Loved this book!!! It was dark and gritty with characters you quickly grow attatched to and a fabulous story!!

Kit Rocha had me at Mercenary Librarians, for reals. Plus, they’re freaking Kit Rocha, you put on your big girl panties and settle in ‘cuz they are going to take you on a crazy ride. And oh-my-god, did they ever with Deal with the Devil. I may have screamed a bit when I saw I was approved for this Fantasy novel from Netgalley.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world with genetically engineered bad-assery, clones, yummy super soldiers and a whole slew of awesome, this was a fun book. The world building is, as always stellar and intriguing. Sucking you right in to the atmosphere of this broken dystopian world.

Deal with the Devil is exactly that, a deal between two people that the other knows they shouldn’t trust and wam bam, thank you m’am, we are off to the awesome. . .from the moment Nina comes roaring to life on the page, I found her interesting. Who she is, her beliefs, her secrets, her abilities. It was a new twist to see where Nina comes from and why she is the way she is. Her inner circle, is awesome, I loved her tribe of two.

Then you’ve got Knox, who has massive secrets of his own. You know from the get-go that he is lying to Nina, hence the title, and yet. I loved Knox, I loved the conflict within him, I loved his team of men, I loved the rebellion of these men. And I loved him with Nina.

These two were fun to watch crash into each other, I enjoyed every second of it.

If you’re looking for a well thought out, amazingly written, interestingly crafted out fantasy/dystopian/sci-fi/post-apocalyptic novel with just enough romance to whet the appetite – then grab this gem.

Did I love Deal with the Devil as much as the Beyond series, no. But I have a hardcore love for that one. Did I enjoy this with every beat of my bookish heart and can’t wait for more? Yes, hell yes. I can’t wait for book two and three. . .hopefully more!

Four Apocalyptic Stars

Thank you NetGalley for this Advanced Reader’s Copy!

The premise for this book is unique and very intriguing. I enjoyed most of the dialogue but the author is very heavy in the swear words. To the point of being excessive. If that bothers you, it will be an issue with this book. I liked the playful banter between the characters and I liked the blurbs between chapters that gave us some insight into what caused them to be the way they are.

This book also has done very graphic sexual content. Between the tension between two main characters and when that actual climaxes, it gets pretty intense.

The idea in the book about different implants granting different inhuman abilities is an interesting and unique idea. Having them degrade without being serviced and only being able to be serviced if they are with the main bad guys was an amazing take. I really enjoyed this book.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the BEST news from NetGalley--approval for an ARC for a book that I was CRAVING.

In 6 B.C-19*, I wrote my first review of a Kit Rocha story. You can read it here. It's fair to say I'm a straight-up Kit Rocha Fan Girl. So you can imagine my response when I found out that I'd been approved for an ARC of the first book of the new Kit Rocha series, Deal With The Devil, in exchange for a review.

It was VERY dignified. *cough* Very.



Deal With The Devil is a Mercenary Librarians novel, and it's set in the same post-apocalyptic timeline that the O'Kane books are set, but the location is different. So far, there are no character connections, but everyone is dealing with the same "how do we live now that everything is broken" situation. (There was a nice Easter egg mention of the whisky from Sector Four from their last series, though.)

The Mercenary Librarians are actually quite more benevolent than their name sounds. They're not hoarding knowledge and texts (remind me to review Rachel Caine's Great Library series soon, would ya?), but they do need to support themselves and help a few neighbors while they're at it. So when the leader, Nina, gets an offer to go after a rogue Library of Congress bunker, she gathers up her team and heads out with The Silver Devils--a team of elite soldiers formally employed by the local tech giant--despite the possibility that this offer is too good to be true. She wants to save all the knowledge that's been lost and find a way to make is accessible to the people around her.

Garrett, the leader of the Silver Devils, doesn't have quite that altruistic of a goal in mind. He's actually setting a trap for Nina; he's desperate to trade Nina for another woman who can stop the Silver Devils from dying. Their former tech giant employer has been augmenting its soldiers for years, and once the Silver Devils left the company they were cut off from the upgrades and necessary maintenance to keep their hearts and brains functioning correctly.

So the two teams set off toward the rogue bunker, and have some adventures, and get to know each other better. And Garrett is in a bind. He likes Nina, and, oh, man, does he want Nina, but he's about to betray Nina. So there's interpersonal tension to go along with the post-apocalyptic danger, and there's just a lot of really compelling stuff going on.

Which I liked and will probably love on the re-read.
Why didn't I love it the first time through?

Because I HATE hate hate hate books where the inevitable betrayal is baked into the plot. While I was all *Kermit arms* about getting the ARC, I also speed read the whole thing like this:

little girl covering eyes with hands and peeking through

I mean, I trust Kit Rocha to make everything work out in the end, but Garrett was taking TOO LONG to tell Nina what was going on. And then there was this TWIST that I did not see coming, and, oh, yeah, Garrett was screwed. It was also pretty unclear how it was going to all work out in the end.

Because, as I said, there was a lot of really compelling stuff going on.

So, if you want to know how it works out for Nina and Garrett, and you're more comfortable with sturm und drang than I am, you should definitely read this. Even if you're wimp like I am, you should read this. It's good, and finishing it just made me greedy for the next one.

*Six year before COVID-19, or 2014.

I’m so upset that I don’t have the second one on the series to start reading! How could Rocha end like that? Such a nice cliff hanger and set-up.

I honestly wasn’t expecting this book at all. First, I really enjoy Rocha’s writing. It’s clear, concise, and has the perfect amount of flourish. Many “technical” terms were used throughout the book, but their uses didn’t take away from the book itself. Next, Rocha presented a sexually charged and unique take on a post apocalyptic story. Even tough the story was slightly predictable, I was completely captivated and needed to know what happened next.

The characters are absolutely fabulous. I’m obsessed with Dani and Rafe. Each character has had their own fun personality that develop throughout the story. They’re all fun loving, badass, superhuman heroes. In between each chapter, Rocha gives readers little memos sent by TechCorp that adds a little fun to the reading. It makes readers conduct their own detective work figuring out which number goes with the different characters.

The one draw back of the story is there is no real background given. What caused the solar flares? What exactly is TechCorp? While info dumps aren’t good, I feel like there needs to be some sort of background about the world’s collapse.

I’ve never read this author before, and I fully went into this book not sure I was really going to like it because I am not a big of post-apocalyptic stories. Boy was I wrong! The first item I want to talk about is the description of the book. The ladies are not a group of librarians. Yes, they make books, but that is just the tip of the iceberg…and also gets into something that happens and is a spoiler. Next, they are all living life, not really fighting for their lives at the beginning. All that beng said, this was an excellent, well-written urban fantasy that was very hard to put down. I loved the characters and the plot. There were little memos interspersed around the chapters that at first were a little annoying, but it didn’t take long to see how important they were. This was a well-crafted book, and I am really looking forward to the next one! Highly recommend! I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Let me preface this review first of all by saying that I find the title of this series to be somewhat misleading.

Since I rarely read summaries or synopses and kinda just go off cover art and gut instinct, like the truly superficial reader that I am, I thought somehow that this was a fantasy novel about mercenary librarians. I was anticipating some kind of bookish pursuit, some wrangling of precious artifacts, an adventurous romp into magical archives and mystical libraries.

Well.....dear sirs and madams, I was surely mistaken. Because despite the mention of "mercenary librarians" this story has very little to do with reading or librarians if at all, anything whatsoever. I should have got the hint that this was going to be a gritty, military, sci fi dystopian after reading Kit Rocha's first "Beyond" series title, which was......entertaining, to say the least (4 star rating.)

So what is it about?

How about some overpowered elite girl squad of vigilantes in a dystopian post-apocalyptic world teaming up with yet another elite squad of ex-military, bio-enhanced stud muffins on an adventure to steal some precious loot and make millions? Oh, but the head of the male squad is Knox and he's secretly trying to kidnap the head of the female squad, Nina, because a kidnapper stole one of his bioengineers and his whole squad will die from their biometric implants if she isn't recovered. Oh, but tricky thing, Knox and Nina kinda have a thing for eachother so it makes his eventual betrayal super awkward...

I loved that all of our characters are overpowered. Men AND women. All these girls are super fast, super smart, super capable and completely self sufficient. They do not rely on the men for anything, and on several occasions end up saving the men from sticky situations. Their super powers were pretty unique and clever - Dani can't feel pain at all, Maya can recall any auditory memory she's ever had, and Nina literally puts the men to shame with her fighting prowess. I loved the equality of their skill and strength compared to the boys. There were no damsels in distress here.

I loved the witty banter, the friendships formed between the two squads. Obviously there is a lot of setup for the rest of the series and I cannot wait to see how those relationships form. Nina and Knox's relationship is steamy and intense. I love the uptight, super noble, super straitlaced guy undone by a girl with a big heart and an even bigger attitude. If you're a fan of that trope, you'll certainly enjoy.

I will say that some of the very heavy political, military setup and the lore behind the evil corporate biotech company that made them superhuman was a little dry and a little info-dumpy. But I was far more invested in the plot then I typically am for romance novels. There was action and adventure and amazing fight scenes to keep me entertained the whole way through.

Kit Rocha can do no wrong in my book.

Thank you to netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nina and her team of mercenary librarians team up with Knox, the leader of the Silver Devils to help save a crumbling America.
Let me start off positive, this book is full of action, the world building is interesting, the overall atmosphere is great. If you are looking for a scifi that is full of adventure and sexy funtimes, this is the book for you
I knocked it down 2 stars for the simple fact i was cringing a lot during some of the scenes. The girls were described at one point as trouble, sexy hot trouble.
I was interested in this book for the action and adventure, which it does a pretty decent job at in my opinion, the overall plot was unique and interesting. There was a ton of action in the streets and in the sheets.

This felt like the structure of a romance complete with sizzling tension between the leads and lots of sarcastic banter with their crews. With an overlay of evil corporation dystopian future. The author duo really made it work. Fast paced thriller with a hot romance and some twists and turns that have me impatient for the next book.

Kit Rocha has been an auto-buy for years now, so I was thrilled to be able to read this a few months early (especially after the two year gap since the last Gideon's Riders book), and am pleased to report that it was worth the wait!

Genre-wise it's more mainstream science fiction romance than erotic SF romance, which means there's not the same kind of focus on the romance as in previous Rocha titles--but while there were admittedly a couple of places where I would have liked a little more relationship development, overall that was successfully balanced out by the much greater emphasis and page count spent on worldbuilding. (Or at least it was extremely satisfying for me, but then there were also points in the Beyond series where I was reading as much for the dystopian politics and multi-book plot arc as the sex. And to be clear, there is still a decent amount of sex in this book, and it's still hot! I just wouldn't want readers who are primarily interested in the greater level of sexual and emotional intensity that erotic romance allows authors to explore to find themselves disappointed because they went in with incorrect genre expectations here.)

Anyway, I continue to be a fan of this world and of Kit Rocha, and I can't wait to read whatever new Mercenary Librarians story comes next! And hopefully the series will do well enough that the "villain" of this book will also get their own book in the future...

For some reason when I ordered up this book I visualized it more like a post-apocalyptic, crumbled society scenario. It's full tech-y sci fi with super soldiers and other genetically enhanced humans and all. I would basically call it a romantic suspense set in a tech-heavy, near future dystopia. Not as much my game as the other variety of near future/post-apoc, but I was game.

As the first in the series, I liked the set-up of all the character that will matter to us, and finding out all the world building details. It was an action-packed book which made it quite page-turning.

There were some points near the beginning where I struggled to keep all the characters and their "superpowers" straight in my head. Like "Wait, who is that again, and what can s/he do?" But it clarified nearer the end, and I'd look forward to reading the next in the series now that I am invested in all the characters.

Deal with the Devil, by the duo writing as Kit Rocha, is a science fiction romance set in a dystopian not-so-distant future. The premise is based on an intriguing concept: a series of deadly solar flares caused an already crumbling societal infrastructure to collapse, leaving a power vacuum for corporate overlords known as TechCorps to sweep in to power. Throughout the novel, TechCorps isn't seen much, apart from chapter markers discussing the development of genetically modified supersoldiers. The company is discussed at length, though, because of their efforts to control the flow of information to the masses. The specter of the company looms over the novel's main action, and one has to imagine that they will continue to play a role throughout the series.

Kit Rocha does a wonderful job of creating compelling and complex characters. The main conflict stems from two groups of genetically modified superhumans: the first being an all-female trio of "mercenary librarians" who provide information and entertainment, to members of their close-knit Atlanta community, as well as protection from bands of small-time gangs. Nina, the female lead, isn't above murdering those who threaten her community and her "found family": Dani and Maya. The female friendship plays an important role in driving the plot forward when a character who was previously thought to be dead shows up with abandonment issues and a bone to pick with Nina. The second faction in the novel is a group of recently-defected TechCorps supersoldiers. Each has their own mountain of baggage, but their leader Knox carries the weight of hard decisions made in the name of "the greater good." Nina and Knox's inevitable relationship is well-executed, with just the right amount of chemistry, angst, and a distrust to keep the romance exciting. The romance was a perfect counterweight to the jargon-heavy sci-fi worldbuilding and kept the story grounded. As with many science fiction stories, there is a lot of exposition in dialogue. Once you get past that, this is an enjoyable read.

The plot was relatively fast-paced, the romance was steamy, and the ending was just satisfying enough to leave me wanting more from the world that Kit Rocha created. Plus, as a librarian, I loved seeing many of the services modern libraries offer to their communities represented: books and book printing, community gathering spaces, food services, and even 3d printing. I would've liked to see more interaction between NIna, Dani, and Maya and their own community, though! Here's hoping in the next book they have storytime and sing=alongs :)

A thrilling adventure from a solid writing duo. For fans of John Scalzi, Deal with the Devil is an interesting take on a new world that doesn't neglect the romance or sci-fi part of its tale. Interested to see how Rocha's first traditionally published work will fare.

Rating: 7/10

I like the concept of Deal with the Devil. It is set in a near-future dystopia, and there are these two teams of people working to survive. Each person has their own specific skill set, and they are thrown together by circumstances and forced to work together toward a common goal. It promises a really interesting setting, and a lot of action and surprises. Not to mention one team is all male, the other is all female, so some level of romance is expected along the way, as well.

The book definitely delivered on the setting. I found this near-future setting where the Earth is in a kind of shambles from a destructive solar flare to be interesting and semi-realistic. The timeline is less than 100 years in the future, so much of it is familiar; at the same time, most of the technological advances are things that can definitely come to pass. The fact that everything is chaotic, as well, in a every-person-for-themselves way adds a much-welcomed edge to the setting makes it even more interesting. Add in an over-bearing government (because the planet was almost wiped out, so why not?), and there is so much to draw the reader in from the start.

The duo of writers that is calling themselves Kit Rocha also did a really good job of helping me connect with the characters. There is a lot of dialogue between the characters, and the story being told from multiple perspectives gives the reader a lot of time in the characters’ heads. This is a great medium for getting to know how characters think and feel, for understanding their motives and making a real connection. I cared what happened to them in the story, and that is really important.

That being said, in my opinion, there was too much dialogue and writing about the characters’ thoughts. That promise of an action-packed story that I thought was coming based on the description was never made good. The characters did go on a journey, and there were some surprises along the way, but so much of the book was everyone sitting around discussing things or talking about their feelings that it just started to get old.

One aspect of the book I am really conflicted on is the romance. I am not usually a huge fan of romance, but with the setup of this story I was actually looking forward to it. Forced friends on a mission, adrenaline pumping, sexual tension. Okay, bring it! But, just as with the dialogue, I thought the romance was overkill. It took up so many pages in the book that it took away from the adventure. Do not get me wrong, there are scenes where the pining and lusting paid off; the authors do not pull the curtain when the kissing begins. I love a good sex scene, and this book really delivers. I think it could have used more balance with the action, though.

All-in-all, Deal with the Devil is a good book. It has a interesting setup, and really good character-building. You have to really be into romance to like it, though. If that is your thing, I recommend you read it.

I starting buddy reading Deal With The Devil with one of my blog mates. As Kit Rocha fans, we were super excited and stayed that way as the book started. But then the bloom wore off the rose so to speak. We both found some of the main character's actions inexplicable. Reckless even. I tried to slog through though. Unfortunately I found the book very put-downable. I'm not sure I can even put my finger on why, since I usually love this kind of read.

In the end, I ended up giving it up about 75% of the way through. I may try to pick it up again when things aren't so crazy, just because I'm a huge Kit Rocha fan and this could have very well been a case of "It's my issue, not the books."

I received this e-arc in exchange for my honest review

This book has everything any fantasy lover would want! Its amazing and I give it all the stars!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rocha’s fist in her new futuristic post-apocalyptic fantasy series is a wild ride full of colorful over the top characters living in a USA that’s barely recognizable and barely surviving except for these all powerful military and biometric research labs that creates super humans. Her star Nina has escaped from one of these biometric labs and because of all the losses in her life wants to with her team do good for the community she lives in. Knox on the other hand is not a hopeless romantic just an AWOL super soldier, a hopeless pragmatist and only cares for his team. Her world building is creative and inventive made more realistic by her descriptive narrative and her page-turning genre-melding plot is a fascinating mix of dystopian, urban fantasy and romance and she carefully sets the path with characters and storyline to the future of the series. Fans of urban fantasy, paranormal romance and post apocalyptic fiction will love this.

Nina and her team are Mercenary Librarians and they are trying to save what little humanity there is left in a post apocalyptic decaying America. When a squad of on the run super-soldiers who have a deal that sounds almost to good to be true contacts them Nina’s too attracted to their captain and too much of an optimist to see the trap.

Knox, leader of the Silver Devils a once all powerful military crew now on the lamb has to get a member of his crew that’s been kidnapped back and will do whatever it takes to do it. Including betraying the bewitching woman who is all too willing to help. He lost his soul a long time ago so why does this feel so wrong?

Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha is a great read! A real engrossing page-turner and worth the time of a read!!

I want to read MORE. This book went by entirely too fast for me. I had to read it twice and may be going for a third time. The world building is excellent and the premise for the story drew me right in. I like the strong characters fighting to be independent of a Big Brother type government. I hope to see more of this story as there is still so much going on.

I'll admit I'm a Kit Rocha fan. Deal with the Devil is a new series set in the same post-apocalyptic world as the their Beyond and Gideon's Riders series which wouldn't cause any confusion for readers unfamiliar with those books but is fun for readers who have read previous books to revisit.

Knox reminded me a lot of Ashwin while Nina has drive and charisma similar to Lex but not too much so. I found all the characters interesting. There were so many stressors for this group that the story went from one to the next at lightening speed for the most part. The characters and story are complex and intriguing.

Rocha did not disappoint with this series though it didn't grab me quite as much as the Beyond series. I defeinitely recommend this book to fans of suspense, dystopia and romance.