3/5 ⭐️ : The audiobook carried this one for me Let’s start with the positives. The audiobook itself was really well done. Jacob Morgan and Megan Wicks both did a great job, and I especially enjoyed how they conveyed the characters’ emotions and inner thoughts through their performances. Their voices added a lot to the experience and, honestly, were probably the main reason I managed to finish the book. 10/10 for the narration. The story itself also has potential, and I really liked one particular aspect: the female MC is older than the male MC and is well over 30. It was refreshing to have a heroine who isn’t automatically written as being in her twenties. Unfortunately, I really struggled with the actual book. I had to push myself to finish it, and if I hadn’t listened to it as an audiobook, I probably would have DNF’d it. My biggest issue was Birdie. Her insecurity went far beyond simply having low self-esteem or occasionally doubting herself. So much of her characterization revolves around how she’s “too old,” “too boring,” or “not enough” in some way, especially whenever she compares herself to other women, or to the MC, particularly Bell. After a while, it became incredibly repetitive. What made this even more frustrating was the contrast in how Birdie is portrayed. We’re repeatedly reminded that she is supposed to be mature because she was orphaned at sixteen and had to look after her twin sister. Yet whenever she finds herself in a social or romantic situation, she often behaves like a teenager or even less. I never really felt that her character had much of a personality or depth beyond her trauma, insecurities, and constant self-doubt. I wanted to understand who Birdie is as a person, rather than constantly being reminded of everything she thinks is wrong with herself or her life. Bell was more enjoyable to me, although he definitely has some questionable aspects. On the surface, he is practically the definition of a green flag: he constantly reassures Birdie, tells her he loves her, makes it clear that she’s always been the one he wanted, and explains that the whole “contract” was essentially his way of showing her how much he loved her and wanted to help her. But then we have the fact that he has been stalking her since her first day at college and has been obsessively thinking about her ever since. At times, what he feels comes across much more as obsession than love, and I’m not sure the story fully acknowledges that distinction? His own childhood trauma and the way he views the world might explain some of his behavior, but it doesn’t necessarily make it any less better. Still, overall, I found him considerably more sympathetic and interesting than Birdie. I also went into this with completely different expectations because of the title Devil. As someone who primarily reads fantasy, I initially expected something darker or more along those lines. Instead, the “Devil” is essentially referring to Bell being Birdie’s personal devil and destroyer of her past life, which just wasn’t really what I expected. And then there’s the amount of sex. This simply isn’t my preferred genre, and there was so much sexual content that I genuinely found myself getting bored enough to almost fall asleep during some scenes. For me, it became repetitive rather than adding anything meaningful to the story. Overall, I think there is potential here, and the audiobook performances were genuinely excellent. Unfortunately, the characterization and repetitive insecurities made the actual story a difficult read for me. I wouldn’t personally recommend it someone that loves depth and story in a way that fantasy and fiction does. It’s a no for me. 3/5 stars, and most of those stars are for the audiobook. The rest was… meh.