cover image Not Your Average Hot Guy

Not Your Average Hot Guy

Gwenda Bond. Griffin, $16.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-77174-2

Bestselling YA author Bond (Dead Air) makes her adult debut with an entertaining paranormal rom-com and duology launch. Recent college grad Callie is left in charge of her family’s escape room business while her mother is away. But what was supposed to be a quiet weekend with her best friend, Mag, takes an unexpected turn when a Satanic cult steals an occult prop from one of the rooms, revealing it to be the real deal. Callie and Mag are unwittingly pulled into the cult’s plan to summon a demon—the handsome, leather-jacketed Luke Morningstar. Snarky Luke, the Prince of Hell and son of Lucifer himself, is on a trial run collecting souls for his father, but he’s instantly taken with fierce Callie. The cult, not content with mere demon-raising, works to start the apocalypse, and Luke and Callie must team up to stop them, giving rise to conflicted yet steadily mounting feelings. Luke and Callie’s romance is more sweet than sultry, leaving plenty of room for crossover appeal to Bond’s YA fans, though the tone can sometimes feel a bit young for adult readers. The paranormal elements are stronger than the love story, coupling familiar occult references with imaginative depictions of Hell. The result is fun, light, and funny. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. (Oct.)