This book is definitely not for the squeamish, but the gore was not gratuitous or over the top for me. Those of us reading the story are piecing together what happened on Sarita's wedding night & why. There were many flashbacks and timelines to work through to get to the truth. Overall this book was a fun read. Thank you to Tor Nightfire & Netgalley for the ARC. This one publishes on September 24, 2024 so check it out.

I really enjoyed this story! I never read [book:The Spite House|60784411], the author's debut, but now I'm definitely adding it to my TBR so I can check it out.

The beginning drew me in from the start, and trying to figure out what exactly was going on was quite interesting. The back half of the book started to slow down, with multiple characters' perspectives, which therefore led to the timeline jumping a bit due to seeing that character in one chapter after something's happened, and then the next chapter going backward in that character's POV to tell us what happened and how they got to that point in the previous chapter. It got a bit confusing and somewhat convoluted in that regard, and I found myself having to read some sections twice to make sure I understood, but the story was still captivating, and I wanted to see how it ended.

All in all, I would recommend this book, and I'll be looking forward to reading more from this author.

3.75 stars, rounded up

**I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review. All thoughts and comments contained within are my own.**

Since she was nine and almost drowned in the Gulf of Mexico, Sarita has had a guardian angel watching over her, saving her life time and again.

Or so she thinks.

Yet on Sarita's wedding night, her stalwart protector Angelo murders her new husband Frank and disappears without a trace.

So begins Sarita's quest for knowledge, power, and revenge. Unbeknownst to her, however, she is but one piece of a great prophecy spanning centuries, which will set into motion a devastating final conflict of humans vs. devils and the makings of the end of the world.

...All of that sounded like the recipe for a book I would adore. And I really wanted to like this book. I just didn't.

By turns confusing and disjointed, the narrative skips from character to character, occasionally backtracking or jogging sideways. I found the multiple perspectives irritating; just when I'd start feeling invested in a character's storyline the book would switch to someone else. Which might have been fine if I'd been actually attached to any of the characters, but all of them felt flat and one dimensional. There was no character growth at all.

The prose itself is choppy as well: sentences that feel like run-ons are juxtaposed with others that are almost fragments, leading to writing that was frequently hard to parse. I noticed myself having to read certain sections multiple times just to follow what was going on. The overall tone didn't help either; the dry, detached narration felt more like a philosophical thought exercise than a story being told.

It was, however, an interesting take on the idea of a vampire. I appreciate the author's deliberate incorporation of older, more obscure lore, although I would have liked to have a little more insight into the world of the vampires, their creation, and their history.

Ultimately, while I can't say I had an enjoyable time, it was an interesting time, and I'd be curious to check out more from this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for providing a free review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Loved this one!

Johnny Compton delivers a fresh terrifying story about vampires. Southern gothic horror is one of my favorite sub-genres and Compton has shown he is capable of bringing new life to this writing style.

Horror fans will not be disappointed with this one!

The gore was great and I loved most of the book but this could have done with one more re-read and a round of edits.

3⭐️'s from me.

So if you are a fan of weird, creepy and the gore of body parts being ripped apart then I would check this out. I didn't really know much going into this book besides it was a thriller. There were points in the book I was like " what the heck did I just read?" I was lost at a few points in the book for I just couldn't get into some of the things happening.
The writing was done well, I just personally had a tough time at points. But if you like The Spite house by this Author I am sure you will love this as well.

There's a definite 5-stars read in here if you have the patience, reading Devils Kill Devils was a constant whiplash, switching between complete engagement to groaning at its unnecessary wordiness. In the end I was glad I pressed on despite the book's monotonous first half (other than the attention-grabbing opening), because the finale was an emotionally potent, fantastically imaginative gore fest that left me in awe (and reaffirmed why I was such a fan of Johnny Compton's writing to begin with).

In some ways Devils Kill Devils comes across more like a debut than his actual debut, The Spite House, due to its obvious inconsistencies. The premise of realizing the entity one identified as a 'guardian angel' having ulterior, more sinister motive is such an intriguing starting point, and I appreciate Johnny Compton's intricate storytelling, fusing elements of vampiric lore, exploration on religion/cult, and grief into an unique modern horror fantasy.

But the absence of a vigorous editing is this novel's ultimate undoing: way too much stagnant train-of-thought passages when the plot should be developing. There are moments where consecutive paragraphs containing the same information, written differently as if the author was testing out options, somehow ended up all appearing in the final manuscript. For a 'short' novel that is just shy of the 300 page count, this definitely feels like a more laborious read than that.

I don't think I've ever been so unsure on how to rate a novel, but Devils Kill Devils is that rare instance: there are obvious objective flaws where I know will turn readers off, yet I'm still compelled by the author's ambition, because when it is working, it works brilliantly. This might be one you'll have to try out for yourself, but Johnny Compton is still on my radar as a must-read author.

While pitched as a mysterious and malevolent new entry into the much loved genre of gothic horror, I don’t entirely believe that that is what Devils Kill Devils is. In fact, I feel odd even calling it a horror at all. While truthfully, the novel is well written and certainly imaginative as it blends various theological and fantasy influences into a fine tale of prophesied armageddon, the reality of the story is that it is more action adventure than horror.
Personally, Devils Kill Devils as a whole felt more like a twisted form of a hero’s journey, with a sprinkling of a cult revenge thriller. While not bad, it deviated from what I was expecting, and I felt somewhat disappointed by that fact. I think had the narrative been more focused on atmosphere and tension, as opposed to building up towards a big bad battle stand off between Sarita and her enemies; the “horror” moniker would not have felt so elusive.
A bit like sitting down to a movie and expecting Dracula, but getting Blade.
However, I did like the meta aspect of one of the characters orchestrating a narrative within the narrative, essentially creating and directing all the other characters to play their part in bringing about the end of the world. That was very interesting.
In the overall scheme of things, I would probably still recommend Devils Kill Devils if you’re a fan of movies like The Order, Legion, or Constantine, but not necessarily for its horror elements or use of vampirism.

Wow idk if readers are ready for what Mr. Compton has in this book but they better be. The fast pace murderous action literally is taking place in the first chapter and it doesnt let us. If book is perfect for the fall/spooky season and I dont think I want to spoil any of it for a reader. I want readers to feel their heart racing as they are reading this book ,like mine did. Job well done.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an ARC of Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm thrilled to have discovered Johnny Compton's writing. I absolutely loved this book! I highly recommend reading it in as few days as possible because the writing flows incredibly well. It's perfectly unsettling yet poetic in all the best ways. I'll definitely be reading more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC

Before I even get started Johnny Compton is not for the weak or squeamish. We are submerged in violence from the first page. The novel begins on Sarita's and Frank's wedding night moments before Frank is literally beaten to death by Sarita's supposed guardian angel, Angelo. And it only spirals out of control from there.

As readers we are piecing together what is going on and why Frank was murdered in front of his new wife on their wedding night. Through the present day timeline and flashbacks we find out that Angelo has saved Sarita's life multiple times before.

We also get the point of view of Frank's mother and the absolute monster that she becomes. Compton has 1000% made vampires scary again!

As more characters are introduced and the story progresses I feel like it gets a little out of control and a bit muddled.

I didn't love Devils Kill Devils, but I'll still be picking up his debut novel Spite House. I'm still interested to see what Johnny Compton has up his sleeve.

2.5 stars

The concept and title are incredibly interesting. The atmosphere of the story is intriguing, dark, and disturbing, which I definitely had a great time with. I loved that aspect. But, we get so many internal monologues. These monologues and lack of dialogue made the story feel messy and clunky. The pacing felt off. The vampires felt messy and weird. It got to the point when everything felt weirdly overwhelming, yet I also consistently felt as if I wasn't getting anything.

My thoughts on this book are that it has a great foundation for a good horror storyline but the writing style is not for me. I couldn't finish reading it. The constant insertion of unnecessarily descriptive language threw me right out of reading it. I'm sorry to say I'm not the intended audience for this author.

As much as I love the occult and gothic stories this one left me wanting more. I love Johnny Compton's style of writing but the content just wasn't quite what I was expecting.

After really enjoying The Spite House last year, I was hopeful I would also enjoy the new book by the same author.

The premise of this one sounded great but I found myself disappointed by the execution. My issue was that I found the character flat and the narrative surprisingly dry. I wanted to love this one, but it left me cold.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I really, REALLY wanted to love this one. While The Spite house wasn't my favorite read, I did enjoy it and I was looking forward to more of Compton's work. However, this one just did not work for me. I loved the concept and was really hooked up front. I've never read anything quite like it and I was intrigued by the idea of a guardian angel gone rogue.

What made this one a miss for me wasn't the plot - I finished the book because I wanted to see how it ended, and I enjoyed the story overall. That being said, it was a major struggle to finish it because I was just so bored. The scenes with action were PERFECT. In The Spite House, I felt like Compton held back and I wanted more, the violent scenes in this book delivered that more that I was looking for.

However, the scenes between the action were so tedious. This book is HEAVY on dialogue and much of that dialogue is repetitive descriptions of religious themes, gods, demons, devils etc. I absolutely could not stand Harrah or Cela (I also realize they aren't meant to be likable), but their chapters just didn't do it for me in any way.

I am so sad for this outcome, I really wish I had felt differently, but even after some reflection - this one is a pass from me.

DNF at around 50%. After a similar experience with The Spite House, I think I have to accept that Johnny Compton is just not for me. In the case of Devils Kill Devils, I struggled with the author constantly shifting away from present action to bombard us with back story. Some readers might find this fleshes out character nicely, but for me, it made building and maintaining tension nearly impossible. The idea of a guardian angel who chooses violence intrigued me enough to try this book, and even stick with it as long as I did. Unfortunately, when reading started to feel like a chore, I called it a day. Fans of supernatural mystery that unravels at a patient pace may enjoy this one.

Guardian angel, carnage, and lots of twists.  I truly enjoyed this vampire tale. Full of death and dismemberment. Compton does not fail. Great read for the upcoming spooky season.

I hate to write this but I had to DNF this one at ~ 24%. I just could not get into it. The premise was exciting, I was interested but it was so slow. I just couldn't keep reading it. Felt like a waste of time.

Thank you to NetGalley for a eARC copy of this novel; my review is completely unbiased.

I’m not sure what I anticipated going into this book, but this one honestly fell a little short for me. Hoping it’s a me thing and will try a reread again during spooky season