Sixteen-year-old Shelby Black has spent the past year training to be an exorcist. Her great-uncle Roy—a Catholic priest and Shelby’s guardian—believes she has a gift for expelling demons, and he’s put her through exorcist boot camp hell, but he still doesn’t trust her to do an exorcism on her own.

High school is hard enough without having to explain that you fight demons for a living, so Shelby keeps her extracurricular activity quiet, especially from Spencer, her cute math tutor. Secrets run in Shelby’s family, though: her mother has been missing ever since an exorcism went horribly wrong, and Uncle Roy is tight-lipped about it. But Shelby’s hell-bent on finding her mom, no matter what—even if what it ends up costing her her soul AND a date with Spencer.

My Thoughts:

Swoon Reads delivers another delightful romantic comedy with When Life Gives You Demons. This novel boasts a unique premise, a wonderfully snarky protagonist, and an utterly charming romantic interest, offering a little something for every reader.

The core concept of When Life Gives You Demons is what initially captivates. A Young Adult story centered on an exorcist-in-training? It’s a brilliantly unique and fresh idea. While the plot holds immense potential, the execution feels somewhat lacking. Through Shelby’s internal monologues, we learn she has been rigorously training and studying demons and exorcisms for a significant time. However, the story itself provides almost no backstory or gradual buildup to her unconventional teenage career. At times, the exorcism plotline seems to take a backseat to Shelby’s love life. Given the title When Life Gives You Demons, I expected a much heavier presence of supernatural elements than what the story delivered.

Of course, being a Swoon Reads publication, a solid romance is a given. I genuinely adored Shelby’s romantic misadventures. Her interactions with Spencer never seemed to go as planned, whether interrupted by exorcism training or a pesky demon. Spencer, for his part, handles the chaos remarkably well. He’s endearingly nerdy (the best kind of guy, in my opinion) and clearly smitten with Shelby, willing to endure a lot just to spend time with her. While he occasionally veered into being a bit too perfect, it was a flaw easy to overlook.

Shelby herself is undoubtedly one of the book’s strongest assets. Her sharp, snarky personality leaps off the page, and I found myself laughing out loud at many of her antics. She doesn’t always think things through, but this impulsivity makes for a highly entertaining narrative. In her world, when life gives you demons, you try to exorcise them yourself, but if that fails, you just call your uncle to clean up the mess. Her solo attempts at battling demons are nothing short of hilarious.

Overall, When Life Gives You Demons might not be the most meticulously crafted novel, but it’s packed with laughter and super cute moments. Jennifer Honeybourn shows serious potential as an author, and I eagerly anticipate reading more of her work in the future.

What others are saying about When Life Gives You Demons:

Flavia the Bibliophile’s review: “The writing is very easy to follow (and has improved since Honeybourn wrote her first book), and the author wrote a very convincing narrative for the protagonist, Shelby Black (meaning that Shelby’s motivations, way of thinking, decision-making, etc. were very fitting for a teenager).”

Novel Novice’s review: “This book is funny, sassy, snarky, and sweet — and while it’s a standalone, I could easily see this being serialized or at the very least given a sequel.”