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roaming_enn's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was such a good story! Such heartbreak on every page! I really connected with and felt for all of the main characters, and the characters that angered me angered me. I loved the ending; it really fit with the characters' personalities. I wish there was a sequel so that I can see how these characters will come to handle their situation, but this might just be a standalone. In either case, the ending was satisfying enough. Check the trigger warnings because it has, like, all of them!
Honestly, I would've rated this a little higher if not for all the grammar issues that kept irking me, like the overuse of commas that every so often confused me. But this is probably my only complaint.
Honestly, I would've rated this a little higher if not for all the grammar issues that kept irking me, like the overuse of commas that every so often confused me. But this is probably my only complaint.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
whatyoutolkienabout's review
5.0
I do not often judge books by their covers, I might think a cover is beautiful or intriguing but it never is what sells me, but The Devil Inside intrigued me with the artwork on the front then when I read the blurb I knew I had to read it and I am so glad I did.
It’s hard to put this book in a box in terms of category or genre, on the one hand it’s a book about family and what you would do for them on the other it crosses into the realm of speculative and fantasy but in such a unique way. We begin by meeting Matthew, who recovering from his wife’s death finds that Gabriel has sent his daughter to the mortal realm and away from him. For eight years Matthew sends himself into exile until eventually he seeks the hep of his brother, Lucifer to at least get to see his daughter.
Now I won’t give away much more than that plot wise but I will say that this story is so touching at times and heart-breaking at others. Russo truly captures the frustration and anger Matthew feels (and in some parts Lucy too) as well as their feelings to each other. Russo also deals with some tougher subjects at the hands of Lucy’s adoptive mortal family but everything they write is written with care and attention.
The writing itself is easy to follow and beautiful at times. We really feel the emotions of the cast of characters and what they go through. It is actually lovely to read a novel where a biological parent and child’s relationship is featured and done so well. I really enjoyed following Matthew and Lucy’s story.
It’s hard to put this book in a box in terms of category or genre, on the one hand it’s a book about family and what you would do for them on the other it crosses into the realm of speculative and fantasy but in such a unique way. We begin by meeting Matthew, who recovering from his wife’s death finds that Gabriel has sent his daughter to the mortal realm and away from him. For eight years Matthew sends himself into exile until eventually he seeks the hep of his brother, Lucifer to at least get to see his daughter.
Now I won’t give away much more than that plot wise but I will say that this story is so touching at times and heart-breaking at others. Russo truly captures the frustration and anger Matthew feels (and in some parts Lucy too) as well as their feelings to each other. Russo also deals with some tougher subjects at the hands of Lucy’s adoptive mortal family but everything they write is written with care and attention.
The writing itself is easy to follow and beautiful at times. We really feel the emotions of the cast of characters and what they go through. It is actually lovely to read a novel where a biological parent and child’s relationship is featured and done so well. I really enjoyed following Matthew and Lucy’s story.
roshreviews's review
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
3.0
In a Nutshell: A contemporary fantasy about Matthew, Lucifer’s younger brother, who wants his daughter back from the mortal world. The storyline is good, but much darker than I expected it to be, and has some triggering content as well as a writing style that doesn’t work well for me.
Plot Preview:
Eight years ago, Matthew’s life changed when his wife Emily died and his daughter Lucy was forcibly taken away by Gabriel, the archangel, and given to a mortal family without their knowing about the swapped baby. Now Matthew, back from his self-imposed exile spent grieving his dual loss, wants his daughter back. He enlists the support of his elder brother Lucifer. But the process of getting a mortal back to their world and making her immortal again is not easy, and with Gabriel refusing his support, Matthew and Lucifer face a tough task ahead.
The story comes to us in the third person perspective of various characters.
The cover and the blurb made me feel like this book was a perfect fit for me. Having enjoyed ‘When the Angels Left the Old Country’ and ‘Good Omens’, I was raring to read another book with the angel-devil combo in the lead. While parts of this book met those expectations, the core content turned out to be different from what I had assumed.
Because of the cover art, I thought that the plot would have a touching tale of a father seeking to be reunited with his daughter. It certainly is that, but it doesn’t stop at that. Despite Lucy being just eight at the start of the book, the book is strictly for adults. There is much triggering content in the plot, and the overall storyline is quite dark and gloomy. I still wish I had known about all this beforehand so that I could have been better prepared for such a read. I had to realign my mood to match the tone of the book; only then did it work better for me, thankfully.
Matthew - with his grief over his wife’s death and his love for his almost-stranger daughter, Lucifer in a role we rarely see him perform – that of a loving elder brother, little Lucy – trying her best to deal with the abuse doled out to her by her human family, and Howie – Lucy’s mortal father who isn’t strong enough to speak against his wife but loves his ‘daughter’ nonetheless – these four characters make the book what it is. I did not expect such a sensitive portrayal of the devil and his brother. Rare for male characters to be shown with such deep emotions where they cry without inhibition! I wish we could have known more about Emily – she seemed like a wonderful character, but her arc is cut as short as her life.
I also wish Matthew had a different name. I found it tough to accept such a common Christian name (and one of the apostles’ names, at that!) as belonging to the Devil’s brother. It should have been something fancier, more fantastical! (Aziraphale and Crowley have clearly elevated my requirements from every angel-demon book!)
Lucy’s human family doesn’t have any redeeming feature except for Howie. Her ‘mother’ Karen is especially abusive and manipulative, but she’s not the only toxic member of the family. It is easy to feel sorry for poor Lucy stuck in a family where no one understands her or cares for her.
The book is set mainly in our world, even though there are enough scenes set in the immortals’ domain. As such, the worldbuilding feels a bit lacking. If only there had been a greater exploration of the immortals’ domain!
I feel the book could have benefitted with a round of editing to tighten the flow. The plotline gets a bit affected by some repetitive scenes and emotions, grammatical issues such as run-on sentences (this won’t bother those who don’t bother about grammar while reading fiction, but run-on sentences are my bugbear), and detailed inner monologues, especially in the first half. All these factors make the book slower and longer than necessary. There are random perspective changes without clear delineations, and also flashbacks popping in sometimes without a clear indication. Plus, four of the five key human women in the book have similar names: Karen, Kathy, Katie, and Kirsty – so confusing!
[Note: I read an ARC, so it is quite possible that some of the above issues have been addressed in the final version.]
All in all, this is a valiant debut, with an imaginative plot and interesting characters. With some finetuning, I think this indie novel can create a greater impact. I was caught unawares by the darkness of the storyline and the abuse triggers, which is probably why it hit only at the ‘good’ level for me.
Recommended to those looking for a dark contemporary fantasy, albeit set mostly in our human world, as long as they are prepared for the content triggers and not as fussy as I about editing issues.
3 stars.
My thanks to Zooloo’s Book Tours and author Bethany Russo for a complimentary digital ARC of 'The Devil Inside'. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
Content Warnings: child abuse, child molestation, death, murder, grief, (attempted) rape, mental health issues, attempted suicide.
Plot Preview:
Eight years ago, Matthew’s life changed when his wife Emily died and his daughter Lucy was forcibly taken away by Gabriel, the archangel, and given to a mortal family without their knowing about the swapped baby. Now Matthew, back from his self-imposed exile spent grieving his dual loss, wants his daughter back. He enlists the support of his elder brother Lucifer. But the process of getting a mortal back to their world and making her immortal again is not easy, and with Gabriel refusing his support, Matthew and Lucifer face a tough task ahead.
The story comes to us in the third person perspective of various characters.
The cover and the blurb made me feel like this book was a perfect fit for me. Having enjoyed ‘When the Angels Left the Old Country’ and ‘Good Omens’, I was raring to read another book with the angel-devil combo in the lead. While parts of this book met those expectations, the core content turned out to be different from what I had assumed.
Because of the cover art, I thought that the plot would have a touching tale of a father seeking to be reunited with his daughter. It certainly is that, but it doesn’t stop at that. Despite Lucy being just eight at the start of the book, the book is strictly for adults. There is much triggering content in the plot, and the overall storyline is quite dark and gloomy. I still wish I had known about all this beforehand so that I could have been better prepared for such a read. I had to realign my mood to match the tone of the book; only then did it work better for me, thankfully.
Matthew - with his grief over his wife’s death and his love for his almost-stranger daughter, Lucifer in a role we rarely see him perform – that of a loving elder brother, little Lucy – trying her best to deal with the abuse doled out to her by her human family, and Howie – Lucy’s mortal father who isn’t strong enough to speak against his wife but loves his ‘daughter’ nonetheless – these four characters make the book what it is. I did not expect such a sensitive portrayal of the devil and his brother. Rare for male characters to be shown with such deep emotions where they cry without inhibition! I wish we could have known more about Emily – she seemed like a wonderful character, but her arc is cut as short as her life.
I also wish Matthew had a different name. I found it tough to accept such a common Christian name (and one of the apostles’ names, at that!) as belonging to the Devil’s brother. It should have been something fancier, more fantastical! (Aziraphale and Crowley have clearly elevated my requirements from every angel-demon book!)
Lucy’s human family doesn’t have any redeeming feature except for Howie. Her ‘mother’ Karen is especially abusive and manipulative, but she’s not the only toxic member of the family. It is easy to feel sorry for poor Lucy stuck in a family where no one understands her or cares for her.
The book is set mainly in our world, even though there are enough scenes set in the immortals’ domain. As such, the worldbuilding feels a bit lacking. If only there had been a greater exploration of the immortals’ domain!
I feel the book could have benefitted with a round of editing to tighten the flow. The plotline gets a bit affected by some repetitive scenes and emotions, grammatical issues such as run-on sentences (this won’t bother those who don’t bother about grammar while reading fiction, but run-on sentences are my bugbear), and detailed inner monologues, especially in the first half. All these factors make the book slower and longer than necessary. There are random perspective changes without clear delineations, and also flashbacks popping in sometimes without a clear indication. Plus, four of the five key human women in the book have similar names: Karen, Kathy, Katie, and Kirsty – so confusing!
[Note: I read an ARC, so it is quite possible that some of the above issues have been addressed in the final version.]
All in all, this is a valiant debut, with an imaginative plot and interesting characters. With some finetuning, I think this indie novel can create a greater impact. I was caught unawares by the darkness of the storyline and the abuse triggers, which is probably why it hit only at the ‘good’ level for me.
Recommended to those looking for a dark contemporary fantasy, albeit set mostly in our human world, as long as they are prepared for the content triggers and not as fussy as I about editing issues.
3 stars.
My thanks to Zooloo’s Book Tours and author Bethany Russo for a complimentary digital ARC of 'The Devil Inside'. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
Content Warnings: child abuse, child molestation, death, murder, grief, (attempted) rape, mental health issues, attempted suicide.
stevie_the_girl's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Thank you so much for your writing this!
Iits a dark and challenging story that takes you on a roller coaster ride or dispair, hope and love.
All kids think that maybe they were adopted at some point but imagine finding out you were really swapped at birth!
It's an emotional ride but so worth it!
Be sure to check trigger warnings.
Iits a dark and challenging story that takes you on a roller coaster ride or dispair, hope and love.
All kids think that maybe they were adopted at some point but imagine finding out you were really swapped at birth!
It's an emotional ride but so worth it!
Be sure to check trigger warnings.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy