The Devil Inside - Bethany Russo - ★★★
AUTHOR: Bethany Russo
GENRE: Contemporary Fantasy.
PUBLICATION DATE: November 10, 2023
RATING: 3 stars.
In a Nutshell: A contemporary fantasy about Matthew, Lucifer’s younger brother, who wants his daughter back from the mortal world. The storyline is good, but much darker than I expected it to be, and has some triggering content as well as a writing style that doesn’t work well for me.
Plot Preview:
Eight years ago, Matthew’s life changed when his wife Emily died and his daughter Lucy was forcibly taken away by Gabriel, the archangel, and given to a mortal family without their knowing about the swapped baby. Now Matthew, back from his self-imposed exile spent grieving his dual loss, wants his daughter back. He enlists the support of his elder brother Lucifer. But the process of getting a mortal back to their world and making her immortal again is not easy, and with Gabriel refusing his support, Matthew and Lucifer face a tough task ahead.
The story comes to us in the third person perspective of various characters.
The cover and the blurb made me feel like this book was a perfect fit for me. Having enjoyed ‘When the Angels Left the Old Country’ and ‘Good Omens’, I was raring to read another book with the angel-devil combo in the lead. While parts of this book met those expectations, the core content turned out to be different from what I had assumed.
Because of the cover art, I thought that the plot would have a touching tale of a father seeking to be reunited with his daughter. It certainly is that, but it doesn’t stop at that. Despite Lucy being just eight at the start of the book, the book is strictly for adults. There is much triggering content in the plot, and the overall storyline is quite dark and gloomy. I still wish I had known about all this beforehand so that I could have been better prepared for such a read. I had to realign my mood to match the tone of the book; only then did it work better for me, thankfully.
Matthew - with his grief over his wife’s death and his love for his almost-stranger daughter, Lucifer in a role we rarely see him perform – that of a loving elder brother, little Lucy – trying her best to deal with the abuse doled out to her by her human family, and Howie – Lucy’s mortal father who isn’t strong enough to speak against his wife but loves his ‘daughter’ nonetheless – these four characters make the book what it is. I did not expect such a sensitive portrayal of the devil and his brother. Rare for male characters to be shown with such deep emotions where they cry without inhibition! I wish we could have known more about Emily – she seemed like a wonderful character, but her arc is cut as short as her life.
I also wish Matthew had a different name. I found it tough to accept such a common Christian name (and one of the apostles’ names, at that!) as belonging to the Devil’s brother. It should have been something fancier, more fantastical! (Aziraphale and Crowley have clearly elevated my requirements from every angel-demon book!)
Lucy’s human family doesn’t have any redeeming feature except for Howie. Her ‘mother’ Karen is especially abusive and manipulative, but she’s not the only toxic member of the family. It is easy to feel sorry for poor Lucy stuck in a family where no one understands her or cares for her.
The book is set mainly in our world, even though there are enough scenes set in the immortals’ domain. As such, the worldbuilding feels a bit lacking. If only there had been a greater exploration of the immortals’ domain!
I feel the book could have benefitted with a round of editing to tighten the flow. The plotline gets a bit affected by some repetitive scenes and emotions, grammatical issues such as run-on sentences (this won’t bother those who don’t bother about grammar while reading fiction, but run-on sentences are my bugbear), and detailed inner monologues, especially in the first half. All these factors make the book slower and longer than necessary. There are random perspective changes without clear delineations, and also flashbacks popping in sometimes without a clear indication. Plus, four of the five key human women in the book have similar names: Karen, Kathy, Katie, and Kirsty – so confusing!
[Note: I read an ARC, so it is quite possible that some of the above issues have been addressed in the final version.]
All in all, this is a valiant debut, with an imaginative plot and interesting characters. With some finetuning, I think this indie novel can create a greater impact. I was caught unawares by the darkness of the storyline and the abuse triggers, which is probably why it hit only at the ‘good’ level for me.
Recommended to those looking for a dark contemporary fantasy, albeit set mostly in our human world, as long as they are prepared for the content triggers and not as fussy as I about editing issues.
My thanks to Zooloo’s Book Tours and author Bethany Russo for a complimentary digital ARC of 'The Devil Inside', and for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
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Blurb:
Matthew’s life is turned upside down the day his daughter, Lucy, is born. His wife has died, and Gabriel, the all-powerful leader of his world, has taken Lucy to the mortals. Eight years later, Matthew returns from his self-imposed exile looking for answers. He decides to go back home and ask his brother, Lucifer, for help. It becomes Lucifer’s mission to bring Lucy back home. Lucy’s family has no idea she is not their biological daughter, nor do they know she is spending time with her real father and uncle. Gabriel is unhappy to find out Matthew and Lucifer have been visiting the mortal world, as their actions have been causing collateral damage. He strips Lucifer of his powers to access Lucy. The mortal clock is ticking quickly. Will Matthew and Lucy ever be reunited in the place they both belong?
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Author Bethany Russo:
Bethany Russo is an author from the South West of England. She lives with her partner, son and their two cats. Russo has loved writing since a child and 'The Devil Inside' is her first book.
When not writing, you can usually find her spending time with her family, getting outside for a walk (especially favoured if it's in the Lake District) and reading. Her favourite genres are horror and dark fantasy, she has a special love for all things weird and wonderful, especially if it includes folklore/myths.
Check out this book:
Buy Link: https://mybook.to/devilinside-zbt
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This has been a stop on the #TheDevilInside blog tour conducted by Zooloo's Book Tours. (@ZooloosBookTours on Insta) Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you so much for supporting the tour x
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