Title: Devils & Thieves
Author: Jennifer Rush
Publication date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy/Urban Fantasy
Synopsis
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.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
I am so glad I picked up this entertaining book during October. Similar to this Halloween-ish month, this novel is filled with magic, mayhem, and mystery. In Devils & Thieves, every magic user, aka “kindled,” has their own unique power that they inherit from family members, who are linked to local motorcycle clubs. I really felt like this book was a perfect mashup of Charmed and Katie McGarry’s Thunder Road series. The story plot is very straightforward, but it’s the main character’s (Jemmie Carmichael) attempt to figure out her powers and her love life that sucked me in.
One of my favorite characteristics about Jemmie is her unique ability to smell and see power. As a very wallflower-ish type, Jemmie tends to underrate her magical abilities with fear and discouragement. She is very different among the other kindled population, and I can understand why she wants to hide something that she thinks is a flaw in her magic from other people. Jemmie is often predictable in her ways, but I can see her maturing and adapting to new scenarios in the next book, especially after that odd and creepy ending.
In the romance realm of Devils & Thieves, there’s a strong sense of a love triangle. And what I like about both Jemmie’s “love” interests are that even though they are protective over her as she is over them, they always encourage Jemmie to appreciate who she is and her magical abilities. But with any type of love triangle, I picked my OTP, because deep down I knew who made Jemmie’s heart flutter uncontrollably. I have one word to encourage you to read this novel, and that is “Crowe.” *SWOONS*
Overall, I liked the magic and conflicting havoc that litters the pages of this novel. Devils & Thieves is a great start to a series that I foresee a lot of growth in the characters, more swoony romance scenes, and some more understanding of the kindled magic users. I am a big fan of one of the male leading characters, *cough* Crowe, and I cannot wait to see what other sexy pandemonium he gets into. If you want your reading month of October to be filled with spells and swoons, I highly recommend that you add Devils & Thieves to your TBR.
My rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
NOTE: Thank you to NOVL for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All statements and opinions are my own. Please note that all graphics and photographs were created by me. All quotes are from the an advanced reader’s edition of the novel and are subject to change upon publication.
rants and raves of a bibliophile 