Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Devil Makes Three

A bit predictable and juvenile at times, but honestly, it's YA I get it. The last 25% was a bit rushed honestly, and it infuriated me that Elliot and Tess didn't seem to realize what was going on. And it was also infuriating that they spent half of the book not knowing how to communicate with each other. The plot was interesting with a bit of Dark Academia vibe to it. Overall it's not a bad book, but it's not something special

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thoughttojot's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

2.5

What happens in certain (many) scenes is very dark and gore-filled, but somehow none of it manages to be actually scary.

The story takes its time unspooling the horror aspects, but once the thread is cut you’re well and truly dropped in. It’s like stepping into a dark room from a sun-soaked day and your eyes need to adjust to the dimness. Except in this case, the story starts with the quiet of a dusty library and you step past a threshold, into the horrific consequences of… occult dealings. Academia, right?

And yet, the story lacks the knife’s-edge tension to be truly horrifying.

The strongest aspects of the novel were the mundane moments.

The ones where Tess is peppering books with sticky note insults or struggling to juggle multiple jobs to keep her and her sister afloat. Or where Eliot is desperate and hopeful and heartbrokenly trying to find a way to help his mother.

These scenes are all so deeply and painfully human, that when the horror arrived I mostly felt disappointed.

In comparison, the gore and trying to figure out what’s up with the devil scenes lack the same emotionality as the mundane ones. I wish we could have gotten to see more moments where Tess was

tempted to take the devil up on his offer. If we were shown more often than told of her passion for music and the cello, seeing the consequences of her putting aside her own dreams would have been more impactful. She gave up the life she wanted for her family. The devil shows her what her life could be like, if she accepted his deal. Let her waver and grapple with morals. Let her be tempted.

Lean more into that!

I will say, I enjoyed both Tess and Eliot as characters. They just got a little lost in the horror along the way.

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ahen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

ending was brilliant

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sandra_bwf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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uncreativeoops's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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librariangeorgia's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I loved the concept of this book, however it just wasn’t very well executed. It was actually quite disappointing.

The biggest problem that I had with this book was that there’s no world building! Literally. It’s mainly set in a library which sounds great. But when the devil appears, I’m assuming that’s meant to be a different location, it’s just described as if it’s a dream or imaginary. I couldn’t picture any other place other than the library.

I really wanted more from Eliot and Tess, their characters could’ve been so good but there’s a lack of character development for them both.

Honestly, I just forced my way through this because I’d been asked by friends for my opinion on this book.

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ksuazo94's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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