Book Review: Dance with the Devil (Dance with the Devil Book 1) by Megan Derr

 
 
Half-ghost Chris is consort to a powerful demon lord and runs his own successful detective agency with his friend, Doug, but it hasn't always been this way. Follow Chris and Doug as they solve cases, meet each other, find love, and get their happy endings.

Book Review: Dance with the Devil (Dance with the Devil Book 1) by Megan Derr | reading, books, book reviews, paranormal/urban fantasy, m/m
Title: Dance with the Devil
Author:
Book Number: Book 1
Pages: 204
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
More Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Publisher
 

Review:

*I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review.*

This was a light, easy-to-read urban fantasy, just as the other books in this series have been (I started with Books 5 and 6), and I do mean that as a compliment. The writing was clear. The plot was uncomplicated. The characters were easy to like. It was just what I was looking for, something that would be enjoyable and that I’d be able to get immersed in despite my difficulty concentrating at the time.

That being said, the way the plot jumped in time between two storylines (past and present) confused me at first. I didn’t pay attention to the case numbers that headed the chapters, so I didn’t realize we had jumped into the past the first time and couldn’t understand why the MC was suddenly acting like his lover was a stranger and why he said he’d never been in the casino even though he was just there when the book opened. Oops lol. Once I realized though, I ended up liking the way it jumped in time. It worked.

The plot was also unusual in that there was no single focus to it. The main character, Chris, was a detective, so we got to see him solving a few cases. We got to see the past when he first met his demon lover and his friend/business partner Doug. There were also chapters from Doug’s POV because had his own romance subplot. There were a couple parts from Phil’s POV too, though I’m not sure what the point of that was, to be honest. And then the climax was just about a case in the present. But just like I didn’t mind the jumping around, I didn’t really mind the lack of singular focus either because it was all interesting and fun to read about.

As for the characters, they were so likeable! Chris was grumpy but good-hearted. Doug was good-natured. Sable was irresistible and surprisingly kind for a demon. This would’ve been a great group to have a whole series about, but alas, it’s just this book since the rest of the series is about different characters.

I also liked the idea of a half-ghost/half-human and a storm demon. We should have more of those in books.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, uncomplicated, fluffy read with easily likeable characters!

 

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Talk to me!

Have you read Dance with the Devil by Megan Derr?
Have you ever read about a half-ghost or a storm demon?

 
 
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26 thoughts on “Book Review: Dance with the Devil (Dance with the Devil Book 1) by Megan Derr

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  1. sjhigbee

    This sounds like fun! I’m something of a fan of uncomplicated and fluffy… I’ve just broken off reading a beautifully written, wonderfully constructed book exploring what happens to the adults around them when a child dies… I simply couldn’t cope with that level of sadness! And this one sounds well written and likeable. Yay for uncomplicated and fluffy:))

  2. Kathy

    I really loved Megan Derr’s high fantasy books, but I’ve yet to check these ones out. But it sounds cute! I’ll add them to my list of books to read when I’m feeling down. 🙂

  3. Lola

    This does sound like an easy book to get into and sometimes that’s exactly the type of read you want. Jumps in time between past and present can confuse me as well at times and it can be so jarring to jump back and forth in time, I’ve only read a few books that really handled that well. It does sound like this book handled it well once you got used to it.

    That does sound unique how there’s no single focus, but at the same time I think that also can be annoying at times depending on the book, good to hear it worked here.

    That’s too bad the rest of the series are about different character as the characters of this book do sound like a great group to read about. Great review!

    1. Kristen Burns

      It is exactly what you need sometimes! It confused me at first, but once I realized we were jumping in time, I didn’t find it jarring 🙂

      It’s funny how things that annoy me sometimes can work alright in other books!

      Honestly that’s the one thing I dislike about Megan Derr books is that she never writes series about the same main characters :-/ But I do like her books! Thanks!

  4. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    This sounds like a pretty good book (even if you were confused at first). I love that it’s quite an easy to read urban fantasy. Sometimes you want to lose yourself in a good book but don’t want to have to have a guide book to remember everything which is happening. I think I’ll have to add this one to my TBR.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, it was just a brief confusion lol. But yes, that’s exactly it! I wanted to get lost in a book I knew would be good, but I needed a break from trying to remember high fantasy things and complicated stuff. I hope you like it if you rad it!

  5. Olivia Roach

    I would never be able to read the later books and then go back to the earlier books. I am so about doing things in consecutive order so it always intrigues me when readers read out of order and enjoy it! It sounds like some technical things could have been executed better when it comes to the writing and the time jumps, but that the story overall was enjoyable to read. Great review x

    1. Kristen Burns

      I never read out of order either except in cases like this where each book is entirely separate (except for Books 5/6/7) with different characters, just set in the same world. And I did enjoy this one, even with the unusual plot/time jump things!

  6. Bookworm Brandee

    Another for the tbr list! I think I’d like the unfocused plot and the non-linear timeline because the characters and the story seem so interesting. And sometimes we do just like a “simple” story. I’m happy you enjoyed it, Kristen!

  7. Daniela Ark

    oh man. I wish I could spend all day here on your blog! You find the best titles and the most unique books. I would have read this one JUST because that title 🙂 Though.. I do have to say as soon as I see the word detective in the blurb the “passion for the Devil” extinguishes! XD
    I remember seeing this ARC or book and a few weeks ago and, the a little Devil vs Detective bettle took place in my brain
    me: look! A book that says Devil in the title!
    also me: Oh let’s see what is it about. oh oh “Detective”
    me: but its say Devil!
    also me: But it says detective !
    and repeat 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol you’re just not looking for books in the right places 😉 But yeah there’s no actual devil in the book, sorry! But now I’m imagining an actual devil vs. detective battle lol.