Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond: Book Review

Not Your Average Hot Guy

by Gwenda Bond

Rating: 4/5 
Genre: Contemporary/Paranormal Romance
Steam: Closed Door (One Scene)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pub Date: October 5, 2021
Available: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop

Not Your Average Hot Guy Review

I don’t know what I was expecting from Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond but it definitely wasn’t what was in the book. It was really enjoyable and wacky though! It was a really fun, wacky read that definitely made me laugh! 

Loves:

Callie is adorable and I really enjoyed her wit. She has a comeback ready for anything. Her journey throughout this book was so much fun and I loved watching her confidence grow with it. Callie’s tenacity and quick thinking were truly the gems of the book.

Luke is an absolute failure of a demon. Love him for that. He is the most cinnamon roll hero I’ve read in a very long time and I’m not mad about it. Seems a little off brand for being the prince of (opposite of heaven), but I liked him and his personality so I’m willing to overlook some things.

I loved all the biblical/historical references in this book. There is a lot of heavy christian based theology in this, but I really enjoyed the ways that Bond used the pieces to put this plot together. Mind you I was scrolling back in my mind for some of the references (it’s been a while since Sunday School), but it was really entertaining! Plus all of the side characters of (opposite of heaven) and Lilith!!! Omg I could use more books with Lilith in it.

This book is completely whimsical and weird. To be honest I’ve been in need of a really lighthearted read, and a romance between a human and the prince of (opposite of heaven) trying to stop Armageddon was exactly what I needed. Sure some of the jokes felt forced and the romance could have used some more development, but just the sheer joy I got from reading this novel makes up for it.

Meh:

The pacing of the story felt off. There was so much that happened and honestly it took me a lot of scrolling back and forth trying to figure out the timeline of the book. And for everything that happened in the book to have taken place in 48 hours… even with the help of Lucifer’s son it seemed impossible.

The writing took some time to get used to. It’s written in first person and feels really young. I think this book is supposed to be adult, but it read like a YA novel (higher end). The characters were young and maybe because everything was so whimsical without any heaviness that it felt more this way? And the addition of a closed door steamy scene that was so lighthearted too? Idk. YA can definitely be heavy too, but this one is just really hard to place.

Like I said some of the jokes were a little forced and the romance could have really used some more development beyond insta lust (ha– a sin). But it was a really interesting idea and the characters did have decent development.

Long Story Short:

Do I recommend this novel? Yeah. It’s fun and weird and just a burst of joy reading it. It’s nothing heavy no matter what the synopsis might have you believe. I really enjoyed the quirky nature of the story and grew to not mind the writing. The plot definitely out-showed every other piece of this book. But I would recommend it to read. Super not my typical read but I don’t regret picking it up!

If You Liked This One…

I would recommend maybe trying To Sir, With Love by Lauren Layne. It’s not super similar in plot because there’s no paranormal aspects to it, but there’s family business, man who withhold information, and it honestly just feels similar. My review of this book is here. And if I read any other books that are similar I will come back and update this !