REVIEW: Damned If I Do by Alexandria Bellefleur

Damned If I Do by Alexandria Bellefleur Effie MacLeod has been a demon for centuries after making a deal with Lucifer to save someone she loved. Now she’s engaged to Belphegor, a Prince of Hell, and ready to move forward with her immortal life. Except there’s a problem. Effie is apparently still married to her 16th-century Scottish husband, Finn, who has been reincarnated over and over again throughout the centuries. So Effie heads to small-town Georgia to find the current version of Finn and convince him to renounce their vows. There’s just one problem: Finn doesn’t remember her. And he doesn’t want a divorce.

Honestly, the premise of this book was completely ridiculous in the best possible way. A demon. A Prince of Hell. A centuries-old marriage. Reincarnation. A reluctant divorce. Small-town Georgia. OK, Sign me up 😂

DAMNED IF I DO by Alexandria Bellefleur was funny, spicy and quirky. I enjoyed the contrast between the ridiculousness of Hell’s bureaucracy and the much more tender story underneath it. Watching a centuries-old demon try to navigate modern life, local gossip, and all the chaos surrounding Finn made for some genuinely funny moments. But the emotional side of their history is what kept pulling me in.

I loved the way Effie and Finn constantly pushed each other’s buttons, especially because Effie was determined to treat their marriage like an annoying administrative problem while Finn was increasingly convinced there was something much bigger between them. Their romance also had that delicious “it’s always been you” quality. I loved learning about their original life together alongside watching them reconnect in the present.

DAMNED IF I DO was such a fun paranormal romance. I went in expecting plenty of ridiculousness—and absolutely got all of that—but underneath the chaos was a really heartfelt second-chance romance about two people who have loved each other across lifetimes. I was very happy to spend some time in this particular version of Hell.

TROPES & VIBES
💕 Second chance romance
🔮 Reincarnation
💍 Already married
❤️‍🔥 Fated lovers
🛣️ Forced proximity
😈 Demon FMC
💕 He falls hard
🔥 Mutual pining
🏡 Small-town romance

Book Info:

Publication: September 22, 2026 | Berkley |

The devil’s right-hand woman must convince her long-lost husband to renounce their vows so she can wed a prince from Hell, from USA Today bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur.

Effie MacLeod is no stranger to making desperate decisions, but making a deal with Lucifer himself—sacrificing her soul to save a loved one—has got to be her most monumental. Several hundred years into her tenure as a demon, Effie’s found herself engaged to Belphegor, a handsome, seductive, and successful Prince of Hell. It’s not a love match, but it’ll do. There’s just one teensy-tiny little problem: She’s still bound to her sixteenth-century Scottish husband. While Effie has completely cast her human life aside, Finn has been reincarnated through several lifetimes.

Effie must convince Finn to renounce their age-old vows in order get the Office of Infernal Internal Affairs off her back. The kicker? When she finds him in this lifetime, Finn doesn’t remember anything, but he refuses her request for a divorce.

Annoyed to be stuck with him in small-town Georgia until she can persuade Finn to abandon their marriage, Effie must convince him that yes, she does want to get on with her devilish shenanigans despite the physical pull she feels toward him. As they get closer in hopes of recovering his lost memories, Effie can’t help but notice murmurings of her deeply buried feelings resurfacing. But while all’s fair in love and war, that’s not the case in Hell—and Lucifer may have his own reasons for wanting to keep Finn and Effie apart for the rest of eternity.