There's a definite 5-stars read in here if you have the patience, reading Devils Kill Devils was a constant whiplash, switching between complete engagement to groaning at its unnecessary wordiness. In the end I was glad I pressed on despite the book's monotonous first half (other than the attention-grabbing opening), because the finale was an emotionally potent, fantastically imaginative gore fest that left me in awe (and reaffirmed why I was such a fan of Johnny Compton's writing to begin with).

In some ways Devils Kill Devils comes across more like a debut than his actual debut, The Spite House, due to its obvious inconsistencies. The premise of realizing the entity one identified as a 'guardian angel' having ulterior, more sinister motive is such an intriguing starting point, and I appreciate Johnny Compton's intricate storytelling, fusing elements of vampiric lore, exploration on religion/cult, and grief into an unique modern horror fantasy.

But the absence of a vigorous editing is this novel's ultimate undoing: way too much stagnant train-of-thought passages when the plot should be developing. There are moments where consecutive paragraphs containing the same information, written differently as if the author was testing out options, somehow ended up all appearing in the final manuscript. For a 'short' novel that is just shy of the 300 page count, this definitely feels like a more laborious read than that.

I don't think I've ever been so unsure on how to rate a novel, but Devils Kill Devils is that rare instance: there are obvious objective flaws where I know will turn readers off, yet I'm still compelled by the author's ambition, because when it is working, it works brilliantly. This might be one you'll have to try out for yourself, but Johnny Compton is still on my radar as a must-read author.

While pitched as a mysterious and malevolent new entry into the much loved genre of gothic horror, I don’t entirely believe that that is what Devils Kill Devils is. In fact, I feel odd even calling it a horror at all. While truthfully, the novel is well written and certainly imaginative as it blends various theological and fantasy influences into a fine tale of prophesied armageddon, the reality of the story is that it is more action adventure than horror.
Personally, Devils Kill Devils as a whole felt more like a twisted form of a hero’s journey, with a sprinkling of a cult revenge thriller. While not bad, it deviated from what I was expecting, and I felt somewhat disappointed by that fact. I think had the narrative been more focused on atmosphere and tension, as opposed to building up towards a big bad battle stand off between Sarita and her enemies; the “horror” moniker would not have felt so elusive.
A bit like sitting down to a movie and expecting Dracula, but getting Blade.
However, I did like the meta aspect of one of the characters orchestrating a narrative within the narrative, essentially creating and directing all the other characters to play their part in bringing about the end of the world. That was very interesting.
In the overall scheme of things, I would probably still recommend Devils Kill Devils if you’re a fan of movies like The Order, Legion, or Constantine, but not necessarily for its horror elements or use of vampirism.

Wow idk if readers are ready for what Mr. Compton has in this book but they better be. The fast pace murderous action literally is taking place in the first chapter and it doesnt let us. If book is perfect for the fall/spooky season and I dont think I want to spoil any of it for a reader. I want readers to feel their heart racing as they are reading this book ,like mine did. Job well done.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an ARC of Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm thrilled to have discovered Johnny Compton's writing. I absolutely loved this book! I highly recommend reading it in as few days as possible because the writing flows incredibly well. It's perfectly unsettling yet poetic in all the best ways. I'll definitely be reading more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC

Before I even get started Johnny Compton is not for the weak or squeamish. We are submerged in violence from the first page. The novel begins on Sarita's and Frank's wedding night moments before Frank is literally beaten to death by Sarita's supposed guardian angel, Angelo. And it only spirals out of control from there.

As readers we are piecing together what is going on and why Frank was murdered in front of his new wife on their wedding night. Through the present day timeline and flashbacks we find out that Angelo has saved Sarita's life multiple times before.

We also get the point of view of Frank's mother and the absolute monster that she becomes. Compton has 1000% made vampires scary again!

As more characters are introduced and the story progresses I feel like it gets a little out of control and a bit muddled.

I didn't love Devils Kill Devils, but I'll still be picking up his debut novel Spite House. I'm still interested to see what Johnny Compton has up his sleeve.

2.5 stars

The concept and title are incredibly interesting. The atmosphere of the story is intriguing, dark, and disturbing, which I definitely had a great time with. I loved that aspect. But, we get so many internal monologues. These monologues and lack of dialogue made the story feel messy and clunky. The pacing felt off. The vampires felt messy and weird. It got to the point when everything felt weirdly overwhelming, yet I also consistently felt as if I wasn't getting anything.

My thoughts on this book are that it has a great foundation for a good horror storyline but the writing style is not for me. I couldn't finish reading it. The constant insertion of unnecessarily descriptive language threw me right out of reading it. I'm sorry to say I'm not the intended audience for this author.

As much as I love the occult and gothic stories this one left me wanting more. I love Johnny Compton's style of writing but the content just wasn't quite what I was expecting.

After really enjoying The Spite House last year, I was hopeful I would also enjoy the new book by the same author.

The premise of this one sounded great but I found myself disappointed by the execution. My issue was that I found the character flat and the narrative surprisingly dry. I wanted to love this one, but it left me cold.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I really, REALLY wanted to love this one. While The Spite house wasn't my favorite read, I did enjoy it and I was looking forward to more of Compton's work. However, this one just did not work for me. I loved the concept and was really hooked up front. I've never read anything quite like it and I was intrigued by the idea of a guardian angel gone rogue.

What made this one a miss for me wasn't the plot - I finished the book because I wanted to see how it ended, and I enjoyed the story overall. That being said, it was a major struggle to finish it because I was just so bored. The scenes with action were PERFECT. In The Spite House, I felt like Compton held back and I wanted more, the violent scenes in this book delivered that more that I was looking for.

However, the scenes between the action were so tedious. This book is HEAVY on dialogue and much of that dialogue is repetitive descriptions of religious themes, gods, demons, devils etc. I absolutely could not stand Harrah or Cela (I also realize they aren't meant to be likable), but their chapters just didn't do it for me in any way.

I am so sad for this outcome, I really wish I had felt differently, but even after some reflection - this one is a pass from me.

DNF at around 50%. After a similar experience with The Spite House, I think I have to accept that Johnny Compton is just not for me. In the case of Devils Kill Devils, I struggled with the author constantly shifting away from present action to bombard us with back story. Some readers might find this fleshes out character nicely, but for me, it made building and maintaining tension nearly impossible. The idea of a guardian angel who chooses violence intrigued me enough to try this book, and even stick with it as long as I did. Unfortunately, when reading started to feel like a chore, I called it a day. Fans of supernatural mystery that unravels at a patient pace may enjoy this one.

Guardian angel, carnage, and lots of twists.  I truly enjoyed this vampire tale. Full of death and dismemberment. Compton does not fail. Great read for the upcoming spooky season.

I hate to write this but I had to DNF this one at ~ 24%. I just could not get into it. The premise was exciting, I was interested but it was so slow. I just couldn't keep reading it. Felt like a waste of time.

Thank you to NetGalley for a eARC copy of this novel; my review is completely unbiased.

I’m not sure what I anticipated going into this book, but this one honestly fell a little short for me. Hoping it’s a me thing and will try a reread again during spooky season

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read and review Devils Kill Devils from Johhny Compton.

Sarita is our main character that since an early age has been protected by a guardian angel. At least that is what her family has referred to Angelo as in the several times he has saved Sarita's life. Sarita has grown to appreciate the awareness that she feels safe and adventurous knowing she has someone watching over her. All this changes when Angelo murders someone she loves.

First and foremost, I wanted to read Devils Kill Devils because it is written by Johnny Compton. I read The Spite House last year and loved it. One of my favorites of 2023. Unfortunately, this new novel by the same author was just not for me. The first 20 percent of the book hooked me in, but the constant inner dialogue of each character for pages and pages dragged me down in the reading experience. The plot in my opinion was slow and sluggish. This is the type of book, again in my opinion, that readers will love or not. I am probably in the minority here. I will definitely continue looking forward to more novels by this author, but this one wasn't for me. And it pains me to say it. Devils Kill Devils will be available September 24th at all your favorite retailers. Happy Reading!

"Devils Kill Devils" is a refreshing, brutal take on the vampire mythology, blending religious horror with an intensity of gore that is simply disturbing. If you like your vampires terrifying and totally bereft of romance, then this may well be the book for you.

It is Sarita-driven, with a protagonist vaguely reminiscent of a more mature, less lovesick Sookie Stackhouse, who ends up in the middle of some rather brutal supernatural struggle. There simply isn't room for any sparkly love interests in this vampire yarn. In their stead, we have old malevolent creatures that view humans as nothing more than pawns in their violent games.

The world-building is expansive, even though the pacing falls off from fast at the beginning to develop the epic setting. In this way, the reader can explore deeper into her world with Sarita, staying interestingly engaged to the end. This tension due to omniscient narration and auspicious villain POVs further enriches this narrative voice, ultimately keeping a reader on edge about the dangers ahead.

That said, it is a bit crammed with elements toward the second half: demon vampire gods, religious cults, ghosts, ancient deities…the works. For some, this might feel overwhelming, but to me, it added to the chaotic, nightmarish vibe of the story. For me, the multiple main characters with really distinct voices and journeys were what made this narrative compelling despite the complexity.

If you're a dark fantasy and horror fan that enjoys epic world-building combined with B-grade horror flair, "Devils Kill Devils" is definitely worth the read. The kind of wild ride it is certainly won't please all, but for those who do enjoy outlandish and brutal horror, it has everything one would ask for in a novel. I am quite excited to see what the author comes up with next.

This one was Queen of the Damned meets Terminator and John Carpenter's Vampires, sprinkled with Fright Night. It was a little hard to get in to, but worth it toward the end. It was gory and gritty with some nice body horror (you don't hear that every day 🤣). The monster horror was horroring. It was a different type of vampire story, in the vein (pun intended) of 30 Days of Night and Let Me In.

I definitely enjoyed it, and I actually want to reread it in the future. The story was intriguing, even though I only cared for a couple of characters. One of the villains was an absolutely shit person who thought they weren't, and felt justified in their revenge rampage. So, I hated them. But, most of the time you are supposed to hate the villain, right? The other villain and their back story was super confusing, which is why it took me a little bit to get into it, but it came together in the end and turned out quite intriguing. Sarita had both likeable and unlikeable moments, and Angelo was a super interesting character.

All in all, it was horrifying in the best way possible. It was a fresh take on a vampire story that I didn't realize I needed. Definitely worth a read, especially in spooky season.

Thank you Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for the e-arc.

This was an incredibly interesting premise and a great first 20%. However I felt like the book lagged and ultimately fell apart by refusing to delve deep into its characters, especially Sarita, and instead jump from multiple POVs. I really felt lost in some of the world building and the characters were not fleshed out (pun intended).

After reading the first 6 chapters, I realized that I had no emotional attachment to the story or any of the characters, and I decided to put it down. In my opinion, there is entirely too much telling what his happening, and not nearly enough dialogue to show the reader what the characters are experiencing. This one is definitely not for me.

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel offers a fresh and unique take on the vampire genre, but the overall execution fell a bit short for me. The narrative frequently diverges into tangents that appear to be aimed at developing the characters. However, I found many of the characters uninteresting, which made it difficult to stay engaged. The pacing felt a bit off because of this, and I believe the story would have been more impactful if it had been more tightly focused. I also thought the religious themes in the book were particularly confusing. I struggled to fully understand what was happening a lot of the time.
The sections that centered on the vampires were captivating and well-written, though they were few and far between until the last 25%. Overall, most of the novel felt like a 2-star experience, but the ending was more satisfying and raised my rating to 3 stars. While the book didn't completely work for me, I think its unique approach and vivid imagery would make for an interesting movie.