3.5/3.75⭐️

Devils Kill Devils is a horror novel with great potential. Vampires have been making a big comeback here lately, and while it mostly makes me roll my eyes, I feel Compton when a different an interesting way with this, and I liked it…at first.

Intrigued by the concept of beings that are referenced as angels and devils, and how they tied in with Sarita’s existence, I found myself pulled in. Then Cela enters, and her whole spin off the tale, and the spin off from her spin off with another character’s mother, had me feeling ungrounded in the story. It felt very scattered and almost unnecessary to an extent.

Some of other reviews call to attention the amount of violence in this book, which I agree that it has, but I feel it is rather expected when you’re delving into the genre of horror. Especially when the book contains blood thirsty creatures.

Rating it 3.5 stars because the concept of the story was intriguing; the main characters were decently developed; and I appreciated the fact that there weren’t multiple super descriptive sexual encounters that seem to be typical of novels featuring the type of creatures found in this book, which I tend to find a desperate grab when they aren’t necessary for moving a story forward.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the advanced copy!

3.5 ⭐️s rounded to 4 ⭐️s.

This was a good read that definitely kept me interested! I think the 3 females Sarita, Cela, and Harrah were very strong characters and well-developed! 🙌

I do think there was a little too much going on. We’ve got a guardian angel (or is it?), vampires, sleeper gods, cults…it was just a little too much. I definitely would have rated it higher if it didn’t have so much going on. 🤔

I recommend this one for lovers of vampires and stories with religious/cult themes! 👏

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

In Devils Kill Devils Johnny Compton writes a complicated and convoluted vampire tale. I believe that there are enough ideas and plot lines for several books and unfortunately it was all crammed into this one. With the shifting point of views and info dumps, my desire to finish stalled. I finished reading this morning and thought what the f did I just read but not in a good way. I will definitely check out Johnny Compton’s future endeavors and continue my obsession with Tor Nightfire but this was a miss for me. ARC was provided by Tor Nightfire via NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I unfortunately agree with a lot of the other reviews. The first few chapters grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go, but that drastically dropped off as the prose wandered and exposition increased. I dnf'd at 30%.

I was very fortunate to have both the audiobook and the digital ARC for Devils Kill Devils. The audiobook really brings some of the scenes and characters to life in a different way, and I think the narration is great. Unfortunately, the story itself felt a little all over the place. As other readers have mentioned, the book had a really strong start, and there’s a lot of potential within the premise, but as the story progressed, it felt a bit overwhelming, and at times, the plot became unnecessary and distracting.

If you’re someone who enjoys violence, action, and that rampage-esque style of writing, I’d say you might enjoy this. However, for me, it felt like the story lost its way, and I was left wondering what the central focus really was. At first, I thought maybe it was just me, but seeing other readers with similar feelings confirmed my thoughts.

I initially requested this book because I’d heard great things about the author’s previous work, which I’m currently on hold for at my library. I still want to explore more of his work, as I’ve been told this book is quite different from his previous one. I appreciate what Devils Kill Devils was trying to do—there’s a lot of promise in the exploration of vampires and demons, and the themes of good versus evil are always fascinating. It’s clear that Johnny Compton is capable of creating unique and intriguing stories. I just wish this one had been better executed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Tor Publishing for this digital ARC and Audiobook. Powers was an excellent choice for narration.

I loved reading The Spite House. So I knew I had to read Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton.
I devoured this in two days, unable to stop myself from the world I was sucked in.
A page-turning gothic horror novel that was written so well.
I’m a big fan of Johnny Compton.

Johnny Compton does it again with another instant classic! I can see Devils Kill Devils being sold beside Poe, Shelley, and Jackson decades down the line.

Devils Kill Devils is gruesome. Call them devils, call them gods, call them vampires. They are all evil and they are all bloodthirsty. Compton’s fresh approach to the undead was horrific and wonderful.

If Spite House is an intro to horror, Devils Kill Devils is definitely for the more seasoned horror reader. This book is what nightmares are made of. If you enjoyed Hendrix’s Southern Book Club’s Kind to Slaying Vampires or Hill’s N0S4A2, you will love Compton’s Devils Kill Devils!

After absolutely loving the author's debut, I was so excited for this sophomore offering. In fact, I found the premise for this one to be even more appealing! And look, I don't know if it was me, the book, both... but this just wasn't it for me. It starts off really promising- and quite brutal, with the murder of Sarita's husband on their wedding night. But then... I don't know guys, it went downhill after that for me, frankly.

The first entity we hear about is one that has saved Sarita's life in the past... but also inexplicably murdered the heck out of Frank. So okay, I was game! But then we get into some other... entities. The one was a "woman in a red dress" which of course gave me ALIE vibes, until it didn't. I liked Sarita, and I will say that I was invested in her portion of the story, but when we started getting more POVs and more entities, well... I won't lie, I started skimming a bit.

Part of it was that the descriptors felt a bit unnecessarily long, and I got bored. I also hated Frank's mom and kind of did not care what happened to her. And full disclosure, I really didn't understand the world- the gods, demons, vampires, religious lore, etc. It all just became way too much, and I struggled to finish. I think had the beginning not gotten me invested in Sarita's outcome, I may have thrown in the towel, but alas.

Regardless, I still really liked the author's debut, and while this one did not work for me, someone with more patience (and perhaps more appreciation for this type of fantasy-horror) may enjoy it. And I'll absolutely still check out the author's next book!

Bottom Line: A strong start that fell off the rails, this one just didn't turn out to be for me.

This ended up being a wild ride, in the best kind of way. We start with a brutal murder, and it only escalates from there into an absolutely wild family dynamics shit, complete with in law issues and oh maybe being caught in the machinations of a cult, as you do. This was a long, fun read for me, and I'd recommend it as it starts to officially turn to fall.

This was my first Johnny Compton book, and may be my last. The violence was a bit much for me, though I will say the story hooked me from the first page. Then, it lost me about halfway through. I couldn’t get behind the sudden appearance of the vampires. However, this is a great Halloween season read!

Devils Kill Devils is my first Johnny Compton book. The story is definitely unique and puts a new twist on a vampire tale. And oh boy this book is gorier than I thought. This book had me hooked from the very first page. I really enjoyed it and will definitely check out the author's other books too. I highly recommend this book, especially since we are entering the spooky season. Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'll post my review closer to the publication date.

I really enjoyed the first part of the book, and where it was leading to. The plot/story was so intriguing… but just halfway through it lost the momentum and what was the build at the beginning and I just lost interest unfortunately.

You know I was all on board until the vampires entered stage left. I was excited and loved the though of a violent guardian Angel. There is a lot of violence so keep that in mind. It is amazing how much johnny Compton was able to detail without being revolting. It just seemed normal and of course part of the story. I cannot lie, I did get quite bored around half-way or shortly after.

After a promising beginning, Devils Kill Devils took a nosedive off a cliff, Thelma and Louise-style, for me. I respect this author for their creativity, but I think someone should have reined this in and given it more focused perspectives. It was extremely difficult to follow.

I was excited for more from Johnny Compton after really enjoying The Spite House last year. This one sounded different content-wise, but I was looking forward to returning to Compton's captivating storytelling. While I can say I still enjoyed the quality of Compton's writing: his word choices, the rhythm of his sentences, his descriptions in the Horror bits, the complex fantastical elements in this were not for me.

I won't attempt to summarize what this story contains, because honestly, I only truly understood one perspective, Sarita, and by the end, even she'd lost me. Admittedly, Horror Fantasy isn't my fave subgenre, but this was strange, even for me, and I like some weird stuff. I kept pushing on though, even once I stopped enjoying it, because I was waiting for the other shoe to drop; for the light-bulb moment where it would suddenly make sense.

Unfortunately, that never happened, and the further I got, the more disheartened I felt about the whole experience. Before you call me names, or trash me in the comments, I did read this with a friend and we both struggled to make sense of it, so I'm confident it's not just me. It almost felt like it was trying to do too much without an easily understandable structure. It was all over the place.

Jarring jumps between POVs, staying for long periods of time within character's thoughts, which became boring, and huge info dumps regarding the world/concepts, are just a few of my complaints. The later bits dragged for me as well and by the end, I couldn't wait for it to be over.. With all this being said, this isn't the end of the road for my relationship with Compton. Even though this one didn't work for me, I will be picking up his next book. I am hoping it goes back more to The Spite House territory than this, but only time will tell.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. The audiobook narration from Imani Jade Powers was excellent and I do recommend that format if you are going to pick this one up. Finally, a little reminder, just because this didn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't work for you. If the synopsis sounds intriguing, give it a go. You've got nothing to lose and you could just find a new favorite!

This is a very interesting vampiric tale. The research the author did on vampire lore and of Baby Head Mountain in Texas was extremely interesting in weaving his own vampire tale. Stories of vampires in some country's lore have appeared with hooves, fighting against each other without explanation, thus, the title of "Devils Kill Devils." In some cultures, vampires bore the shape of the devil. I find this research so intriguing.

I loved how Compton created his own vampire novel that is different from the Western vampire lore. It's a little Anne Rice, but seeped more into the lore from other countries.

I am absolutely intrigued by the research that went into this. There's non-stop action and bloodbaths galore. The level of action that went into this made for an amazing horror novel.

Well done. I'm planning on looking more into his research that he lists at the end of his book.

"She will kill you."

Sarita is freshly married and has finally landed with her new husband in their hotel for the night. It's a sweet night, as they revel in how happy they are, how much fun they had, how silly and tipsy they are. It isn't until Angelo appears that Sarita realizes she should have been more cautious, more worried. She should have been more honest about what Angelo had done in her life.

The start to this story was so well done. I was hooked - this story of Angelo, the pulse-pounding moments, the shocking first chapter and murder. But, quickly, the story slowed way down. It piled on POV, ones that were confusing and scope was huge and unexplained. The chapters became quiet storytelling instead of any dialogue or action. Huge info dumps replaced plot and I quickly became disengaged. Once I hit halfway, I was almost completely lost in the story, who was who, and why anyone was doing anything. The ending was a bit of a letdown after all the explaining and build up.

I even read this with a friend and we both struggled to try to understand some of the motivation and storyline. I really wanted to love this one more, but it was a miss for me.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This novel presents an intriguing and refreshing interpretation of vampires and demons, captivating the reader from the outset with its originality. The atmospheric setting and vivid descriptions of the demonic figures are particularly striking, creating a palpable sense of dread and allure.

However, the narrative loses some momentum in the middle third, where the promise of heightened conflict among the devils remains unfulfilled. The pacing slows, and the tension that could have propelled the story forward dissipates.

Nevertheless, the novel remains an engaging read, especially for those drawn to vampire lore who seek a fresh and inventive approach to the genre.

Devils Kill Devils is a fever dream of religious horror, murder, gore, and a sprinkling of vampirism mixed together to become one WILD RIDE.

This story starts off as the main character Sarita’s husband is brutally slain on her wedding night by the guardian angel she began seeing when he saved her from drowning at the age of nine years old. Sarita has no idea why her loving and gentle husband would be the chosen victim for this creature and bizarre events unfold as Sarita unravels the mystery behind who this “guardian angel” is, who is leading him, and why is her life so important to save.

Devils Kill Devils starting out incredibly strong as we navigate the set up of Sarita’s character/history and begin to plot out some of the “why” behind what happened to Sarita’s husband. I was very intrigued by the premise of the story, and LOVED the relationship between Sarita and her brother, however, as the thriller elements become more intertwined with the religious horror/demon (vampire?) aspects, the complexity of the storyline did negatively impact the degree to which my interest was sustained. Sarita The introduction of the other POV characters also had less character buildup than Sarita and I had a harder time caring about their storylines (and not just because they were the antagonists either). The story sometimes felt like it didn't know where it wanted to go and the author relied heavily on exposition rather than dialogue/action to introduce us to the book’s themes and concepts. Was it entertaining though? Absolutely.

Thank you to netgalley and Tor Publish Group for the opportunity to review Devils Kill Devils as an advanced reader group in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 50%. I really loved the first few hours of this audiobook, but then the focus changed from our main character and I got completely lost and ended up losing interest in figuring out where the story was headed.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Johnny Compton for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Devils Kill Devils coming out September 24, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. It was compared to Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing and I really love her work. I also really love horror books. I enjoyed the first half of this book, but I was getting a little lost in the second half. I wasn’t feeling the story as much. I think I was expecting something a little different. It wasn’t as horrific or creepy as I was expecting. I would check out other books by this author.