Taylor Corrien here, Chief Story Stylist and your guide to The Curvy Fashionista Book Club. Our Spooky Season pick was the steamy paranormal romance <em>I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker</em> by Jessica Cage. At our final November meeting, we wrapped up the month by discussing the book with Cage herself. This recap explores the story, its characters, and the book club’s conversation about representation, trust, consent, and romance.

I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker, a book by Jessica Cage – Bookshop.org US

Jessica Cage is expanding representation through the Accidents Happen Series, which features plus-size, Black, middle-aged women as female main characters in paranormal and urban romance. The series makes space for characters from groups often left out of fantasy stories. Whitney from I Accidentally Hooked Up with a Vampire and Jericha from I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker are examples of the characters readers want to see in fantasy.

Jericha feels believable and relatable, even in a fictional world. Here is a closer look at the book club’s final discussion and the insights Jessica Cage shared about the story.

What Happens in I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker?

The story picks up with Jericha, a plus-size female main character, learning the true identity of the man she hired, is dating, and is beginning to love.

Raymond Statton is a Shadow Walker from hell, not Earth, and creatures from his world are pursuing him.

Those creatures follow Raymond to Jericha’s home, putting her and the people she loves in danger.

Jericha is a Green Witch, so Raymond’s identity does not frighten her as much as it might someone else. She can manipulate and use the earth and plants around her, usually for good.

When Jericha’s assistant is kidnapped, Jericha must travel to Raymond’s world to rescue her employee and friend.

Which Characters Earn Jericha’s Trust?

Jericha is cautious about trusting others, so readers experience the story through her skeptical point of view. Her assistant’s role is clear, but her occasional appearances and desire for more responsibility raise questions. At the book club, Jessica Cage explained that this uncertainty was intentional: in an action-packed story, she wanted readers to share Jericha’s perspective.

Even after the assistant is kidnapped, readers may still suspect that she is part of a setup.

The assistant is genuinely in danger, however, and Jericha trusts her more than the readers do.

Jackie, a recurring character in the Accidents Happen Series, is a dependable source of support for Jericha. Readers already know and trust Jackie because of her friendship with Whitney in the earlier book, I Accidentally Hooked Up with a Vampire by Jessica Cage.

Jackie represents a friend who knows you, finds solutions, and protects you like a sister. She also serves as a reader’s voice of reason, questioning anyone who might threaten the female main character.

Jackie and Jericha’s friendship reflects a particular kind of sisterhood between two Black women. Their banter and unspoken understanding reminded Black women in the group of the ways friends keep it real, learn about one another through love, and show up when help is needed.

Jessica Cage said her own friends inspired characters in the series, drawing on the love and experiences of the Black women in her life. The group agreed that Jericha’s story felt like talking with a close friend, as Cage intended.

Raymond, the male main character, is respectful, fun, sexy, adventurous, and protective. Readers root for him to reach Jericha through her guarded exterior, and his patient, deliberate courtship means neither the readers nor Jericha doubt that he can be trusted.

What Can Men Learn from Raymond Statton’s Approach to Romance?

The Accidents Happen Series follows human women with otherworldly gifts who fall in love with men from other worlds. In I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker, Raymond Statton comes from another dimension, where rules are different and often stricter.

The book club discussed consent through a scene in which Raymond can use extra hands to pleasure Jericha during intimacy, even when he is not in the same room. Jericha is enthusiastic about the experience.

Jessica Cage said she intentionally writes male characters like Raymond as respectful, protective, and nurturing men. In the story’s universe, men from other worlds face serious consequences for violating rules and universal laws, and they understand the importance of boundaries.

In the real world, laws do not always guarantee consequences for men who cross boundaries.

Would stronger consequences help men understand boundaries and consent?

Romance fiction is sometimes discussed as a way for men to learn how to love women. Because many romance stories are written from women’s perspectives, readers may find examples of attentive courtship and care in the genre. Romance novels can offer ideas about relationships, but consent, boundaries, and empathy are important themes in their own right.

A partner might read a favorite romance novel to better understand what makes someone feel loved, borrow a date idea from a romantasy story, or find inspiration for an intimate experience in a paranormal romance.

That kind of effort shows a willingness to pay attention to a partner’s interests.

The book club agreed that romance fiction can offer useful ideas for relationships, while emphasizing that men who struggle with consent, boundaries, and empathy should focus on those subjects first.

Romance heroes often show emotional intelligence and consideration. Those qualities are the most important lessons for readers who want to understand how to treat a partner with care.

Why Do Jericha and Raymond Join Their Souls?

Near the end of the story, Jericha and Raymond fight to rescue her assistant. When Raymond is injured and may not survive, joining their souls in marriage is the only way to save him.

The choice is not easy, but Jericha commits to the marriage and saves Raymond’s life.

For readers, Jericha and Raymond’s soul marriage signals the depth of their love and trust. The decision raises the question of whether someone would make that commitment without being in love or trusting their partner.

No.

The story presents their relationship as true love, but love still needs boundaries. Traveling to hell, as Jericha does with Raymond, is a fantasy-romance choice rather than a real-world relationship rule. Going to great lengths for a partner makes sense when that partner also puts you first.

What Is the November Book Club Pick?

The November pick is The Good Ones Are Taken, a drama-filled dating and friends-to-lovers romantic comedy by Taj McCoy.

Maggie, the plus-size female main character, feels pressure to find a date for her best friend’s wedding. She plans to date and put herself out there, but her college best friend Garrett keeps criticizing each promising match. When Garrett admits he has feelings for her, the situation gets complicated.

Will Maggie choose one of her eligible suitors, or leave them all for her longtime friend?

Join us Wednesday, November 11th at 4pm PT/ 7pm ET to discuss the first half of The Good Ones Are Taken by Taj McCoy.

The Good Ones Are Taken, a book by Taj McCoy – Bookshop.org US