Great (insert sarcasm here)! My favorite hero of the year just happens to be the devil. Yep, seriously, the devil, or Hades as he’s known here. In Sherri Erwin’s To Hell With Love, Hades is lonely and attempts to seek a mate. He knows he must go somewhere pretty liberal, so he picks the Northeast – Boston in particular, an area he’s always viewed fondly. Did I mention that he’s hot, too?

Kate Markham left her career as New York City set designer and struggled for a while, living with her mother and stepfather and dealing with her sister’s matchmaking attempts. At one of those matchmaking dinners, she’s asked with whom she’d most like to have dinner and her answer is the devil. Boy, does that attract some attention!

Fast forward a year later and the still single Kate is now settled in Boston with her own incredibly successful interior design firm while continuing to tolerate her sister’s matchmaking endeavors. With no interest in her sister’s latest match, Kate seeks the safety of the kitchen, where she meets Owen Glendower, a real estate investor and her brother-in-law’s backer. Witty banter (many references to the devil here) ensues, followed by strong sexual attraction, and Kate thinks her sister might have finally stumbled on to success. However, her sister immediately warns her off Owen, describing him as (you know what’s coming) “the devil.” Forbidden fruit for Kate.

Kate is very much intrigued by Owen and maybe even a little spooked. He knows things he shouldn’t, yet each of which can be easily explained away. He’s a take charge kind of guy, in control of everything, with mysterious minions at his beck and call. When she’s with him she gets a charge of energy she describes as an Owen buzz.

Once Owen decides the time is right to revel his true identity, Kate understandably does not know how to deal with what he’s offered. It takes family tragedy to force Kate to put her life, plans, and her love for Owen – or Hades at this point – into perspective. She’s torn between her family’s needs, her desire for a baby that Hades can’t give her, or leaving all behind and joining Hades for eternity.

The characters Erwin created for this story fascinated me. Kate is so human and Owen so otherworldly, yet still completely sympathetic as a romance hero since he does only the things he must. Kate has flaws, worries, and anxieties, while Owen is all-knowing and willing to make sacrifices for love. Both are faced with difficult choices and try to do the best that they can given the circumstances. The sexual tension between the couple is riveting and carries you from encounter to encounter.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a story I didn’t want to put down for any reason (driving included, though I don’t recommend this) but with the plot, characters, and first person narration being so unique, I gave far more time than I should have in order to finish it as quickly as possible. The ending is quite bittersweet and the tears shed were completely worth it. I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it wholeheartedly to those whose endings don’t always have to follow a formula.