Demon on the Down-Low: Supernatural Selections Book 3, E.J. Russell

Zeke Oz, the harried and heavily-monitored demon was a draw from book one and remained such in book two as well.  Through no fault of his own he was always in the middle of all kinds of crazy and getting blamed for it.  But despite everyone's best efforts, his work was flawless and he brought true happiness to unlikely couples.  I couldn't help but feel for him right from the start.  And if his match didn't match up to my hopes I was ready to be a big ol', loud complainer.  Fortunately that is not the case; Hamish is just as awkwardly endearing and worthy of all that Zeke is.

All the obviously shady things as well as the more subtle hints throughout the series finally come together in Zeke's story and it does it in a big way.  While the culprit is a bit too simplistic, it does adequately explain the things going on around Zeke and why he was always so close to the situation.  Being an unwitting pawn made for a difficult situation that I wasn't sure how he'd get free from.  The way the pieces came together was a bit rushed and I won't say I loved it, but I felt that it worked with how the story was set up.

A word of caution, however, regarding the side characters, the nuances of many of the relationships, and the background information that's directly linked but not featured in this story...  If you haven't read the Fae Out of Water series, a lot of the people you meet here may throw you off a bit since there's little to no introduction to them.  There are also subtle relationships and events in the other series that bears weight here and enhances the end "confrontation".  So you don't have to read the connected series at all, but it might be helpful.  Overall, though, I thought they were both blended fairly well, provided that you've read Fae Out of Water first.  If you haven't, you might just have to take certain characters with a grain of salt.

Despite the issues mentioned above, I will say that I think this is my favorite book in the series.  At first it seems like Hamish and Zeke are just together because neither of them think they can have what they want, but as they interact and learn about the world and love together, it's clear that they're the perfect match for one another.  Hamish's love for life and care of others' happiness at the suppression of his own provides Zeke with a view of the world he only yearned for behind from behind the glass.  Zeke's openness and earnest heart gave him the ability to see through to the most important part of Hamish.  Truly seeing one another for who and what they are gave them each the privilege of accepting one another's vulnerabilities and their hearts.  It was a really great love story set in a fantastic world that just keeps getting better.

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After decades of unrequited love, this kangaroo will jump at the chance for a date. Any date.
Lovelorn kangaroo shifter Hamish Mulherne, drummer for the mega-hit rock band Hunter’s Moon, waited years for the band’s jaguar shifter bassist to notice him. Instead, she’s just gotten married and is in a thriving poly relationship. How is Hamish supposed to compete with that? But with everyone else in the band mated and revoltingly happy, he needs somebody. Since he can’t expect true love to strike twice, he signs up with Supernatural Selection. Because what the hell. 

When Zeke Oz was placed at Supernatural Selection through the Sheol work-release program, he thought he was the luckiest demon alive. But when he seems responsible for several massive matchmaking errors, he’s put on notice: find the perfect match for Hamish, or get booted back to Sheol for good. The only catch? He has to do it without the agency’s matchmaking spells, and Hamish simply will not engage.

But Zeke starts to believe that the reason all of Hamish’s dates fizzle is because nobody in the database is good enough for him. And Hamish realizes that his perfect match might be the cute demon who’s trying so hard to make him happy.