Reviewed by Quirky Cat on
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
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 28 May, 2020: Finished reading
- 28 May, 2020: Reviewed