Demon With Benefits

Demon With Benefits seems like a pretty fitting title for Meph’s story because commitment was very clearly not his thing. He was perfectly happy keeping things physical, uncomplicated, and free of expectations, which is exactly why Iris relaxes around him in the beginning. His reaction to the idea of commitment convinces her they are on the same page. They are attracted to each other, the sex is fantastic, nobody is asking for forever, and everybody gets to walk away happy. Simple enough. At least, that was the plan.

What made the two of them so much fun for me was that Meph seemed almost as entertained by annoying the hell out of Iris as he was sexually attracted to her. He loves pushing her buttons, teasing her, invading her space, and generally being a pain in the ass whenever he gets the chance. Iris, meanwhile, spends plenty of time thinking he is ridiculous, obnoxious, and completely infuriating, yet apparently still hot enough that none of that stops her from wanting him. They have that perfect you annoy the hell out of me, but I also want to climb you like a tree kind of chemistry.

The funniest part is that Iris eventually gets exactly what she says she wants. Meph backs off and gives her some space, only for her to realize she misses him. She misses the teasing, the flirting, him getting under her skin, and generally being the pain in the ass she had spent so much time complaining about. I loved that little shift because the attraction is obvious from the beginning, but the attachment sneaks up on both of them. Somewhere along the way, their supposedly uncomplicated arrangement starts looking suspiciously like feelings.

Meph also ended up having a lot more going on underneath all that swagger than I expected. He is funny, crude, mischievous, ridiculously sexual, and acts like almost nothing should ever be taken too seriously, but a lot of that feels like armor. Underneath it is someone far more insecure and damaged than he wants anyone to see, especially when it comes to the darker side of himself he has spent so long trying to control.

His art was one of my favorite ways the book showed that side of him. He may not be great at saying what is going on inside his head, but he puts a lot of himself into what he creates. Watching someone who normally acts so shamelessly confident become genuinely vulnerable over something so personal gave him a lot more depth and made his story feel like more than just watching the commitment-phobic demon fall in love.

Iris has plenty of walls of her own. After what happened in her previous relationship, she has no interest in letting someone get close enough to hurt her again, so it makes sense that she keeps insisting what she has with Meph is purely physical. That does not mean I never wanted to shake her, because there were definitely moments when the woman was so obviously attached to him while still trying to convince herself otherwise that I wanted to ask how much more evidence she needed. At least her choices always made sense for who she was, and I will take frustrating but believable over completely out of character any day.

She also definitely passed my FMC test. Iris can be stubborn, sharp-tongued, defensive, and difficult, but she is never passive. When she is scared, hurt, or completely outmatched, she still looks for a way to fight back. She thinks, adapts, pushes, and refuses to just stand there waiting for someone else to fix things for her, which automatically earns points with me.

There is a lot of sex in this book, especially early on, and for the most part it works because of where their relationship starts. Being physical is a whole lot easier for both of them than admitting there might be actual feelings involved. That said, I do think the book leans on the spice a little harder than it needed to. I would have gladly traded a few of those scenes for more actual story, more detail, and more time spent developing everything else that was already there.

That was probably my biggest issue overall. I liked what we got, but I kept feeling like I wanted more from it. Not necessarily more drama or bigger twists, just more depth in the plot, the world, and the little pieces surrounding Meph and Iris. There were places where I wanted the story to linger a little longer instead of moving on so quickly, especially once the larger conflict started taking over.

When that side of the story really kicks in, the pace picks up considerably and we get more of the darker parts of Meph’s past and the things he has spent so long trying to keep under control. I liked that the book did not treat that part of him like some completely separate evil thing he could just lock away and forget about. My only issue was that, after all the buildup around the danger and everything tied to it, the payoff felt a little quick. It was not bad, but I expected more weight behind the resolution after everything leading up to it.

I also still love the found-family dynamic with these demons and the humans unfortunate enough to love them. Ash, Eva, Mist, Lily, Raum, Belial, Jacqui, Dan, and the rest of the group keep the world feeling connected without taking over Meph and Iris’s story. That is also why I would not recommend starting the series here. You could probably follow the main romance, but there are too many established relationships, histories, enemies, supernatural rules, and previous events woven through the story to get the full experience without knowing this completely dysfunctional little family first.

For me, Demon With Benefits ended up being a lot sweeter than the title makes it sound. Meph had more depth than I expected, Iris was exactly stubborn enough to keep up with him, and their whole relationship worked because neither one of them planned on needing the other nearly as much as they eventually did. I loved their chemistry, I liked what the book did with Meph’s character, and I had a really good time with it. I just never quite shook the feeling that I wanted more than the book gave me.

Maybe that feeling will fade if we get to see more of Meph and Iris in the later books, but judging this one on its own, I was not quite ready to leave them yet.

I would absolutely recommend this one to readers who like paranormal romance with demons, witches, found family, friends-with-benefits-to-more, plenty of spice, humor, damaged characters, and an MMC whose smartass personality is hiding a whole lot more emotional baggage than expected. I would just start with the beginning of the Hell Bent series rather than jumping straight into Meph’s story, because half the fun is already knowing this completely dysfunctional little family before you get here.

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars
Spice Rating: 5/5 Peppers

Review By: SASSY
Owner • Creator • Queen of the Chaos
SassyReviews.com
Read, Reviewed, & BookDragon Approved… or Not.