Review: Devil of Dublin by BB Easton

Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author via Valentine PR.

"You opened my eyes. You showed me that power is something you take back, not something you wait to be given. You showed me a life I'd never even dreamed of."

This book is, hands down, one of the most unforgettable that I've had the privilege of reading this year. BB Easton is most known for her memoir, 44 Chapters About 4 Men, which serves as the inspiration for the hit Netflix series Sex/Life and spawned the four-book 44 Chapters series, but she's also proven she can create outside the box, having written The Rain Trilogy, a dystopian romance, and Group Therapy, a romantic comedy standalone. Now, she's tackling a mafia romance, but this is BB Easton we're talking about here, so it isn't your run-of-the-mill tale of romance amidst all the violence. Instead, Devil of Dublin blends the fantastical with the fatalistic, weaving mafia romance with Irish folklore, and in the process, Easton delivers a tale unlike any other I have read in forever.

When Darby Collins visits Ireland for the very first time, she's an eight-year-old American girl who's immediately taken by the beauty of Glenshire. It's the stories her grandfather tells her that have, however, swept her away. Tales of fairies and witches and other mystical creatures. But it was the story of the boy who couldn't speak and was believed to be the spawn of Satan himself that captured Darby's imagination and attention the most. Her grandfather warned her to stay away from him, but that was the one thing she simply couldn't do because she knew what they were saying about him wasn't true. Each summer, she would spend time with him, until her visits stopped. Then tragedy strikes, leading Darby back to Glenshire; now, she wonders if the stories about the mute boy  she knew had some measure of truth to them. Is Kellen Donovan the Devil of Dublin after all?

If you've yet to read anything by BB Easton, then I hope you seriously consider this newest standalone of hers as your introduction to her brand of storytelling. From the moment I read the blurb for Devil of Dublin, I was intrigued. I love when an author pushes themselves to try their hand at something outside of what's usually expected from them. There's no doubt that Easton is someone with writing chops, so I already know she can weave a story worth reading--and Darby and Kellen's was SO darn worth the time I put into devouring every single word. This drew me and and held me captive from start to finish. Not only is this book my favorite from Easton (so far!), but it's also one of my favorite reads for this year. I seriously recommend this 2022 five-plus-starred must-read!

Release Date: 22 September 2022

Date Read: 18 September 2022

Learn more about BB Easton.

Purchase Devil of Dublin on Amazon.