Devil Bound: The Devil's Necromancer Part One

by Alexa Piper

Lionel Hawkes is a necromancer and police consultant, and he has a problem; Lucifer, also known as the Devil. Lionel can’t seem to get rid of him although he’s tried. Repeatedly.

Lucifer always gets what he wants. He has the looks, he has the magic, and no one can resist his charm. Except that one necromancer who is altogether too cute to be left to his own devices. In addition, his crime-solving job gets him into contact with all kinds of unsavory substances and people, and Lucifer does not approve.

While a murder case cuts close to home, Lionel has to navigate getting rid of the Devil and solving the case, and being a professional necromancer, he feels pretty confident that nothing can go wrong.
He’s wrong about that.

Devil Bound contains banter, hellpoodle drool, a necromancer who attracts zombie goo and other questionable substances, several divine creatures, and a clean floor fetish, none of which make life any easier for our necromancer.

Genres: Paranormal

426 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2025

About the author

Alexa Piper writes steamy romance that ranges from light to dark, from straight to queer. She’s also a coffee addict. Alexa loves writing stories that make her readers laugh and fall in love with the characters in them.
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Reviews

[Flick · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, so, so good!!!

So, this was actually (in its original form) the first book I read by Alexa and what had me excited to devour anything else she wrote! When I found out that she was doing a polish of Lionel and Lucy I was super excited. This did not disappoint at all. Not only were Lionel and Lucy as hilarious/sweet as before but we got extra scenes that just made it all the better. I love the back and forth between them which most of the time had me both wanting to hug Lucy and sympathise with Lionel. They’re so good though and the way Lucy adores Lionel is…. sigh… just perfect. Their romance is the primary focus but we get some good secondary plot and there are some good reveals as well that keep things particularly interesting. I’m excited this series is getting some more attention because I’ve really enjoyed it and can’t wait to immerse myself in this world again!

[Cynthia M Brow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devil Bound is the first book in the Hellbound Gods series. This is the story of Lionel(Nelly), a necromancer and Lucifer(Lucy), the devil. I loved the characters and world building that went into this book. There is plenty of steam and chemistry between the guys. The plot was interesting but took a backseat to what was happening between Nelly and Lucy which doesn't hurt the story at all. We find out some interesting things about Nelly at the end of the book. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Jandee · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

This story is so interesting. I already loved the first version and I love this one too. The magic in this book is intriguing. I love Nelly and Lucy and the dragon mother and Trony. And Soul is adorable. I can't wait for the next book to come out!

[Jacqueleen the Reading Queen♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚕 𝚖𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚍. 𝙷𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚜. 𝙾𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎. 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝."

The start of this book had me questioning whether or not I was going to like Lucy, but I'm happy to report he definitely proved himself by the end. At first he seemed a bit too cocky. A little pushy. I was worried about his true intentions with Lionel. Was he sincere or did he just want to get in the man's pants? I liked Lionel enough already that I had already started to become protective of the sourpuss grump.

It took Lionel much longer than me to realize how much Lucy truly did adore him. Lucy was always trying to spoil him and make sure he was taken care of. Lionel had never had anyone want to care for him much before so a lot of this was new to him. As were the feelings he could feel starting to grow for the man he swore to dislike.

"𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚊𝚢 𝚖𝚢 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝙸'𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚍. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚐𝚘."

I really enjoyed getting to know the two MCs. We found out a pretty intriguing tidbit about Lionel at the end and I am curious about where the couple goes from here. I know there are multiple books in this series already released, but I am going to try my best and wait for Piper to release the next "revamped" version. Wish me luck!

[SweetLorelei · Rating 1 out of 5]

Everything about this book lead me to believe it would be a funny sweet and heartfelt paranormal romance like the other books I’ve read by this author. Instead, I got a book where MC1 clearly and repeatedly told MC2 things like “f*ck off”, “no”, “get your hands off” and “I’m not having sex with you”, as well as trying to physically fight MC2 off, but all of that was treated as irrelevant just because MC1 was aroused. I went back and checked and there was absolutely no warning about this in the blurb or at the start of the book where you can usually find trigger warnings if there are any. It’s especially jarring because every other book I’ve read by this author treats consent as something really important.
I fully understand and agree with the idea that people can write about something as a fantasy without condoning it in real life. What I don’t agree with is not giving readers any kind of warning and marketing this book as just another romance.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only knew about Lucy and Nelly in the Psychopomped ones and I really enjoyed reading this first book in their way to a HEA.
I liked that Lucy sometimes doesn't understand how Lionel acts and thinks, other times he acts in a way that marks him clearly as not human.
The mystery plot kept me on my toes while the romance felt slow and quite humorous.
I liked too how the immortals use their power, enjoyed Lucy's need of help and the way Lionel keeps fighting his feelings.
Nelly's use of his necromantic powers was original to me too.

[K-Me · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this polished up new version of Lionel and Lucifer's story. The new scenes added to the strength of the relationship. I loved that Lionel just needed Lucifer to get out of his way, but that Lucifer just could not let Lionel keep inserting himself in possible danger. I loved the banter and chemistry it created between them.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE NELLY AND LUCY TO THE VERY MOON AND BACK!!!!!I read the first version of this read, and I was so hooked with Nelly and Lucy. But oh my goodness with this new version of it, just bravo! I loved all the new scenes, and I fell for these two all over again. JUST LOVE SO MUCH!!!!

[DLB2572 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this updated version of Lucy and Nelly's story even more than the original. It was really worth reading and I can't wait for the next part.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

[Ari · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 60%, I made it this far so maybe i’ll try finishing it another time but i really just don’t find Lucy likable. He felt a little too predatory, and using his influence power or water to control Lionel just felt icky. I really love Alexa’s other books so this bummed me out

[Ella Aileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story primarily focused on Nelly (Lionel) and Lucy (Lucifer) with the rest of the plot being secondary, but I am a little bit obsessed with them as characters. They had good banter, their chemistry was believable, and the shenanigans were often laughable. Internal monologues for most of Alexa's characters make me smile, and these were no exceptions. I enjoyed myself reading this, and it met my expectations for what I wanted from the story. I'd happily read hundreds of more pages!