The Devil’s Vice
By Mindy Paige

Lillith and Kain are the main characters in The Devil’s Vice. In the prologue of the book, we learn about Lillith’s tragic past where an unidentified character robs her and her parents. She frequently has nightmares to this moment in time and it weighs heavy on her conscious that she could not do anything as a little girl to help the situation. Sometimes she wonders if her actions actually made the situation worse.

Fast forward to current time, Lillith leads a pretty lonely life, taking on a pet-friend named, Herb, who is a pigeon. She fondly feeds him on her windowsill and pets him. I thought this was endearing to read because she found a way to find joy in her personal life, no matter how small it may seem to anyone else. Lillith also works at a local hospital where she is an interning physician, which is how she initially comes in to contact with Kain in the present day. He comes in as a GSW patient and she is assigned to his case to attempt to keep him alive. Turns out, Kain is in the hospital for having s h o t a really bad dude in a rival gang. Other than his relation to said bad dude, it seems inconsequential that this character we’ve never met is unalived.

As the book continues, there are multiple plot twists. One of them I picked up on the foreboding written by the author, but the other two twists caught me by surprise, and they were well written at that! Needless to say, I had my shocked face on for a few minutes each time the book took a new turn.

This book involves a dom/sub-ish trope, also a captor/captive relationship. Most specifically, Kain (MMC) is possessive and obsessive over Lillith. He also watches her from a distance and always seems to know what is going on in her life, protecting her if/when it is needed. We also call this stalking lol A few times I found myself debating between whether Kain was actually possessive or just plain psycho. I was convinced on the psycho designation until one of those plot twists happened I mentioned above, leading to Lillith having a dream which helped her remember a major detail about how she has come in to contact with Kain the past. As soon as I read that, I changed my mind back to describing him as possessive – ha! He has her wear a collar and even puts her in a cage at one point, to avoid having her run away, and I just did not like that. It didn’t change how I viewed the characters, it was just a part of the book I really didn’t care for, and it didn’t last long.

I’m not sure I missed something earlier on in the book that explained the tick of why Kain repeats words multiple times, but I found this odd, especially with what I determined was an unexplained tick. Maybe someone else is reading this review and you can help me better understand this – I would appreciate it!

While there are parts of the book I would label as being toxic in nature, ultimately I found Kain to be tender with Lillith, despite his controlling dominance. He has his own way of showing he loves her and will protect her – it is not your usual protective or obsessive MMC behavior, but still sweet in his own way. For instance, the way he saved the mouse for her instead of killing it after it being caught in the trap. This was a little weird for me, not something I am used to reading, and I honestly found Lillith’s delight with the animal odd, too. They were odd together, is the way I explain it in my mind.

Characters: I really enjoyed the Ghost character and will definitely follow Ghost’s story in the next installment of this series, The Phantom’s Vice. I was sad with the outcome of Bear’s character but also understood why it had to happen. I really wish it had been different for him. I was completely blown away with Drew’s character – had not seen that coming and ultimately he got what he deserved, IMO.

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy a darker-ish romance where the MMC is a little deranged and definitely obsessed. Readers shouldn’t be squeamish as there is some violence on page that could gross out or upset some.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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