a.k. caggiano – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 512 pages
Author: A.K. Caggiano
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: November 4th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

His dark destiny awaits, and nothing will stand in his way. Except her.

Dark lord
Demon spawn
Prophesied realm destroyer

With a demon for a father, Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne’s destiny could be nothing but nefarious, and with the completion of his most vicious spell, Damien is on the cusp of fulfilling the evil inevitability all of his dark machinations have led to.

And then, her.

Bubbly
Obnoxious
Blonde

Harboring secrets of her own, a tiny yet troublesome thief calling herself Amma completely upsets Damien’s malevolent plans when she mistakenly gets chained to his side through magic, forcing him to drag her across the realm. Killing her would fix things, of course, but the nauseatingly sweet Amma proves herself useful on Damien’s unholy crusade and then proves herself the source of something even more sinister: feelings.

Will Damien be forced to abandon his villainous birthright to help the tender thorn in his side? Or will he manage to overcome the virtue Amma insists on inspiring and instead cut it out at the heart?

THIS WAS FUN.

If you’re looking for something with the same vibes as Assistant to the Villain x The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy (but with way less innuendo and spice) then I would put this one your radar too. It’s one of those books that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is filled with snarky banter and quirky characters.

I liked the audiobook and would definitely recommend that format because this book has been sitting on my TBR for a long time and I’m grateful that the audio added to that quality.

There’s some misalignment with the world building and such but like I said, this became a vibes book for me and something I needed to disappear into for a bit. I liked the relationship dynamics and the side characters. The story line is pretty good and that was all enough for me to decide I’d want to read book two.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy romance
Language: moderate
Romance: kisses; light innuendo
Violence: moderate

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 450 pages
Author: A.K. Caggiano
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: November 30th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She’s promised to be loyal, dutiful, and obedient, but to whom?

Lady Ammalie Avington, Baroness of Faebarrow, has discovered the truth, and it should not come as a surprise: the blood mage who threatened, spellbound, and abducted her intends to bring ruin to the realm–the very one she is sworn to serve. It’s just a terribly inconvenient fact to learn because, well…he’s rather cute.

But it’s not safe to pine after the son of a demon, especially not whilst locked up in a tower surrounded by infernal beings and a rival for your affection, nor trapped below ground in a den of beguiling vampires, nor even in the heart of a wild jungle under the tutelage of esoteric witches. Amma just can’t help herself around Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne, danger be damned, but, truly, what danger is there? Damien’s heart, the one he swears to not have, has been softening right before her eyes. Nevermind the weird smoke that sometimes unwittingly emanates from his hands or that faraway look he gets to his eyes, and a voice she can’t hear telling him that he’s meant to be a vessel? Surely it’s all just a bad dream.

After finally tasting freedom and learning that Amma may have ancient, innate magical powers of her own, why not use them to do exactly as she pleases?

FUN SERIES.

If you’ve been missing the vibes of Assistant to the Villain may I suggest trying this series out? Book two was wonderful and I can’t wait to read the next. I love how quirky these are while also still providing world building and magic.

I find them to be an easy listen and this genuinely has one of the slowest of slow burns and I HAVE MISSED THESE KINDS OF SLOW BURN ROMANCES. Give me books of yearning y’all. I BEG OF YOU.

I can’t really say much more without spoilers but I’m definitely going to be downloading book three soon to see what happens next.

Overall audience notes: