Deal With the Devil

• Author: Kit Rocha
• Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance
• Publication Date: July 28, 2020
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Series: Mercenary Librarians #1

TRIGGER WARNING: violence, gore, abuse, human experimentation

Nina is an information broker with a mission–she and her team of mercenary librarians use their knowledge to save the hopeless in a crumbling America.

Knox is the bitter, battle-weary captain of the Silver Devils. His squad of supersoldiers went AWOL to avoid slaughtering innocents, and now he’s fighting to survive.

They’re on a deadly collision course, and the passion that flares between them only makes it more dangerous. They could burn down the world, destroying each other in the process…

Or they could do the impossible: team up.

This is the first book in a near-future science fiction series with elements of romance.

For a while, it felt like literally everyone was talking about how great this book was. I finally decided that it was time to request it at the library, and when it came in, I decided to read it immediately. I have absolutely no regrets about this, because it was totally worth it.

The characters were exceptionally well created. They were complex and believable. Each one had difficult circumstances to face, both in the past and the present, and made tough choices. They were hard to dislike, even when I wanted to in some cases. I wanted to hate Knox, but I couldn’t, simply because I understood his motivation. His goal is clear early on — he needs to protect his team at all costs, and he’s willing to betray anyone to save his people. But even with his modifications and training, the Protectorate hasn’t been able to remove his morality. 

The world building was amazing. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of the United States, where solar flares and war has decimated infrastructure and society as we know it. The TechCorps have created a monopoly on essential supplies, offering solar power, food, water, and medicine, but there’s always a cost involved. Including for the characters, who have been recipients of modifications through TechCorps:

“Her entire nervous system had been rewired in an experimental procedure that granted her superhuman reflexes and reaction times.”

There’s so many elements involved in this story — it’s the coolest mix of sci-fi, dystopian, action, and incredibly hot romance. It’s almost as if this book deserves a genre all to itself. The writing is picturesque and beautiful, while the action starts immediately and doesn’t stop. There was witty banter between all of the characters that had me laughing out loud in so many cases, the romance is a slow-burning enemies to lovers story, and the sex scenes were HOT! I was hooked from the first page, and it didn’t let go until the very last page. The plot twists kept surprising me right up to the end of the story, and had me itching for the next book. 

People who have sat around with me while I’m reading, especially when there’s a surprising reveal, a shocking plot twist, or an unexpected event often look up in alarm when I gasp audibly. The gasp factor is directly related to the number of times I audibly gasp during a reading, and there isn’t an upper limit.

Gasp Factor: 10