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The Damned Trilogy #1
Damned If I Do
The devil always collects. And, so does his son.
Drake
Most guys like their dads.
Most guys aren't the son of the literal devil.
When Daddy Dearest tells me its unseemly for the last living son of the Lord of Hell to be unmarried, I hate to think who he has in mind. Until, I remember I’m technically already married. Yeah, she’s human, and I was all of eight at the time. But, still counts.
Now I just need to get my wife to Hell for a meet and greet with Pops and send her back home. Except, our marriage won’t technically be legit until it’s consummated. And I don’t kno that I want to send her home…
Wren
Most girls live normal lives.
Most girls aren’t married to the devil’s son.
There is something weirdly familiar about the new guy next door, but I can’t place it. Then a weird little demon thing turns up in my room to tell me a prince of Hell wishes for an audience with me. Oh, yeah. And apparently – while I’m not even eighteen yet – he’s my husband?
So, I find myself stuck in Hell with a husband. And I guess I don’t hate it as much as I thought I would. There’s always something going on and things to discover. And soon, I don’t know that I want to go home.
Please be aware that this story uses Australian English spelling and syntax. Not recommended for younger readers due to mature content.
Drake
Most guys like their dads.
Most guys aren't the son of the literal devil.
When Daddy Dearest tells me its unseemly for the last living son of the Lord of Hell to be unmarried, I hate to think who he has in mind. Until, I remember I’m technically already married. Yeah, she’s human, and I was all of eight at the time. But, still counts.
Now I just need to get my wife to Hell for a meet and greet with Pops and send her back home. Except, our marriage won’t technically be legit until it’s consummated. And I don’t kno that I want to send her home…
Wren
Most girls live normal lives.
Most girls aren’t married to the devil’s son.
There is something weirdly familiar about the new guy next door, but I can’t place it. Then a weird little demon thing turns up in my room to tell me a prince of Hell wishes for an audience with me. Oh, yeah. And apparently – while I’m not even eighteen yet – he’s my husband?
So, I find myself stuck in Hell with a husband. And I guess I don’t hate it as much as I thought I would. There’s always something going on and things to discover. And soon, I don’t know that I want to go home.
Please be aware that this story uses Australian English spelling and syntax. Not recommended for younger readers due to mature content.
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2019
112 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 8, 2019
What a fun story, I loved it!
These are two character that are meant to be opposites, to be so different they couldn't make it work, but their wedding as children's play meant to much it changed their lives. I love Kyle he is one of the funniest characters and of course Lucifer always being so dramatic and over-doing everything.
These are two character that are meant to be opposites, to be so different they couldn't make it work, but their wedding as children's play meant to much it changed their lives. I love Kyle he is one of the funniest characters and of course Lucifer always being so dramatic and over-doing everything.
December 5, 2019
This fun mature YA/NA paranormal romance has it all!
A crazy hot Prince of Hell full of sarcastic wit - check
A human that finds herself married to the hot Prince of Darkness and transported into the bowels of Hell - check
A zany ruler of the underworld know as the Devil - double check
A trio of snappy sidekick devilbums - triple check
Throw in the 3-headed Cerberus and a few tortured souls and you have the makings of a rather entertaining read that is sure to make you both laugh and swoon.
This author does a tremendous job in creating a hell that is unlike any other. Her inventive world-building and unique cast of characters kept me enthralled throughout the entire novella. I found Drake to be sexy and endearing. Wren ,although skeptical at first, learns to embrace this interesting turn of events - being married to the Lord of Darkness and I love how she managed to befriend she many of the various supernatural beings. As for the Devil. . . this guy stole the show with his charming personality, vibrancy, and hysterical theatrics. I found myself chuckling throughout the novella at the some of the crazy antics and humorous dialogue between the characters. If you are looking for a fun and entertaining paranormal read mixed with a touch of steam, a bit action, and a heaping dose of comedic flare, then you will enjoy this novella.
I read a complimentary version of this book.
A crazy hot Prince of Hell full of sarcastic wit - check
A human that finds herself married to the hot Prince of Darkness and transported into the bowels of Hell - check
A zany ruler of the underworld know as the Devil - double check
A trio of snappy sidekick devilbums - triple check
Throw in the 3-headed Cerberus and a few tortured souls and you have the makings of a rather entertaining read that is sure to make you both laugh and swoon.
This author does a tremendous job in creating a hell that is unlike any other. Her inventive world-building and unique cast of characters kept me enthralled throughout the entire novella. I found Drake to be sexy and endearing. Wren ,although skeptical at first, learns to embrace this interesting turn of events - being married to the Lord of Darkness and I love how she managed to befriend she many of the various supernatural beings. As for the Devil. . . this guy stole the show with his charming personality, vibrancy, and hysterical theatrics. I found myself chuckling throughout the novella at the some of the crazy antics and humorous dialogue between the characters. If you are looking for a fun and entertaining paranormal read mixed with a touch of steam, a bit action, and a heaping dose of comedic flare, then you will enjoy this novella.
I read a complimentary version of this book.
April 30, 2020
NOPE.
I was really excited to receive this ARC: Satan's only unmarried son needs to find a wife post-haste. Unfortunately, Damned If I Do takes elements from dark romance and plops them down into rom-com territory. Without giving too many spoilers, Drake (the aforementioned son) doesn't give the woman he's interested in many options: he kidnaps her, drags her to Hell, and won't let her go until she sleeps with him. I'm totally fine with dubious consent, but I feel like the author thinks Drake hasn't done anything wrong in this book. To make matters worse, the protagonist is seventeen-years-old and still in high school when the book begins. (And, believe me, she reads like a teenage girl. She's not someone who's mature for her age, which makes the whole thing even ickier.) So not only are you forcing someone into sleeping with you, you're forcing a barely-legal teenage girl. The whole scenario left a bad taste in my mouth.
If that were the only issue, I might have been able to give Damned If I Do a three-star rating. Unfortunately, it's not. The whole book reads like fanfiction: clunky sentences that should have been caught by an editor, cliché characters you've definitely seen before, and logical inconsistencies from start-to-finish. But even those could have been forgiven. No, the two things that really damn Damned If I Do are character development and conflict.
Author Elizabeth Stevens jumps straight into the inciting incident (Satan tasks his son with bringing home a wife), and, unfortunately, we don't get to know Drake and Wren at all before they're shoved into a relationship. The only thing we know about Drake? He sleeps with a lot of women. The only thing we know about Wren? . . . Nothing really. Wren is a typical self-insert character; she has no defining characteristics and is, for all intents and purposes, a blank slate. Since there's no real character, there can't be any character development.
Stevens also for some reason decides to forego any real conflict. Drake needs to take his chosen bride to Hell. How will her parents react to this shocking news? Well, Drake works some mojo on them, and they're completely fine with the idea. We see this happen again and again throughout the book. Stevens has tons of opportunities to make her characters interesting (and likeable) by having them persevere through difficult situations, but she misses out on every single one.
The only reason Damned If I Do gets two stars instead of one is because there are some supporting characters that are better than the book they've been written into. The little devilbum Kyle is certainly cute, and some of the citizens of Hell were entertaining to read. (Especially the ones who are going through the motions. You'd imagine even torture would get ho-hum after enough years.) There were also some promising moments, like when Drake tries to get the love interest's attention by transforming himself into a romance novel hero: standing in the front yard shirtless, rescuing kittens from trees, etc. But those small perks do not make sitting down with this slog of a novel worth it.
While I have the other two books in the series, I had to give up after the first one. I've read in the summary that Wren gets pregnant in Book #3, which would be a whole lot more palatable if she'd even graduated from high school. Skip this one.
I was really excited to receive this ARC: Satan's only unmarried son needs to find a wife post-haste. Unfortunately, Damned If I Do takes elements from dark romance and plops them down into rom-com territory. Without giving too many spoilers, Drake (the aforementioned son) doesn't give the woman he's interested in many options: he kidnaps her, drags her to Hell, and won't let her go until she sleeps with him. I'm totally fine with dubious consent, but I feel like the author thinks Drake hasn't done anything wrong in this book. To make matters worse, the protagonist is seventeen-years-old and still in high school when the book begins. (And, believe me, she reads like a teenage girl. She's not someone who's mature for her age, which makes the whole thing even ickier.) So not only are you forcing someone into sleeping with you, you're forcing a barely-legal teenage girl. The whole scenario left a bad taste in my mouth.
If that were the only issue, I might have been able to give Damned If I Do a three-star rating. Unfortunately, it's not. The whole book reads like fanfiction: clunky sentences that should have been caught by an editor, cliché characters you've definitely seen before, and logical inconsistencies from start-to-finish. But even those could have been forgiven. No, the two things that really damn Damned If I Do are character development and conflict.
Author Elizabeth Stevens jumps straight into the inciting incident (Satan tasks his son with bringing home a wife), and, unfortunately, we don't get to know Drake and Wren at all before they're shoved into a relationship. The only thing we know about Drake? He sleeps with a lot of women. The only thing we know about Wren? . . . Nothing really. Wren is a typical self-insert character; she has no defining characteristics and is, for all intents and purposes, a blank slate. Since there's no real character, there can't be any character development.
Stevens also for some reason decides to forego any real conflict. Drake needs to take his chosen bride to Hell. How will her parents react to this shocking news? Well, Drake works some mojo on them, and they're completely fine with the idea. We see this happen again and again throughout the book. Stevens has tons of opportunities to make her characters interesting (and likeable) by having them persevere through difficult situations, but she misses out on every single one.
The only reason Damned If I Do gets two stars instead of one is because there are some supporting characters that are better than the book they've been written into. The little devilbum Kyle is certainly cute, and some of the citizens of Hell were entertaining to read. (Especially the ones who are going through the motions. You'd imagine even torture would get ho-hum after enough years.) There were also some promising moments, like when Drake tries to get the love interest's attention by transforming himself into a romance novel hero: standing in the front yard shirtless, rescuing kittens from trees, etc. But those small perks do not make sitting down with this slog of a novel worth it.
While I have the other two books in the series, I had to give up after the first one. I've read in the summary that Wren gets pregnant in Book #3, which would be a whole lot more palatable if she'd even graduated from high school. Skip this one.
April 17, 2020
I received an ARC of the trilogy from Hidden Gems and I DNFed on the first book. I was almost finished with the first book and I just couldn't do it anymore.
The premise of the series was intriguing to me, the spawn of Satan takes a human wife. Okay, this could be fun! But here's why it wasn't:
1. Wren just accepted quite easily that she was Drake's wife and went down to hell with him. Her parents were just as easily convinced that this was cool, so there you go.
2. Wren is 18 and still in high school. This made the steamy scenes near the end of the book kind of yucky for me.
3. Wren and Drake really lust after each other, but there's very little character development of wither one, so we don't get to know them and they don't get to know each other ... except carnally.
4. And speaking of carnally, once they started being intimate with each other, that pretty much became the book until Wren went back to the surface.
Without two main characters to carry the story, I just can't do it. I am not going to read the other books in the series.
The premise of the series was intriguing to me, the spawn of Satan takes a human wife. Okay, this could be fun! But here's why it wasn't:
1. Wren just accepted quite easily that she was Drake's wife and went down to hell with him. Her parents were just as easily convinced that this was cool, so there you go.
2. Wren is 18 and still in high school. This made the steamy scenes near the end of the book kind of yucky for me.
3. Wren and Drake really lust after each other, but there's very little character development of wither one, so we don't get to know them and they don't get to know each other ... except carnally.
4. And speaking of carnally, once they started being intimate with each other, that pretty much became the book until Wren went back to the surface.
Without two main characters to carry the story, I just can't do it. I am not going to read the other books in the series.
April 27, 2020
This is a new author for me, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I signed up to read this book through the Hidden Gems program. (Though it was given to me as a box set of all three books in this series.)
Book one, Damned if I do, begins the series with the Devil’s son Drake Morningstar and high school senior Serenity Shaw, or Wren for short. Lucifer wants is last remaining son to be married, so he tells Drake to find a wife or Lucifer will find one for him. Of course Drake instantly remembers “marrying” Wren when they were just kids, so that should count as a wife, right? Going up to earth, Drake basically kidnaps Wren and brings her back to hell to meet his father, but then Lucifer adds in a stipulation, they must consummate their marriage before she can go home. Easy enough, what could possibly go wrong? When Wren refuses to give in, and they spend more time together, they both begin to realize that they might just belong together.
Book one, Damned if I do, begins the series with the Devil’s son Drake Morningstar and high school senior Serenity Shaw, or Wren for short. Lucifer wants is last remaining son to be married, so he tells Drake to find a wife or Lucifer will find one for him. Of course Drake instantly remembers “marrying” Wren when they were just kids, so that should count as a wife, right? Going up to earth, Drake basically kidnaps Wren and brings her back to hell to meet his father, but then Lucifer adds in a stipulation, they must consummate their marriage before she can go home. Easy enough, what could possibly go wrong? When Wren refuses to give in, and they spend more time together, they both begin to realize that they might just belong together.
April 29, 2020
Super fun, devilishly delightful read.
First, I 💕 Kyle. Like, enough to use 💕 instead of actual grown up words.
Second, the world building of this version of Hell is an absolute delight. Tortures include Barbershop Quartets and Firefly being cancelled repeatedly - both fiendishly accurate.
The other characters are well done. The Devil is full of surprises, and his son a hot delight. Can't wait for Granddad to get involved!
Some typos remain, but the book is lovely enough to ignore them. An example:
"Drake kissed me like there was only me. I had never felt so wanted. I hadn’t known it was possible to feel that wanted. I felt it in the depths of who I was. It started in the centre of my soul and spread through my body, coursing along my veins, skittering along my skin. It spread until I felt a whole new sense of heat. One that came with a sense of peace. Something missing had been found. Something wrong had been put right."
First, I 💕 Kyle. Like, enough to use 💕 instead of actual grown up words.
Second, the world building of this version of Hell is an absolute delight. Tortures include Barbershop Quartets and Firefly being cancelled repeatedly - both fiendishly accurate.
The other characters are well done. The Devil is full of surprises, and his son a hot delight. Can't wait for Granddad to get involved!
Some typos remain, but the book is lovely enough to ignore them. An example:
"Drake kissed me like there was only me. I had never felt so wanted. I hadn’t known it was possible to feel that wanted. I felt it in the depths of who I was. It started in the centre of my soul and spread through my body, coursing along my veins, skittering along my skin. It spread until I felt a whole new sense of heat. One that came with a sense of peace. Something missing had been found. Something wrong had been put right."
April 14, 2020
This is a fun book to read. The Devil himself is making his son get married. Lucky for that son, he was married already. Been married for about 12 years in fact. To a human. A human who was like 6 years old at the time. Now all he has to do is talk her into going to Hell with him. Of course this has that supernaturalness about it. Demons and angels and all that. A little magic too. The characters are all unique and each has a wacky personality. While this centers around the Drake (the Devils son) and Wren (his human bride) and mostly takes place in the fiery pits of Hell, it is a light and humorous read. As for the Devil himself... think Lucifer (from the tv series,) only a little older. :D There is some sexual content and some mild language. It alternates POVs. It reads easily and flows smoothly.
July 24, 2021
There's never a scarcity of wit in an Elizabeth Stevens book, and this one was hilarious. There were some parts that were a bit scattered and some concepts that were bonkers, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Having read a lot of the author's works, I know the wealth of sarcasm and sharp wit comes as a staple in Stevens' books. Although it was quite short and the cover could use another pass, it was still a really fun read.
January 13, 2020
So I read this in a beta version, but it's HILARIOUS! It's a funny, sexy and captivating story. I love it. And without spoiling anything, I need a Kyle in my life.
This is book I would recommend for 16+ readers, but as always it's about maturity, as it has a bit of mature themes going on. But what do you expect from the prince of hell?
This is book I would recommend for 16+ readers, but as always it's about maturity, as it has a bit of mature themes going on. But what do you expect from the prince of hell?
April 15, 2020
This book has it all—suspense, comedy, humor, romance, angst, and the fires of a woman refusing to be told what is best for her. Wren and Drake are perfectly matched, from their own direct spirits and sarcastic wit, to their heated battle of wills against each other and anything that may stand in their paths. A definitive must read!
September 4, 2021
Who says marriage vows don't last forever?
A spur of the moment wedding at the age of 8 leads to a happy ever after in Hell at 18. Wren is enjoying life when she is confronted by her new neighbor saying he was the boy she married at 8. Now he was back to collect his wife and take her to meet his dad who just happens to be the ruler of Hell. The fun never stops!
A spur of the moment wedding at the age of 8 leads to a happy ever after in Hell at 18. Wren is enjoying life when she is confronted by her new neighbor saying he was the boy she married at 8. Now he was back to collect his wife and take her to meet his dad who just happens to be the ruler of Hell. The fun never stops!
April 16, 2020
Like the book. Satan takes the cake with his weirdness and obsession with singing and confetti. It’s a super fun read with angsty love and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book! My only question is how do I get me some devilbums?!?!?
August 27, 2021
Loved it!!
It’s was different from what I normally read when reading about heaven/hell. Lucifer is most definitely not what I imagined and neither was Drake. Wren was the perfect cherry on top.
It’s was different from what I normally read when reading about heaven/hell. Lucifer is most definitely not what I imagined and neither was Drake. Wren was the perfect cherry on top.
October 22, 2020
The prince of Hell needs a wife - seems he already has one. Just not in the earthly sense. But his dad the Devil is a hilarious matchmaker and hellbent on seeing him happily married.
November 5, 2020
Super cute
This book was super cute and just the right amount of steamy. I really enjoyed the cute, entertaining, lusty, funny and cute story line ready to read more in book 2
This book was super cute and just the right amount of steamy. I really enjoyed the cute, entertaining, lusty, funny and cute story line ready to read more in book 2
July 31, 2021
Hilarious!
Omg! This was awesome! Just a great dark comedy take on Hell & Satan! The romance was good too! Lost of chemistry! Wren & Drake are too cute!!!
Omg! This was awesome! Just a great dark comedy take on Hell & Satan! The romance was good too! Lost of chemistry! Wren & Drake are too cute!!!
Want to read
March 28, 2023🎁 The complete Series is FREE on Amazon today (3/28/2023)! 🎁
April 7, 2023
This one,ok
This one ok, second one , stupid!!!
. . . . . . . .. . . . . ....
This one ok, second one , stupid!!!
. . . . . . . .. . . . . ....
July 2, 2023
Great first book
The premise is very interesting. I love how they approach the whole already married idea and Drake determination to get his way in each circumstance.
The premise is very interesting. I love how they approach the whole already married idea and Drake determination to get his way in each circumstance.
August 12, 2023
Certainly not perfect but I enjoyed reading it.
April 11, 2023
A damned read!
The devil always collects...
And, so does his son...
This book is a wonderfully entertaining and funny start to this series.
The sarcasm and wit is on point. The over-dramatics of the devil is on point. Everything single thing is just on point.
Full of demons, angels, marriage, steam, attraction, deals, nephilim and romance.
Perfect for readers of paranormal romances.
The devil always collects...
And, so does his son...
This book is a wonderfully entertaining and funny start to this series.
The sarcasm and wit is on point. The over-dramatics of the devil is on point. Everything single thing is just on point.
Full of demons, angels, marriage, steam, attraction, deals, nephilim and romance.
Perfect for readers of paranormal romances.
April 30, 2020
It was not bad, I received this book to give an honest review by hidden gems, and I must say that I was hoping for a little more, The sorry wasn’t boring but it seemed to superficial. The chapters were short and easy to read but in some cases the story seemed to be rushing to a conclusion. It was obvious that the two main characters would be falling in love, but generally that is like a run were the end does not matter to much but what’s important is the run itself. And in this case they fell it love too quickly. Up to the point were it seemed that there were part of the story missing. Another point was the fact that when I was reading, I couldn’t avoid imagining Lucifer as the character of the tv series. It was like that character was extrapolated and put it in this book. But in general the book was a light read that was meant to be fun and some times achieved it and others not.
December 7, 2019
Can we talk about Kyle...
I never thought I would find a demon so endearing. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud picturing him playing tea party. I absolutely loved his character and seriously wish I could have a devilbum of my own. Even the Devil himself makes you want to visit the pits of Hell. This book was so fun! Although this story is centered on Wren and Drake, these other characters just made the story that much better. I can’t wait to see more of them all and the hilarity that will surely ensue in the second book. Now to Wren and Drake. I loved Wren. She starts out timid (but surprisingly not scared to be dragged to Hell) but quickly finds her backbone and literally walks through Hell for what she wants. And Drake, his inner monologue is the classic sarcastic wit I know and love from Elizabeth’s characters. I’m interested to see further developments in his relationship with his father and maybe we’ll see his mother and potentially his grandad??? I’m thinking of all the possibilities and I’m very excited to see what will happen next! Once again, I love the novella aspect. It was short and sweet but I don’t feel like it lacked in the necessary details. Just the quick read I needed for the day.
I never thought I would find a demon so endearing. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud picturing him playing tea party. I absolutely loved his character and seriously wish I could have a devilbum of my own. Even the Devil himself makes you want to visit the pits of Hell. This book was so fun! Although this story is centered on Wren and Drake, these other characters just made the story that much better. I can’t wait to see more of them all and the hilarity that will surely ensue in the second book. Now to Wren and Drake. I loved Wren. She starts out timid (but surprisingly not scared to be dragged to Hell) but quickly finds her backbone and literally walks through Hell for what she wants. And Drake, his inner monologue is the classic sarcastic wit I know and love from Elizabeth’s characters. I’m interested to see further developments in his relationship with his father and maybe we’ll see his mother and potentially his grandad??? I’m thinking of all the possibilities and I’m very excited to see what will happen next! Once again, I love the novella aspect. It was short and sweet but I don’t feel like it lacked in the necessary details. Just the quick read I needed for the day.
December 14, 2019
💘
So that was freaking amazing!! Absolutely loved this story, our characters, and cannot wait for the next book!! Luckily only have about a month to go if I remember correctly. So y'all better start this series because it is really amazing!!
So that was freaking amazing!! Absolutely loved this story, our characters, and cannot wait for the next book!! Luckily only have about a month to go if I remember correctly. So y'all better start this series because it is really amazing!!
December 8, 2019
4.5 stars
Not my usual read but it was by Elizabeth Stevens and so I had to.
And what an interesting idea! And I really loved the side characters. They are hilarious.
It did not disappoint (not at all!) although you can see this is the first in a series (which I‘ll have read now).
Note- This has somewhat mature content
Not my usual read but it was by Elizabeth Stevens and so I had to.
And what an interesting idea! And I really loved the side characters. They are hilarious.
It did not disappoint (not at all!) although you can see this is the first in a series (which I‘ll have read now).
Note- This has somewhat mature content
December 7, 2019
Just reading the description I was expecting a really good read. And I am trilled that I was correct! This drew me in within minutes of starting the book. I feel like I can relate to Wren. Thank you Elizabeth Stevens for another great read and I can't wait to read the next in the series.
December 8, 2019
Hellfire and Brimstone kinda love
This book was an absolute delight. I loved the witty commentary between all the characters. I cannot wait for book 2!
This book was an absolute delight. I loved the witty commentary between all the characters. I cannot wait for book 2!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews