This book and I decided to part ways at 44% and two tries.

The cover, the synopsis were the things that tricked me into thinking I'd love it. While scary/spooky/horror isn't something I read on a regular basis, I do like to surprise myself, from time to time and pick such a book up.

It sometimes even manages to get me out of a funk.

Not this one though. I've seen it hyped but to me, it was a disappointment.

First of all, the characters. The female lead, Tess is annoying. She comes off as really immature and she's rude to Elliott, the male lead, just because of his last name. If that's the author's weird take of a Pride & Prejudice thing, I don't think it was pulled off well.

The male lead, Elliott... well, he's almost immediately lusting after this rude girl so yeah.

While I did get to find out a bit about both of them before realizing this book wasn't for me, I still didn't feel closer to them or mesh with them or anything.

Speaking of meshing, the author's writing style isn't for me. That was pretty much the deciding factor. As I mentioned above, given the cover, the title and the synopsis, you're thinking you'll get spooked while reading. I was simply annoyed.

While this wasn't for me, it might be for you.

I was granted access to an early copy via Netgalley - many thanks to the publishers - and will be rating what I've read as my usual DNF rating of 2 stars.

Absolutely loved The Devil Makes Three. It had the right amount of suspense that kept me intrigued for the entire book. I loved how the characters interacted with each other. Who can't help but love a book that takes place in a library.

This is right up my students street! Spooky, eerie mixed with a perfect blend of action and terror - what a read!

"It was terror of the unknown, of the unknowable, and the realization that maybe, there actually was something there in the dark."
First of all I want to thank Netgalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this eARC.
I just finished this book and I'm already begging for a sequel. It cannot end like that, OMG I absolutely desperately need a continuation!
I loved these characters so much, Tess and Eliot will be forever in my heart I adored their relationship,.
The plot was so amazing, I cannot imagine a better plot that this one and it was so captivating that sometimes I just couldn't make myself stop reading. Although I felt like there could be a little more development of the plot, I just wished there were more chapters.
Overall I really enjoyed reading The Devil Makes Three and totally recommend it to anyone who loves Dark Academia!

I really enjoyed this. It was fantastically well paced, dark and creepy with a genuinely sweet romance. I found myself drawn into the story from the very beginning. The library is dark and magical and it just captured my imagination. The writing brilliantly makes it feel like this wing filled with grimoires and spellbooks are just as mundane as the other tomes on the shelves and there is something so interesting about that. Yet there is also the perfect amount of darkness and creepiness in this microcosm of a school that just sets you on edge. The descriptions get a little darker and darker with each visit to the library and things get creepier and creepier in such a well paced manner. The descriptions of the ink, the gore and the maliciousness of the devil himself just kept me on the edge of my seat.

The characters are brilliant. I found myself enjoying both perspectives. I really ocnnected with Tess. Her role as the protective older sister and wanting to do what’s best, being forced to be the grown up when she really didn’t know how had a real nuance to it. Elliot is a cinnamon roll of a character in every way but he never got to sickeningly sweet. I loved that he was the witch, his connection with his mother and even the relationships with his father and father’s girlfriend were complex and just really gave him more than the pretty posh boy vibe. I really liked how they had individual stories that unfolded for us while also the journey they were taking together. I loved their awkwardness, their determination and how they played off each other too. There was just something endearing about their relationship even among all the strangeness of the plot.

The plot was just fantastic, so well written to keep the tension and suspense. It was just so well constructed to keep you reading, to keep you guessing and wondering. It was creepy and gore filled, with moments of terror and of sweet joyful romantic awkwardness to counterpoint it all. There were family love and struggles, grief and friendship all balanced perfectly to make you want to know more about these people. There really were moments in this book that got dark, where I gasped out loud at events. As it ramped up toward the ending I just couldn’t put it down.

Overall I just think this a fantastically well written, atmospheric YA thriller with great structure and pacing as well as engaging characters, beautiful worldbuilding and an intricate plot.

As a real newbie to horror, I was pretty apprehensive going into this book but I loved it!

It was a quick and easy read with lots of tension, a few gory bits and some characters I loved to read about. I will definitely pick up Tori's next book.

'The Devil Makes Three’ is a contemporary young adult fantasy following two students – Tess, a cello prodigy on a scholarship, and Eliot, the headmaster’s wealthy son – at an exclusive private school in Pennsylvania. It weaves a dark fantasy tale of bargains, demoncraft, and possession alongside commentary on elitism, family, and growing up too fast. The execution isn’t always there, but it’s a bold and ambitious story that makes an interesting read.

After Tess’ father spends all the family’s savings on his failing stationery business, Tess uses her family connections – and her abilities as a cello prodigy – to get both herself and her sister accepted into an exclusive private school. There, she works two jobs to try and earn enough money to fulfill her sister’s dream of going to medical school. Its through her job at the library that she makes the acquaintance of Eliot Birch, the charming, entitled son of the headmaster. But there’s more to Eliot than there seems – he’s a witch, looking for a piece of magic powerful enough to save his dying mother. In search of a forbidden grimoire, Eliot enlists Tess’s help. However, instead of a grimoire, they find themselves unleashing a demon from his book bound prison – and he’ll stop at nothing in his quest to take Tess’s body for his own and ensure his freedom forever.

Tess and Eliot make excellent protagonists. Tess wants nothing more than to be left in peace to play her cello, but instead she’s found herself stepping into the figure of surrogate mother for her sister Nat. She’s sacrificed her own dreams – and a place at a prestigious art institute – to get her sister into a school with the connections to get her into medical school. She works herself to the bone to earn money for her sister’s college fund, and earns her sister’s ire telling her off every time she steps out of line. Tess is a tough character, hardened by adversity and sheer force of will, but she has plenty of guilt and insecurity too – its impossible not to respect and feel sorry for her.

Eliot, meanwhile, at first glance seems every inch the entitled private school boy, but it doesn’t take much more than that to realise he’s the human equivalent of a marshmallow. All Eliot wants is to save his mum – but instead, he’s trapped on the other side of the Atlantic with his tyrannical father. With considerable resources at his disposal, Eliot doesn’t care how many toes he steps on – or how many librarians he drives to despair with endless book requests – as long as he can find a spell to help his mum. Eliot and Tess’s interactions are golden – the way they meet is hilarious, and Eliot quickly realises that Tess is way out of his league. Their growing relationship is adorable, and surprisingly free of many YA cliches.

This is a dark book in many ways. The devil torments Tess – and to a lesser degree Eliot – in a way that’s both gory and has significant elements of psychological horror. There are some graphic descriptions of corpses and decay. Eliot and his father also have an exceptionally unhealthy relationship – headmaster Birch is controlling to the extreme and there’s a scene of physical abuse. It’s still a YA book, with nothing too heavy for the teenage reader, but its worth bearing in mind for those with sensitivities around horror or abuse.

I did have a few issues. There’s a little too much ‘telling’, with elements just stated to the reader rather than being discovered organically or even left a mystery to heighten the suspense. Certain elements are also a little too black and white to be believable – Eliot’s father has absolutely no redeeming features yet somehow manages to have a nice girlfriend, which I personally couldn’t understand. However, for a book which tries to pull a lot off, it mostly succeeds in telling an entertaining and fast-paced story.

Overall, ‘The Devil Makes Three’ is a solid entry into the YA dark fantasy or horror genre, with some interesting commentary on elitism and education too. Recommended for fans of psychological horror, soft male love interests, and complex family dynamics.

I wasn't sure what I'd make of this book going in. Dark Academia is a new genre to me, and the only one I've read (which I loved) was without any magic. However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading THE DEVIL MAKES THREE. The best way I can describe it is if you take A SORCERY OF THORNS and then bring into our world and twist it to add a large dash of psychological thriller/horror.

The psychological thriller/horror elements come from the brilliant use of ink. It's already a well established element of the story, thanks to Tess' background, and then it becomes a tool of the supernatural in some really gross ways. But you're never quite sure what's real and what's an illusion. I love books that play with that, making you and the character question what's really happening. Somehow, it makes the threat seem much worse.

There's a brilliantly creepy library, that starts off feeling like a normal exclusive university library (I think the school is some sort of high school affiliated with a university, and acts like it's a uni?) However, over the course of the book, its secrets are steadily revealed and it gets a lot less comfortable to be in. But, at the same time, it's also the sort of library that's a bookworm's dream (if it wasn't for the possessed book.)

The characters are great too. Both Tess and Eliot have really messed up home lives - Tess taking on too much responsibility and Eliot with a terrible father. It means neither trust well, so watching them slowly learn to trust each other (the first step towards a meaningful relationship, in my opinion) was such a fun dynamic as they gradually unfurl. Plus, it make their slow romance feel more believable for me.

Another great experience reading dark academia has certainly made me more inclined to add others to my TBR!

This is my first time reading a Dark Academia book and I really loved the writing in here it was so chilling and creepy, also not going to lie the ink and possession moments felt so menacing and left me totally tense definitely 10/10 for writing loved every minute of it.

Tess and Elliott were brilliant as a duo too and I really loved them working together, I loved Elliott's witchy vibe. They both really make this book stronger along with the dark and wonderfully creepy setting of the library stacks.

And then there was my issue with the pacing, this took to about the 40/45% mark to really get going, not a lot happens in the first half. Once it got to the 45% mark it was 100% a 5 Star read for me and I could not put it down i ended up finishing it in one sitting that last half but that drag at the beginning really pulled it down.

A great read once it gets going, and I'll definitely be reading more for this author as the writing and characters were fantastic, I'd love to see more of Tess and Elliott too. I'd say if you love a book set in a library (like who doesn't) with a bit of a slow start but super chilling and creepy writing with great characters and a slight witchy vibe you'll like this.


Thank you so much to the publishers at netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“I think we summoned the devil”

One of the most important things I can tell you about this book is that most of it takes place in a library. Sure, there’s a resident devil, but don’t let that put you off. This is a library with seven floors of books, including countless grimoires, and a secret passageway. I’m pretty much ready to move in.

I liked Tess’ ability to come up with creative insults and her dedication to her younger sister. I was really looking forward to seeing how her experience with ghosts, having “grown up under the watchful presence of a host of ghosts that haunted her family’s central Pennsylvania farmhouse”, was going to come into play. Unfortunately, while I definitely saw some opportunities for helpful chats with the recently deceased, this remained firmly in fun fact territory.

I also liked Eliot, who made an indelible impression on me when he requested 147 books from the library at once. My kind of bookworm. His love for his mother made me like him even more. It also didn’t hurt that he smells like pages and vanilla.

While I liked both Tess and Eliot, I never really connected with either of them. The emotion wasn’t there for me and the one scene that I was expecting would ramp it up happened off page.

There is an actual devil in this book but the Big Bad for me was [SPOILER - Eliot’s father. He’s absolutely detestable - SPOILER].

I liked the story and wanted to know what was going to happen but this wasn’t the compulsive read I had expected.

Content warnings include mention of bullying, emotional abuse, physical abuse and self harm (either unintentional or for blood magic). Readers with emetophobia may have trouble with one scene.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this so much - although I feel like the cover makes the book seem creepier than I felt it was. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve read a lot of horror (particularly in the past few months) or what.

I loved Eliot though - by far one of the best written protagonist and male love interest in a long while. He was sweet, good natured, and yet was strong when he needed to be. He wasn’t a “tough guy” which is an overwritten trope these days.

Truly recommend this to fans of V E Schwab and a darker version of Erin Morgenstern.

There's just something about big old libraries that lend themselves well to creepy stories. They're one of the best places in the world, filled with wonderful, wonderful books, but when a writer sets a story in a library and things get spooky it just feels right. Perhaps its the rows and rows of shelves, the quiet that hangs over them, or the stern librarians watching you from a distance in case you hurt one of their books. Whatever it is about libraries that makes them perfect for horror Tori Bovalino manages to capture it.

The Devil Makes Three centres on Tess Matheson, a budding young musician who's had to give up on her dream of attending music school in order to get her younger sister into an elite school. Thanks to her father having lost all of their money she's had to turn to her aunt to get them a place at the school she works at; but Tess had to go along as part of the deal, using her talent to secure the place. Angry that she's had to give up her dream to help her sister, she's spending the summer working in the library with her aunt.

It's at this library that we meet our second lead, Eliot Birch, the son of a faculty member that Tess absolutely loathes. When Tess gets assigned to pull out dozens and dozens of magical grimoires and texts for Eliot the two of them end up striking up a conversation, one in which Eliot learns that Tess hates his father as much as he does. Using this to his advantage Eliot asks Tess to let him into the library's locked basement, where the most dangerous texts are held. Together, the two of them travel beneath the library to gather the books Eliot is after, but discover a strange chamber hidden in one of the walls; one that holds a mysterious book.

When Tess reads from the book she begins to have strange dreams, dreams of an entity wearing Eliots face, trying to convince her to give herself over to him. When books around her begin to bleed ink, and she starts to wake up hurt she begins to suspect that she and Eliot released something evil from that book, something that has set it's sights on claiming Tess as it's own.

I have to be honest, I went into this book expecting certain things. Thanks to the description of the book, and the ages of the main characters, I thought that this was going to be a dark fantasy style book aimed at a young adult audience, with some slow burn romance; and there is a lot of that in this book, but what its got more of is horror. And I absolutely loved that.

The book has some great characterisation, and we really get to know Tess and Eliot well, delving into their histories, their thought processes, and their motivations. It sets up its world well, and in a very short amount of time you feel like you know the world they're inhabiting, especially the library. And the romance that builds between the two of them feels well earned, and fits wonderfully into the enemies to lovers genre. But, the area where the book really, really shines is the elements of horror.

At first this starts small, with creepy dreams, and strange visions, but over the course of the book things ramp up in intensity, with undead creatures stalking our heroes through the streets, trying to break into their homes. It's intense and disturbing at times, and really pushes the boundaries at points. It's something that I honestly wasn't expecting; though considering the title of the book I really should have been. It felt like it was taking a lot of things that have become very familiar in this genre, and pushing them further than normal. It felt both incredibly familiar and comfortable, but also different and at times extreme.

Tori Bovalino does an amazing job in this book, creating a story and characters that I very quickly came to love; and crafted a book that I was honestly sorry to see end. Come the final pages I found myself feeling disappointed that it was only as long as it was. I could have spent longer with these people, and if a sequel was to announced I'd be pre-ordering it straight away.

If you're a fan of YA books, if you like dark fantasy, horror, romance, and just honestly great storytelling this is a book that you're going to want to check out. Just make sure that if you're borrowing it from the library you don't read anything there you shouldn't be.

Demons? Magic? Body horror?
Sign. Me. Up.

The Devil Makes Three perfectly aligns pace with atmosphere. The slow build of the creepy, look over your shoulder, spooky atmosphere is placed perfectly within a constant pace of action and scares. It’s unsettling and you never know where our main characters, Tess and Eliot, are going to find themselves next.

My only hiccup is this feels a little insta-lovey, because it really didn’t seem like much time had passed, but that’s probably just me (and well I guess when you go through something so intense with someone that does bond you at least a little).

Basically, The Devil Makes Three gives you the devil in disguise with some light gore and body horror alongside a little bit of magic, some romantic enemies to lovers banter and says follow me into the dark, everything will be fine (it won’t but you’ll have fun anyway)

Unfortunately I just found this read oh so very boring.

If we’re at the halfway point and basically nothing has happened? I don’t care to spend more time and energy waiting around for something!

There’s nothing exciting about the writing, nor do I find it atmospheric or engaging like other readers have.

I was really excited for this but found it to be a disappointment.

The book-bound demon has been freed, and in his wake he will leave a sea of ink and blood.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Synopsis: When Tess and Eliot, an unlikely pair, accidentally unleash a demon in the school library – it decides it wants to stay free. Tess soon finds the demon has an interest in her, and will threaten everything and everyone she loves to get what it wants.

CW/TW (May contain Spoilers): blood, gore, self-harm (unintentional), descriptions of death/decay, vomit, decapitation, child abuse, parental illness -> https://toribovalino.com/the-devil-makes-three.

The Devil Makes Three, by Tori Bovalino is a creepy, haunting and beautifully written story. Bovalino has incredibly atmospheric and evocative prose that perfectly captures the tension and unsettling aura that persists throughout this book. Bovalino’s prose is easy to read and connect with and yet is intensely rich – from her vivid descriptions to her mastery of imagery, she truly brings the story to life much like conjuring the ink straight from the page and crafting it into an image. Not to mention the perfect balance between the beauty and horror in the story. From the messy personal beauty of instrument/music filled rooms, to book filled offices, to the horror of the devil’s power and his not quite perfect appearance. All of this combines to create a well paced, and evocative story full of tension and horror.

The prose and pace of the story is well supported by the narrative choices. We get three perspectives throughout the book: Tess’, Eliot’s and a third occasional narrative voice. The multiple perspectives all worked very well to build the characters and progress the story. With Tess and Eliot’s narratives exploring their different lifestyle’s but own unique problem’s and trauma’s, it made the characters more realistic and added depth to them both. The third perspective was surprising and yet added more mystery to the book, it gave it a more unsettling and supernatural tone that was interesting. Focusing on multiple perspectives allowed us to really feel the slow-burn between Tess and Eliot, as well as allowing us to glimpse the secrets they both hide from the other and how they slowly grow close enough to trust the other. It added tension and aided the pace well, while also allowing us to connect better with both characters.

The plot/story is equally as mesmerising as the prose itself. I can’t talk too much about the plot because it is easily spoiled but it revolves around Jessop Library – an elite schools library that is surround by rumours of being haunted. Tess and Eliot make a bargain in which they both end up discovering an old grimoire. Creepy old spell book, in a library with haunting rumours, and hints to magic – what could go wrong? Well, the two students unknowingly release a demon and the demon wants freedom. Horror then ensues! Tess becomes the demons prime target,, but the why is unknown, and the demon adopts Eliot’s face to get closer to her.

The atmosphere is perfect in this book, the spooky library vibes had me thoroughly engaged. The tension is also well executed, with build up to horrifying event, plenty of shock and twists and disturbing events that will have you horrified and enthralled. My absolute favourite part had to be how Bovalino utilised the library throughout the plot. Not only do we get research and dark academia vibes, we also get some very interesting and horrifying uses for Ink. I actually loved this, never have I been so disturbed by something as harmless as ink. The horror elements really were executed well and doesn’t shy away from gore either, we get very gothic vibes from parts of the horror mixed in with some outright disturbing descriptions. I also liked how the book ends/wraps up, how some things were tackled, others were left open, it was realistic for the characters and doubled as an effective conclusion to the story.

The human elements of the book were handled pretty well, with the characters having human struggles alongside the released demon. I liked watching how these issues were handled and explored throughout the story, it kept it grounded without losing the supernatural feel of the horror.

The characters were, overall, compelling and realistic – easy to connect with and had depth to them. Tess was interesting, I liked watching her journey as an older sister trying to do what is best for her younger sister. I also liked her dry wit and sarcasm, she wasn’t afraid to call Eliot out on his privilege and I thought her internal struggles contrasted with her external ones worked well to create tension, especially elements surrounding her playing the Cello. Eliot was equally compelling, his outer look contrasting with his true personality. I also liked that he immediately addresses his own behaviour when called out on it by Tess, something we see rarely in YA. Eliot’s own personal issues, especially with his mother, really played on the heart and made him all the more lovable.

Finally, the demon himself was quite compelling too. I’m a sucker for almost but not-quite human looking monsters, and the devil was indeed a monster. But, Bovalino managed to add depth to this murderous devil which was surprising and engaging. I liked how this was handled throughout the story too.

Overall, this was an engaging mix of horror, dark academia, and human struggles. It was atmospheric, tense and shocking, adequately horrifying and evocative, and yet intensely emotional and compelling. A fantastic YA horror/thriller read.

*I received a #Netgalley eARC from #TitanBooks in exchange for an honest review – Thank you!*

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

After arriving at the prestigious Falk School, running from the disaster that her parents have brought on her and her sister, Tess must work at the school's library, in exchange for her scholarship. She hates the pompous and ignorant Dr Birch, and mistakenly insults his cute, geeky son, when filling his request for over 100 grimoires. When Tess and Eliot attempt to find a hidden grimoire in the library basement, they inadvertently unleash the devil, who wants to be called Truth, and is out to claim Tess, no matter who gets in his way. Working together, they must use all their knowledge and power to defeat the demon, once and for all, and hope that he doesn't destroy all that they love.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I'm not normally keen on thrillers or horrors, but when I learnt this would be the Illumicrate book for August 2021, I decided to read it after all. And, I was pleasantly surprised. The main characters, Tess and Eliot, were clever, and funny, and I liked the spark between them, though this was by no means a romance. They definitely got off on a wrong foot, but soon found themselves thrown together, and worked in partnership extremely well. I did feel, though, that the book was a little long, or it dragged at times. Once we got into the real action of Truth haunting Tess' dreams, and starting to control others to get to her, that's when I was really invested, and I think I read the last 40% or something in one sitting. Until then, I would only read a few chapters, and put it down. I liked the conclusion, and the little hint that not all was right at the end, but all in all, I wasn't blown away by it.

The Devil Makes Three was stunningly atmospheric and a spine-chilling read. The writing was really unsettling and really built-up the suspenseful atmosphere that was present throughout the story. The library in this story was described wonderfully well, and I could see the image of it play it out in front of my eyes like a movie. This book fits right into the dark academia aesthetic, and I enjoyed reading it a lot more than I thought I would. Tess and Elliot, the two main leads, were both wonderfully complex characters, both trying to protect something; Tess, trying to build a life for her sister, and Elliot trying to find a way to heal his mother.

Both POVs were so enjoyable and I really started to ship them from the early parts of the story. And the ending?? HOLY. SHIT. I was really stunned by it and it has left me wanting a sequel for this.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Dark academia is one of my favourite genres - especially ones that are set in or heavily feature libraries, due to my job. So the synopsis for this book ticked all my boxes. I liked the two main characters, Tess particularly - I'd have loved to live with Eliot a bit more, especially to get more of his relationship with his mother. The plot was fast-moving, though it perhaps dragged slightly in the middle. And the ending...! What a cliffhanger. All in all a very enjoyable read, as long as you're not bothered by gore!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb for this had me completely sold, I knew I had to read this book! Dark Academia is very much a 'buzz' phrase right now, but this one spoke enough of dusty old libraries, and demonic happenings, that I knew it would be one for me.

While the story was very much my thing, what I couldn't gel with here was the writing. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing inherently wrong with the writing. It's clear, it's easy going, it flows well, it delivers the story... but it doesn't inspire. There are some repetitive turns of phrase that I found to be a little jarring, and the plot as a whole was somewhat predictable from the start.

The MC Tess and I share a fondness for 'old fashioned' pen and ink, which I very much appreciated. And the characters are fleshed out as the story progresses which worked well. I didn't find them as engaging or as compelling as I had hoped but then perhaps a younger reader would have better luck in that respect.

It took a good third to really get going, but then it really picked up. Full of intrigue, twists and turns. This is an easy YA read, worth a try but not one I'd re-visit.

3 stars

I really enjoyed this one! I had been wary of it because of the cover and synopsis sounded like it would incorporate some horror elements, which I’m usually not a fan of. While it did, I actually ended up loving these elements. They fit so well with the dark academia vibes, creating a very enjoyable and exciting novel.
I think my favorite thing about this was definitely the plot. The symbolism of the title was immaculate, and I loved how it played into the book. Especially when the devil started showing up. I was addicted, and couldn't put this down. From his ink-demons to the hallucinations, I never knew what was coming next.
I also really liked both of our characters. While I didn't ship them romantically, I did love their friendship. It was even better because it started off so rocky. It never lost its charm, and I gladly would've read more about these two.
I think my one complaint has to be the lack of worldbuilding. We know this is urban fantasy, but I did have some questions. How prevalent is magic in this world? Eliot's mother's coven is mentioned several times, but that's all we're given. It's a small complaint, but i definitely would've appreciated it being explored.
If you're a fan of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, I'd definitely recommend this one! Even though the plots only shared one or two similarities, they had the same type of vibes. I really enjoyed this!