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A review by tallangryplanet
The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was a bit wary of reading this book because of its classification in horror, but it ended up being a pretty good read. There were some scary parts and a feeling of tension throughout the book, but it was lighter than I expected.
The story follows Tess, a high school student who works in the school library during the summer, and Eliot, the son of the headmaster, as they accidentally release a demon and scramble to prevent it from completely ruining their lives. They come from very different backgrounds and in the beginning it seems like they'll never get along, but as they're forced to work together they find they're more similar than they thought.
As someone who isn't very familiar with the horror genre, I didn't expect most of the twists in the story, but they still felt coherent and most of them made sense in retrospective. Waiting for the next one was never boring and it kept me almost constantly on edge. I was also completely rooting for the main characters and hoping for them to finally catch a break, although I did feel slightly disappointed when I found out one of the main motivations for the protagonist. Parents arguing about finances didn't seem as much of a big deal for Tess to completely prevent her sister from seeing them . However, I did like how she evolved throughout the story so it wasn't that big of a deal.
I did notice that some parts of the setting and characterization didn't really fit with the ya category, but it made more sense after finding it was originally meant to be an adult book. This is really the only aspect I didn't like, as the characters felt too old to be in high school, because in everything else they were easy enough to relate to (as a musician, Tess's obsession with having to practice was like having a mirror held up to my face).
All in all, it was a very enjoyable read, and I might even pick it up again in the future. Even if you're not a big horror fan, it's light enough that it won't be too scary but still tense enough to avoid being boring.
The story follows Tess, a high school student who works in the school library during the summer, and Eliot, the son of the headmaster, as they accidentally release a demon and scramble to prevent it from completely ruining their lives. They come from very different backgrounds and in the beginning it seems like they'll never get along, but as they're forced to work together they find they're more similar than they thought.
As someone who isn't very familiar with the horror genre, I didn't expect most of the twists in the story, but they still felt coherent and most of them made sense in retrospective. Waiting for the next one was never boring and it kept me almost constantly on edge. I was also completely rooting for the main characters and hoping for them to finally catch a break, although I did feel slightly disappointed when I found out one of the main motivations for the protagonist.
I did notice that some parts of the setting and characterization didn't really fit with the ya category, but it made more sense after finding it was originally meant to be an adult book. This is really the only aspect I didn't like, as the characters felt too old to be in high school, because in everything else they were easy enough to relate to (as a musician, Tess's obsession with having to practice was like having a mirror held up to my face).
All in all, it was a very enjoyable read, and I might even pick it up again in the future. Even if you're not a big horror fan, it's light enough that it won't be too scary but still tense enough to avoid being boring.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury