Claimed by the Demon Lord: A Dark Paranormal Romance

by Iris Amador

He’s the monster that keeps her awake at night. She’s the nightmare he’s always dreamed of.

I’m one of the most powerful demons, and when I met Sylvia, I knew I was going to keep her. I would do anything to have her by my side. And I mean anything. After all, one doesn’t become a Lord of Hell without playing a little dirty. Hell doesn’t run on mercy and kindness.

So when I claimed Sylvia as my left hand, she couldn’t decline. There may have been a little threatening involved, but nobody rejects someone like me.

We made a blood pact, and she became mine.

Mine to command, mine to control. She began learning how to live in Hell, how to work in the shadows, growing more powerful each and every day. Sometimes, when I was bored, I’d drag her to a dark corner, somewhere a little private. I’d make her mine in other ways, then.

We were made for each other, Sylvia and I.

I had everything I wanted.

But then she decided to fight back.

I should’ve known my Sylvia wouldn’t go into a demon deal without an ace up her sleeve.

She may very well be the end of me.

***

🔥 Slow burn

🔥 Enemies-to-lovers

🔥 Alpha male, some bullying

🔥 Guy falls first

🔥 Demon deals

🔥 Grovelling

🔥 Morally grey characters

235 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 26, 2023

Reviews

[leena.reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for allowing me access to this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2 ⭐️ DNF at 65%
Genre: Paranormal Dark Romance
Format: ARC Ebook
Pages: 235
Spice: 1 🌶️
POV: Double first POV
S/S: A Match Made in Hell #1
Check trigger warnings for any book

This book has potential, but I unfortunately got bored around the 50% mark.

I didn’t quite follow the entire switch-up of personalities for Sylvia. The story felt quite disconnected from the first couple of chapters to what happened halfway through. Sylvia just acted quite randomly, shy one second, harsh the other, manipulative but then honest.

The writing was easy to read so I might come back to this story at a later date.

Favorite quotes (MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS):

« I don’t want a life of serious business and formal meetings. Satan, save me now! »

« Sylvia Rousselot. She’ll be my left hand. » « Who the fuck is Sylvia? »

« I’d only want to fit in, for once. For someone to look at me and think worth their time. »

« He’s looking down at me like he wants to eat me, and that look can only mean bad things for my future. »

« Just like you belong to me now, » I add. (…) I’ve always wanted to say those words.

« I wouldn’t hurt her. Not unless she likes that, of course. »

« Finally, she’s looking at me. Only at me. »

Leena - Leena.reader review - @leena.reader on tiktok and instagram

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new Author to me. Sylvia and Adrian will have a lot of ups and downs as they come to care for each other. I enjoyed seeing them get their happy ending with the curse and ups and downs they went through. I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

For how short this book is, it took me quite a while to get through. I feel like I went through phases of being totally invested and completely disinterested (though this is partly because I’m a huge mood reader). Claimed by the Demon Lord follows Sylvia’s journey as she’s selected to be the left hand of Adrian, heir to the Eighth Circle of Hell.

I liked her character at first, but there seemed to be so much inconsistency with her as one minute she is meek and mild, and the next she is ruthless and cunning. She had moments of strength where she was a total badass, but the next moment it’s like she was a different person. The line that annoyed me the most when it came to Sylvia was when she said “It tastes like I was born for this, have been waiting all along for my rightful place in the world to be given to me.” It felt completely against everything she had been working toward and just made me cringe.

Adrian, on the other hand, I adored. He’s misunderstood and craving the affection of someone who will love him unconditionally. He may have gone about it wrong, but his intentions with Sylvia were honourable (as much as they can be for a demon). He’s definitely a book boyfriend I would keep around.

I personally found this book hard to read because there were quite a few grammatical issues. There were random commas everywhere, paragraphs that shouldn’t have been paragraphs, incorrect dialogue tags, and straight up typos (I had to read “dimply lit” to describe a classy atmosphere and I almost stopped reading right there.)

It’s not the worst experience I’ve had with a new-to-me author, but this book could have been much better with developmental and copy/line editing. Overall, I enjoyed the story for the quick read that it was.

Thank you BookSirens and the author for a review copy of this book.

[Laura Moylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adrian is the heir to the Lordship of the 8Th Circle of Hell. He is currently going to supernatural school and he met Sylvia Rousselot there. She is a banshee. He chooses her to be his left hand, meaning that it is her job to keep him safe and protect the family through him. She is not happy, because 1. He didn’t ask her, but forced her to the position by threatening her family. The majority of the people at the supernatural school are mega jerks and nasty pieces of work and treat her horribly. The one good thing that Adrian and his family teaches her is that she can actually fight for herself. Boy, did she learn that lesson. I wanted to punch a lot of the guys in this book, quite a few times. Things get crazy and worrisome. I was shocked at some of the stuff that happened in the latter half of the book, but overall, the book was awesome. Adrian and Sylvia are hot together and being a banshee is cool. Being able to know possible deaths is actually a good thing to have when people are trying to assassinate a Lord of Hell. I can’t wait to read the next book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[kymagirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sylvia (h), a seemingly ordinary girl with unique powers as a banshee with the ability to see people's deaths, becomes entangled with Adrian (H), one of the most powerful demons and Lord of Hell, who has become infatuated with her. Captivated by Sylvia and determined to make her his, Adrian doesn't shy away from using his demonic influence to claim her as his left hand through a blood pact, asserting dominance over her. Sylvia adapts to life in Hell, growing in power under Adrian's control, and as the two navigate the eight circles of Hell, their relationship takes unexpected turns. Sylvia, initially submissive, grows more powerful in the dark corners of Hell under Adrian's control, and despite his manipulative tactics, Sylvia fights back, challenging the powerful demon, and reveals an unexpected strength. Hot and steamy slow burn demon-banshee, enemies to lovers romance with lots of action, drama, magical elements, angst, and challenges.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. God.

This book is absolutely amazing start to finish, very much so to the point I've stayed up late to finish it because I couldn't bring myself to put it down!

Everything about this book is complete perfection. The plot, the characters, the dynamics, the twists and turns...this is truly one of my favourite books ever!!

The amount of times my jaw dropped, the oh my gods slipped out, seriously, I just cannot get over this! This is a total work of art and I highly recommend this!

I don't want to spoil anything but ahhh, just honestly I love everything about this!

Also, I would just like to take a moment to appreciate the fact that whilst yes you get your spicy fix for sure, there is an actual plot and not just a bunch of raunchy scenes mashed together like some books.

I cannot recommend this enough and I seriously look forward to reading more by this author!

*This was provided to me as a free ARC. My review is completely voluntary and of my own honest opinions*

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely on the dark side yet Sylvia's character was a bit of a surprise.
When Adrian claims Sylvia to be his left hand his reasons for the choice are his own, since everyone sees Sylvia to be way of his league and unfit for the position.
I won't go into all the ins and outs of this dynamic but let's just say there is a leaning curve on both sides and Sylvia turns out to be much more devious than I could have imagined.
Over all the author did a wonderful job of bringing out the personalities of her characters and made the story interesting. There were even moments that I had held my breath not believing the situations.
I will definitely will be reading more from this author.

[Alise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This one is supper tricky - I kinda hate and love both of the main characters. Sylvia and Adrian has really been made for each other. Adrian has met his match finally, I even started to feel sad for him and wanted to slap the heroine - fall in love finally!!! Of course it’s not so easy, but to be honest, he didn’t do anything bad to her, he desperately wanted Sylvia to notice him and so he forced her into a pact. She is so ordinary and quiet, but she will rip your heart out. I kinda wish he made her suffer a little bit, specially at the end, but well, he is a big softie demon Lord.

[ajscenic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It initially started in high school and I thought it would be mainly about a high school jock who got together with the unpopular but pretty girl. Boy was I wrong as this story wasn’t about that at all. In fact it was about empowerment, role reversal and balancing the scales.
There was a lot of character defelopment throughout the book. It was very obvious how Sylvia grows but Adrian did, just a little less visably.
It was also well written, fun to read with absorbing dialogue.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read!

[The Literary Chimera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Claimed by the Demon Lord is a master class in deceit, survival, power, lust, and love. Iris Amador took me on a tour of the literal eighth circle of Hell and left me begging to stay. The female main character, Sylvia, is absolutely splendid. Her character growth is stunning to witness. It is perfectly twisty and so well written. The spice does not disappoint either. Give in to that temptation and let this tale take you away.

[Jasmine S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I think that the storyline is not something that I read before. It was truly original. However, the only complaint I have about this book is the lack of context for the setup of the world. I understood the political structure and general world only after getting about 3/4ths of the way into the book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Cathy Greco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started out a bit slow for me. It took me about 6 or 7 chapters to get into it. Then I started to enjoy it. I liked the fmc. She was vulnerable but tried desperately not to show it and eventually she became stronger and was quite the bada$$. I did not like MMC at 1st. He came off too arrogant and selfish but he grew on me as well. All in all this was an enjoyable and HOT read. I'd recommend it!

Thanks to the author for this opportunity and this was my honest opinion.

[Kristina Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book ! Just Adrian's and Sylvia's story. Sylvia always felt like she didn't belong and didn't feel like she didn't amount to anything but someone was always paying close attention to her and knew she was everything! I really hope there will be more, haha! I'm not saying anything else but I definitely recommend reading this especially if this is your cup of tea.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot line was interesting and story is very well done. You basically have a college age drama with all sorts of paranormals. Both MCs start out extremely self centered and they eventually emotionally grow up.

[Sara Cayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So hot

[Tenasha Gummybear_smutbookreder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun read for me it was great I like Fantasy/paranormal books I would definitely recommend this to friends