Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Seven Suitors for Seven Witches #3

How to Negotiate With a Nightmare

Rate this book
I have three problems:

One: The hot guy I met in the bushes (don't ask) has magic so cold and dangerous it should come with a warning label.

Two: My family's dragging me to a ball hosted by the Nightmare King—you know, the cruel monster who rules the dark half of town where the sun literally never rises.

Three: Turns out Hot Bush Guy and Nightmare King are the same person. And when our magic touches? We make flowers. Which would be romantic if I wasn't supposed to be terrified of him.

Eryx Nightshade has spent ten years alone in his castle, haunted by a voice in his head that demands blood and revenge. Until I walked into his spell and the voice went from "destroy everyone" to "she's pretty, don't mess this up."

Now he's thrown a ball to find me. I'm trapped in pink tulle and sparkly sneakers. And every time we touch, our magic does things that shouldn't be possible.

He thinks I'm his salvation.

I think he might be mine.

But I'm supposed to marry someone to save my family's dying magic, and he's got a revenge plot ten years in the making.

Falling for the Nightmare King wasn't part of anyone's plan.

Especially the nightmare's.

Perfect for readers who love:

✨ Grumpy x Sunshine
👑 Villain Gets the Girl
💍 Marriage of Convenience
🔮 Magical Bond
🖤 Morally Gray (and slightly obsessed) Hero
⚡ Dangerous Magic
😂 Fantasy Romance with Humor

How to Negotiate with a Nightmare is book three in the Seven Suitors for Seven Sisters series. Other books in the series:
How to Fake it With a Fae
How to Outwit a Wizard

339 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 26, 2026

204 people are currently reading
2850 people want to read

About the author

Amy Boyles

158 books1,571 followers
Hey, I’m Amy,
I write books for folks who crave laugh-out-loud paranormal mysteries. I help bring humor into readers’ lives. I’ve got a Pharm D in pharmacy, a BA in Creative Writing and a Masters in Life.
And when I’m not writing or chasing around two small children (one of which is four going on thirteen), I can be found antique shopping for a great deal, getting my roots touched up (because that’s an every four week job) and figuring out when I can get back to Disney World.
If you’re dying to know more about my wacky life, here are three things you don’t know about me.
—In college I spent a semester at Marvel Comics working in the X-Men office.
—I worked at Carnegie Hall.
—I grew up in a barbecue restaurant—literally. My parents owned one.
If you want to reach out to me—and I love to hear from readers—you can email me at amyboylesauthor@gmail.com.
Happy reading!

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
83 (66%)
4 stars
26 (20%)
3 stars
13 (10%)
2 stars
3 (2%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
Profile Image for Luna  ♡.
708 reviews260 followers
March 31, 2026
»I present the King and Queen of Nightmares.«

★ ★ ★ ★

❥ 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆𝒂 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
She‘s confident, funny and loves pink.

❥ 𝑬𝒓𝒚𝒙 ⋆✮
He carries some secrets and is mysterious and brooding.

✥ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
I really enjoyed this book. It‘s a short and funny fantasy romcom. I‘m glad we got this book because I already loved the previous ones. The magical world the author has created is easy to dive into and the characters are all lovely. I had a lot of fun with this book and laughed a lot. I‘m always down for a good marriage of convenience plot and this one didn‘t let me down.
Chelsea and Eryx have good tension and I liked how they communicate with each other. Both have their own problems and they always stand by each others sides.
All in all this was a good romance.

𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?
Yes.

𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟓 ׂㅤ𐙚 ࣪ ⭒
plot: 4/5
spice: 1/5
humor: 5/5
couple/tension: 5/5
world building: 4/5
happy end?: yes

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 ₊ ⊹
possessive and protective hero, romcom, urban fantasy, grumpy x sunshine, marriage of convenience, villain gets the girl, magical bond, magical creatures, forced proximity, he falls first and harder
Profile Image for TheBookandBubble.
378 reviews38 followers
March 22, 2026
How to Negotiate with a Nightmare by Amy Boyles was such a good mix of light and dark! It really hit that perfect balance and was so darn good!!

Chelsea is thrown into this situation where she has to save her family’s magic, by getting married. Then next thing you know she literally meets a guy in the bushes. Yes, it’s about to get fun! She later ends up at this ball at the Nightmare King’s castle. She leaves for the evening and not long after, Prince Eryx publicly announces their engagement.

And that’s when things really take off.

Chelsea and Eryx have got amazing chemistry. She’s all bright, golden, and sassy. Literally, her magic is gold colored. While he’s dark, intense, and broody (and yes, definitely the overprotective type). My favorite!!

But what makes it even more interesting is Nightmare, the voice in Eryx’s head. It’s such a big part of who he is and their relationship. Nightmare isn’t just there for drama either, it actually helps Eryx hunt and devour evil nightmares. It adds such a cool dark edge to the story.

Watching Chelsea, Eryx, and Nightmare try to figure things out together was one of my favorite parts. There’s this constant tension between love, protection, and control. You’re just waiting to see if they’ll find balance or fall apart.

Plus, the shadow dog?? I loved him.
Profile Image for Bree Delgado.
77 reviews
March 22, 2026
I was anticipating this book and what it didn’t do was disappoint! I can’t get over how much I loved everything about this book. Chelsea doesn’t want to get married; she meets a king of nightmares one day and the dynamic to the marriage of convenience was EVERYTHING. Also the nightmare? Obsessed. Would read a book with only his pov! I did everything with this book, felt all the emotions, swooned and giggled. Amy does it again!!
Profile Image for BeeFaith.
245 reviews32 followers
March 30, 2026
Oh, this one was such a fun read! My favorite…so far. Nightmare is a precious handful! I love that Eryx eats people's nightmares, which is the exact opposite of what the people of Castleview think. 

For a decade, Eryx and Nightmare have thought of nothing but vengeance. Only once Chelsea crosses his path, he's smitten and can't imagine life without her. 

𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅—𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒂𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓.

So, what does he do? Propose, of course! Can he have his revenge and love, or must he choose between the two?

After years of watching her aunt suffer in a marriage made of duty, not love, Chelsea has no desire to marry. However, when she meets Eryx and sees the beauty of their magic working together, she decides to accept his proposal to marry him for a year to help strengthen her family's failing magic.

Just how will Chelsea react when she realizes there's so much more to Eryx than the darkness he deals with daily?  Can she help him with his duties and lighten his load? Better yet, will he allow her to?

“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅”—𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒕—“𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”

How to Negotiate with a Nightmare is sweet and cozy with a bit of darkness and a delicious bite to keep readers on their toes.

I’m dying for Dallas’s story! 4.5 ⭐ rounded to 5.
Profile Image for Brea Arnold.
41 reviews1 follower
March 30, 2026
Ahhh loooved this

The BANTER! The NIGHTMARE! This plot was my favorite of all the series so far! Obsessed! I cackled, I giggled, I got all the feels in this. I love a good strong FMC that while wants love, she doesnt have to exist FOR love.
Profile Image for Roma.
46 reviews
March 30, 2026
I always wonder how I get through such trashy books
Profile Image for Lauren.
617 reviews5 followers
Want to read
November 18, 2025
Checked in to see if there was anything about the next book in the series, saw this, and was excited.

Then I read the description, and now I'm REALLY excited. King of Nightmares? In.
Profile Image for Cal D.
999 reviews4 followers
March 29, 2026
✨Gifted ARC✨
What a fun, sweet, exciting, magical read that kept me invested in our wonderful MCs from start to finish!

THOUGHTS 💭
✨ I just love this world so much and was so happy to dive back into it with Chelsea and Eryx as our MCs.
🖤 Eryx’s conversations with his constant internal companion, Nightmare, were amazing; though the blood-thirsty nightmare typically only had violence on its mind, both it and Eryx’s entire being shifted when Chelsea came into the picture.
✨ Nightmare/shadow magic? A story with Beauty & the Beast undertones? Yes, please!!
🖤 There’s an instant connection between Chelsea and Eryx; their magic drew them together and their feelings for each other grew quickly.
✨ I love the marriage of convenience trope. Watching our MCs fall for each other, form a bond, and integrate into each others’ worlds was charming perfection.
🖤 The chemistry between these two is magical and intense and I absolutely LOVED them together! Their love felt like a perfect, meant-to-be kind of love.
✨ The author made me feel all the things while reading this book! Joy and loss and connection and sadness and so much more.

Thanks so much to Amy Boyles for the ARC of this book!
Profile Image for Meghan T.
261 reviews2 followers
March 31, 2026
How To Negotiate with a Nightmare is the book I didn’t know I very much NEEDED! I absolutely LOVE it! I love the banter and the aesthetic and the MMC makes me swoon. And Nightmare? He is my new favorite side character. I just love him SO much. This book made me laugh A LOT and it made me kick my feet like a giddy girl! I loved the first two books in this series but this is now my favorite of them so far! I know there’s 4 more after this, the series is called Seven Suitors for Seven Witches and this is book 3, BUT it’s going to take something truly super fantastic to beat this one. This book has now become one of my comfort books. I have already reread parts of it when I was having a bad day and needed Nightmare in my life.
How to Negotiate with a Nightmare is out now and I definitely recommend it! Technically you could read this as a stand alone but I very much recommend reading the first two beforehand, it only makes it better and you get more of the background of the story.
Profile Image for Sarah Marks.
594 reviews9 followers
March 28, 2026
I have loved this series, but I have to say this one is by far away my favorite. Chelsea is a bad ass who just wants to make her own decisions and being in charge of her own life. She doesn’t want to be the princess and her story. She wants to be the one doing the saving and I love that! Eryx is delicious and sweet and completely misunderstood as the Nightmare King. What makes it even better is there’s a third entity in this relationship. It’s not a why chose situation. There’s just an inner voice of Nightmare who is absolutely hysterical. If I could pick one book to live in, this is definitely in the top five contenders.
11 reviews
March 31, 2026
Unputdownable Book

Third book in Seven suitors for Seven witches series. Witch, Chelsea, needs to get married in order to save her family’s magic. Sure enough she gets in a line of magic curse of the powerful King of Nightmares. Their magic powers touch … and the romance and adventure begin. FMC and MMC are likable from the beginning, side characters are written perfectly. Book reads easy and has excellent pace of plot development. It is spicy with some darkness. I was not able to stop reading!
Profile Image for Tori.
90 reviews28 followers
March 30, 2026
I really loved this book up until the epilogue, ending it with a baby/pregnancy is such a mood killer for me,otherwise it would have been a five star read from me.

Plot: 8/10
Magic system: 4/5
Spice level: 2:5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
524 reviews5 followers
March 31, 2026
nightmares

I totally loved this book it was well worth the wait , Eryx and Chelsea find each other and it was a nightmare so begins a tempestuous exciting, mind blowing relationship, and let’s not forget the roses , a very well deserved 5 stars
Profile Image for Tori.
1,077 reviews10 followers
Review of advance copy received from Author
March 20, 2026
Rating: 5/5
I received an ARC for my honest opinion.

This book was such a fun and refreshing read. How to Negotiate With a Nightmare had the perfect mix of humor, chaos, and heart, and it completely pulled me in from the very beginning. Amy Boyles has a way of creating stories that feel light and entertaining while still giving you characters and moments that really stick with you.

One of my favorite things about this book was the main character and the situation she finds herself in. The concept itself was so creative and different, and I loved seeing how everything unfolded. Watching her navigate a world filled with the unexpected, while trying to stay grounded and figure things out, made the story both engaging and genuinely entertaining.

The humor throughout the book was a huge highlight for me. There were so many moments that made me smile, and a few that had me laughing out loud. At the same time, the story still had heart. The emotional moments were woven in nicely, giving the characters more depth and making me even more invested in their journey.

I also really enjoyed the relationships in this story. The interactions between the characters felt natural and added so much to the overall experience. Whether it was friendship, tension, or something more, each dynamic brought something different to the table and kept things interesting.

The pacing was great, and I found myself flying through the book without even realizing it. It had that perfect balance of lighthearted moments and plot progression that kept me hooked from start to finish. Overall, How to Negotiate With a Nightmare was a charming, funny, and engaging read that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you’re looking for something a little quirky with humor, heart, and a unique premise, this is definitely a book worth picking up.

I would like to thank Amy Boyles for the opportunity to review this book.
Profile Image for Morgan.
473 reviews127 followers
March 31, 2026
“She is our beautiful monster, because you’ve let her become who she’s always wanted to be.”

Holy smokes, y’all! The aesthetic & vibes of this story were wonderful. Our Nightmare King, Eryx was just the right amount of mysterious & swoon worthy. He has a troubled past and a wildly hilarious partner in crime, his ‘Nightmare’, that added so much great banter to the story!

Chelsea was a wonderful FMC. My heart hurt for her complicated feelings surrounding love and marriage based off of a family member she witnessed in a loveless marriage.

Eryx & Chelsea has a soul deep connection that was strong enough to conquer all of their demons.

“Sunshine doesn’t like darkness.”
“You’re wrong. Sunshine needs darkness.” I let that sink in and add, “And I need you.”

This slow burn romance was well worth the wait. Their intimacy was quite literally magically explosive! 😂❤️‍🔥🥵

“Claim me, Eryx. Make me yours. Brand me.”

I love this series and can’t wait for the next sister’s book! If you are looking for a fun, magical, but also emotional & sweet story, go download this one asap! ✨

Tropes:
✨ Magic, Curses
👑 Mysterious Nightmare King
☀️ Sunshine Witch
😂 Funny Nightmare Commentary
❤️‍🔥 Slow Burn + Spice
💍 Marriage of Convenience
Profile Image for Allison.
102 reviews1 follower
March 31, 2026
I loved Nightmare! The quips, the sass, the gooey center hidden in its dark center! I read this book in a day and enjoyed every minute of it. Eryx isn't quite what Chelsea and the rest of Castleview expected as the Nightmare King as they assumed the worst of him. Chelsea, with her sparkly sneakers, is so focused on not having her choices taken away she doesn't see Eryx and his choices clearly. These two push and pull at each other and have to face their personal "nightmares" to defeat the villain of the story.

Another fantastic addition to this cozy, funny series! Now I need to know more about Dallas and her "curse."
5 reviews
April 1, 2026
I cant get enough of this series!

This book is just as good as it's two predecessors! I adore the love story and literally cant wait for the next book in this universe. For the first time in a while I have the very real problem of finding a series that I devour that isn't finished yet. That is honesty my only negative, I am dying to see what happens next and it is driving me a little batty that I will have to wait to see.
Profile Image for Emily.
199 reviews
March 31, 2026
I'm stuck on how to rate this. I'm thinking 3.5 to 4 stars, but I'm not sure if it's really at a 4-star level for me. It was a nice read, quick and relatively low-angst. I like how our MMC isn't emotionless or happy to come across as emotionless.
Profile Image for Kat.
74 reviews
March 31, 2026
I really enjoyed this book, but hate the second epilogue.... like 6months later they say they dont want kids yet, but do in the future. but then cut 9 months after that and shes giving birth???
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews