Review of “Devil of Dublin” by B.B. Easton

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“Devil of Dublin” by B.B. Easton is a dark, slow-burn romance set in a small town in Ireland. Little Darby and her Irish mother fly to Glenshire every summer to visit her grandfather. When he speaks of faeries and other mystical creatures within the woods, Darby sets off to discover them.

Hearing a whimper coming from an old, worn-out cottage, Darby thinks she must’ve found a faerie. What she finds instead is a dark, curly-haired boy with a busted lip and a feral look in his eyes. Darby is warned to stay away from the mute boy who growls at other kids at school and is rumored to be the son of the devil himself. However, there’s just something about that boy, Kellen, that she can’t stay away from. The summers pass and she realizes how tortured he is, specifically by his caretaker and local priest, Father Henry. Just as their childhood innocence morphs into feelings neither one of them can deny everything gets ripped away.

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Okay, let me start my review with an apology. If you follow my blog posts, you’ll see that the last book I read actually crushed me. It put me into a massive slump for the month of March. Next, I always like to mention potential triggers. There is heavy mention of abuse by a priest. Both physical and sexual. There is heavy mention of SA as a child and as an adult. It is non-descriptive, but it is there.

That being said, “Devil of Dublin” ripped me out of it! I love Darby, I love Kellen, and I love the Irish folklore. Lately, I’ve been reading absolutely stellar books with female main characters who have personality and oomph. Darby is unique and doesn’t just assume the role of the damsel in distress the moment she and Kellen reconnect.

I just wanted to tuck Kellen into my pocket and keep him there. The things he went through were unspeakable, and I felt the author did such a great job dealing with these topics. Also, this is where I’ll mention that he is a virgin, which is a trope I don’t see very often in this genre. That being said, it’s not used in an almost fetishized way that we typically see when roles are reversed.

This was a dark romance, but honestly, it was much lighter than what I’ve been reading the past couple of months. The smut was a slow burn and had me saying, “Who turned the heat on in here?!”. Plus… I listened to portions of it on audio. Kellen is narrated by Eric Nolan, so immediately everything Kellen said had my knees WEAK.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed this book. However, you’re going to see my rating and say, “But Alexis, why?” Well, I enjoyed the story; it was an easy read, and I loved the characters. But it just wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read. When I finished it, I felt like something was missing that I just can’t put my finger on. Regardless, “Devil of Dublin” was still a great, and if you like childhood friends to lovers, sexy Irishmen, tortured MMC, mafia, etc., this book is for you!

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Ratings:

3.5 ⭐️

3/5 🌶️