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Startup Hell
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Expected 19 May 26A hilarious contemporary fantasy about a junior sales witch stuck in corporate hell, who has to evade devilish pacts and her kickass, world-saving, demon-slaying mum to save a (surprisingly hot) demon, and work out how to hit her quarterly target. From the New York Times-bestselling author of Dreadful and The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association.
Morgan Blackwater's mother is a kickass, world-saving, demon-slaying Shadow Council wizard. As for Morgan? Morgan's a junior salesperson at a tech startup that can't even decide what its product is. But with magic dyslexia and a disinclination to kick ass, Morgan is doing her best carving out a niche for herself in the mundane world.
Leaving work late one night, she discovers her boss dead from the effort of summoning a demon to trade his soul in order to make his quarterly target. The disturbingly-attractive demon, Lucareoth (Luke for short), is trapped here until he finds someone to sell their soul. While trying to sneak Luke out of the building, Morgan runs into her infamous mother. Apparently, someone has been summoning demons and she's here to get to the bottom of it.
Trying to protect Luke from her mother, Morgan gets sucked into the Infernal Plane and discovers hell really is a corporate nightmare. She only gets back home with a promise to deliver a human soul of her own. While her coworkers are really annoying, she's not willing to sacrifice their souls. The company's tech bro CEO, though, is another story.
With Caitlin Rozakis's signature wit, STARTUP HELL is a contemporary fantasy that exposes the demonic nature of the corporate world.
Morgan Blackwater's mother is a kickass, world-saving, demon-slaying Shadow Council wizard. As for Morgan? Morgan's a junior salesperson at a tech startup that can't even decide what its product is. But with magic dyslexia and a disinclination to kick ass, Morgan is doing her best carving out a niche for herself in the mundane world.
Leaving work late one night, she discovers her boss dead from the effort of summoning a demon to trade his soul in order to make his quarterly target. The disturbingly-attractive demon, Lucareoth (Luke for short), is trapped here until he finds someone to sell their soul. While trying to sneak Luke out of the building, Morgan runs into her infamous mother. Apparently, someone has been summoning demons and she's here to get to the bottom of it.
Trying to protect Luke from her mother, Morgan gets sucked into the Infernal Plane and discovers hell really is a corporate nightmare. She only gets back home with a promise to deliver a human soul of her own. While her coworkers are really annoying, she's not willing to sacrifice their souls. The company's tech bro CEO, though, is another story.
With Caitlin Rozakis's signature wit, STARTUP HELL is a contemporary fantasy that exposes the demonic nature of the corporate world.
432 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication May 19, 2026
959 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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December 16, 2025A big thank you to the editor and publisher for an ARC of the book!
STARTUP HELL explores the hellish nature of the corporate world, quite literally, through slapstick humour and entertaining absurdity while illuminating moral ambiguity and the way desire might result in detrimental consequences but also wholesome, and sometimes chaotic, connections. Rozakis brings us on a journey of navigating a first job and finding faith in ourselves, especially when facing conflicts we aren't well-equipped to handle.
STARTUP HELL explores the hellish nature of the corporate world, quite literally, through slapstick humour and entertaining absurdity while illuminating moral ambiguity and the way desire might result in detrimental consequences but also wholesome, and sometimes chaotic, connections. Rozakis brings us on a journey of navigating a first job and finding faith in ourselves, especially when facing conflicts we aren't well-equipped to handle.
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July 27, 2025Hell Yeah!
...to a literal corporate hell AND new Caitlin Rozakis book!
...to a literal corporate hell AND new Caitlin Rozakis book!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
After Dreadful really stuck with me for its fun plot and engaging writing style, I knew I absolutely had to read this one based on the description alone.
The unaffectedly witty writing style is what truly sets this book apart from comparable humorous fantasy and satire I’ve read. I deeply enjoyed the humor, which ranges from silly slapstick to clever musings, spiced with insightful criticism and philosophical ponderings on modern society, all set in a contemporary urban fantasy version of our world.
Working in a modern corporate environment for a startup myself, the workplace and industry descriptions in this book, presented in an amusing, tongue-in-cheek way, were some of the most relatable things I have ever read. I was constantly reminded of eerily similar people and situations I’ve encountered in my own career, perfectly reflecting the absurdity of it all. I will definitely be recommending this book to my colleagues (the ones I like, that is).
Aside from that, the plot kept me really engaged with its twists and turns. The dynamic between the characters was great; they all felt approachable and genuine. I found myself truly rooting for them and having a lot of fun along the way.
Recommended for readers who like satirical contemporary fantasy, workplace humor and hot (as well as suprisingly morally unproblematic) demons alike.
Caitlin Rozakis has now officially established herself as one of my must-read authors and I'll need to keep my eyes out on all her future releases!
The unaffectedly witty writing style is what truly sets this book apart from comparable humorous fantasy and satire I’ve read. I deeply enjoyed the humor, which ranges from silly slapstick to clever musings, spiced with insightful criticism and philosophical ponderings on modern society, all set in a contemporary urban fantasy version of our world.
Working in a modern corporate environment for a startup myself, the workplace and industry descriptions in this book, presented in an amusing, tongue-in-cheek way, were some of the most relatable things I have ever read. I was constantly reminded of eerily similar people and situations I’ve encountered in my own career, perfectly reflecting the absurdity of it all. I will definitely be recommending this book to my colleagues (the ones I like, that is).
Aside from that, the plot kept me really engaged with its twists and turns. The dynamic between the characters was great; they all felt approachable and genuine. I found myself truly rooting for them and having a lot of fun along the way.
Recommended for readers who like satirical contemporary fantasy, workplace humor and hot (as well as suprisingly morally unproblematic) demons alike.
Caitlin Rozakis has now officially established herself as one of my must-read authors and I'll need to keep my eyes out on all her future releases!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to netgalley for this read! I had so much fun with this. It was engaging, well flowing and wildly entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews