Haunted library, demons, a cute boy with an accent, and a dark academia? This book had all the elements I was looking for. The suspenseful atmosphere was spot on especially Tess's dreams and their hallucinations. I really appreciate the build up of Tess's and Eliot's relationship. 10/10 would recommend.

This started out strong but got a little long and repetitive as it went on. I liked the premise but the execution was only mediocre in my opinion. It wasn't bad, just not remarkable.

Wow this was a rollercoaster of a ride.

Tess and Elliot were great opposites. They come from different backgrounds but find common ground by the end of the book. It turns out they have a lot more in common than they think which helped build the relationship between them. I enjoyed the banter between the two of them and loved getting to see how sweet Elliot got to be towards Tess. They were a great balance for each other.

I loved the setting and the creepy paranormal elements. This book had some dark moments in it which I really enjoyed and they often made me wonder what was real and what wasn't. The pacing was perfect and I'm glad I read this with friends because I was really able to savor it but by the last hour I just couldn't stop listening. There's a little surprise at the end and even though this is a standalone it leaves you hoping for more.

I loved the enemies to lovers trope within this dark YA horror. The audio was well developed and I liked that we got duel POV's with a male and female narrator.

Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for the copy.

This is a book I've been looking forward to for a bit and I'm glad I read it with friends so I could take time to enjoy the story. I love contemporary settings with paranormal elements pieced in, they feel more realistic to me. This is also told from three points of view so we get all the sides of the story. It's creepy and engaging and hard to put down!

Tess and Elliot come from different backgrounds but share some important things. Neither wants to be at the school and wishes they could go home, both have issues with their fathers letting them down, and they can be pretty stubborn at times. I liked that Tess stood up to Elliot and did what she had too do for her and her sister's well being. Elliot falls for Tess pretty quickly and had some sweet moments where he sacrificed to save her.

The pacing is great and the book flew by. I wasn't quite sure at times if things were really happening or just to Tess and Elliot. The things they were going through felt separate from the outside world most of the time, but the ending helped bring it all together. The third mystery point of view was a fun surprise and I wish there was a sequel to this!

The audiobook has two narrators which made me happy. I thought they both did an excellent job and embodied the characters well. I'm glad I was able to listen!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for the copy.

the devil makes three is a magical dark academia and horror novel following tess and eliot through their journey when the devil crosses their path.

i wanted to love this book. because: magic? dark academia? horror? i was sold and so ready to be obsessed with tesseliot and all these interesting aspects of the story. and well... i didn't hate it either but there was definitely something missing here. this book was good, but it just wasn't for me.

the writing was okay, but the pacing really took a while to pick up. i was already trying extra hard to stay interested to the narrative because of my initial excitement but even that failed not to bore me. and getting bored during a horror novel definitely isn't the best sign. next to that are the blatant plot devices and convenient tools placed throughout the story to help it move along; i was forgiving of it at first because i wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery, but it got overbearing at one point or another.

as for the audiobook, i appreciated we had different narrators for tess and eliot. i particularly enjoyed tess's narrator (suzy jackson) more than i did eliot's (john keating) just because of the latter's unnecessary pauses that fractured my concentration of the dialogue or narration.

i do believe this book has fans though who would fall in love with tess and eliot and the story tori bovalino tells here. and even though it just wasn't for me, i still enjoyed it for the most part! will look forward to other works by bovalino!

— audiobook provided via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and I gotta say the audiobook was extremely well done. The male narrators accent was just icing on an already delicious cake. Told via two POVs and narrators, the story revolves around two young adults who venture into the “restricted” zone of the library, where magic grimoires too dangerous to even be catalogued remain hidden. Like any movie or novel will teach you, when you come across a evil, satanic or cursed book, you never read from the book and you certainly don’t read aloud. Alas, teenagers will always make careless mistakes like lighting black flame candles and reciting words aloud from a book that is almost positively bound in human skin. Thus starts the whole drama in the novel and I think the book played out really well. It was also an excellent book to read at the start of fall aka spooky season. The book was riddled with creepy and eerie vibes which I love as they really set the mood. The almost kinda but not really love triangle was also a nice little twist, even if the possibility came and went in the blink of an eye. Evil is evil and all that. Out of a fierce love for her sister the heroine will have to face countless horrors to return the evil to the book and save her sisters life. I’m still kinda peeved at Elliot because if not for him and his need to find the hidden books, she never would have been dragged into this to begin with. I found The flow of the book to be steady from start to finish and it was far too easy to read this in only an afternoon.

A wildly unique concept, the devil in The Devil Makes Three was imprisoned in a hidden grimoire, and when he tried to escape and possess his victims, a sinister torrent of ink would flow and overtake and suffocate those in its path. I really enjoyed this dark story taking place in a school library, where a young cellist trying to make ends meet for the benefit of her little sister meets (and at first hates) a boy whose life is torn between magic and surviving his father's spite. Such interesting characters and I love the slowly evolving relationship between these two. I also loved to read about her cello playing, something I've always wanted to do but have not yet learned...ah, someday.
⁣
This is a fast-paced and chilling read, and be ready for a good dose of gore! This one's perfect for picking up as we head into spooky season!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not going to lie to you guys. I most definitely got some conjuring vibes while listening to this beautiful audiobook and I absolutely ate it all up. The Devil Makes Three was so freaking good that I never put it on hold. Heck, I didn't even want to put my phone down because I was just loving everything within this.

In it, you will meet Tess and Eliot. Sort of enemies in the beginning but they definitely became closer throughout their devilish adventures. Each hidden dark corner will give you a ton of creepy vibes and questions will start to develop. Especially when it comes to certain people who are close to these two.

After meeting everyone, I will say that I didn't really like Tess's aunt or Eliot's dad. I can see why Tess wrote all those hilarious/horrible sticky notes towards Eliot's dad. He just seemed like a douche canoe. As for her aunt? Oh man.. the way she pronounced her name incorrectly felt like nails on a chalkboard. It's a name. She's family. IT SHOULDN'T BE THIS HARD PEOPLE!!

Then there's the sacrifices and consequences to everything as well. Nothing shies away from sadness or mysterious. It's an emotionally dark roller coaster of a ride that will keep you guessing until the very last page.

All I'm going to say is.. don't open and then read something from a dark mysterious book that you found in a secret passageway. The mummy taught me this and I think everyone should go by that rule.

I went into this one without reading the synopsis, and I'm so glad that I did. I ended up enjoying this one a lot and it was much darker than I was anticipating.

I genuinely think that Tess Matheson and I would be friends. She literally works in a library, wants to play her cello, wants to protect her sister, and wants to be left alone. Everything else is an afterthought. That is until she meets the insufferable Eliot Birch, who unleashes an ancient demon seeking revenge from one of the many forbidden texts that he requests. Awesome.

From the beginning, it was easy to fall in love with Tess as a character. She's jaded, determined, loyal, and sarcastic. I immediately loved her for taking the time to write sticky note insults on each book that Eliot Birch requested from the library, which is a ridiculous amount for the record (douchecanoe might have been my favorite insult).

I was a bit apprehensive of the chemistry between Tess and Eliot at first, but the quickly settled in to an agreement and place of respect that I enjoyed. It helps when you have a common enemy. The banter still remained top notch, but I also did enjoy the romantic element as well.

What I wasn't expecting from this book was how dark it ends up being when it comes to the witchcraft and accidental demon summoning. I don't want to give anything away, but the author does a fantastic job of writing sharp, biting scenes that really jarr the reader's sense of reality.

I'm definitely looking forward to more from this author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an AudioARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Devil Makes Three is a lush, dark tale about messing with forces we do not understand. Tess, a scholarship student to a fancy boarding school, is just trying to keep her and her sister enrolled in hopes of avoiding her parents failed business and financial woes. She works at the school library helping her Aunt with request from students and faculty. When a large request comes in for books about the occult and witchcraft, she does her best to find the books requested in the stacks....even those left under lock and key. Eliot, the student who requested these books, is the son of the school headmaster. He is using that fact to request a larger number of books than normally allowed to research into the magic he inherited from his mother. When these two read a book that never should have been read, a sinister force is released. Will they give in to it's whispers? Or will they just be another page in it's book?

I truly enjoyed this story! It's a great standalone, the kind you go looking for when you need to break up the series' you have picked out. Each character has motivation for their choices and actions, all which make absolute sense to me as an adult. These aren't lovesick children who want to charm the hottie in math class, Tess and Eliot are mature (almost too mature) semi-adults. The relationship Eliot has with his father is an absolute toxic mess, but it's refreshing to see this kind of relationship in young adult books. Most times the parents are their best friends or have stepped out completely, but Eliot finds himself in a situation where he would have been better off if that had been the case. While this could make some readers uncomfortable, I think it could really help those going through similar situations.

Overall, 4 stars from me. The pacing lost it's footing at times, but it didn't make it any less of a fun ride. I recommend this title for those 14+ as it does have some mature content.

This book has the perfect dark and creepy vibes. The entire setting of the book stayed true to that. First 50% of the book was so slow to progress. The book did pick up well in the second half of the book and the end was extremely satisfying. This book was very reminiscent of "Sorcery of Thorns' and that's why I felt like wasn't reading anything new.

The narrators did a really good job however, the recording wasn't done well.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for a copy of this audiobook!

The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino is an atmospheric dark academia book that'll have you looking over your shoulder the entire time you're reading it!

Tess is the new girl at the exclusive boarding school she and her sister attend. Desperate to get away from problems at home, Tess trades them for problems at school. Chief among those: Eliot Birch. The headmaster's son is rich and entitled and requests an annoyingly large amount of books for Tess to pull at her job in the library. When one particular book that Tess and Eliot stumble across is found, they accidentally release a devil into their midst. Together, they have to figure out how to stop the evil from consuming everyone and everything they love, including each other.

I absolutely loved the dreamy quality of the writing in this book. It's incredibly gory, with no mincing words with stabbings and decapitations. Even among that, there's something here that reminded me just a bit of The Starless Sea. The way that Tess dreams and the descriptions in the writing are absolutely gorgeous, with imagery that's both beautiful and creepy.

It's a quick read, and I feel like the pacing is exactly what it needs to be to get us hooked on the characters and care when things start happening to them. Both Eliot and Tess have backstories that play into the plot and climax so well, and that kind of woven detail is something I appreciate for keeping me hooked. The devil himself is an entire third MC and even he had an interesting story to tell. Really well-done storytelling in this book.

The audiobook was very well done, with two different narrators for Tess and Eliot's parts. Both did an excellent job reading a putting life into these characters!

Really excellent YA thriller if you don't mind some violence and gore!

The Devil Makes Three: 2/5

Trigger Warnings: Self-harm, child abuse, parental illness, blood/gore, explicit violence, possession leading to degradation of mental state

Premise:
This YA Fantasy Horror follows Tess, a student, and aspiring cellist, working part-time as a school librarian and dealing with the posh rich folk of her top-notch boarding school. Eliot Berch is the worst, constantly requesting numerous restricted books, leaving Tess to track them down.

After an ill-fated bet, the two stumble into an ancient part of the library housing powerful grimoires, and the two accidentally set free a demon who will do anything to stay free. This includes threatening everybody Tess and Eliot love, including one another.

Writing & Plot:
I don't normally pick up YA Horror, but the dark academia setting really caught my attention. One thing this book does extremely well is set the atmosphere. The whole ambiance of the book is eerie, like somebody is waiting in the corner of your room or creepy like spiders crawling up your spine. The plot itself is interesting, along with the setting of a library. The entire premise is spot on, and Tori Bovalino does a great job bringing it all to life.

I don't find myself very squeamish by any means, but this book has A LOT of gore, where it borders on triggering. Much of it is self-inflicted, and I want to urge the reader to read the trigger warnings before reading this. It is not a slight trigger warning; the topics of this book delve deep into self-harm and blood and gore. I'm usually okay with these topics, but this was so extreme I felt uncomfortable and worry if it's too much for a YA book.Sometimes I felt like there was so much gore and no reason to make it disgusting and upsetting. If you like gore and don't mind the trigger warnings, you may enjoy the book, but be warned: it is not for the faint of heart and probably for a 17+ audience.

Characters:
I liked Tess and Eliot, I think they were cool complex characters, but I didn't love their relationship. I found myself not caring for the romance at all. This could be due to the high stakes of the book, but it seemed trivial in the context of what was happening. Furthermore, I felt there was an undertone of coercion between the demon and Tess, which I did not like. It reminded me of The Darkling and Alina from Shadow and Bone. These parts did not sit well with me, and I had to stop reading. It borders on problematic.

Audiobook:
I am thrilled I got to read this as an audiobook. I adore Suzy Jackson and she did a phenomenal job bringing Tess to life. Her voices, intonation, everything is perfect and made me want to finish the book. The other narrator, John Keating, was also great. This is my first audiobook read by him and I enjoyed listening to him so much. I don't think I could have gotten through this book if it weren't on audio. Kudos to the amazing actors and directors for putting this together!

Conclusion:
I liked the setting, premise, and characters, but the details were just too much for me to handle as a reader. Again, if you don't mind these issues, you'll probably like the book; it just wasn't for me. Make sure you read the trigger warnings and make an informed decision about picking this book up.

Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

Tess is working multiple jobs at a Pittsburgh prep school so she and her younger sister can afford to be there. She meets Eliot, the headmasters job. Together they discover a book-bound demon and let the devil out.

Meh. Didn’t connect with the characters.

The narrators Suzy Jackson and John Keating did a good job.

This book follows Tess she is working at a boarding school library on a full scholarship. She finds herself irritated by Eliot Birch: who is a very arrogant boy, however , the two find a ancient book that releases the devil, This book talks about the occult and is every way creepy. It gives chills up my bones. This book has demons, magic and dark academia, what more could you ask for. I really liked the writing style and the world building. I did find that the ending was a bit confusing and rushed and in the middle I did find myself dosing off, I would get distracted which leaves me to believe the middle needed a little more depth to it . The audio was fantastic and I would use the audio for this book .

Audiobook provided by NetGalley, RB Media, and Recorded Books in exchange for an honest review.

I was really hoping that this would go full on gothic horror, but it never quite got there. I'd say THE DEVIL MAKES THREE is gothic-light mixed with dark academia and mystery. Tess and her sister have fled a bad situation with their parents to go to the prep school in Pittsburgh where their Great Aunt is the Librarian. Tess just wants to play her cello but has to work multiple jobs to make sure they have money - and that her sister can have some kind of savings for college. But things at school aren't going well and Tess isn't happy there.

One of Tess' jobs is working in the library where she runs into Eliot. They soon discover a secret passage in the basement of the library that leads them to a mysterious book... and they manage to release a demon. Whoops. The demon can manipulate ink and now Tess and Eliot need to work together to trap it again. There's some magic, but this isn't exactly a fantasy book.

I felt like the pace dragged at times and I honestly didn't really like either Tess or Eliot all that much. If I hadn't known this was a high school and they were teenagers I would have assumed this was a book set in college with characters in their 20s. But I thought the climax was good and the ending was interesting.

Suzy Jackson and John Keating doing a good job with the audiobook narration.

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

Narrator 5 stars
Narrators had beautiful soothing voices

Story 2 stars

I really struggled to get into this story. It just never grabbed me.

"Tess Matheson only wants three things: time to practice her cello, for her sister to be happy, and for everyone else to leave her alone." But that isn't going to happen now. Not after she and the most irritating boy in the world find a book that summons the devil.

This is a story about a boy, a girl… and the devil.

What a ride! I love possession horror, and I enjoy a bit of magic in my scary books so this was a perfect read. I enjoyed it so much that I may reread it in spooky season, because I feel like it a perfect dark acadamia for October. I also appreciated the sibling dynamics explored, and the weight of responsibility that falls of the shoulders of youth with irresponsible caregivers- I don’t see that explored enough in my preferred genres, and I felt like it added a dimension of realism.

Thank you so much netgalley & recorded books, RB media for the ALRC!

4.5/5 stars!

I really enjoyed this dark academia novel! It was interesting and just a little creepy. Definitely a fun read! The plot was fast paced and I really enjoyed all of the characters. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narration.

My only criticism is that the book felt like it wanted to be set at a college but had to be kept in the YA market. Now, I’ve never attended a boarding school, but the way that the school functioned just seemed more like what I’d expect from a college as opposed to a high school.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a eALC in exchange for a honest review!