Dance With the Devil
Grade : A

If there’s one thing readers can learn from Kit Rocha’s dystopian world, it’s that we’ve got roughly sixty years to get a grip on society before it all goes FUBAR. Because in the post-apocalyptic world that went dark after the Flares (the solar storms that damaged global power grids), darkness isn’t the worst thing that can happen to us – in their world, it’s TechCorps. Dance with the Devil is the third installment Rocha’s fun, fast-paced Mercenary Librarians series, and it’s as deliciously dangerous as the first two.

These mercenary librarians are every young introvert’s dream because it’s the librarians who save the world. Yes, they work with and fall in love with the genetically altered, elite super soldiers known as the Silver Devil Squad, but Rocha creates a world where the brain is as important as the brawn in taking down the goliath corporate overlords. Here, the Silver Devils aren’t the only brawn.

Dani is one of the three information broker librarians whose knowledge is almost as powerful as her body mods. She’s a dangerous assassin who can’t feel pain, which is good when she’s in the middle of kicking ass, but can be a detriment when all is said and done, because injuries still have to heal. Her self-appointed guardian Devil is Rafe, who, like the other Silver Devils, was once a member of the Protectorate (the soldiers who protected the TechCorps elite). Dani and Rafe should be natural enemies, but the two groups have been working together since the first book to tear apart and rebuild the futuristic system, so they’re copasetic.

Their chemistry is off the charts hot, but their attraction is distracting. Everyone knows they’re meant for one another, but both Dani and Rafe insist their key responsibilities are moving the revolution forward (not finding love). Rafe loves Dani to distraction, and he’s smart enough to not push for anything she’s not ready to give. At this point in the series, the TechCorps president is dead and there’s a power vacuum in the top tier of the ruling society. The Silver Devils and the Librarians intend to fill it, and when an insider presents an opportunity to infiltrate the Hill, Dani and Rafe go undercover as a couple.

Their attraction is mutual, so there’s no pointless ‘will-they-won’t-they’ emotional waffling. It’s the timing and importance of the mission that throws up roadblocks, and that creates an entirely different type of tension because knowing the person you’re interested in shares the attraction means you’re not clamoring for affection. Theirs is a very mature, responsible affair, and it’s been an exercise in patience three books in the making to see their happy ending come to fruition.

I like that the brain and the brawn isn’t exclusive to gender, and both Dani and Rafe are equally intelligent and physically formidable. The apocalypse evens the playing field, y’all, and that’s probably the biggest plus in the collective dystopian world building. I love this series.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible or your local independent retailer

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Reviewed by Dolly Sickles
Grade : A

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : August 19, 2022

Publication Date: 08/2022

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