Beauty and the Demon

Beauty and the Demon is the fifth book in Aurora Ascher's Hell Bent series, a paranormal romance sequence about the demons of Hell and the witches who tangle with them. Kensington describes it as a blend of spicy demon romance and cozy fantasy — a Beauty and the Beast retelling built around a half-mad demon with questionable morals, a goth witch who kicks ass and takes names, and a magical library in a castle in Hell. The publisher pitches it to readers of Hannah Nicole Maehrer, Brynne Weaver, Jenna Levine and Kimberly Lemming.

Murmur, the nefarious Necromancer, is losing his mind. The army of souls he commands screams inside his head, and his dreams are filled with bone-chilling visions of his own approaching death. To save himself he intends to unleash a torrent of destruction unlike anything Hell has seen — but the plot needs one final ingredient: the blood of a particular headstrong witch. Suyin, leader of the Montreal coven, hides her dread beneath a tough exterior; unusual abilities she cannot explain are taking over her life, and she is haunted by ominous dreams of her own. When a demon with bloodshot eyes captures her, Murmur means to leave her in his dungeon — and Suyin has no intention of making that easy for him. Bargaining with demons is dangerous business, but she will do anything to survive.

Forced into close proximity, captor and captive begin to shift into something else, and as the Necromancer's machinations reach their pinnacle he faces an impossible choice: achieve his master plan, or free the woman who resurrected his dormant soul. The book first appeared in 2023 and was reissued by Kensington on 24 February 2026, including a deluxe limited edition with stenciled edges, designed chapter headers and bonus content.