Johnny Compton does it again with another instant classic! I can see Devils Kill Devils being sold beside Poe, Shelley, and Jackson decades down the line.

Devils Kill Devils is gruesome. Call them devils, call them gods, call them vampires. They are all evil and they are all bloodthirsty. Compton’s fresh approach to the undead was horrific and wonderful.

If Spite House is an intro to horror, Devils Kill Devils is definitely for the more seasoned horror reader. This book is what nightmares are made of. If you enjoyed Hendrix’s Southern Book Club’s Kind to Slaying Vampires or Hill’s N0S4A2, you will love Compton’s Devils Kill Devils!

After absolutely loving the author's debut, I was so excited for this sophomore offering. In fact, I found the premise for this one to be even more appealing! And look, I don't know if it was me, the book, both... but this just wasn't it for me. It starts off really promising- and quite brutal, with the murder of Sarita's husband on their wedding night. But then... I don't know guys, it went downhill after that for me, frankly.

The first entity we hear about is one that has saved Sarita's life in the past... but also inexplicably murdered the heck out of Frank. So okay, I was game! But then we get into some other... entities. The one was a "woman in a red dress" which of course gave me ALIE vibes, until it didn't. I liked Sarita, and I will say that I was invested in her portion of the story, but when we started getting more POVs and more entities, well... I won't lie, I started skimming a bit.

Part of it was that the descriptors felt a bit unnecessarily long, and I got bored. I also hated Frank's mom and kind of did not care what happened to her. And full disclosure, I really didn't understand the world- the gods, demons, vampires, religious lore, etc. It all just became way too much, and I struggled to finish. I think had the beginning not gotten me invested in Sarita's outcome, I may have thrown in the towel, but alas.

Regardless, I still really liked the author's debut, and while this one did not work for me, someone with more patience (and perhaps more appreciation for this type of fantasy-horror) may enjoy it. And I'll absolutely still check out the author's next book!

Bottom Line: A strong start that fell off the rails, this one just didn't turn out to be for me.

This ended up being a wild ride, in the best kind of way. We start with a brutal murder, and it only escalates from there into an absolutely wild family dynamics shit, complete with in law issues and oh maybe being caught in the machinations of a cult, as you do. This was a long, fun read for me, and I'd recommend it as it starts to officially turn to fall.

This was my first Johnny Compton book, and may be my last. The violence was a bit much for me, though I will say the story hooked me from the first page. Then, it lost me about halfway through. I couldn’t get behind the sudden appearance of the vampires. However, this is a great Halloween season read!

Devils Kill Devils is my first Johnny Compton book. The story is definitely unique and puts a new twist on a vampire tale. And oh boy this book is gorier than I thought. This book had me hooked from the very first page. I really enjoyed it and will definitely check out the author's other books too. I highly recommend this book, especially since we are entering the spooky season. Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'll post my review closer to the publication date.

I really enjoyed the first part of the book, and where it was leading to. The plot/story was so intriguing… but just halfway through it lost the momentum and what was the build at the beginning and I just lost interest unfortunately.

You know I was all on board until the vampires entered stage left. I was excited and loved the though of a violent guardian Angel. There is a lot of violence so keep that in mind. It is amazing how much johnny Compton was able to detail without being revolting. It just seemed normal and of course part of the story. I cannot lie, I did get quite bored around half-way or shortly after.

After a promising beginning, Devils Kill Devils took a nosedive off a cliff, Thelma and Louise-style, for me. I respect this author for their creativity, but I think someone should have reined this in and given it more focused perspectives. It was extremely difficult to follow.

I was excited for more from Johnny Compton after really enjoying The Spite House last year. This one sounded different content-wise, but I was looking forward to returning to Compton's captivating storytelling. While I can say I still enjoyed the quality of Compton's writing: his word choices, the rhythm of his sentences, his descriptions in the Horror bits, the complex fantastical elements in this were not for me.

I won't attempt to summarize what this story contains, because honestly, I only truly understood one perspective, Sarita, and by the end, even she'd lost me. Admittedly, Horror Fantasy isn't my fave subgenre, but this was strange, even for me, and I like some weird stuff. I kept pushing on though, even once I stopped enjoying it, because I was waiting for the other shoe to drop; for the light-bulb moment where it would suddenly make sense.

Unfortunately, that never happened, and the further I got, the more disheartened I felt about the whole experience. Before you call me names, or trash me in the comments, I did read this with a friend and we both struggled to make sense of it, so I'm confident it's not just me. It almost felt like it was trying to do too much without an easily understandable structure. It was all over the place.

Jarring jumps between POVs, staying for long periods of time within character's thoughts, which became boring, and huge info dumps regarding the world/concepts, are just a few of my complaints. The later bits dragged for me as well and by the end, I couldn't wait for it to be over.. With all this being said, this isn't the end of the road for my relationship with Compton. Even though this one didn't work for me, I will be picking up his next book. I am hoping it goes back more to The Spite House territory than this, but only time will tell.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. The audiobook narration from Imani Jade Powers was excellent and I do recommend that format if you are going to pick this one up. Finally, a little reminder, just because this didn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't work for you. If the synopsis sounds intriguing, give it a go. You've got nothing to lose and you could just find a new favorite!

This is a very interesting vampiric tale. The research the author did on vampire lore and of Baby Head Mountain in Texas was extremely interesting in weaving his own vampire tale. Stories of vampires in some country's lore have appeared with hooves, fighting against each other without explanation, thus, the title of "Devils Kill Devils." In some cultures, vampires bore the shape of the devil. I find this research so intriguing.

I loved how Compton created his own vampire novel that is different from the Western vampire lore. It's a little Anne Rice, but seeped more into the lore from other countries.

I am absolutely intrigued by the research that went into this. There's non-stop action and bloodbaths galore. The level of action that went into this made for an amazing horror novel.

Well done. I'm planning on looking more into his research that he lists at the end of his book.

"She will kill you."

Sarita is freshly married and has finally landed with her new husband in their hotel for the night. It's a sweet night, as they revel in how happy they are, how much fun they had, how silly and tipsy they are. It isn't until Angelo appears that Sarita realizes she should have been more cautious, more worried. She should have been more honest about what Angelo had done in her life.

The start to this story was so well done. I was hooked - this story of Angelo, the pulse-pounding moments, the shocking first chapter and murder. But, quickly, the story slowed way down. It piled on POV, ones that were confusing and scope was huge and unexplained. The chapters became quiet storytelling instead of any dialogue or action. Huge info dumps replaced plot and I quickly became disengaged. Once I hit halfway, I was almost completely lost in the story, who was who, and why anyone was doing anything. The ending was a bit of a letdown after all the explaining and build up.

I even read this with a friend and we both struggled to try to understand some of the motivation and storyline. I really wanted to love this one more, but it was a miss for me.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This novel presents an intriguing and refreshing interpretation of vampires and demons, captivating the reader from the outset with its originality. The atmospheric setting and vivid descriptions of the demonic figures are particularly striking, creating a palpable sense of dread and allure.

However, the narrative loses some momentum in the middle third, where the promise of heightened conflict among the devils remains unfulfilled. The pacing slows, and the tension that could have propelled the story forward dissipates.

Nevertheless, the novel remains an engaging read, especially for those drawn to vampire lore who seek a fresh and inventive approach to the genre.

Devils Kill Devils is a fever dream of religious horror, murder, gore, and a sprinkling of vampirism mixed together to become one WILD RIDE.

This story starts off as the main character Sarita’s husband is brutally slain on her wedding night by the guardian angel she began seeing when he saved her from drowning at the age of nine years old. Sarita has no idea why her loving and gentle husband would be the chosen victim for this creature and bizarre events unfold as Sarita unravels the mystery behind who this “guardian angel” is, who is leading him, and why is her life so important to save.

Devils Kill Devils starting out incredibly strong as we navigate the set up of Sarita’s character/history and begin to plot out some of the “why” behind what happened to Sarita’s husband. I was very intrigued by the premise of the story, and LOVED the relationship between Sarita and her brother, however, as the thriller elements become more intertwined with the religious horror/demon (vampire?) aspects, the complexity of the storyline did negatively impact the degree to which my interest was sustained. Sarita The introduction of the other POV characters also had less character buildup than Sarita and I had a harder time caring about their storylines (and not just because they were the antagonists either). The story sometimes felt like it didn't know where it wanted to go and the author relied heavily on exposition rather than dialogue/action to introduce us to the book’s themes and concepts. Was it entertaining though? Absolutely.

Thank you to netgalley and Tor Publish Group for the opportunity to review Devils Kill Devils as an advanced reader group in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 50%. I really loved the first few hours of this audiobook, but then the focus changed from our main character and I got completely lost and ended up losing interest in figuring out where the story was headed.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Johnny Compton for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Devils Kill Devils coming out September 24, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. It was compared to Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing and I really love her work. I also really love horror books. I enjoyed the first half of this book, but I was getting a little lost in the second half. I wasn’t feeling the story as much. I think I was expecting something a little different. It wasn’t as horrific or creepy as I was expecting. I would check out other books by this author.

I don't know what I just read but my, oh my, did I have a time.

Be prepared for gore, devils, demons, angels, vampires?, ghosts, religious horror, end of the world drama and I'm still just in awe of how that wrapped up in a single book. This easily could have been a series of twists and turns because there were so many elements. My head was spinning, but I couldn't put it down lol.

Thank you to NetGalley & Tor Publishing Group for sharing an E-Arc copy of this book.

"Devils Kill Devils is perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Certain Dark Things and Southern Gothic horror. Johnny Compton brings his trademark terror and dread that readers fell in love with in The Spite House to a new roster of monsters - angels, devils, vampires - and a heart-pounding race to save the world.

When all hell breaks loose, you need a devil on your side.

Sarita has been watched over by a guardian angel her entire life. She calls him Angelo, and keeps him a secret. But secrets can't stay buried forever...

When Angelo murders someone she loves, Sarita begins to see what's really been lurking in the shadows surrounding her. And she will have to embrace the evil within if she hopes to make it out alive.

Johnny Compton, critically acclaimed author of The Spite House and master of dread, takes you on a terrifying race of one woman against the hordes of hell."

I LOVE Southern Gothic Horror!

Another solid read by Johnny Compton. I enjoyed The Spite House and have been looking forward to his next novel. I loved the first quarter of the book. Sarita’s husband is savagely killed on their wedding night by Sarita’s supposed guardian angel. She’s obviously not super happy with this development and seeks to avenge her husband’s death.

Shortly after this, Compton adds a few different characters and other concepts and the book starts to lose focus a bit. We start shifting the between character perspectives, but there’s a fair amount of names/nicknames/“forgotten” names etc. and it can be hard to keep up with everyone. I also struggled to keep the various alliances straight. I did enjoy the ending. It’s pretty bloody but does manage to tie some threads together. I still don’t totally understand the connection between the various supernatural entities in this one, but the writing was awesome.

The characters were nuanced and I loved Sarita and Uncle Everett. The dialogue felt true and it’s a book I likely would’ve loved if it had stayed the initial course the author laid out.

I definitely look forward to reading more from Compton going forward, but did struggle to stay on track with Devils Kill Devils.

Sarita has had a guardian angel her whole life. His name is Angelo and even her family and closest friend, Tori, know about him. However, when Angelo goes rogue and murders Sarita's husband, she is plunged into a world where the shadows are coming to light. Sarita will have to embrace the evil within to survive.
Get ready for a novel full of angels, devils, gods and goddesses and of course, vampires.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this e-arc.*

This story was a different take on the vampire genre. I enjoyed this new type of vampire, but other parts were lacking. I felt that the backstory of the vampire cult was lacking and boring at times. I wanted to read more about Sarita and less about Harrah. I just felt it was boring at times.

Johnny Compton won my reading affection with Spite House, taking a hounded house trope and turning it into something wonderfully unique.

Devils Kill Devils is a completely different creature. Almost the entire first half of the book really heavily focuses on the characters dwelling on the incidences that propel the story forward. Each major player in the book is placed under the microscope and shows in detail the mental thoughts and struggles born from the aftermath. Revisiting decisions, playing the dangerous 'what if' game allowing us to really get a solid feel for their true natures. I'm usually totally fine with a slow burn build, but I often found myself reading the same information over and over, just worded ever slightly different, and this made it a bit sluggish for me.
Now, don't get me wrong, after the second big mystery happens, there are some pretty intense graphic scenes and tense moments when our unusual creatures make their appearances. Think of The Prophecy moments when angels and devils get involved, that kind of chaos. You are essentially dealing with the, holy shit what other planes of existence are out there, and, what is even real anymore?!

There's a really cool concept of religious turmoil, self driven prophecies, and major existential apocalyptic crisis. The execution needs to be paired down, drawn more concisely like his first novel, and the tone overall can be greatly improved. Compton still manages to take a typical trope and make something truly unique, but this one is coming off a bit rough around the edges.