. I see the author has several audiobooks out narrated by Greg Boudreaux (I feel a glom coming on!), but Darcy Stark has fast become one of my favourite narrators, and I’ll be looking for more of his work, too.

Caz

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Buy Must Love Demons by Meghan Maslow on Amazon