The Devil You Know

The FMC is incredibly frustrating. I REALLY struggle with the miscommunication trope. Talking is key to a healthy relationship but instead this woman (Gemma) immediately assumed the worst every.Single.Time.  It's a bit exhausting.
Ben was a great MMC tho. No complaints there. 

Mixed feelings. I did pretty much read this all in one sitting and could not stop reading. Also, love both the characters. But ... Gemma... Girl needs therapy before jumping in a relationship. The conflict kept happening throughout the book, there is never an opportunity where she trusts Ben. I would have loved a clearer character dev. Moment.
Also Gemma wanting to stay to make partner knowing they won't make her partner didn't really make sense????? I'm not even putting it under spoiler because it's so obvious. So that whole bag of conflict was just weird to me.

And yet, I read the book in less than 4 hours and am totally going to dive into the next book once I get a few adulting things done so I can once again binge read.

For more of my reviews, check out my blog.

Unfortunately, The Devil You Know is (so far) my least favorite book of the The Devils series. There's much less humor in this one, and there's a lot more screwing with each other in not so nice ways. My main beef is with the main couple — Gemma and Ben both had some serious baggage that kept rearing its ugly head throughout the entire book. I understand jaded characters, characters who struggle with trust, etc. But when the entire book is about it, well, it just...gets old quickly.

As someone who isn't particularly career ambitious, reading about what Gemma is doing with her life was just sort of depressing. Gemma is a lawyer at a hot-shot law office. She's been there six years, and is doing everything in her power to make partner. She hates it there, but stays because she's got a ~plan~. She lives in a blank-slate apartment with minimal furniture and no decorations. She works all week — including the weekends. She never took a break, and was seemingly very proud of it. It was...well it was almost boring, honestly.

I really wanted to like Ben more than I did. He really helped Drew out in her book, but in his own, well. He comes across as a kind-of creepy, almost stalkery kinda guy. Admittedly, Gemma could be described that way too, but that's probably another reason that I wasn't a fan of this one. That's not to say that the writing itself took a nosedive or anything. It's still top-notch, not overly long or anything. I just didn't mesh with the characters. Probably just a me thing, but who knows! Not every book is for every person, so onwards and upwards, my friends!

Thank god for Elizabeth O'Roark, she and Elsie Silver are in a league of their own. I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately, enjoying the plot of several books well enough, but feeling emotionally detached and a bit checked out.

Then! I remember I haven't finished the Devils series.

Then I D E V O U R two of them in just as many days. Staying up all night, daydreaming about Ben and Gemma's happy ending... sigh...

Elizabeth O'Roark can do no wrong in my eyes, I only wish I got to see a bit more of Ben's pining from his POV, but I concede that part of the trauma this book caused me was due to only getting Gemmas POV so I understand the choice...

On to Keeley and Graham <3