Antonia Bernardin

I read the A Deal with a Demon series by Katee Robert in 2024, this was the 67th, 89th, 93rd, 97th, 98th and 99th book I read last year. This series is comprised of The Dragons Bride, The Krakens Sacrifice, The Gargoyle’s Captive, The Succubus’s Prize and The Demon’s Bargain.

The Dragons Bride

Plot summary

Five humans make a deal with the bargainer demon, seven years in their realm, in the company of the different creatures that rule each territory. They cannot be harmed, they must allow the ruler they go with attempt to seduce them (but they don’t have to do anything else) and any children they have (which they must consent to attempting to conceive) will have to remain behind at the end of the seven years.

Our main character, Briar Rose, is escaping domestic violence and has no family or friends to turn too, so in a last desperate attempt she agrees to the bargain, agreeing seven years in exchange for the demon getting rid of her husband… permanently. When she gets picked by the strange creature that seems half dragon, half human, Briar has to fight the lingering affects of the violence she escaped, finding herself surprisingly drawn to her new husband.

Sol reads between the lines about what Briar’s been through, he knows he needs a human wife to have a child with her that will strengthen the magic in his territory so he attempts to get to know her, always being wary of what she’s been through. He’s surprised to find himself quickly coming to care for his brave little human but she’s holding back, the seven year deadline looming over them both.

What did I think?

Now, I will acknowledge that this book isn’t elite literary fiction, but for a smut book where she marries a dragon man… it’s actually really sweet and enjoyable! Whilst there’s plenty of fun, silly things about it, I actually found the undercurrent of Briar working past her abusive relationship really heart wrenching. Especially all the moments where she was afraid because he was being kind and she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, something I relate to for reasons that I won’t get into on the internet. The story telling style is good and very read-able (or listenable, in this case), which is sometimes enough for me to say a book is good to be honest. Obviously there’s lots of smut in this, so if that’s not your deal, then definitely steer clear! But for me, I think I’ll continue listening to this one.

The Kraken’s Sacrifice

Plot summary

This story follows Catalina, who has been serially neglected her whole life, so when she finds herself in the castle of a kraken who wants nothing to do with her while he still mourns the loss of his husband, its nothing less than she’s come to expect. Thane doesn’t want to take a human companion but he has to or he’ll look weak compared to the other territories. When he meets Catalina he’s upset to discover an instant connection to her, which feels like a betrayal to his late husband, plus she brings out a different side of him than he’s seen before. After week’s of abandonment at his keep Catalina confronts him and Thane is shamed for his behaviour, so they begin spending time together. He soon realises this human has been so neglected over her life and expects so little of him that it fills him with shame, so he embarks on showing her the delights of his kingdom and making her realise her own worth. They begin to realise that they care for one another but can they get over the demons of their past.

My thoughts

I liked their story and the imagery in this book of the underwater world was beautiful. The parts of the book where she was isolated in the keep were a little dull but it’s such a short book that it doesn’t impact the overall story, which I think would resonate with anyone whose struggled with their self worth.

The Gargoyle’s Captive

Plot summary

Grace comes from a long line of monster hunters on Earth and she went into a deal with open eyes, but she has no intention of staying in the territory she was chosen for because she wants to go back to the demon territory to discover what happened to her mother after her deal. Except, the disarmingly charming Bram doesn’t prevent her from trying to escape, just makes her a deal: if he manages to catch her, he gets to seduce her. After a while Grace finds that she doesn’t even try that hard to escape because her nights with Bram are so… interesting. Bram is almost as reckless as Grace, after he lost his whole family, unlike her though it hasn’t made him a fighter, it’s made him retreat and hide. As they get to know each other they find that their past’s might be tied together in a way they maybe can’t move past.

What did I think?

I enjoyed this book, although I liked the character’s journey’s in the first two books, I liked that Grace had a little more fire and that the journey was a little flipped, with Grace being the dominant one helping Bram overcome his trauma.

The Succubus’s prize

Plot summary

Rusalka leads the succubus and incubus territory and because they need humans, she has a good working relationship with the leader of the demon territory. So when he comes to her before the auction to say he has a human that will need a little more care and attention, because her religious upbringing and shame around sex might make her easy to take advantage of if you aren’t in tune with those nuances. She thinks he’s being over protective until she meets the human, who believes herself to be fundamentally broken, which is why she made the deal in sacrifice for her sister because she believes she’s good for nothing else. However, Belladonna is curious about life’s pleasures, if only Rusalka can help her work past her shame.

My thoughts

The story is a fun read, I like the journey Belladonna goes through and how Rusalka coaxes her out of what she’s been taught to believe. I think how Belladonna puzzles out a world without religion and unlearns taught behaviour is well handled (as someone who doesn’t come from a religious background).

The Demon’s Bargain

Plot summary

This story follows Ramanu, a bargainer demon who is the right hand of the territory leader, who has appeared in all the previous books as the person who comes to check on the humans. When a witch in a spot of trouble summons them, Ramanu is ready to make the bargain, as she’s been watching this witch for a while. However, both of them are shocked at the connection they feel but when the witch is unwilling to promise seven years of her life, Ramanu agrees to stick around during Samhaine to help convince her. As their connections deepens over the three days, Ramanu decides to screw the deal, as they want to help this smart, sexy witch, deal or no deal, as they feel their connection is too special to lose for the sake of a deal.

My thoughts

This story is completely different to the others, there’s more action, the characters aren’t going through huge emotional journeys, but I really like their relationship and how it develops. I enjoyed Ramanu’s character throughout the other books so I was happy we got a book with them.

The Demon’s Queen

Plot summary

This story follows the Demon territories leader, Azazel, and the human he brought as part of the auction. The difference being that he knew this human from Earth, as he almost made a deal with her before Eve turned her life around. Azazel continued to visit her even thought there was no deal in it for him, so when one of his enemies wants to threaten his rule, Eve becomes in danger so he uses trickery in order to get her into his realm. He thinks as long as she’s safe, he can live with Eve never forgiving him but even as their relationship starts to grow, his lie hangs over them and the fact Eve is practically imprisoned for her own safety marrs her ability to freely choose him.

What did I think?

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I hadn’t read them all back to back, so I was getting kind of tired by the pattern of the books at this point. I think as an easy read between other books, I would have enjoyed them more. I like how fiery Eve was and that the happy ending to this wasn’t about her forgiving him and living under those conditions but on him fixing the mistake. This book also tied together threads that had run through all the other books and was a nice ending to the series.

Thoughts on the series overall

This is a good series, less silly goofy fun than I thought because they all go through pretty emotional journey’s but the world building in genuinely unique, it’s really diverse and the spice is pretty fun throughout!