Author: Jennifer Rush
Genre: Paranormal, New Adult
Series: Devils & Thieves # 1
Hardcover, 336 Pages
Publication: October 3, 2017 by Little Brown BFYR
Source: I received a review copy (arc) from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.
Buy|Amazon|B&N|
Power corrupts. Magic kills.
Eighteen-year-old Jemmie Carmichael is surrounded by magic in the quiet town of Hawthorne, New York. In her world, magic users are called “kindled,” and Jemmie would count herself among them if only she could cast a simple spell without completely falling apart. It doesn't help that she was also recently snubbed by Crowe—the dangerous and enigmatic leader of Hawthorne’s kindled motorcycle gang, the Devils’ League.
When the entire kindled community rolls into Hawthorne for an annual festival, a rumor spreads that someone is practicing forbidden magic. Then people start to go missing. With threats closing in from every side, no one can be trusted. Jemmie and Crowe will have to put aside their tumultuous history to find their loved ones, and the only thing that might save them is the very flaw that keeps Jemmie from fully harnessing her magic. For all her years of feeling useless, Jemmie may just be the most powerful kindled of all.
Devils and Thieves is what you’d get if you mixed Sons of Anarchy and The Covenant. Has anyone seen the show or movie? It’s pretty good. I loved the SOA show and all things witches, so I was more than eager to read this new series. But to be honest, I had some trepidation before starting Devils and Thieves. There were more negative reviews than positive, and I had such high hopes for this new book…I mean, come on, magical biker gangs?! How awesome does that sound?
The world of Devils and Thieves is comprised of multiple motorcycle gangs, all with their own powers that’s past on from one generation to the next. The ability ranges from locating/hiding animate and inanimate objects, controlling peoples’ feelings and thoughts, talking to animals, visions and communicating with the dead, to changing peoples’ perception, etc. The world set-up was interesting but it was poorly developed and executed. There were twelve different types of magic and the author just rattled them off and went in to a very basic and brief explanation of each which left me lost and confused for half of the book. The author tried to distinguished each set of magic with smells and colors, which can only be seen by Jemmie…but all of it still got lost in the shuffle. Another issue I had was there were way too many characters. With the annual kindled festivities, all the MCs came into town and it was difficult to remember which person belonged to which charter. I think the information would’ve felt less chaotic if there were only 1-3 types of magic and charter, because sometimes less is more.
Jemmie took awhile to grow on me, it wasn’t until the end that I found her less annoying. She came off as whiny and clingy at the start of the book. And for the majority of the time she was constantly moping about Crowe; all because they shared one kissed and he dismissed her right after. It’s been a year…she should of moved on. But she didn't. Jemmie isn’t the greatest of female leads, but she definitely redeemed herself in the end. Many also complained about a love-triangle in the book…I’m not a fan of those either. However, it oddly didn’t bother me like it normally does. Probably because it wasn’t really a love-triangle. There was never a doubt who Jemmie loved and wanted to be with. Sad to say but other guy was just a rebound/distraction, she barely interacted with him beside face-timing and seeing him at the festival for 3 days.
Devils and Thieves is a flawed New Adult (not sure why it’s labeled as YA since the characters are 18 and over) but it still provided a quick, engaging and good read. For the most part, I enjoyed it. Yes, the romance aspect was predictable, but the mystery surprised me. The kidnapper in the book was the last person I’d suspect! The ending was a game changer and has me curious to see what happens next with Jemmie and Co. With that said, it you like witches, or the show SOA; I suggest checking out Devils and Thieves…you might enjoy it!
No comments:
Post a Comment