Lust and Found is the first novel in the Infernal Affairs series by Sylvie Helstaff.
Finished on: 31.8.2025
[I won this book in a LibraryThing Early Reviewer give-away.]

Content Note: (critical treatment of) queermisia

Plot:
Rowan has always felt out of place with their family, except their greataunt Hepsibah, though their parents made sure that they kept their distance from her. Now Hepsibah has died and Rowan inherited her house. They discover that Hepsibah was an actual witch when accidentally summoning a demon while cleaning up said house. And not only does that mean that Rowan, too, has magical abilities, but that summoned demon? He really is hot as fuck. Navigating all of these revelations leave Rowan to discover that you really can find a family of your own when biology doesn’t give you one. Even if that family lives partly in hell.

Lust and Found is a sweet romance novel with a healthy dose of queerness and literally demonic sex. The pacing wasn’t quite right, I thought, but other than that, I really enjoyed it.

I expected Lust and Found to be a little more on the erotica side of things than on the romance side of things. But while there is plenty of fucking with demons (yes, more than one and yes, also at the same time), it is not really the central focus. Instead it leans much more heavily on the story of Rowan finding their family. Parts of which they already knew – like their best friend Sarah – and other parts they find in the course of the story. Azer, the main love interest, is the biggest part of that new-found family, but he is not the only one. Not even the only love interest.

I am always here for queer people finding their homes, and there is a sweetness to Rowan’s search that I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed the frequent interruptions for the polyamorous monster-fucking that the book also gives us, but it just wasn’t the main event. Azer’s dick may be ridged and he has a very dexterous tail, but the important thing is that he takes care of Rowan.

I found it particularly interesting how the book incorporates religion into the story. Obviously critical of the church, it is also a book that is Christian to its core, even if it does reinterpret many things about the way Christianity is being practiced. Hell is a part of the afterlife. Demons are fallen angels. Hell is organized according to the seven deadly sins. But there is no real punishment in hell. In fact, it appears that the souls that end up there have a rather pleasurable existence, begging the question what is happening in heaven anyway. I am not sure how much Helstaff has thought the details through there, but to be fair to them, it’s not really necessary, more idle musing on my part.

The book’s weakest point is its pacing. I enjoyed the slow pace of Rowan and Azer getting to know each other, going from fucking to love at a leisurely stroll. But then Rowan makes some literally life-altering decisions in the matter of seconds and without much question about what the consequences actually are of those decisions. I also thought that the book spent too little time with Rannak, the third part in the throuple-to-be who feels more tacked on to the epic love story of Azer and Rowan. It also took me longer to read the novel than I thought it would, which also points to pacing issues.

But other than that, Lust and Found was fun, and I can see myself returning to the series when the next part comes out next year, even though Lust and Found can stand very well on its own.

Summarizing: cute.