Star-crossed enemies-to-lovers

It should come as a surprise to literally no one that I am enemies-to-lovers trash. The forbidden desire, the tension, the intense connection... it slaps every time, and the romance between Raum and Sunshine in Guardian Demon is no exception.I adore Aurora Ascher's demon bros. This found family goodness delivers on all the laughs, all the feels, and all the heat you could want from a paranormal romance. Each character is distinct, each couple unique in their dynamic, and the naturally chemistry and camaraderie between all of these characters when they get together and interact fills me with a kind of joy I can scarcely describe.The writing and storytelling in this installment was fantastic, as well - it's been so fun to watch Aurora grow as a writer as she hones her craft with each new book (and I already loved her earlier stuff to begin with). While Guardian Demon is certainly *thicc* (the thickest of the series so far), the pacing is excellent, the stakes engaging, and all of these new plot threads and seeds and easter eggs and mysteries kept me absolutely glued to the book from start to finish.The intrigue surrounding Raum and Sunshine's past was so, so good... all of the chefs kisses. I adored their story and the star-crossed lover vibes. The romance was glorious, their moments of contention believable, but even when they're butting heads, you know these two kids are still absolutely crazy about each other. (and their bedroom activities are excellent, yes please and thank you; Sunshine is a girl after my own heart!)The ultimate twist in this book, however, isn't the obvious one surrounding our main couple's relationship (although the actual details of that entire ordeal were shocking in their own right, and the fallout surprisingly poignant) - but there are larger players in this game and more subterfuge afoot than I had anticipated and I can't wait to see where all of this goes... but that's all I'll say about that.Basically, I am very much looking forward to the rest of the series.The mystery surrounding Murmur in particular was a web I didn't think I would get tangled up in, but I'm totally invested now. And Bel? I love him. I love him so much and I need his book, I have so many questions... AURORA! I NEED ANSWERS! lolOh - and one other point to note: a certain someone gets their long overdue comeuppance and not only is it extremely satisfying from where I'm sitting, but its delivery? Surprising in the best sense.Long story short: I adore this series. The feeling each of the books leave me with is akin to that feeling you get during a comfort read. Returning to this world and these characters always feels like coming home and this dysfunctional found family of demons, angels, and witches will forever own a piece of my heart.Ver más

4 personas la encontraron útil

thenailaholicreads

24 de octubre de 2025

Raum and Sunshine ☀️

This is book 4 of the Hell Bent series. You can read these as standalone, I haven’t read book two or three yet, but it helps to read them together. I thought I’d see what I’d be missing without reading them. I had a good foundation, so I felt caught up enough.This is Raum’s story, and it was really nice to see him interacting outside of the family in this one. It really touched a lot on his love of animals (weird for demons), his penchant for stealing and hoarding (and guys, he’s a crow demon. Did we know that before?), and his feelings surrounding being more than just— bad. Sunshine, an angel that contracts him for help may have some of his answers. I’d call this instalove, but you quickly see that it’s much more than that. This book was a lot more of just Raum (and Sunshine) himself and his adventures/misadventures than Ash’s book was, and that seemed to make it a little slower to me, but I liked it a little better at the same time. I really feel like I know the two of them a lot better. Overall, recommend and will continue filling in the series!Ver más

Samantha

24 de diciembre de 2022

5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

*** ARC Review***And that is another 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. I have been waiting for Raum's story for a while now, and I am sooooo glad I finally got to read about him and let me tell you... HE DID NOT DISSAPOINT. I just absolutely love him and think he is the most adorable demon in this series. I didn't think I'd ever say adorable and demon together... but here we are.This is the 4th book in the Hell Bent series, and the story surrounds Raum and Sunshine. Sunshine is an angel with a past, and she is desperately trying to make up for that past. To help herself, she drags Raum into her plans, and then the adventure begins.Little did they know that there was a lot more going on around them that involves both of them. While truths are uncovered and an unlikely attraction between a demon and an angel blossom. The spice was just perfect! Raum in the bedroom was a totally surprise and sunshine going along with it all even bigger surprise. Its always the quiet ones haha. Aurora did an amazing job with their chemistry and they are truly perfect together.Oh oh oh and my love Murmur was in this book a lot more. He is just so perfect and creepy and fascinating and grouchy and did I say perfect?? Oh and his paleness and ghostly self... le sigh! (Something is very wrong with me) Oh and did I mention his book is NEXTTTTTT!!!! I just can't contain my excitement.We also get to meet some of the angels... all I'm going to say is ADRIEL = holy hotness 🔥In this book we also get more of the other demons and their mates as well as a bit more information about Bel that has me frothing at the mouth and needing his book as well.So if you haven't done it already... go on over and start reading this amazing series by Arora Asher so you can catch up and chat with me about it.Another great book Aurora!! Cannot wait for the next!Ver más

3 personas la encontraron útil

Jay Why Gee

4 de diciembre de 2022

Raum & Angel: there is spice and romance 🥰

First things first: I think this is the most romantic story I’ve read in 2022! This does not mean there is no spice, because there CERTAINLY is (my praise and dirty talk kink is VERY satisfied 😉), but reflecting back I honestly think this is a love story that out ♥️loved♥️ ALL my 2022 romance reads. 🥹🥹 disclaimer: I only read romance genre and don’t you dare close the door on the good stuffs, if you know what I mean, so maybe my perception is a wee bit skewed? 😅Hell Bent series continues to provide all the feels from these demon brothers Gone Rogue who escaped Hell to hide on Earth. One of my favorite things about this series is how each book builds upon the larger overarching Hell Bent storyline and we get to spend time with my favorite demon book boyfriends Ash, Mist, Meph, & Bel. But Book 4 is Raum’s story.““You’re trying to apologize by text, aren’t you?” Meph said.Ash whistled low. “Bad idea.”“Terrible,” Mist agreed.”5.0 ⭐️/53.5 🌶️/5MMC: Raum, Earl of Hell, rogue demon, animal whisperer, quiet one, even-tempered, crow shifter, fondness for shiny objects and five finger discounts. He has a heart full of love for his brothers and their Earth found family. Also, I’m fully #TEAMRAUM and extremely biased. Raum literally can do and did nothing wrong in this book. 🥰 period.““You make me feel…warm,” he admitted, feeling stupid. “Safe, I guess. But also violent, but in a possessive way, like I’d kill everyone except for you.””FMC: Sunshine, aka Shamsiel, an angel stripped of her high title for mysterious reasons 🤫 Sunshine gets an opportunity to reascend to her former rank IF she passes a test: acquire a mysterious grimoire that has fallen into the hands of a demon residing in Hell. Problem is she can’t access Hell because she’s a Heaven residing angel 😇. Good thing Sunshine knows just the rogue crow shifting demon who she can coerce to get her to Hell and steal that grimoire.“And god forbid they run into another flying demon. But instead of worrying about that, after ensuring she was hidden beneath her cloak, she relaxed into his hold and turned her face up to study him. He was quite impressive in this form. Magnificent, really. His feathers were sleek and shiny, outrageously soft against her. The way his head swiveled as he flew, scanning the ground beneath them, was even more majestic than the powerful birds of prey on Earth.”Raum and Sunshine are pitted against each other in the hunt for the grimoire (you know, demon vs angel and all that). But these enemies have so much chemistry that while on their quest to get this grimoire they can’t fight this undeniable pull they have towards each other. And we get to experience all their sexy high highs and the complicated low lows.There are mysteries after mysteries to unravel. Why is this grimoire, formerly owned by a witch, stolen by a demon, wanted by an angel, so important? Why did Raum wake up 400 years ago with 300 hundred years of his memory missing? What was Sunshine’s “incident” that was so bad that it caused the loss of her high angel position? Why do I love the demons of this world and find angels complete buzzkills?If you like paranormal romance, demons with hearts of gold (biased, remember? 🤭), mysteries to solve, good old fashioned sexy times between angels and demons, found families, enemies to lovers, praise, dirty talk, size difference, you will love Guardian Demon.Next up in the series in a delightful side character demon, Murmur, who is just a casual (not so casual) Necromancer 😅. I know immediately I’m going to love his book. Examples of Murmur’s excellence as a potential new addition to the demon book boyfriend roster:“Murmur tapped a restless foot, bored with waiting for his prisoner to wake. What was taking so long? He hadn’t hit him that hard.”“Murmur shook his head, thinking of the shamefulness of some of the most feared demons in history allowing themselves to be tamed like horses by mere humans.”“This was why Murmur abhorred personal attachments. The day he allowed himself such a vulnerability would be the day he was finally destroyed.”Thank you to Aurora Ascher for providing this advanced reader copy 🫶 can’t wait to see what’s next!

Sarah Murdock

10 de diciembre de 2025

A captivating forbidden match! Loved it!

I accidentally picked up Guardian Demon as a standalone (even though it’s book four), but it was surprisingly easy to follow and honestly, Raum and Sunshine pulled me in so completely that starting out of order didn’t matter.Their dynamic is perfectly crafted. The enemies-to-lovers tension, the forbidden pull between them, and the slow unraveling of their walls felt so natural and addictive. Aurora Ascher nails that blend of danger, longing, and tenderness that makes their connection impossible to look away from.The world-building is vivid, the emotional beats land beautifully, and the side characters add a lot of depth. I will say there were a few moments where the pacing or detail felt a bit thin, which is the only reason I’m giving it four instead of five stars … but overall, it didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed the story.Guardian Demon delivers a rich fantasy world, a gripping forbidden romance, and two main characters I can’t stop thinking about.Raum and Sunshine? Absolutely obsessed.Ver más

Kindle Customer

13 de julio de 2026

unexpectedly sweet

After reading the synopsis of all the books in this series, I was the least excited about this book. However, it turned out to be the sweet and sexiest of the series. I love this twist on a second chance romance. The addition of Adriel as a conveniently forgetful uncle figure was chef kiss. A fabulous book.Ver más