Damned If You Do by Alex Brown

e-Audio, 11:38:02
Narrated by: Amielynn Abellera
Release Date: August 1, 2023
Published by: Recorded Books, Inc
Read from: July 31- August 2, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received a copy of this audiobook from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Death, Violence, 
For Readers Interested In: Fantasy, Horror, Demons, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, YA

      Queer Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Filipino folklore in this horror comedy about a high school stage manager who accidentally sells her soul to a demon.
     Seven years ago, Cordelia Scott’s abusive father left without a word, and life has been normal ever since. The seventeen-year-old spends her days stage managing the school play (which is going great, if anyone asks), pining over her best friend, Veronica, and failing one too many pop quizzes.
     She’s never been sad that her father left, but she knows something is…missing. When her school guidance counselor, Fred, reveals during a session that he’s actually a demon, she learns that something is indeed a piece of her actual soul. Why? She unwittingly made a deal with him to make her father disappear – then bargained to have the memory erased. To make matters worse, Fred is here to make another Help him with a “little” demonic problem, or she’s doomed to spend eternity in Hell with her father.
     The deal? Help Fred neutralize a rival demon, who means to do more harm in her hometown than your average demon deal.

*MY THOUGHTS*

As soon as I heard of this book I knew I needed to read it. I didn’t care about anything except the part that called it “horror.” For whatever reason I have been in my horror bag lately, so it doesn’t matter what it’s about lol If it’s labeled as horror and its diverse, then I’m good. And so I was super happy to see that I was approved for it via Netgalley. Super happy to report it didn’t disappoint.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that horror is just a throw away genre. I learned things about the Filipino culture from this book. Granted they were mythical creatures, but they were still cool and I’d never heard of them before. I even doubled back and did some extra research so I would know what to say if I was asked by my co-workers when I started recommending this book. This is why I was so hype for this tho. Learning about other’s folklore is so amazing.

I was a little hesitant about the plot tho. Most of the horror books I’ve read lately have been about demons or possession. But I shouldn’t have worried. I was so into this. I remember reading it non-stop while I was supposed to be in webinars and everything. It was so good. I haven’t read Alex Brown’s work before, but I went back and added all her work that was coming out or the anthologies she was already in already. Brown definitely made this trope her own. I quickly realized I had nothing to worry about.

In that same vein, her writing style was great too. I loved her plays on words lol Like how Florida was hell? That was hilariously accurate. And the way she handled the religion in her story. I thought it was a bit religion heavy because the demons, but at no point did it feel preachy. Normally I don’t like religion in books, but it helped that this wasn’t all the book was about. And the dact that this was called horror comedy made me question what it was in book form, but I thought this worked really well. But because it was also funny, it just wasn’t scary at all lol

I did want more from the fight scenes tho. It was like a few paragraphs long and that was it. It was just like not long enough. And when it got to the main one, it was just like the others. I just wanted more. I mean they did all of this with the theater kids. And like I’m all for the arts. but I didn’t really believe they could win against those things lol

The last thing about this I wanted to talk about is the main character. As a character driven reader, I was trying to figure out why I didn’t like her but I was still so into this book lmao I think it was the love interest I actually liked, because the main character got on my nerves. I wanna say it was because she just did things. That was exactly what got her into this mess, so I couldn’t imagine why she was doing the same thing lol It was just like she didn’t learn anything. It was weird lol Her character growth was entirely too slow for my liking.

I was at war with trying to figure out how to rate this. I went back and forth on many different ratings. But that’s how I know I’ve stumbled across a really good book. If I have to actively think about things, I know it’s one I really enjoyed.

Overall, I give this

Rating on Goodreads 4

Take Me Away

Diverse Book Blogger. Diverse YA Librarian. Wonder Woman enthusiast. Bookish Blerd. "GryffinClaw" Geek extraordinaire. Pitbull mom. She/her linktr.ee/take_me_awayyy