Startup Hell by Caitlin RozakisMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Whatever the demonic equivalent of Slack is can cross the planar boundaries?" She'd cursed being tethered to her phone by late-night messages often enough.
"Nothing is slack, it's extremely tense," he said. "My boss is not happy".
Caitlin Rozakis' Startup Hell follows Morgan as she navigates the worst of two worlds - a marketing job for a tech startup and a forced deal with a demon overlord, using only her wits in a magical world with a thin line between venture capitalists and vampires.
Morgan finds unexpected camaraderie, with the demon Lucareoth, an Infernal Plane version of a sales executive, as they support each other in stressful jobs, not to mention trying to prevent a new 'disruption' that might as well be labeled dystopian. Rozakis' by now trademark humour (see Dreadful and The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association) is deftly woven into the quickly pivoting startup world, the danger beyond death of the magical world and the budding romance. The weird 'alpha male' behaviour of the tech bros might seem exaggerated, if one isn't familiar with tech/ tech adjacent companies, and the prevalence of imposter syndrome in these work environments. The character sketches definitely add to the whole story, though the end is a bit too contrived.
On the whole, recommended as a fun rom-com, with witty hints of the real world. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Titan Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
🌟🌟🌟1/2🌟
[3/4 star for the premise and the whole book; 3/4 star for the character sketches and growth; 1/2 star for the story arc; 3/4 star for the writing; 3/4 star for the world-building - 3 1/2 stars in total, rounded up to 4 stars.]
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