"Mercenary Librarians" = automatic add to my TBR list. I mean they're already soldiers in the Information War so why not mercs?

I really liked this. It was like they took an action film and made it into a book. Actually if you took the show Strike Back, made the characters super-soldiers, and threw them into a post-apocalyptic world, that's about the feel of this. Lots of danger, lots of fights, lots of sexy times - all in true action style, so it was definitely entertaining.

The thing is that the "librarian" piece was a little thin. There's a bit at the beginning and a bit at the end, but when reading I completely forgot about it in the middle.

This is the first in the series, and I have a feeling based on the ending that the library part will play a bigger role next time. Regardless, it was a fun way to spend a few hours and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Heat Factor: They’re both modified humans, so they can only have super-strength sex with each other. And they do.
Character Chemistry: The fact that you could kill me without breaking a sweat is pretty hot, but I don’t trust you at all…….Dang it, I’m starting to genuinely like you.
Plot: (Dystopian futuristic landscape) Cross, double-cross, rescue (Loads of fighting)
Overall: Adventure boner for sure.

Where I have landed with this book is: it’s really fun. The cast is fun, with personalities meshing and clashing. The banter is fun. The adventure and badassery is fun. I am 1000% down with two brilliant and lethal teams coming together to do cool, stupendously violent things. The body count that piles up as these seven get down to business is...wow. It’s all wow.

And it’s well thought out. Any question of “why would this happen this way?” seems to have been considered and addressed, so even if you don’t like what the characters are doing, you probably understand why they are doing it.

I picked up this ARC because I’ve been wanting to read Kit Rocha (a pen name for an author team), and also the name of this series is Mercenary Librarians, which is perfect. A team of badass librarian-archivists is everything I never knew I wanted. I stayed for the action. There are also many, many feelings in this book, which I felt was more emotion than I’m accustomed to in fantasy. Sometimes I felt this interrupted the flow (Nina sadly recalling her dead sisters initially felt shoehorned in, for example), but as the story progressed and things pulled together, all that emotion was well executed and added lovely depth.

The trio of mercenary librarians includes Nina (our heroine), Dani (the assassin), and Maya (the repository). They become involved with the Silver Devils, a squad of AWOL super soldiers, because Nina is wanted for a trade with a baddie who holds a hostage the squad wants back. The squad includes Garrett Knox (our hero), Gray (the sniper), Rafe (the charm and muscle), and Conall (the hacker). The Silver Devils trick the mercenary librarians into going on a mission so they can make the hostage exchange, but the time it takes to get to the exchange point makes all of the Silver Devils have pangs of conscience because they all make such a darn good team!

Ah, the deception plot. My old nemesis, how I actively dislike thee. Because of course Knox realizes that he doesn’t want to trade Nina, but the damage has been done! One thing about this plotline that is even more enraging than its existence in the first place is when one protagonist comes to have that extremely difficult confession conversation, and the other protagonist is all, “Shh, talking is bad. Let’s just have lots of sex.” So of course the first protagonist, who doesn’t want to have the conversation in the first place, gets distracted, and then the secret is out in the worst way, and I just want to punch everyone in the throat.

As I said above, everyone’s feelings make sense in this book. But Nina cut people off from speaking a lot (not only Knox when he went to confess), and by the time they’re all having to deal with the final showdown, I wanted to yell at her that, yeah, her feelings are a whole valid thing, but so are other people’s, and steamrolling them because you don’t want to listen is, um, not great leadership.

Also, the worthiness/forgiveness dynamic created by the redemption portion of the deception plot usually becomes an extremely tough sell for me, and this was no exception. Is the wronged protagonist truly forgiving/understanding and thinking of the lying protagonist as an equal partner (and does the lying protagonist understand that)? Or does it feel like the lying protagonist is in a space of perpetual grovel/thankfulness for being taken back?

In other news, there’s a good bit of subplot going on for the other members of the team, which is really fun if you like the dynamic of the team, but which also could have been pared down in favor of the later books in the series. Even without it, there’s enough crumb dropping to give us the lay of the land for the future relationships we’d like to see fleshed out in future books. As it stands, there are already two potential relationships that have a reasonably solid foundation, so I don’t know if 1) in future books, if these relationships are pursued, how they will have dramatic growth and 2) not reading book one in the series will work for our understanding of those relationships. But I’m ready to be wowed, because the foundations for those romances (should they come to be) are delicious.

TL;DR - The dynamic of the two teams with the deception laced into their relationship made the story fun, but it made the romantic relationship of the protagonists less fun. That said, Nina and Knox are pretty cute together, at least until the deception is revealed. The worldbuilding and the badass fight scenes are great. This is probably going to be a really fun series to follow.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

The Mercenary Librarians are a team of three women, Nina, Dani and Maya, trying to hold together a small repository of information and help their community in a post-apocalyptic Atlanta some 60 years into the future, in a dystopian world where the BioTech giants have basically taken over everything. Approached by a team of ex-military mercenaries with a proposal to find a huge score of digitised information (the Rogue Library of Congress) Nina can’t resist, even though she knows there’s something shady about Captain Garrett Knox. Knox doesn’t want to sell the librarians out, but with his men’s biotech implants degrading by the day, he has no choice if he wants to save them all.

I really loved how badass Nina, Maya and Dani were. Genetically engineered and raised from birth to be weapons (in Nina and Dani’s case) and a living information repository (Maya) they were far more likely to ride to the rescue than need helping out themselves. Whereas Knox’s team were selected, enhanced and trained for their skills as adults (excluding tech geek Conall). Both teams have lost too many loved ones, suffered too much. None of them are prepared to give any quarter in the fight to save the rest… until they get to know each other and realise they’re more alike than they want to be.

The world is well realised - I understand it’s carried forward from a previous series which I haven’t read, but I had no problem understanding what was happening and the information was well conveyed, without info-dumping. There are a couple of very hot sex scenes, more than I’d really expect to find in a dystopian fantasy, but I don’t think it’s really a romance because while Knox and Nina are the primary two characters here, we spend a lot of time in the POV of everyone else… of all the characters featured, I think only the biohacker Luna, who spent most of the book off-screen as a hostage, didn’t get any POV chapters. There are a couple of other romantic pairings which look likely to be centred in the rest of this trilogy, although a couple of late-arriving characters might provide some curve balls in that respect. I’m very much looking forward to finding out, because I absolutely loved this. Five stars for a fantastic dystopian fantasy heavy on the romance.

3.5

Forty-five years ago the Flares wiped out our power grid which subsequently ruined the already unstable infrastructure causing Energy Wars among the various corporations, and forcing many people to barely scrape by a living.

Nina and her team are the librarians of the future. Not only serving the community they've built in Atlanta by protecting and sharing knowledge, but also making sure they can all survive. When Captain Knox of the Silver Devils comes to Nina with the veritable Holy Grail of finds Nina knows it's too good to be true, but also knows she can't turn down the job.

Ever since Knox and his group of super soldiers turned rogue instead of blindly following the corrupt orders of the Protectorate he's had one objective in mind: to keep his team safe. When a genetic modification they all have starts to malfunction and their doctor is kidnapped, Knox is told to trade their lives for Nina's. At first, the task is simple enough, but as their groups work together and traverse the rough new world, they each begin to question what they truly stand for and how much they're willing to compromise.

Deal with the Devil was one of my most anticipated books of the year. It has a lot of strong positive marks for it, but at the end of the day, I felt like I was reading an overly long prologue to the series.

I struggled throughout in really connecting with the characters and I think it's because everyone is kind of playing a role, to themselves and in front of others, that it's difficult to see the real characters until closer to the end of the book, which makes me really excited for the next book, but left me waiting for this particular story to really get started. There were a lot of starts and stops as to where I thought the storyline was going particularly with the whole idea of Knox trading Nina as part of the ransom for his men's lives. I felt like what is started in this book is more of a setup of the world and learning about what (or what) is the real villain of the piece.

But I overall like what is started in this first book. I loved Nina and Knox's groups coming together at first as opposites but then recognizing their similarities. That they're willing to fight for those they care about and for their communities. Honestly, I was more intrigued by the possible secondary romances started here than I ultimately was with the attraction between Knox ans Nina. I like them together and I look forward to seeing their relationship grow, but much like the overall issue of not being able to connect with the characters I couldn't really connect with Knox and Nina's romance, I think, because, again, they hold themselves back from each other for the majority of the book. So it was hard to root for a couple when there is so much unsaid between them. By the end it's better though and I'm honestly wishing the next book was out already because now that things are established, I feel like there can be so much potential.

For me, it's a fine start, it's good and it's worthy, but I just think it was preemptive for what's to come next. It didn't really hit the ground running, but briskly walking for me. But by the end it was picking up speed.

Favorite Quote:

“They don’t own you– that was a lesson I had to learn. They may have made you, but what you do with that will always be your choice."

Deal with the Devil is the first book in Kit Rocha’s new Mercenary Librarians series. This is also their first book that I’ve read that wasn’t self-published and when I tell you I had to practically beg for a copy, I’m not exaggerating. This book was one of my most anticipated of the year and I was willing to do almost anything for a copy. I wasn’t sure what to expect, maybe less heat and more action and adventure. What I got was a sexy, badass, competency, road trip adventure. And I am here for it.

This is series is set in the same world as their Beyond and Gideon’s Riders series’, but it has a completely different feel. More fighting and a less loving, but it works for this group of protagonists. You can absolutely read this series as a stand-alone and not be lost. There are some elements that feel familiar, especially the cage fighting that happens in the middle of the road trip.

One thing that will always be the same, and one of the many reasons why I’ve always been a Kit Rocha fangirl, is how utterly competent and capable their characters are. It’s so hot y’all. In Deal with the Devil, they introduce Nina, Dani, and Maya, three women who have extensive backstories that I’m sure will come out more as we get into this new series, but have escaped the various evil corporations experimenting on them and found each other. They live in Atlanta and have become essential to the community in which they live.

They are paired with a group of super-soldiers who have gone AWOL from the big, bad Protectorate. The only problem is that their biochemical enhancements are breaking down and slowing killing them. When one of their team, and the tech trying to help keep them alive, is kidnapped they are tasked with bringing in Nina by the kidnapper. But how do you kidnap a woman who can take out an army by herself? By giving her information on something she can’t resist. The Rogue Library of Congress.

I have to say, this book was a joy to read. The worldbuilding has depth and felt fresh, despite my already being familiar with the previous series’ set in this world. The characters are well-drawn and easy to fall in like or love with. I have some new favorites (Dani and Rafe) and a few I can’t wait to find out more about. I like how there were little chapter breaks with what felt like peeks into the various characters’ backstories. The action scenes are superbly written and kept me deeply engaged from the first page to the very last.

The romance between Nina and Knox is an instant attraction, yet slow build love story that really worked for me. It was fun watching them circle each other, two badass fighting machines who are suspicious, yet super attracted to one another. My favorite kind of couple. They have some very nice sexytimes too. (Thunderstorm loving!)

I think the authors did a fabulous job of setting the stage for the next books in the series. I can’t wait to see if I’m right about future pairings. The epilogue has me pretty stoked for what is to come. Definitely recommend.

Final grade-B+

Searching for different then land on this and open up for you are in for a treat. I also was partial to one of the locations even if this is a fantasy. Oh the world were we readers would fit right in. We could help these characters out for sure. Nina and Knox along with others give us one that we could stay and not return but as long as you are reading this also works. The story is refreshing with also the action alive with what does bring more life understandable to us. The two are a great duo with the banter a plus. As the last page in this goes we have to go until we cross into here again.

As always this was great writing from Rocha, I really do love their writing voice. They gave us even more kickass heroines to love, as well as a great cast of characters all around. Interesting world building. A great start to a new series (though I'm secretly bitter that the previous series, which is related to this one, is still not even finished and who knows when that'll ever happen... but I digress.). My only complaint is I felt the romance, and the sex as well, took a back seat to the rest of the story. Something that I'm not used to seeing in any Rocha book; I worry that this is their new style as they've moved to a big publisher that's not genre romance. Maybe I'm wrong and the rest of this series will focus more on the romance and kick up the heat level again, but I worry that it won't, if for no other reason than Rocha and the publisher wanting to "appeal" to a broader reader base outside of romance.

But I mean: For fuck's sake, you can't just have your hero say his bio med enhanced hands and fingers can go all night without cramping or losing their rhythm and then NOT test that out, on page. Don't just have him say that, give her one quick orgasm via fingerbang, and then quickly move on and wrap up the entire sex scene in only a few pages. That's just not fair to the readers! lol


Overall: still a solid 4 1/2 star read, even if I have conflicted feelings about the romance/sex in here compared to what I've come to know and love from Rocha's self-published titles. I cannot wait for the rest of this series though!

As a long time fan of Kit Rocha, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the long awaited new series Mercenary Librarians. If you are a fan of the authors, then you know how captivating their dystopian Beyond and Riders series can be. Strap on your tool belts and get ready for a glimpse into the lives of librarians of the future.

Deal with the Devil is centered around a group of female mercenaries that are making their way through the hardships in order to give others a chance to have a few comforts in this tattered and destructive world. Nina comes barreling into the series with a force that will captivate you from the very first chapter. With a past that is shrouded in secret, Nina has found a couple of allies that serve as the family that she desperately needs.

When a band of genetically modified soldiers seek out Nina for a job, life will take on an adventure all its own. Knox is the leader of this band of super soldiers, and he is on a mission that will alter the lives of each of the members in this strange band of travelers. Determined to complete a mission that will have dire consequences, Knox can’t help but find himself attracted to the woman that gives so much to others. With a quest for survival in the backdrop, this trip will reveal more than any of these soldiers could imagine in a world that is crumbling by the minute.

Deal with the Devil is an interesting glimpse into a post-apocalyptic world that will tease your book-lovers heart. With life crumbling around them, Knox and Nina will lead those close to them on a journey that will have consequences that will change all their lives. While the world in Deal with the Devil is interesting, I am still a hard core Beyond Series fan!! The only thing that bothered me were these reports from the lab that would show up between chapters. They don’t list which soldier the report is referencing per say, and I found them extremely distracting in my reading. These lab reports didn’t add to the plot, so they were a distraction I could do without.

All in all – fans of dystopian novels will find a unique glimpse into the world after so much destruction. This novel is lengthy, and I found myself ‘quick reading’ more than absorbing certain parts of the book. With a title like Deal with the Devil paired with my previous experience with Kit Rocha books, I really expected so much more from this novel. After such a HUGE novel, readers will still be struggling to uncover more about the solar flares and the decline of the people left in this world. Without giving more of the plot away, I will also add that there is less ‘librarian’ content and more super soldier. There are several things that transpire that make me question why the plot points were there.

With all that information – I am going to have to say this book is a ‘middle of the road’ read for me. Does it mean I will give up on the series? I don’t think so given the previous books I have read in the Kit Rocha backlist. I am definitely curious as to where this series will lead. Hopefully – the world building will only get better as the series goes on.

QUIET BUT PERSISTENT SPOILER ALERT:

I should have seen this one coming, but true to form, I really didn’t. It’s totally my fault, too! I should have done even the bare *minimum* of research before picking up this book, because even a cursory Google search would have prepared me to find myself in the middle of a VERY steamy library-adjacent narrative. Stick with me for a moment, because I find my complete failure at reading the room (book? room? bookworm? LIBRARY) hilarious, but the basics are these: Two batches of super soldiers, one with implants that make them super and one with genetic modifications (and very, *very* disturbing clones) team up to double-cross each other over some servers that somehow survived … a lot of things, really. Let’s punch it up to a full-blown apocalypse, only some of Atlanta is still doing okay, and that’s mostly because the one batch of super soldiers has grown some consciences (and community organizing prowess): the inexcusably sexy trio of information brokers who call themselves librarians but for some reason put barely trained newbies on the library floor to run A BOOK PRINTER HOW CAN YOU ohmygoodness those Espresso Book Machines are NOT EASY TO FIX WHEN BROKEN I could literally yell for days about how many things in a library break the second the Director leaves the building, much less ALL OF THE TRAINED STAFF but ahem, I’m so sorry, we were talking about sexy librarians. The other batch of super soldiers is made up of three wildly and unhealthily virile men and one tech head whose appearance is not (thank GOD) commented on too often (because don’t get me started about typecasting). They lost one of their number in a not-kinky torture scenario involving planned obsolescence and decide the librarians are too … well … endowed? With guns? And such? … to easily kidnap in exchange for the one biohacker who can apparently fix their implants. Both the lost teammate and this biohacker are, unfortunately, completely not-relevant to the main plot, which mostly involves a LOT of unnecessary flirting and several sex scenes that left me, an aromantic and asexual reader, alternately squinting at the improbability and choking to death on snap peas, because that’s what I eat when people bone, apparently.

If you haven’t picked up on this yet, THIS IS NOT A KIDS BOOK. (Which is my normal area of expertise.) Also, this is not a ME book, even though I literally picked it up because it includes “mercenary” and “librarians” in the same title. Yes, I’m that shallow. No, this book did ZILCH for my library brain or my queer brain either, which I find vaguely disappointing. If I was going to be wrong about the *library* part resembling actual library life I might as well be wrong in spectacularly gay fashion. But no. This is a straight-up and straight-straight romp through … rural Georgia? Diners? Abandoned gas stations? The architectural styles of post-apocalypse America? This book has THE OLD GUARD-level carnage strewn about the American South, which … well, I hope Atlanta holds together long enough to feature in more science fiction, because right now Georgia’s lagging behind the Northeast and Pacific Coasts, and I personally really like the place. (Hi, Aunt Diane!)

I don’t know if postapocalyptic super soldier bodice/tanktop-rippers are an entire genre unto themselves, but if it isn’t already, I could see myself recommending this to folks who like paranormal romances with a splash of adventure and WAY too much skin-to-skin contact for me to tolerate in the library, THANK YOU VERY MUCH HERE’S THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION’S POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS OK BYE NOW I swear I’m not anti-sex, just … not my thing, and not in a library. This was so ALMOST my wheelhouse if it had only included a lot more talk about what libraries in modern America *are* (which clearly the two authors that are Kit Rocha *know,* because they hint at it once or twice) and included about 99% less people getting handsy. Perpetuating the sexy femme librarian stereotype can actually do a lot of harm, as the constant stream of comments and questions I get at Halloween-time about costume choices attests. It’s basically an excuse for every trash can of a human being to hit on librarians who just want to do their jobs and YES save the world but NO with their pants fully zipped thankyouverymuch. And my particular variant of enby means I’m *really* not a fan of people commenting on my body or clothing choices at the best of times, much less when I’m in what amounts to a customer service position and therefore *have* to listen to pretty much everything with (at best) a smile or (at worst) totally blank expression. That is, when I find my next library job. This year. Can it be over already.

I’m not saying I want to read a book describing the best methods for applying Kapco and spine labels to paperbacks to prevent wear and tear, but I probably actually *would* read that book now that I think about it. I’m stuck in that place where I *know* it’s unfair to bring completely unverified assumptions about a book’s content to its review after discovering they were, in fact, wrong. And I’m so, so sorry if either Donna Herren and Bree Bridges ends up reading this, and I hope if you do (hiiiiiii love your series title! well done you two on writing something a person who understands romance will absolutely love!!) you realize this entire review is just the final spasms of a completely overloaded library brain after pulling yet another unnecessary all-nighter. You’re lovely and your writing is A+ and I hope your supersexysoldier squad enjoy many a romp in the future while I’m hyperventilating in the Makerspace room underneath the 3D printer we never quite got working. I just get very concerned when librarians don’t have any policies or succession planning in place and what about a disaster plan you’re basically disaster central so it would make sense t

AHEM.

The American Library Association has actually put out this amazing document edited by Nicole Pagowsky and Miriam Rigby that anyone can read, titled THE LIBRARIAN STEREOTYPE: DECONSTRUCTING PERCEPTIONS AND PRESENTATIONS OF INFORMATION WORK. It’s *fascinating.* You can read it at: http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/publications/booksanddigitalresources/booksmonographs/stereotype_Prelim.pdf. Do your future librarian-themed fiction a favor and give it a glance. Maybe next time one of us is caught rolling around in bed it will be with an ungainly stack of books in there instead of another body. Living or dead.

Four stars because the failure is entirely mine, as much as I like to rant about kapco.

I really should stop writing reviews after midnight. WHAAAT

3.5 Stars

An enticing dystopian ride that remind me of how much I love books with action!

It’s been years since I dug into a Rocha book. My mistake of course, but with so many stories and so little time I forgot how much I loved the world’s they create. That being said, I went into this book with A LOT of expectations. The story itself met most of them, but not all.

First up, characters. Rocha has always created fabulous characters and the first book in the Mercenary Librarians series is no exception. Our mainstays Nina and Knox are both a pair of battle-hardened soldiers, built and designed for battle. Both also have this internal moral code and desire to do good, but good is in the eye of the beholder. Because even as they want to do the right thing, both have different agendas that are conflicting against one another.

Besides these two, there’s a whole lineup of other equally interesting characters, which is where things derailed. The story gives at least one scene in each character’s point of view, every member of Nina’s crew and Knox’s. At first this confused me, but as the story continued, I appreciated the brief moments I got to spend in the other crew member’s heads as it helped deepen my connection to the other players.

This book also doesn’t follow typical romance formulas. Sure, there’s conflict, tension, a budding relationship, but there is more action and a bit of slow burn until Nina and Knox come together. Outside of the slowest burn in Rocha history, the resolution at the end of the story, the big conflict and grand gestures all kind of blend together. It’s definitely not the run of the mill romance story and even the blurb hints to romantic elements.

Now from an action standpoint, worldbuilding and execution all the pieces fit. Honestly, I can’t say it wasn’t done well or that I disliked any bit. There just wasn’t a WOW factor. Nothing screamed to me and said I have to re-read or gobble up again and again. Though I did pre-order the second book because… I still want to know what happens.

Overall, I found myself enjoying the story. It didn’t toss me over the moon and back, but it did the job and got me re-invested in action adventure with romance. I love books with crews, and even more, butt kicking.

In this first book in a new series from the writing team of Kit Rocha, the reader is introduced to a world that they might recognize from the Beyond series by this author team. Set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world similar (but not exactly the same) to that of the Beyond series, Deal with the Devil takes off with a super exciting scene setting up the two main characters for this book.

Nina is what is called an information broker in a world shattered by the flares. I love the premise for this series and how these "mercenery librarians" use information as their weapon to help those damaged by the flares that caused the collapse of their society. Nina is their idealistic leader and works hard to take care of everyone in her circle.

Knox is immediately intrigued with Nina and that's a huge driving force for him. A special forces soldier with a team of his own called the Silver Devils, he has his own agenda when dealing with Nina.

Overall, I thought this was a good start to the series. I loved the action of the book, but the characters were harder to get invested in. I did find it hard to connect to most of the characters and found the writing style not as "easy" as that of the Beyond series. There was a lot to take in, but that was expected with a first book in a dystopian, futuristic romance. It did leave me wanting more.

An ARC was provided for review.

You know that moment when you first start reading a book and know immediately that it's going to be your jam? That was me with Deal with the Devil. I was immediately entranced with the world and enamored with the characters. I didn't want to put it down for a second and once I finished it I wanted to start at the first again because it was that good. I've been trying to write this review for a bit and I'm having a hard time getting my thoughts out in a way that's not me screaming "GO READ THIS BOOK NOW!". So I'm going to do something different with this review. I'm going to tell you the five reasons why you should read this book.

1. This book is the found family trope on steroids. For each of our main characters, Knox and Nina, their teams are their family and they are protective of them. Watching the two teams come together and interact was fun and made me laugh out loud on several occasions. I would liken them to the post-apocalyptic version of The Brady Bunch with the two families becoming an integrated unit. I loved the banter between the groups and I can't wait to see what I think are going to be romances in the coming books come together.

2. I am a sucker for badassery and this book has it in spades. Knox and his crew are super soldiers who went AWOL and Nina's girls aren't anything close to damsels in distress. I quickly fell in love with all the characters in this book! I loved how competent and confident Nina, Maya, and Dani are! I loved learning bits and pieces of everyone's backstory and I am hungry for more. I want to know why Conall is the tech genius and how Rafe became so charming and I just want to know more about Gray period. I also want to know about Maya and Dani's abilities and I want to see them all get happily ever afters.

3. I feel like this probably doesn't need to be said but MERCENARY LIBRARIANS. This book is about mercenary librarians who are cataloguing and sharing all the knowledge they get the hands on with their community and the world. It was amazing! But it also read like a post-apocalyptic Indiana Jones and I never knew I needed that in my life. This point should be number one and should be the only reason you need to go get your hands on a copy of this book. It made my Evelyn Carnahan and Rick O'Connell loving heart so happy!

4. The worldbuilding in this was amazing! It was super soldier sci-fi at its best! It was gritty and foreign yet familiar all at the same time. It also gave me the same vibes as the worlds in Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels and Hidden Legacy series and it deserves the comparison. It was glorious! I read one review that said that Kit Rocha's dystopian erotic romances take place in the same world and I'm tempted to try picking them up again just to read more books set in it.

Another thing I appreciated about the world building was the quiet queerness of this book. One of the members of Knox's crew is into guys and it was treated as normal in this world. Nina comes across as either bisexual or pansexual (it's not obviously stated) and I'm here for it. I need more books like this in my life where queerness is an accepted and integral part to the world without focusing on having to come out or deal with homophobia.

5. The romance! Not only this book a high octane adventure, it is a road trip romance and I loved every second of it! It was hot and sweet with an edge of infuriating. I was rooting for Knox and Nina to come together but I also wanted to slap Knox upside the head more than once. I won't say much about why because spoilers but I was kept on the edge of my seat with all the will they or won't they? This book also has what looks like the start of a couple other romances and I am here for each and every one of them.

There are more than five reasons why you should read this story. I could go on and on about the plot and the curveballs it threw and how it kept me guessing and made me gasp when we first meet the big bad but those five are the ones I'm going to stick with for now. Overall, I can't recommend this book enough! It had everything I loved rolled into one story that you'd think that Kit Rocha downloaded all my book crack preferences straight from my brain. I loved this book so much that it has easily made it onto my favorite books of the year list so far. I need the sequel in my life yesterday so the year wait till August 2021 might kill me. I'm just going to have to make sure to reread this a few more times before then to make the wait more bearable, I guess.

Post Apocalyptic romance with tons of action, banter and unexpected twists! 

Deal With The Devil is based in a post-apocalyptic world that is really run and controlled by biochemically enhanced individuals who work for a Tech company. A group of mercenary librarians and rogue soldiers come together for a mission full of secrets, lies, romance and rebellion!

Wow this book was a completely unexpected read that was just everything I needed and some I didn't even know I needed. So as with many books that I absolutely adore it will be hard to put into coherent words about just how fantastic this book was! 

I have to admit that at the beginning I was a little confused and the way in which information is shared. I really came to appreciate Kit Rocha's approach at telling the story and found that the format of how information was shared really worked for the flow of the story. You slowly are introduced to the characters, their backgrounds and the situation of what is going on.  We get chapters from each side characters perspective throughout the book as well as security records/information form the organizations on the character that add to their background. 

I enjoyed all of the characters and their interactions with each other. There was humor, banter and tons of sass! Each one had their own strengths and weaknesses, which you learn about throughout the whole story. There were some fierce females that I absolutely adored and thought were so kick ass! Some were a little morally gray, but also had redeemable qualities. 

The romance was too great! I enjoyed the tension and obstacles that impacted the relationship. There were also some steamy moment. Having a romance in this type of story was interesting and definitely added to the overall story. You see hints of other romances budding and I am excited to follow up with them in the next books! 

Overall I was completely shocked and blown away by this book. With all of the action, scheming and missions, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. There were some interesting scifi elements that added some unique qualities to the book. I was all about the female in this book and thought they were killer! (no pun intended!) The humor and comments from Dani were probably the best part for me! All of the characters really added personality to the story and really getting to see the backstory for the characters and how they got to where they are was a nice element. And that ending! My mind was completely blown and I need to know what is going to happen!

Ever start reading a book thinking you know what the premise is but realize you were very wrong? That was this novel for me.

In short, Knox’s group is known as the Silver Devils. They’re on a rescue mission to retrieve their kidnapped hacker who can save the team from dying of the experimental implants inside of them. To do that he needs to convince a lethal information broker (Nina) to accompany them on a fake trek to the lost Library of Congress server. If everything goes right and Nina doesn’t suspect foul play, Knox can hand over Nina to the kidnappers in exchange for their hacker.

I really liked the two crews that came together between Knox’s rag tag team of brothers and Nina’s girl squad. You could sense the author was trying to build a family dynamic between the individuals and that is something I really enjoy in my reads. Each character had their own unique quirks and personalities that meshed within the inner circle of each crew. My biggest drawback was the relationship between Knox and Nina. Nina is prone to falling hard and fast and she definitely did in this book. Too much was put into their relationship games and pining. The sex scenes took up a good bit more than expected too. There were many instances where it felt the relationship took over the plot. Honestly, I would’ve enjoyed it more if the relationship was more along the lines of Rafe and Dani. They had a more fluid and realistic connection in this dystopian setting.

I definitely like the world building. Though more focus was put into the individuals, I liked the background that Rocha was building. A world destroyed by Flares where the government reigns supreme and the rest of the world is left to fend for themselves. I was a little thrown off by the Techcorps recruit analysis sections. Since they use numbers to identify the recruits I had a difficult time pinpointing who the analysis was for in some of them. It was a good touch though for the background on the experimentation that was conducted.

This was my first Rocha novel and I am curious where this book will lead if there is another installment. I enjoyed the opportunity to read this one and want to thank Tor Books and Kit Rocha for the advanced reader copy. All thoughts are solely my own.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Shelby – ☆☆☆☆☆
Deal with the Devil is the first book in a new, awesome, dystopian series by Kit Rocha! I have never been disappointed with any books written by this author and am not going to start now. I will mention this book has an entirely different feel from the Beyond series or Gideon's Riders series – and that's good, but I just want to make sure you go into this informed.

After the Solar Flares, the US is a total wasteland mess. Big corporations have taken over different parts of the country; this book is based in Atlanta, where the Tech Corp runs the show.

We are introduced to two different teams of people, both teams have been bio-engineered in some way but have totally different backgrounds and stories. I love Nina and her team (Dani and Maya), they are good guys – truly good guys in this mess of a world. Whereas Knox and his team are bad guys turned good-ish. I won't give the story or characters away, as that's really the point of the book.

I liked the characters and want to learn more about these teams. I want to see what happens, and if the good guys truly win. I will say that the odds are stacked against them, which gives us an interesting story. I am invested in this world and need to see everyone (who deserves it) get their happy ending!

Ever since the Beyond Series I have loved Kit Rocha and the world that they have created.


Colour me surprised when a new series arrived and it also is set like Beyond after the Flares but has a completely different and fantastic vibe to it.


Admittedly I haven’t seen Orphan Black, yes I know shame on me. But I have heard only brilliant things about it and then the tough one mentioned was post-apocalyptic Avengers in the vein of Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series, as a huge Ilona Andrews fan it was like ohhhh you did not just go there. I pushed this out of mind and moved along with reading the book.


It was a near miss for a five star review but nevertheless I loved it. Set in Atlanta where the Techcorps rule with their bionic soldiers and with an iron fist. Three women try and bring a little hope into the world and I think they are doing a fabtastic job. These are strong heroines who saved books after the Flares and are also totally kickarse. But not only do they have metal and a backbone of steel but they have heart as well.


Deal with the Devil focuses on Nina and the information broker business and retrieval of books business she has with Maya and with Dani. Her next job is however going to be slightly more difficult and involves a one hot Captain Garrett Know who isn’t to be trusted, yet she does it anyway.


Captain Garrett Knox and his Silver Devils team has gone AWOL from the Procterate and the Techcorps because of what they did to Mace and now they have kidnapped their Biohacker and the deal is exchange Nina for Luna. Knox lies but there is some truth intermingled and a gem that is too hard to turn down for Nina and her crew.


At the beginning they are wary of one another but over time the crews start to mingle and become one. Not easy when Mum and Dad are fighting though.


The world building is excellent and I really enjoyed this book. It is fast paced and action packed with in-depth characterisation and substance that I’m sure lead to a fantastic series. I can’t wait for more and I hope the series’ progresses over two planned books a lot of awesomeness can be done here.

I was really excited about this book going in. Mercenary librarians, what could be better? Throw in a post-apocalyptic world and some romance and it's a perfect mix.

Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. All the elements were there, yet something was missing; excitement, energy, or heart. At no point did the story draw me in even a little, even though the set-up for betrayal and heartbreak was perfect. There was no library action, just mercenary. The worldbuilding felt unfinished, even though (according to other reviewers, as this is my first Kit Rocha book) there are other books set in the same world.

But the biggest disappointment were the characters. I didn't connect with any of them in any level. Nina was an odd combination of super-killer and do-gooder, and neither side of her felt believable. Her angst about her past bored me. Knox was just a bore. Their attraction and romance felt forced. The side characters were all the same--men and women alike--and I couldn't really tell them apart, even though they had their own pov chapters.

In the end, what kept me reading was the action and the good pacing. It wasn't a bad book. Just a bit unexciting.

Deal With the Devil is an action and emotion-packed dystopian thriller that makes me want to smash the patriarchy and save a library and fall in love. Nina and Knox did all three without breaking a sweat. This is the literary antidote to the pandemic that I didn't know I needed.

Per the book's blurb, this is Orphan Black meets the post-apocalyptic Avengers. Well, I requested the book before knowing any of that because of two simple words: Mercenary Librarians. Most intriguing series title ever, I was hooked from the start. To me, this was Leverage meets The Avengers and The Walking Dead minus the zombies and with a heckuva body count.

Without giving away too much and this is the kind of book you can't start to summarize without spilling it all, my favorite part was that the women are straight up acknowledged as more badass than the men. Nina and Dani and Maya are the ultimate post-apocalyptic friend goals. They save each other and they save the men and they save the day. If you love badass women, found families, violence mixed with snarky humor, and a surprisingly sweet romance, then get ready for the Mercenary Librarians.

Let's be honest: the real world is on fire right now. No one really needs to read about a dystopian America run by evil corporations and their super soldiers where everything appears bleak and insurmountable. But if you're feeling overwhelmed or helpless in light of the current state of the world, you should read Nina and Knox's odyssey to find hope and humor and hot sexy times, all of which the world could use very much right now.

Deal with the Devil was one of my most anticipated reads of the year where I didn't really know anything beyond "murder librarians." I am so pleased to report that it more than surpassed any expectations I had from my enjoyment of the Beyond series. There's something about these characters that just captivated me instantly. I love all of them. Our librarian group is comprised of Dani, Maya, and Nina and they were all genetically manipulated in different ways, but have since banded together and are working to make a difference in their community. At this point, there's been an apocalypse, essentially, and we're following people in Atlanta where the public response to these solar flares really relied on pharmaceutical and medical technology companies that make their home in Atlanta. Despite, you know, the Hippocratic oath and things, these medical companies aren't exactly the most ethical. So anyway, Dani, Maya, and Nina are trying to make a difference. Dani is the true murder librarian of the three, but Nina was also trained as a fighter. Maya was trained more as a spy so she remembers everything she's ever heard and has to learn to fight. The three have this intense sisterhood and it's really lovely.

Anyway, the plot takes off when Knox, Captain of the Silver Devils (super soldiers who finally noped out of working for the evil company), determines that he can't take Nina out to trade her for the woman who can save his and his men's lives. So instead, he and his men set up a double cross and they go on an adventure together. Knox is this slightly broken man who is trying to remember what it's like to have things to actually guide him besides just his loyalty to his men. And then there's Gray, a dark assassin type who keeps doing all these cute things but silently. Plus, Rafe is this playboy with a really sweet heart. And tech genius, Con(ner? nard?) (y'all, I'm so bad at names), who I adored because he's just so kind and also smart and a little arrogant.

So, yeah, I love the characters. I love the action on the adventure. I love the romance between Knox and Nina. I love the side romances starting to develop between the other characters. I SHRIEKED when that reveal happened. And then the end?? I am distraught we have to wait until August of next year for the sequel! I need it now. I'm more of a character than plot person when it comes to sci-fi, but I really do think this book was a great blend of both. I can't wait to have a physical copy and also to read this six times waiting for book two because it's that kind of book for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Firstly, a big thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

Frankly, I was completely on board when I read the blurb: mercenary librarians? *Deadly* mercenary librarians? Deadly genetically enhanced mercenary librarians?! *Swoons*

Ironically, that’s my only real qualm about five-starring this book. Otherwise it would be a full five star for me. But to the point: she’s a mercenary, yes, but I saw little librarianing going on. The scene promised in the blurb wherein our intrepid heroine raids a lost library of Congress bunker? <spoiler> well don’t hold your breath; it’s relegated to an afterthought of an epilogue and given only a couple of pages.</spoiler>

Otherwise, this book was a huge hit for me. I’ve never tried one of this author duo’s books before and it was a real treat. Nonstop action, lots of tension (of all kinds), a cool post apocalyptic vibe,) great characters, a bit of a Mad Max flavor at times, and of course some real heat between the main characters. I wasn’t too surprised by the “big” twist but the second twist in the final scenes WAS a surprise. I look forward to seeing where the authors take this series and I’ll be joining along for the ride. Maybe future books will have a little more librarianship going on 😉

Solid 4.5 stars, rounding up to 5 for GR.

Adding to 2020 PopSugar reading challenge for category, book set at the site of a former Olympics. In this case it was Atlanta.