Series: DEVILISH SERIES
Plot Type: Soul Mate Romance (SMR), Paranormal Chick Lit (CH)
Ratings: Violence-3; Sensuality-4; Humor-4
Ratings: Violence-3; Sensuality-4; Humor-4
Devilishly Hot (10/2011)
Devilishly Sexy (5/2012)
DevilishlyWicked (11/2013)
This post was revised and updated on 12/24/13 to include a review of Devilishly Wicked, the third novel in the series. That review appears first, followed by an overview of the world-building and reviews of the first two novels:
NOVEL 3: Devilishly Wicked
Georgia has had a crush on Tristan ever since she began working for the magazine as Finola's assistant. Now that she is working directly with Tristan, she finds herself uncomfortable in his presence. Every time he seems to be flirting with her, she assumes that he's doing it for his own cruel amusement—to see how much he can embarrass her. She knows in her heart that a sexy, handsome guy like Tristan would never look twice at his chubby assistant.
Meanwhile, down in the mail room, agents of the Demon Intelligence Agency (DIA) are on the job, getting ready to stop Satan's attempt to take over the world via the fashion industry. The DIA is "a government agency that was established decades ago to locate and counteract demonic activity." (p. 247) Eugene, a DIA agent disguised as the mail room manager, assigns Gabriel to get Georgia on their side, but Gabriel just can't seem to make a proper connection. In fact, Georgia appears to be falling for Tristan—and falling really hard and fast. To make matters worse, Tristan seems to be falling for her as well! What's going on here?
The story follows the couple as they fall in lust and discover that love conquers all. In a second story line, Finola's life takes some twists and turns that will definitely surprise you if you've read the first two books. This book is typical of the series: paper-thin characters and a predictable story line. But if you enjoyed the first two books, you'll love this one, too.
This may be the final book in the series; certainly, it is the final book to be set at Hot! Magazine. But never fear…Dippy, the bichon frise hellhound, is still on Satan's side, and he's looking to take a few steps up on Hell's ladder of success so perhaps a future book will take a look at Dippy's love life.
WORLD-BUILDING
Set in the fashion world of Manhattan, the plots involve the employees of Hot!
Magazine, which is headed by the glamorous and totally loathsome Finola
White, a demon diva who is determined to keep herself in Satan’s good graces,
but who is so self-centered and arrogant that she constantly winds up on his
(and everyone else's) bad side. Finola and her right-hand man, Tristan (also
one of Satan's demons), run the magazine on the top floors of the Hot! building while a group of
demon hunters (who call themselves the Brethren) hide away in the mail room,
which is located in the sub-basement. The ongoing story arc features Satan's plans for a demonic revolution that begins with the infiltration of the fashion industry by his minions. As one character admits, "Fashion can be pretty hellish." (Devilishly Wicked, p. 248)
Each story follows one couple as they meet, fall in love, and run afoul of Finola before eventually achieving their HEA. Throughout each story, Tristan plots against Finola in the hope that he can convince Satan to let him take over the magazine. The demon hunters are supporting characters in the stories—support, that is, for the unlucky human characters who find themselves under Finola's devilish control.
This series is mostly cotton-candy light and sweet, but it also has a dark edge
to it, particularly when it comes to Finola’s indiscriminate killing of various
humans—mostly her personal assistants. The story lines are full of illogical
moments, but that shouldn’t matter too much if you enjoy this type of
fluffy chick-lit paranormal romance.
PREQUEL NOVELLA: "Hot"
Publisher's blurb: At Hot! Magazine, the devil really does wear Prada. When the CEO is an actual demon and the mailroom people are undercover demon slayers, it's not beyond the realm of possibility for an up-and-coming photographer and a model possessed by much more than a sweet tooth to fall in love.
Each story follows one couple as they meet, fall in love, and run afoul of Finola before eventually achieving their HEA. Throughout each story, Tristan plots against Finola in the hope that he can convince Satan to let him take over the magazine. The demon hunters are supporting characters in the stories—support, that is, for the unlucky human characters who find themselves under Finola's devilish control.
PREQUEL NOVELLA: "Hot"
Publisher's blurb: At Hot! Magazine, the devil really does wear Prada. When the CEO is an actual demon and the mailroom people are undercover demon slayers, it's not beyond the realm of possibility for an up-and-coming photographer and a model possessed by much more than a sweet tooth to fall in love.
NOVEL 1: Devilishly Hot
When Annie Lou Riddle moves to Manhattan to break into the fashion industry,
she has no idea that she will accidentally sell her soul in exchange for a job
at Hot! Magazine as Finola's personal assistant (aka slave).
Finola killed her previous personal assistant during a hissy fit—standard
operating procedure for Finola, who regularly and frequently calls upon Tristan
to dispose of the poor girls' bodies.
After this last assistant is declared missing, Detective Nick Rossi of the NYPD
investigates because so many former employees of Hot! have
disappeared. Handsome, sexy Nick is immediately attracted to Annie (and vice
versa), but Finola wants him for herself. The story follows Finola’s attempts
to ensnare Nick, Nick’s attempts to romance Annie, and Annie’s attempts to get
back her soul with the help of Nick and the demon hunters in the basement.
NOVEL 2: Devilishly Sexy
When Liza McLane refused
to sell her soul to the devil to get her job at Hot!,
Finola took an alternate route to get Liza's cooperation—she had a demon possess
Liza. So now, Liza takes massive amounts of Benadryl to force her talkative and
annoying demon into submission so that she can do her job and live her life
with some degree of normality. When Michael sees Liza swallow a handful of
pills, he assumes that she is committing suicide and rushes to her aid. From
then on, he keeps an eye on her, and mutual attraction blooms between them,
even though Michael soon becomes convinced that Liza has sold her soul and must
be destroyed. Once again, the mail room demon hunters rush to the rescue so that
the lovers get their HEA.
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