Fun Spicy Bubblegum Paranormal Romance. This is another of those books where the 2* reviews are so wrong as to be laughable. I don’t know what is happening with those reviewers of late, but they used to be at least somewhat more reliable, pointing out things that were actually problems from certain perspectives rather than just completely not getting a book at all or even making shit up about it. So ignore those bastards. Seriously.
What we *do* get here is exactly what I said in the title of this review – a fun spicy bubblegum pop paranormal romance that never takes itself overly seriously and just has fun with its premise. We get the children of Greek gods living in NYC – along with a singular “they” most often presented as female but always using “they”, so do with that what you will with no judgements from me either direction there. We get a band full of mythological beings that is essentially virtually any teen/ early 20s rock band of any era of the last 50 yrs or so. To the level that my own mind was essentially making them a mashup of Sum 41/ Good Charlotte/ etc (because that was my own era of that age) but with griffins and gargoyles and phoenixes.
Yes, a lot of this is quite silly from a “Serious Romance Reader” perspective. It isn’t meant to be “Serious Romance Reader” approved. This is light summer reading specifically targeted at that very late teens/ early 20s ish “new adult”/ starting their career set that these characters themselves are, with a lot of the issues common at that age.
Now, for the “clean” vs “spicy” romance debate, this one definitely comes in fairly spicy. Somewhere between a habanero and a Carolina Reaper, you’re definitely going to feel the heat here… but you may not be rushing off to find a private area yourself. Unless, perhaps, you *are* that late teens/ early 20s ish target audience (or someone who still acts like it even at more advanced ages), in which case, well, hey, do what you need to do. So “clean” romance crowd… this one may not send you to the emergency room, but you’re probably going to be reaching for the smelling salts and maybe checking your pulse to make sure it isn’t too high. Might be best for y’all to just skip this one, unless you’re feeling particularly adventurous. (But if you *do* read this one despite these warnings, please don’t 1* it for being too spicy – I already warned you about that!)
The paranormal aspects here are done in a fairly realistic way that doesn’t require much of a leap… but also requires that you not think too deeply about it. Just follow the jump through the portal and don’t worry about how it works or where they actually are. This is bubblegum. It isn’t supposed to be deep or thoughtful. Just enjoy the spectacle and keep moving. You’ll be fine. If you’re one that can’t help but think too deeply about even bubblegum… again, this may not be the book for you. I think one of the best illustrations I can give that a lot of people may be somewhat familiar with is how Loki just shimmers his armor on in his first scenes with Captain America in The Avengers or just shimmers his way into other realms in those early MCU movies. If that isn’t something you can handle in novel form without deep explanation… this probably isn’t the book for you.
But for those looking for exactly what this book is – fun spicy bubblegum paranormal romance, again – hey, this one works on a lot of levels and will very likely be something you’ll enjoy.
Very much recommended.
This review of The Cupid Dilemma by April Asher was originally written on May 15, 2026.