Special thanks to Valentine PR for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: The Devil You Know (Devil #3)
Publisher: Elizabeth O’Roark Books
Published: 23 June 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

_{(4.5 pandas)}

There’s a devil on my shoulder, and every Monday morning she announces herself. She’s this delicious flame in my chest, a flurry of whispered suggestions in my ear. Suggestions I ignore…because every single one of them is about Ben Tate.

Ben—Stealer of Clients, Evicter of Homeless Women, Nemesis. Sitting across from me every damn Monday with his lovely, smug smile and his too-perfect teeth, the living symbol of everything I hate. It’s been my policy to avoid him, but when a case comes into the firm—one that could change his career and mine—I make an exception. It means weekends and evenings by his side. It means enduring his smirk and his smart mouth and never taking the bait.

Until the night Ben says, “Beg.”
And that devil on my shoulder decides to make a few demands of her own.

TL;DR: This was probably my favourite book in the series so far. This is a rivals-to-lovers office romance done so perfectly! I absolutely loved Ben and Gemma’s snippy banter, their insanely hot chemistry that could set the world on fire, and the way they built trust and a relationship together. Seriously, SO GOOD that it will have you swooning hard!

CW/TW: sexual harassment, misogyny, infidelity, gaslighting 

LISTEN. Elizabeth O’Roark has me completely reconsidering my status as a non-angsty romance reader because THE ANGST in this book sent me out in the best forking way and holy cheese, I loved it so much!

Ben and Gemma are lawyers at the same firm with big reputations—her for being a ruthless and cold “maneater” in court and him for being the hard-ass golden boy of the firm. Their rivals-to-lovers office romance was full of incredible snippy and witty banter and their chemistry was all consuming. The way the sexual charge between them absolutely jumped off the page gave me goosebumps! Seriously, the way their chemistry was constantly built up was done so amazingly that it had me gritting my teeth in high anticipation for their getting together.

This was told in single POV and while I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would, I’m a little sad that we didn’t get Ben’s POV cos I think it would’ve just made him that much more of a well-rounded character and I honestly wanted to know what he thought at certain points. But I do think O’Roark did a fantastic job of showing his character through Gemma’s eyes. He definitely won me over with his caring, his play into their banter, the way he had Gemma’s back even when she thought he was stealing her clients, and his dirty talking. 🥵 There were so many swoony moments that had my heart beating so fast!

Gemma was a pretty interesting complex character and I loved all her layers. She might be one of my favourite FMCs because she was just so realistic and relatable. She comes off abrasive at times because of how closed she kept herself but I felt her hurt and her fear of being vulnerable so deeply. What I also loved is that she’s a secret softie and hopeless romantic, just like Ben is! She has such a big heart and I loved seeing her drive to make sure her clients who have been abused by a system that inherently favours the patriarchy get what they deserve.

In the epilogue, we get a small hint about whose story could possibly be next and I’m hella excited for it because these romances keep getting better and better, so I can’t wait to read it! 😍

Are you excited to read The Devil You Know? Have you read any of the other books in the Devil series or are they on your TBR?

• Follow me on Goodreads!
• Follow me on Twitter!
• Follow me on Instagram!