Kill Switch (Devil's Night, #3)

by Penelope Douglas

"I've done far worse than what I went to prison for. She has no idea how bad this can get."

WINTER

Sending him to prison was the worst thing I could’ve done. It didn’t matter that he did the crime or that I wished he was dead. Perhaps I thought I’d have time to disappear before he got out or he’d cool off in jail and be anything but the horror he was.

But I was wrong. Three years came and went too fast, and now he’s anything but calm. Prison only gave him time to plan.

And while I anticipated his vengeance, I didn’t expect this.

He doesn’t want to make me hurt. He wants to make everything hurt.

DAMON

First thing’s first. Get rid of her daddy. He told them I forced her. He told them his little girl was a victim, but I was a kid, too, and she wanted it just as much as I did.

Step two… Give her, her sister, and her mother nowhere to run and no fuel to escape. The Ashby women are alone now and desperate for a knight in shining armor.

But that’s not what’s coming.

No, it’s time I listened to my father and took control of my future. It’s time I showed them all—my family, her family, my friends—that I will never change and that I have no other ambition than to be the nightmare of their lives.

Starting with her.

She’ll be so scared, she won’t even be safe in her own head by the time I’m done with her. And the best part is I won’t have to break into her home to do it.

As the new man of the house I have all the keys.

Kill Switch is a romantic suspense suitable for readers 18+. It is advised to read Corrupt (Devil's Night #1) and Hideaway (Devil's Night #2) prior to reading this book.

• ISBN10: 1796451932
• ISBN13: 9781796451931
• Publish Date: 11 February 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Independently Published
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 668
• Language: English

Reviews

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

Kill Switch is the third book in Penelope Douglas’ Devil’s Nights series. This one I have been waiting forever to start reading because it’s Damon Torrance’s book. The moment he was introduced in the first book, I knew I would either hate him or love him. Penelope Douglas is one author I know can get me out of a reading funk. 

Female Protagonist: Winter has to be one of my favorite female characters in the series (so far). I mean, I liked Rika, but Winter is someone that has overcome so much. She comes from a family that protects her due to her disability. She doesn’t want them to protect her, though. Everyone considers her as fragile, pure, and innocent, but she isn’t. At least she doesn’t come off as those qualities by the end of the book.

Male Protagonist: Damon Torrance is what I would consider my favorite Anti-Hero. I know some readers can’t stand him, but for some reason, I always love the male protagonist that is a villain at first and then turn into a hero. Yes, he’s awful, but you have to understand where he came from and what he has been through in his life. He’s never really been loved in the right way. I felt for his character. I felt for him more after finding out some secrets that came to light in this book.

Storyline/My Thoughts: First off, this book and series are not for the faint of heart. It’s dark and twisted. The book is told in dual POVs, with Damon and Winter telling their side of the story. Penelope Douglas has them go back and forth to the past and present, which gives the readers an idea of how the characters met and why they are the way they are currently. These two characters met each other at a very young age, and Damon has been fascinated with Winter for a long time.

Damon wants revenge after Winter sent him to prison several years ago for statutory rape. He’s going to make her world difficult by getting rid of her father and bringing her mother and sister under his control. He is very possessive of Winter in the story, but she knows how to handle him in her way. I don’t want to give anything away so that I won’t go into the storyline.

Penelope Douglas writes a very long story for Damon and Winter. It took me a while to finish this book, but I was determined. I thought Corrupt was dark and twisted, but Penelope Douglas took it to another level with Damon and Winter’s book. This book involves a lot of mind tricks from Damon and other characters towards Winter. Winter is not someone that will back down, though. Secrets will be revealed in this book that I figured out earlier in the book. 

Standalone or Part of Series: Part of series. I would recommend reading each book in order.

Steaminess: Very Steamy. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Trope/Elements: Enemies to Lovers, Second Chance at Romance (somewhat), First Love and Menage (M-F-M)

Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are a fan of Penelope Douglas and her writing style, you’ll enjoy this book. This is a Dark Romantic Suspense book that involves quite a bit of warnings and triggers, which I list below. Penelope Douglas is one of those authors who writes fictional worlds where it’s not happily ever afterworld. It’s tragic and warped. I give this book five stars and look forward to diving into Will’s book.

Warnings/Triggers: Statutory Rape, Child Sexual Abuse, Violence, Death, Self-Harm (Cutting, etc.)

[Angie]

YES!
+Disability rep. Winter is blind. Although this is mainly just for a plot-point, since Damon is the cause, and uses her lack of vision to torment her, rather than just good representation.
+Damon and Will.
+Addressing slut shaming, victim blaming, statutory rape, rape, all in a very twisted package. Very uncomfortable, but makes you think.
+Happy ending.

NO!
-I am well aware that the content of this series is highly questionable and problematic, but I cannot stop reading them.
-Why does it take so long to get to the point?! It's very repetitive and back-and-forth and annoyingly vague until over halfway in.

[whisperingchapters]

I knew I was fucked up. I just didn't care. As long as I was happy, I didn't explain myself to anyone.

I've been waiting for Damon's story since I met him in Corrupt. His character was full of darkness from the get-go and I knew I needed to jump into his life, to find out more about what makes him, well, him.

"Because pain in the body quiets the pain in the head. It feels good, like a kill switch for your brain."

Even though I knew his life wasn't pretty nor his attitude, I had no idea just how deep his darkness ran, how twisted he truly was. Surprisingly, I found myself completely drawn to that darkness, like a moth drawn to a flame.

Damon was clever, diabolical, and patient. All of the things I wasn't.

I was kind of disappointed in Winter. I expected her character to keep up with Damon more, to put him in his place. While she enjoyed the thrill and most of what Damon brought to the table, when it mattered, she wouldn't stand up to him. I wanted someone that would have knocked Damon down a peg or two. Also, at times I felt like there was no real chemistry between them. The story mostly focused on Damon wanting revenge on Winter and it didn't give the reader much of their relationship or their feelings for one another. Still, I enjoyed both of them together.

"It is an art how quickly you can make everyone want to kill you."

Something I truly loved was seeing how Damon really is loyal to what he considers his, like his friends and Winter. I especially loved the moments when Damon and Rika would be together. Even though he tormented her in Corrupt, in Kill Switch, it shows just how much respect he has for her, and love, in his own way.

I got the impression from his friends that he was possessive with more than just me. If he found something good, he fought to keep it. It could be a scary thing. But it also meant he knew what was important. He worked to keep what he valued.

There were things in the story that I just had no idea what to think. Certain scenes put me off completely, yet others had me wanting more, more, more! I didn't want to stop reading, especially after all the major bombs that were dropped in his story! This book showed me just how twisted my mind is because I kept craving all of the darkness the story had.

I hated him. He was everything bad that happened to me. But he was the only time--other than dancing--that I felt alive, too. Being with him was like dancing. Dancing with death.

[Eve1972]

SOAPBOX... I am seriously at a loss for words right now. I pride myself on always being honest in my reviews regardless of whether it is an ARC or a book I pay for. It is awfully hard to write an honest review if you can't tell people what things didn't work for you. I included two "small" spoilers in my review for this book. I say small because the first one the reader finds out at the very beginning of the book. --- what makes this even MORE ridiculous. I JUST found out that you can download a FREE sample of this book that gives away one of the "spoilers" I posted. The mind boggles at the ridiculousness...sigh. The second I left purposely vague. Both I put in "spoiler" tags so anyone who didn't want to be spoiled wouldn't see the info, and anyone who prefers to know spoilers before purchasing could make an informed decision. Especially if they know ME and we share the same likes and dislikes in our books.

Imagine my surprise when I got tracked down on FB messenger, received a message here on Goodreads, AND got an email all within the same ten minute period telling me to remove my spoilers ASAP. Authors/PR companies should not be trying to manipulate reviews. ARCs stop being "in exchange for honest reviews" when a reviewer's hands are tied by stipulations. This type of thing needs to stop NOW.

So that is my say on the matter. I will no longer read or promote this author or work with the PR company she is using for promotion. If anyone would like to know what the spoilers were, feel free to message me. The funniest part about all this was I wasn't sure how I was going to rate this book. That is why I was taking 24 hours to think about it. As you can see, after this fiasco I have now 1-Starred it...sigh.


I am going to hold off a bit on placing a star rating on this book. I've got a bunch of mixed feelings about it. I liked book one, and Damon was always an intriguing character to me, but his character (and 70% of this book) didn't work for me for. Like...AT ALL. I wasn't expecting sunshine and rainbows by any means, but I pretty much felt ZERO connection between Winter and Damon until the last 30%. Coincidently, the last 30% of this book was the best part of it by far. If the first 70% had been as good, I would have given the book 4-Stars.



Alas, I felt like there was way too much filler with all the past chapters, and they bored me. I did love the twists that came at the end (again last 30% of this was awesome). I loved seeing the characters from the prior books as well.

So yea...I need to marinate a bit before I decide on a rating.