Happy Endings: Demon Magic, Book 1

This book had me laughing way too much. Right from the first chapter it was clear that this author’s humour was meant for me. I’m definitely a fan of witty banter. Miles was hilarious, Havoc was what every demon should be. Evil, spunky and classy all in one. And the side characters added just enough depth to keep the story vibrant and entertaining.What I really liked about this book is that it was a romance not stylised as a romance. A lot of times you go into these LGBT themed books and it’s all about the relationship. It could be a mystery, a drama, fantasy, or even espionage but the budding relationship takes centre stage and the actual plot just flits away into the background. This story, however, was about people dying, about finding out who the murderer was, and finding them before more people die. The relationship was something that happened on the side of the main focus of the story which is as it should be.The pacing was good. The clues were dropped at the right moments to help move the case along and I never felt bogged down by the book. There was enough mystery about the main villain that I knew they might not surface in this instalment but wouldn’t feel cheated by this fact because this story had its own present mystery to solve. Which is good, there’s a big guy out there but you know that the crime in this book will be solved in this book so there wouldn’t be a cliffhanger or incomplete type feeling.The author does a clear job of explaining mages and how they work without leaving the reader bogged down with exposition. It sits naturally in the form of everyday conversation and usually leads to the next scene. I rarely was confused about what was going on and everyone stayed in character except for one incident involving blood, that had Miles fainting and not using an opportunity for a wisecrack. I get where the author was going but considering that he and Havoc’s partnership is almost entirely based on wisecracks and witty banter, and Miles has killed probably hundreds of people in his life that whole scene from the stabbing to him having an anxiety attack, the only one he has in the entire book, was just all sorts of odd and awkward for me.As far as comedic murder mysteries go this one was as good as the best of them. Especially when it did lapse into more serious territory, you could feel it just as much as the laughs. My only other problem was Havoc getting mad at Baron for something totally not his fault. Havoc knows better than anyone what it feels like to not have control over your actions. For someone who was once held prisoner and probably the oldest person in this story, he should know better. This with the blood incident were the only two things that almost took it into the relationship more important than plot territory. I honestly could not see any other reason for these two incidents.Miles is strong enough to hold this book on his own, however, the side cast was immaculate. A caffeine-addicted forest spirit who can not understand sarcasm is too sweet not to love. Marco’s narcissism was too over the top to take seriously and clearly the cast agrees with me--clueless and annoying but harmless. Lanni is just all sorts of kool. She’s written to be awkward but she always makes sense which is part of her charm. She delivers sense in awkward ways. Sam is definitely the cop of my dreams, swoons. And lastly Iya. He is by far my favourite character. Never says the right thing but always wants to do the right thing. He’s like the friend you want in a bar fight, the friend you want to cry on, on bad days, basically anyone’s fav best friend. Tall sexy, half-bull, preoccupied with sex and only lives to do right by his master, in this case Miles. I really really hope he and Sam get more page time. Like Sam’s sheer embarrassment that he likes Iya and Iya’s complete obliviousness to this embarrassment gets me my biggest laughs. Iya climbing out of the summoning hole in chapter two is the best thing in this novel. Seriously Iya and Sam need their own spin-off detective series. I’m here for it. And not just cause I want to read that sex scene, well not entirely just because of that.Iya and Sam’s lusting aside, this book was a hilarious fun ride. It hit the mystery notes, the comedic ones, the erotic ones and definitely the deep emotional ones that come with loss death and even enslavement. It left me satisfied even though I know the main bad guy won’t get his comeuppance until the next book. An easy five stars and I can’t wait to read part two.

Happy Endings did something that I really like in a book that most gay romance books do not. It’s able to give more character to both the main protagonist by giving them both personality and a character arc. Neither character was “perfect” or unrealistic and there were moments that I felt irritation with either of them because of something they did. This makes it easier for me to connect to them as a reader.Furthermore, this also made the romance more believable. It helps that the premise was that they knew each other for a very long time by this point so the basis of an affectionate relationship was already there and doesn’t fall into the insta-love trope the reader base is often subjected to. The characters were able to encourage each other, piss each other off and do something very meaningful for the other which makes the romance all the more endearing as well.The focus of the book was more on developing the main with the side characters having a fleshed out enough personality (I loved badrick and lya). To that extent, the stronger point of this book would be in its comedic writing and interaction. Many conversations were hilarious! And not even in a ridiculous way. I can literally believe normal people having these conversations (assuming we live in a world of magic and demons)The main plot on its own is nothing groundbreaking however. While the characters carried the story well, I felt that the plot could have been more immersive and substantial. Each section of the “mystery” felt abit disjointed. This meaning that I couldn’t really feel the natural progression of the plot from one scene to another. Often, each chapter will start with the main character deciding to do something, comedic interaction ensues, they get to the place, action occurs, ends with comedic interaction and then the chapter ends with little identifiable progression to the next portion. This isn’t bad per say, it keeps the overall plot feeling more light hearted and “episodic” rather than a constant spiral of distress from one point to the next. This results though in a case where I want to read the next book for the characters but not really for the plot.Ultimately, the comedic timing of the writing was phenomenal. I particularly loved most parts when havoc is a raven because miles would just do the most messed up things to him which I love. I definitely would encourage anyone to give this a read if you are into fun and meaningful romances without too heavy or dark a plot.

To the editors: Why do y’all consistently tear down this author’s work by not doing your own? Really.. it’s just rude. This was a wild ride of a book, and I’m stoked for it to continue. I love the humour and the devotion, the characters and the world building, and especially the plot. It’s interesting and fun, and it’s giving all of the best mystery vibes while maintaining the whole paranormal romance thing with ease. Nothing is overshadowing anything else. It’s all blending nicely and drawing me deeper in. I’m attached to the characters already, and can’t wait to see everything tied up and finished with a happy ending that’ll be well-deserved.

I have read this book a few times now and I still laugh my head off everytime I read it. The start is a good clues as to how much this book will make you pee yourself laughing! In this book we meet Miles, a mage, and Havoc, a demon. They are investigating the strange deaths happening, they lead them to a horrible event that happened in their past.Miles is just a riot. The first scene when the detectives come in the shop is hilarious, his Happy Endings conversation with them is so odd and funny! You get a sense of what kind of person Miles is early on. He has been through a lot in his life and he came out of it all so much stronger. You can see his love for Havoc straight away and their relationship is just amazing from the start. They have know each other for hundreds of years and they know each other inside and out. Miles shows us what a powerful mage he is, and his first interaction with Havoc in the book shows us their dynamic straight away.Havoc is a demon who can transform into a Raven. He has a dark sense of humour and loves it when he gets to kick some butt! I love how he interacts with Miles, and I loved the flashbacks to their past together. They were a great way to show us how they met, and also what they dynamic was to begin with. Havoc has evolved so much since his first encounter with Miles. He loved to see Miles suffer to begin with, then we see him come to change that view. He will do anything to protect Miles when here really needs him.Miles and Havoc have your typical enemies-to-lovers thing going on. It's one of my favourite tropes and it's done really well here. I loved all the secondary characters, especially Sam and Iya. It was great learning about all the different forms of magic and magical creatures in this book, they were all explained well so you don't get lost. The events flowed well, and it was fun being along for the ride with them. As the book progresses, we get to see what Geoff, Miles old mentor, is really upto. This is all because of Miles power, and that Geoff will go to any lengths, even from beyond the grave, to do them!This is a great insight into an Alice Winter book, and all are so worth a read. Especially the follow on from this, we finally get to see how Geoff returned, and what his master plan is. They are both so worth a read.

This book started so well, with such a great premise. Unfortunately, it just never fully achieved what it promised. The author had some really great moments and some hilarious lines, but the story progressed too quickly and the characters changed too much to really get into. There wasn't enough build up and new characters were constantly thrown at us. It was more like the author had too many good ideas and tried to use them all. It became rushed and cliched. Also, there were grammar errors (here instead of hear, and a lack of quotation marks " " when people were speaking, to name a few). It was an okay read, fun at times, but it became more apparent as the story continued that a good plot idea doesnt replace a lack of writing ability. Still, now that my expectations have been lowered, I might pick up book 2 in order to see what happens and the conclusion of the story, but not overly concerned if I don't. Not a terrible book, but not a brilliant one either. Fun, but mediocre.

This was so hilarious! Miles and Havoc (a highly appropriate name) were hilariously funny, as they and their friends and comrades rush to save the world from the dastardly powerful foes that wants to enslave the world.This was the right rollicking caper! I enjoyed it so much! Onto their next adventure.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Happy Endings but not as much as I loved the Hitman series and How to Vex a Vampire. That said, Happy Endings is brilliant and hilarious - the epilogue is ingenious, the beginning with the Happy Endings massage was hilarious, in fact I was laughing out loud so many times! The characters were fantastic - Havoc in particular is a delight. I'm really looking forward to reading Happy Endings 2.

This was a great introduction to Miles and Havoc. I loved seeing there relationship. Havoc was my favourite character, he was hilarious. My favourite part was him spraying the water bottle at everyone getting close to Miles.