I thought the premise of this book was a lot of fun. We got a carnival that felt a little medieval with the ball and the fighting arena and it really made for a fun and interesting setting as it was mixed with modern technology. The execution on the other hand was a little bit of a miss for me. I think I would have liked it to be a bit longer, as there was some really interesting points that the book touched on but immediately had to move on and had no chance to explore.
In saying that I really liked the Lenora and Ramanu as well as some of the side characters that we got to meet. They all felt different from one another which made the world feel more lively.

I think this would be a great read for those who want a quick and short story that doesn't get too serious. It was a fun read and I would check out the Deal with a Demon series.

The Demon's Bargain by Katee Robert is the 5th book in the "Deal with a Demon" series. This book is about Ramanu, the demon that helps Azazal (and Azazal is the demon who makes 7 year contracts with human woman.) I loved having a non-binary main character , other than that this was just okay. 

Ramanu is summoned by a witched name Lenora (Lenora is the granddaughter of a witch who tried to have a romantic and sexual relationship with Ramanu in the past but it didn't work out.)  and she asks for their help locating her ex, a man who stole a family heirloom from her, a necklace. They work on getting the necklace back but not before having some sexual fun with each other. The plot was just alright, it wasn't anything too exciting. 

The spice in this was okay, nothing spectacular so I'm giving it two chilies 🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies. What I didn't like was the small amount of blood play (that wasn't tagged as such), it made my skin crawl and I couldn't get into the spicy scenes.

Overall, this was just okay. The story was fine but I didn't love the spicy scenes so I'm giving this
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars

I’ve completed my holy trinity of Katee Robert ships—Persephone/Hades, Tink/Hook, and now Lenora/Ramanu. WHEN I SAY I ADORE THEM!!!

Seriously though, this book is a DELIGHT. From their very first interaction, Lenora and Ramanu are such an entertaining (and spicy 👀) duo, and the more I read, the more feral I became. I love everything about them, as characters and as a couple. Their dynamic is basically “you’re a menace”/“I’m your menace,” which is 1000% the best ship dynamic and thus makes them completely, undeniably iconic. I don’t make the rules. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Some of my favorite (early, spoiler-free) moments:
1. “‘If you fuck with me, I will kill you.’
‘You’ll try. It will be fun.’”
2. “‘If you touch me again, I’m going to take it as an invitation.’
‘I just attacked you.’
‘Baby, that’s practically foreplay.’”
3. “‘I’m not going to fuck you.’
‘Keep telling yourself that.’”
I’m cackling just thinking about these!! And yes, they are like this for the entire book. ;))

My one (1) qualm with this book is that I would’ve liked to see more between the last chapter and the epilogue. I understand why the time jump is there and I absolutely love the epilogue as it is, but like… I just want more of my ship. I can’t help it.

Current ranking of the Deal With a Demon series:

Current ranking of the Peculiar Tastes series:

Representation: