Reviews with content warning for Gore - The Devil Makes Three

It’s been a while since I’ve read this book (I just got this app) but I really liked it when I read it. If you like spooky books with kind of a dark academia vibe I definitely recommend.

Content Warnings

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

catsandbookspluspup's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

2.5

Content Warnings

ashtheaudiomancer's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I cannot remember where I got this recommendation, but it is hitting ALL the spots for Spooky Month! It's more gruesome than I was expecting, and more creative, and had a hard-earned happy-ish ending. All of which is exactly what I'm looking for in a scary book. And it doesn't do that thing I've seen so often in teen fiction where it's a love story pretending to be a horror story; I hate that. There is a love story, but it's of the slow-burn variety, and definitely not the main focus of the story.

Highly recommend this one!

Content Warnings

thesatellitecafe's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense

2.5

What happens in certain (many) scenes is very dark and gore-filled, but somehow none of it manages to be actually scary.

The story takes its time unspooling the horror aspects, but once the thread is cut you’re well and truly dropped in. It’s like stepping into a dark room from a sun-soaked day and your eyes need to adjust to the dimness. Except in this case, the story starts with the quiet of a dusty library and you step past a threshold, into the horrific consequences of… occult dealings. Academia, right?

And yet, the story lacks the knife’s-edge tension to be truly horrifying.

The strongest aspects of the novel were the mundane moments.

The ones where Tess is peppering books with sticky note insults or struggling to juggle multiple jobs to keep her and her sister afloat. Or where Eliot is desperate and hopeful and heartbrokenly trying to find a way to help his mother.

These scenes are all so deeply and painfully human, that when the horror arrived I mostly felt disappointed.

In comparison, the gore and trying to figure out what’s up with the devil scenes lack the same emotionality as the mundane ones. I wish we could have gotten to see more moments where Tess was

tempted to take the devil up on his offer. If we were shown more often than told of her passion for music and the cello, seeing the consequences of her putting aside her own dreams would have been more impactful. She gave up the life she wanted for her family. The devil shows her what her life could be like, if she accepted his deal. Let her waver and grapple with morals. Let her be tempted.

Lean more into that!

I will say, I enjoyed both Tess and Eliot as characters. They just got a little lost in the horror along the way.

Content Warnings

sandra_bwf's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

andromeda_1998's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

librariangeorgia's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I loved the concept of this book, however it just wasn’t very well executed. It was actually quite disappointing.

The biggest problem that I had with this book was that there’s no world building! Literally. It’s mainly set in a library which sounds great. But when the devil appears, I’m assuming that’s meant to be a different location, it’s just described as if it’s a dream or imaginary. I couldn’t picture any other place other than the library.

I really wanted more from Eliot and Tess, their characters could’ve been so good but there’s a lack of character development for them both.

Honestly, I just forced my way through this because I’d been asked by friends for my opinion on this book.

Content Warnings

More...