Date from Hell

by Gareth Vaughn

In his desperation to find a date in time for the annual Helloween bash, minor-rank demon Kev summons a coworker he once hooked up with. But when the smoke and sulfur clears, it isn't demon Ira standing in the ring, but a very perplexed, very human mortal named Archer.


Archer is cute, confused, and willing to consider going as Kev's date ... for a price. Turns out this isn't the first time Archer's met a demon, and he wants his soul back.

Genres: Demons, Romance

87 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2018

Reviews

[Xan]

Content Warning References to a drunk driving car accident leading to potentially fatal injuries. Fistfight. Alcohol use. Semi-coercive situation that the characters navigate as consensually as they can. Sex on the page. Kink including sexualized D/s, giving submissive to others for sex, orgasm control. Monster-fucker elements including sounding with a forked tongue.

A submissive demon needs a date for the Halloween party/orgy & accidentally summons a soulless human instead of his last demon hookup, & the soulless human turns out to be hot & dominant & trans & a great date...who wants to get his soul back. The trans rep is incidental, which really worked for this story, and I loved that the human didn't sell his soul to transition but to save his brother's life. This definitely leans heavily towards the erotic end of erotic romance, with demon-related sex acts (can't let the forked tongues go to waste), and I also found it rather adorable and charming.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay yes. An incredibly graphic, messy, HILARIOUS story about sex and souls and hell. Kev is a complete doof but adorable af and Archer is the snarky guy we all wish we could be. So much to like about this one.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much fun, and so kinky. I love that the demon was the one submitting, that the human trans guy was a top, that the sexual interactions between them had a different arc than you usually see in a story. Rather than going from lighter to a climax that pulls out all the stops, there was a lot of very intense and very heavy stuff first, whereas the climax was light, simple. Instead, it was the tenderness and vulnerability that grew over the course of the story and culminated in a shared sexual experience.

Also loved that the transness was incidental, but references to it were dotted throughout the story in a way that felt really organic. Delightful.

Content warnings: D/s, rough sex, humiliation, sounding, impact play, bondage. Separately from the play: violence, injury, bullying, blood-drinking, giving up one's soul, Hell as a place humans can end up. References to drunk driving accident.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, somewhat disturbing (the depiction of hell), in the end satisfying. Curious to read more by this author.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review An Alisa Review:

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

So, Kev is not your standard demon; he more just seems resigned to his fate. Archer is not happy about being summoned but decides to make the best of a bad situation.

This is kinkier that I had thought, not crazy but just wasn’t what I was expecting or looking for at the time. I liked Archer’s dedication to his brother and felt bad for Kev since he is stuck in Hell due to an ex-girlfriend. I didn’t really feel the connection between the characters but it works out for them in the end.

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is okay but works for the series.

[Shawna (endemictoearth) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - This is a wacky and very over the top soul heist caper? Lots of ‘oops I didn’t mean for that to happen but let’s just go with it’ type plotting. There’s a line, “he really shouldn’t question anything that was happening” and . . . same. So, I just let it be its weird self. I did unexpectedly tear up at a moment of vulnerability/tenderness in the midst of all the brimstone and depravity, so . . . * shrugs *