Deal with the Devil: A Mercenary Librarians Novel (Mercenary Librarians, #1)

by Kit Rocha

Deal with the Devil is Orphan Black meets the post-apocalyptic Avengers by USA Today and New York Times bestselling author duo Kit Rocha.

Nina is an information broker with a mission--she and her team of mercenary librarians use their knowledge to save the hopeless in a crumbling America.

Knox is the bitter, battle-weary captain of the Silver Devils. His squad of supersoldiers went AWOL to avoid slaughtering innocents, and now he's fighting to survive.

They're on a deadly collision course, and the passion that flares between them only makes it more dangerous. They could burn down the world, destroying each other in the process...

Or they could do the impossible: team up.

This is the first book in a near-future science fiction series with elements of romance.

• ISBN13: 9781250209368
• Publish Date: 31 August 2020 (first published 28 July 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 31 October 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Paperback (UK Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Ashley]

Stopped reading on page 129. Just not that into it. Definitely less on the “mercenary librarians” front and more of an “urban contemporary romance that actually just so happens to take place in a dystopian future” vibe.

So much of the book is just Nina looking at Knox and going, “mmm he looks damn fine,” or Knox ogling Nina's ass when she walks away. This started pretty much immediately when they met and continued throughout. I thought it was a bit eye-rolly. Like, really, you can't think of anything else right now?

Other than that, at least the part I read had a lacking plot. It was just travelling to a location so I found it quite boring.

Really this read like a typical romance book with the setting swapped out. And that's absolutely fine, it just wasn't what I was looking for.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha delivered a fast-paced, action-packed, swoon worthy, heart-stopping science fiction post apocalyptic tale and it’s all narrated by Lidia Dornet.

Nina and Knox are the principal characters of the story, but we soon learn about their crews.

Knox, the leader of the Silver Devils and his men; Conall, Rafe & Gray were soldiers in the Protectorate. The team is now rogue and in trouble after a mission went south.

Nina and her friends, Maya and Dani, were part of a government program specializing in clones and genetic modification. Each of the girls has special enhancements and abilities. They too escaped and are rogue. The three call themselves the Mercenary Librarians. They steal goods and supplies for the communities that are forgotten.

The Silver Devils are on borrowed time. They removed their trackers, but without their supplements, (thanks to modifications) they are slowly falling apart. They need the help of a specialist to fine tune their biometrics, but someone has kidnapped her. Their story is troubling, and Knox as their leader carries the burden of their loss. A tradeoff ransom is their only hope of survival, but they need Nina and the Mercenary Librarians to pull it off.

The tale that unfolds sees the six as they set out to retrieve the specialist. It was interesting to watch the dynamics between Nina and Knox. They sized each other up and slowly built up a rapport even as they fought the chemistry between them. Romance develops and the budding of others as the teams need to outmaneuver the enemy and save the day. The interaction of both crews offered snark as bonds developed and they earned trust.

The terrain is dangerous and it challenges them as individuals and as a team. They will need to trust each other, but Knox and the Silver Devils are carrying a secret… one that could ruin everything.

Lidia Dornet, a new to me narrator, did a stellar job bringing us the voice of Nina, Knox and their crews. Her tones, inflections and performance added to the overall story and pulled me in. The writing style and genre are perfect for audiobook. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[thebookdisciple]

I really loved Deal with the Devil and here are a few reasons I think other people will love it too:

1. Great world building-post apocalyptic America! Loved it! (I mean, I loved reading about it-not living it)

2. Team of FIERCE females kicking butt! They hold the power by using information. Love women who use their brains and win. Who runs the world? GIRLS!

3. Solidly intriguing plot-danger, banter, and more combine to create an engaging plot

Seriously-give the new series a shot! I think you will really like it! I can't wait for more of the mercenary librarians and see where Rocha takes these characters. Nina and Knox are ying/yang for sure and it just works so well. Despite the dystopian setting, Nina is still kind of an optimist. It's the perfect foil to Knox's cranky pessimism.

[llamareads]

I’ve been reading Kit Rocha’s books for a long time, and there’s certain things I expect from them: amazing found families, strong and fierce heroines, and a nail-bitingly good plot. So it’s no surprise that their first traditionally published book has all that, plus the sunshine/grumpy trope, a post-apocalyptic road trip, and multiple discussions of whether various characters are psycho serial killers.

“You nervous?”
“Fuck, no. We’re gonna do absolutely impossible, totally illegal, questionably sane science? I’m pumped.”

In post-flare Atlanta, there are basically two parts to the city – those controlled by TechCorps and patrolled by the Protectorate, or the poor neighborhoods who are mostly left to fend for themselves, unless the Protectorate needs to remind them who’s in charge – or unless they have people like Nina. Nina is a perfect Kit Rocha heroine. She’s had a rough life, to say the least, but has surrounded herself with her found family, Maya and Dani. Together they’re committed to making their part of the city better. They’ve set up a book printing press, food dehydrators and a seed bank, and are planning to build a shelter, once they have the money for it. Enter Knox, who claims to know the location of a secret Library of Congress cache. Selling the knowledge there would give them enough money to fund their dreams, but something isn’t quite right about Knox and his team. They’re ex-Protectorate soldiers who deserted after being forced to “advance corporate interests” too many times. Knox is stuck between two bad decisions – give up Nina and her team to rescue a kidnapped friend, or betray the women who obviously don’t deserve it. Knox views Nina’s “aggressive optimism,” as he calls it, as naivety. Her assertion that she has to be able to look at herself in the mirror feels like a jab against him and his team, and if there’s one thing he’s protective of, it’s his men. Though they’re no longer in the Protectorate, Knox still acts like he’s the captain of the squad and responsible for making the decisions for all of them until they’re finally “free” – though what exactly that means is still a mystery to him.

“You’re not even going to look?”
“I may be a thief, but I don’t deal with liars.
“What, exactly, do you think I’m lying about?”
“I didn’t say you were lying. I said you’re a liar.” She blew on a spoonful of soup to cool it. “I see where the distinction might be confusing.”

Nina and Knox clash from their first meeting. Their chemistry is electric (there’s sex during a thunderstorm, even, so yeah), their banter is on point, and it’s easy to see why they’re so immediately attracted to each other. The whole premise is an interesting flip, in that it’s the genetically enhanced super-soldiers who need help from the, well, also genetically engineered women, but the difference here lies in how they’ve chosen to use their abilities. And by distilling it down to that, though, it’s easy to see how similar they really are. While Knox may not have had the same impact as Nina, he’s done his best to limit his targets and find creative solutions to the Protectorate’s “kill kill kill” orders while keeping his team safe. They’re both basically the parental figures for their found families, so watching the two groups learn to interact and work together (which, of course they do to hilarious and scarily efficient effect) is like a post-apocalyptic murdery Brady Bunch.

“Is everyone clear on the mission?”
Maya shot Nina a thumbs-up. “Kill, kill, save, party.”
“Overly simplistic, but accurate.”

The secondary characters on both sides are well done and fully realized, partially because they all get at least one POV chapter. Because of that it’s obvious how the rest of the couples will shake out, which is both a great thing and a bad thing because I would like those books right now, please. The pacing is fast-paced and punchy, and there’s enough plot twists and road blocks (sometimes literally) to keep you hooked until the last page, which is a doozy. There’s a good balance and synchronicity between the bam-shoot-blow-stuff-up action and the emotional tension, as both ramp up as the story goes on. Part of that is from getting to know the secondary characters and their backstories, and part of that is the romantic tension and Knox’s angst over his eventual betrayal of Nina.

“Remember what you’re fighting for, Captain.”

Betrayal plots can be a hard sell for me, as I really need to buy into the rebuilding of trust before I can believe in an HEA. In this case, it was very clear from the beginning that Knox had reservations even before he met Nina, and he was already planning on coming clean to her before the reveal was forced. The effects of that reveal aren’t glossed over, and Nina is given plenty of time to come to terms with the predicament Knox was in and his regret for his actions. I appreciated the focus on Nina as most often it feels like that the majority of the post-dark moment is given to absolving the betrayer’s actions rather than the effects on the victim. So even though it was already well established that pre-betrayal Nina was the sort of person who’d be capable of forgiving him, I found her struggle with it one of my favorite parts of the book.

Overall, this is exactly the sort of delightful murderous fun I wanted and needed, and I cannot wait for the next book!

I received an advance review copy of this book from Bookish First. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Deal with the Devil in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Mercenary librarians surviving in a post-apocalyptic world? Sign me up! Deal with the Devil is the first in a new series, the Mercenary Librarians, by creative team Kit Rocha. So if you're looking for a novel full of violence librarians, look no further.

The world has fallen apart. More accurately, the economy and governments have crumbled. Leaving only greedy corporations and desperate people. That is the world that Nina lives in – yet she's determined to make it better.

You see, she's a mercenary librarian, and surely one of the last librarians around. She and her allies spend all day every day trying to make the world better by making books, food, and technology available to all.

Enter Knox. He's been broken by the corporations and corruption that run rampant in his life. Now he and his men are on the run, and they have a mission that cannot be turned down. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, that means Knox and Nina are about to cross paths.

“'Imminent vigilantism.' Maye rose and kicked the pillow back toward the bed. 'I mean, is it really murder if he has it coming?'”

I've been obsessed with getting my hands on Deal with the Devil from the moment I heard 'mercenary librarians.' So having finished the book, I have to ask myself; was it worth the mad hunt to read this book?

Yes, it certainly was. Though the librarian elements were slightly different than I expected, but not in a bad way. Picture all of the additional things that librarians do (that they frequently don't get credit for), and you'll have a solid understanding of what Nina does for her community in this book.

It was actually beautiful to see, in so many ways. Here is the lone character in a desolate world who simply refuses to give up hope. Even when things are at their worst (and it certainly hits that point over the course of this novel), she just keeps on believing in others.

Deal with the Devil is told through multiple perspectives, but mainly Nina and Knox's. You can probably guess how that goes, simply from the description alone. I'll confess that the 'insta-love' was a little much for me, but it also wasn't nearly enough to put me off from the book. It just left me wishing that they had more time to get to know each other.

I enjoyed Nina's character, but I found myself adoring the women she surrounded herself with. They were quirky and unique and really made the world come to life. Here's hoping the next couple of novels focus on them a bit more!

All things considered, I went into Deal with the Devil expecting one type of reading experience, and I ended up getting something slightly different. I'm actually totally okay with that, as I love what Kit Rocha was trying to tell us here.

One thing is certain, I'm going to be looking forward to any news on the sequel (The Devil You Know), as I sincerely have no idea what sort of path we should expect the series to go down next.

Check out more reviews over at Quiry Cat's Fat Stacks

[Beth C.]

Review posting 5/19/20 on www.stillmorewords.com. Short version? MERCENARY LIBRARIANS - fast-paced, fun, and yes...some sexxxy bits.