Introduction
Published in May 2026 by Caitlin Rozakis, Startup Hell is a contemporary fantasy novel that challenges the notion that a main character needs to be all-powerful and ambitious. Sometimes the best characters are those that are content with their life, but brave enough to deal with the problems.
A Summary
Morgan has magic dyslexia. No matter how hard she tried to get better, she couldn’t, and with a bad-ass demon-hunting mother, Morgan is constantly reminded of her inabilities. She, instead, focuses on her junior salesperson position at the startup company she works for. It’s not her dream job, but she is determined to carve out a path for herself in the mundane human world.
Until the day she stumbles across her boss dead… In the middle of a ritual with a demon… And now she finds herself stuck with a demon she needs to send back, a mother breathing down her throat and a company on the verge of collapse.
Writing Style
Startup Hell is written in a third person and singular perspective. It has a YA style of writing with a whole lot of discussions of sales and marketing amongst some cosy fantasy feels.
My Thoughts
I truly thought I would love this book but there were a few key elements that this book didn’t achieve.
To begin with, my main problem was that it lacked the balance necessary to create a genuinely funny book about working in Corporate America. If there wasn’t enough discussion of the work, then it wouldn’t feel as if it was a central part of the plot and if there were too many explanations into the work, it would feel overwhelming and take away from the other aspects of the plot. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it fell into the latter category. There were too many descriptions of various corporate terms, which would have been fine had they added anything major to the plot or advanced it, but they ultimately didn’t. It may be more manageable for someone that works in that environment already, but I found it mind-numbing at best.
I did enjoy the characters, especially the mother, who worked in contrast to the main character’s lifestyle. I think some of the side characters did fall flat, meaning I could describe them wholly by simply using one word. For example, Brad is an asshole. That’s all you need to understand him. It worked for the story, but I would have wanted more for a book with a base theme of morality.
The romance was really cute, and it definitely kept the book afloat through the slower mid-section.
Overall, Startup Hell was fun but there was a lot that I wish had been done in a different way.
Is Startup Hell Spicy?
No, Startup Hell is not spicy, but it does contain ‘fade-to-black’ types of scenes.
Recommendation
If you work in a corporation-type of job, you could find this quite enjoyable. The same applies if you aren’t cripplingly bored by the topic of sales and marketing. However, keep in mind that it is a central part of the book.
