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A review by gggina13
The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino
3.0
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy!
This is more like 3.5 stars in actuality.
The Devil Makes Three is a sorta dark academia style novel in which Tess, who works in a boarding school library, and Eliot, who heavily utilizes that library, accidentally awaken the devil by reading an old book. It’s not super easy to grasp the tone of the story from the synopsis. There’s a little comic relief here and there, but it’s mostly serious. It’s told in a very matter-of-fact way, with a strong and stubborn female main character. The devil latches onto Tess, because she read the book, and she refuses to be swayed by his attempts to buy her soul. Of course, things escalate pretty quickly, and soon Tess and Eliot are rushing to find out how to banish him.
I don’t typically gravitate towards dark academia type stories, but something about two kids unleashing the devil in a library just struck a chord with me. I might not have absolutely loved it, but I don’t regret reading it at all. There were quite a few suspenseful moments in this story that had me a little scared reading in the dark, and Eliot and Tess had a really cute relationship. Eliot isn’t used to having people want to be friends with him and Tess isn’t used to having the time to have a friend. But they stick together, first with a little blackmail, then out of necessity, but of course their desires and motivations change along the way.
The romance wasn’t the best paced, but I absolutely loved the sentiment towards the end of the two of them being on equal ground and both of them seeing the other as strong. The epilogue was cute too, but then with a creepy last line that really changed the mood quick.
I think the characterization in this book was pretty good - besides Tess and Eliot, we also have their families and a roommate. And the devil, of course. Even the devil ended up having more of a character arc than I expected, even though I didn’t quite understand it.
Tess’s character was the most fleshed out. She worked two jobs to ensure that she and her sister could stay at their expensive school. She also had a passion for playing the cello and showed a lot of discipline in that arena as well. She was untrusting and sometimes cold but it just made it all the better when she warmed up to people like Eliot or her roommate Anna.
Eliot’s main motivation is his sick mom. He’s actually a witch, and the whole book thing started because he was looking for spells to help heal his mom of cancer. I almost forgot to mention his magic just because it was so normalized and that made it feel really cozy. By the end of the novel he grows to realize that goals can change, and he also grows as a witch and can harness his powers better.
The diversity of this book... well, non-existent. We only really have three characters who aren’t part of either Tess’s or Eliot’s families, but that’s 3 characters who could have been inclusive in some way. Now that I think of it, her roommate’s last name *could* have been Kim, but I don’t remember anything explicit saying she was any one race. As usual, though, correct me if I’m wrong!
Overall, though, this was an engaging story with writing that was really easy to visualize and characters who were interesting to follow. I’ll have no problem recommending this at work, especially during the spookier months! I think it would make a good movie because a lot of the scenes were already so vividly described.
This is more like 3.5 stars in actuality.
The Devil Makes Three is a sorta dark academia style novel in which Tess, who works in a boarding school library, and Eliot, who heavily utilizes that library, accidentally awaken the devil by reading an old book. It’s not super easy to grasp the tone of the story from the synopsis. There’s a little comic relief here and there, but it’s mostly serious. It’s told in a very matter-of-fact way, with a strong and stubborn female main character. The devil latches onto Tess, because she read the book, and she refuses to be swayed by his attempts to buy her soul. Of course, things escalate pretty quickly, and soon Tess and Eliot are rushing to find out how to banish him.
I don’t typically gravitate towards dark academia type stories, but something about two kids unleashing the devil in a library just struck a chord with me. I might not have absolutely loved it, but I don’t regret reading it at all. There were quite a few suspenseful moments in this story that had me a little scared reading in the dark, and Eliot and Tess had a really cute relationship. Eliot isn’t used to having people want to be friends with him and Tess isn’t used to having the time to have a friend. But they stick together, first with a little blackmail, then out of necessity, but of course their desires and motivations change along the way.
The romance wasn’t the best paced, but I absolutely loved the sentiment towards the end of the two of them being on equal ground and both of them seeing the other as strong. The epilogue was cute too, but then with a creepy last line that really changed the mood quick.
I think the characterization in this book was pretty good - besides Tess and Eliot, we also have their families and a roommate. And the devil, of course. Even the devil ended up having more of a character arc than I expected, even though I didn’t quite understand it.
Tess’s character was the most fleshed out. She worked two jobs to ensure that she and her sister could stay at their expensive school. She also had a passion for playing the cello and showed a lot of discipline in that arena as well. She was untrusting and sometimes cold but it just made it all the better when she warmed up to people like Eliot or her roommate Anna.
Eliot’s main motivation is his sick mom. He’s actually a witch, and the whole book thing started because he was looking for spells to help heal his mom of cancer. I almost forgot to mention his magic just because it was so normalized and that made it feel really cozy. By the end of the novel he grows to realize that goals can change, and he also grows as a witch and can harness his powers better.
The diversity of this book... well, non-existent. We only really have three characters who aren’t part of either Tess’s or Eliot’s families, but that’s 3 characters who could have been inclusive in some way. Now that I think of it, her roommate’s last name *could* have been Kim, but I don’t remember anything explicit saying she was any one race. As usual, though, correct me if I’m wrong!
Overall, though, this was an engaging story with writing that was really easy to visualize and characters who were interesting to follow. I’ll have no problem recommending this at work, especially during the spookier months! I think it would make a good movie because a lot of the scenes were already so vividly described.