The Seven Princes of Hell, Lucifer, a demon, and a man walk into a bar in Georgia. That’s towards the end of Alexandria Bellefleur’s Damned If I Do, one of the funniest, most enjoyable romances I ever read. I really never expected a prince of demons to play “Cotton Eye Joe” on the jukebox.

Eithrig (Effie) MacLeod has been a demon for almost five hundred years. When she accepts a marriage proposal from Belphegor, her boyfriend and one of the Seven Princes of Hell, she unwittingly causes problems in Hell. It seems Effie is already married. In 1546, she married Fionnlagh MacDonald on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The two loved each other, and tied their souls together for eternity. Effie became a demon, after selling her soul to the devil. For over four hundred years, Finn has gone through an endless cycle of reincarnations because the two had vowed to find each other in the next life. Now, if she wants to marry Belphegor, she has to find Finn in his current life, and get him to renounce his vows.

She finds Finn in Silver Springs, Georgia, where he owns a bar. Of course, Finn doesn’t remember Effie. What Effie thought might be an easy deal becomes a dilemma. Finn won’t give her a divorce because he doesn’t remember marrying her. No matter what she does, the man who so resembles Effie’s beloved husband won’t be cowed by a demon. Instead, he’s attracted to the beautiful stranger who says she’s his wife.

I don’t always appreciate the humor in a novel, but this one made me laugh aloud multiple times. The neighborhood women are a force to be reckoned with when they confront Finn in order to help Effie. Effie’s landlady, Martha, is charming, with her roosters all over her B&B. Demons are supposed to lack empathy, but when Martha has problems with her rosebushes, Effie makes a deal with a garden gnome to leave Martha’s roses alone. I could go on and on with the various episodes that made me laugh. (The garden gnome’s name is Gnorman, with a silent g.)

It’s obvious Effie and Finn still have feelings for each other. Their original story is beautiful. Even as chief of a clan, Fionnlagh MacDonald always wanted his bride to have a choice in their marriage. Now that she’s engaged to another demon, he still wants her to have a choice. He wants her to choose him again, after all this time.

Who would think that a book called Damned If I Do would be a romantic, spicy, humorous love story?

Alexandria Bellefleur’s website is https://www.alexandriabellefleur.com/

Damned If I Do by Alexandria Bellefleur. Berkley, 2026. 352p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley, supplied by the publisher through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.