This was such a fantastic read! The synopsis sounded really intriguing, and I was excited to see what this story would be. Right from the start, we're going, with a car accident and a deal with a devil. I had to keep reading and see where the story would go!

This story is told through 4 perspectives, and it was a bit confusing at first, keeping them separate, and what their connections were to everybody. I really enjoyed getting to know them, what part they'd play in this book, and what they were going to do with this whole situation!

Things will get worse before they get better is the theme of this book, it feels like. Because things were going wrong, and some awful things happened, and new information was learned. But I was rooting for them, and was so excited to see how they deal with this whole situation!

That ending though? That was just chaos, things happening everywhere. And while it's not the most satisfying, bad guys all taken down, there were some consequences of what they did, but there was some satisfaction, and I'm glad that they got the good that they did!

Loved reading this book and I need to read more by Zan Kaur!

Damn if this book did not scratch my Sinners itch! I recently saw Sinners and absolutely loved it. Coming off of that, a southern YA horror book around selling your soul to the devil(s) was exactly what I needed.

I thought that there were many interesting, differing POVs in this book and I really enjoyed that. Bouncing between the different characters and the struggles they were going through kept the story fresh and alive the entire time. I also loved seeing how they all knew each other from their small town.

The mentions of the screaming cicadas also reminded me a lot of last year where I had to avoid being dive-bombed by them when I was out in the Chicago suburbs.

This was such a fun audiobook to listen to - I highly recommend it in that format. A big thank you to @macmillan.audio for the advanced audiobook! I loved it.

That being said, the cover is just beautiful and the rest of the book too (I saw it in Barnes and Noble).

The devils in the details, read this if you like:
🌵Southern, Small Town Settings
🫣 Local Folklore
😈Stories about the devil

I first heard about When Devils Sing through the authors TikTok, and after seeing that it was being pitched as a “southern gothic allegory for how the elite sacrifice the lower class to the devil for their own financial gain” I immediately requested the book.

I loved the mystery, the southern horror elements, the diverse representation, and the podcast elements. This was a great debut novel and I can’t wait to see what this author does next!

Side note: the audiobook is fantastic! I started reading it physically, but switched over to the audiobook once approved and I couldn’t stop listening to it!

4/5 ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Atmospheric as hell and buzzing with small town tensions, this YA novel about racism, classism, and fighting for one's own future really worked for me. I think having four POVs could have become overwhelming (too much info) or flat (not enough life in each character), but Xan Kaur balanced them deftly here. I was invested in each character's journey and excited to see how their lives would intersect. I really enjoyed the different narrators for each MC and the audio production overall, including the podcast chunks. This is a great read for the dead of summer.

This is one of those wonderful stories where there are wonderful characters to care about, an intriguing plot with a nicely developed story, and a location that is just as much of a character as the people. There were also multiple wonderful narrators for the audiobook, and the only problem was that it felt too short-- I wanted more, even though the story wrapped up well.
A teen is missing in an area with dark secrets and a cyclical cicada infestation. I was drawn in from the beginning when a young girl willingly offered her soul to the devil to save her injured brother, and the tension stayed with me throughout the story.

When Devils Sing, written by Xan Kaur and narrated by Anjali Kunapaneni, Jennifer Pickens, Landon Woodson, and Michael Crouch, is a fictional mystery book written for young adults that will keep you on your toes!

This book takes place in a small town named Carrion in Georgia, where four teens who live in a small town begin investigating a disappearance that has occurred. Each teen is connected to the disappeared in some way, so they must come together to figure out what is happening, and if there is a way to stop it.

This book is filled with family mystery, drama, disappearances, cicadas, and plenty more that will keep the reader engaged. I loved the familial relationships and how they changed and developed throughout the book, as well as how friendships were made and repaired. I also enjoyed the musical aspect of this book, and the folklore as well.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a mystery! Thank You to NetGalley and to the author, publisher, and narrators of this book for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

When books get compared to The Raven Cycle, I'm immediately skeptical. BUT I think this book lives up to those big claims really well!

We follow the interconnected messy lives of a few teens in distress in small town Appalachia. They each make a deal with their own devil for life or fame outside this small town. I found the characters to be relatable and rooted for them throughout the book, despite their flaws.

I was genuinely creeped out and the atmosphere and vibes of When Devils Sing really sucked me in

It's really interesting how this gives epic fantasy adventure vibes while taking place entirely nearly entirely in a small southern town. I really liked the energy, messaging and themes. You get a group of teens going up against the devil(s). You get some subtle coverage on issues like class divide and poverty in the south. And you get to consider how the younger generation has to pay for the sins of their fathers.

I was worried about the multiple POVs, but I was able to follow all of them without issue. I also loved the intermittent podcast episodes in the story. I find that podcast povs work so well in audiobooks. The people producing the audiobooks always seem like they get to have a little fun making it sound like an actual podcast.

Some amazing narrators here. I adore Michael Couch and Jennifer Pickens and neither disappointed. The other narrators were also very good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

This was such a creepy read that highlighted the dichotomy of the South in such an uncomfortable way, and I loved every second of it. From the injustices wrapped up in tragic teenage lives, to the lengths that the rich will go to to protect their own, every part of this book made you stop and take a breath.

This was a book that made me feel as though I was driving through my Southern hometown, from the mansions to the homeless camps and back. Setting this against the pure horror of the cicadas and their devils made this book come to life in a way that will stick with me for ages.

I also loved the addition of the podcast script, it really helped bring the audio to life!

Get your hands on this, and maybe keep the lights on while you read!

When Devils Sing is a young adult horror novel that perfectly captures the small town feel where something sinister is lurking.
When Dawson Sumter disappears leaving behind blood in a motel, no one is too surprised. Disappearances like this happen regularly in Carrion, Georgia. However, three teens decide to dig deeper into what happened, and they uncover a dark secret that none of them were prepared for.
This was really creepy in the best way. I loved the addition of the podcast script which made this book really memorable. The narrator did a fantastic job distinguishing the variety of characters and bringing them to life.

As someone who grew up in Georgia in the "clearwater" side of life. This book portrayed the dichotomy of the south in such a real and raw way. All too often people are forgotten in the rush of life but someone always remembers them. Having the Devil(s) guide the story and waiting to see how it all came together had been squealing at my phone, just as scared as the characters.

In When Devils Sing, Xan Kaur throws four teens into a blender of missing persons, buried secrets, and possibly demonic real estate development. Leading the charge is Neera, a determined truth-seeker with just enough cynicism to survive a town full of lies—and just enough curiosity to almost get herself killed. All while living in the broken family that was left behind when her beloved uncle died. She dreams of escaping it all and becoming a famous musician.

When local kid Dawson goes missing, Neera teams up with a murder-club dream team: Isaiah, true crime podcaster with a gavel-wielding dad; Reid, rich boy with daddy issues and a flashlight; and Sam, daughter of the local hitman. Together, they dig into the strange disappearance of Dawson and stumble into a legacy of cursed wealth, creepy lake energy, and an urban legend about three devils—because OBVIOUSLY one devil wasn’t enough.

Kaur delivers eerie atmosphere, whip-smart dialogue, and just the right amount of supernatural dread. Lots of vibes, twisty plotlines, and making lake houses seem like a terrible idea.

I enjoyed this one. I really liked the writing style and the story. I liked how the POV kept changing and helped to tell the story from several different sides, I think it really helped build this story up to the finale. The magical “Deal with the Devil” aspect was really fun and I did not see that ending coming! I’d say that if you are a fan of horror or mystery you should definitely check this one out!

The audiobook for this was amazing. The fact that each POV character had their own distinct voice actor made the depth of the characters feel much greater, but it also helped to immerse the readers in the story as if these were real people that you’d meet in a small rural town in Georgia.

There are so many great aspects about When Devils Sing that makes it an amazing book to read! The characters are all unique and diverse, especially with all of them being from a small town in south west Georgia. The story feels like a fresh and unique take on making a deal with the devil at the crossroads. The mystery around the town and the cicada festival every 13 years keeps the suspense a constant factor through out the book. I would highly recommend this to anyone who read Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot and really enjoyed it, it has the same small town feel, with multiple POV’s that provide insight into the darkest parts of the town that otherwise wouldn’t see the light of day. This really was such a fun book and I highly recommend it!

five stars and no notes about it.

The characters allowed this novel to feel so vast. And this was like a true gothic thriller. there wasn't something happening after every chapter to make us anxious, but i was on the edge of my seat waiting for the ball to drop on a LOT of different areas. The characters all felt complete and I didn't dislike any of them at all. Their decisions weren't any that I would have made, but I completely understand why they made them after reading the entire book. Like, I wish there was a part two coming that would tell us more about what happened after the book ends because i was READY for the podcast. I also adore the author so much (mutuals on tiktok) and this book is my new personality.

And the narrators were absolutely phenomenal. I think the audiobook does this novel a lot of justice.

I absolutely love this. For me it did take a while to get into but once it did I was hooked. A YA southern gothic story about Dawson who goes missing and the story unravels through several perspectives. The story is amazing and definitely shows the divide between race and class. I must read.

When Devils Sing is a southern gothic story that is dark, deliberate, and richly layered, full of haunting imagery and emotional complexity. I was immediately struck by the elegance of the prose; every sentence feels meticulously crafted, steeped in atmosphere and meaning.

What this book does exceptionally well is mood. The setting is dense and immersive, evoking a palpable sense of dread and unease. The narrative unfolds slowly, and while that pacing might not work for every reader, I personally found it effective in building tension. You’re never quite sure what’s real, what’s imagined, or what horrors are waiting just beneath the surface, and that ambiguity is one of the book’s greatest strengths.

The characters are complex, morally gray, and realistically flawed. I appreciated that there were no clear heroes or villains. Everyone is struggling with something beneath the surface, and the supernatural seems to feed off these internal wounds. The relationships between characters are tangled and often fraught, adding emotional stakes to the eerie, slow-building plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this Audiobook ARC This book is about some young adults and families who live in Georgia around a rich neighborhood Clearwater lake, between bad choices being made and reoccurring deaths the young adults feel as though something is off in their small corner of the state, while also dealing with the struggles in their own life's sometimes you have to make a deal with the devil in Georgia to survive. And the 13year cicadas are about to arrive This is a Multi-POV YA horror that does a wonderful job with the characters individual stories making them feel very unique. Each character is mired with flaws brought on by their families and we get to see them work through those flaws while also eventually working together. It can probably be classified as a generational horror. The story was very good it never slowed down for me but also didn't blow me away at any point, a enjoyable 4 star listen. The audiobook uses different narrators for each POV and also uses some cool effects as well to signify the medium we are listening to the voice through. Recommend checking it out.

𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐋𝐂.

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟐𝟒𝐡𝐫𝐬!
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐗𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐚𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞, 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐝. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐬! 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞.

𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝’𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐠—𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭! 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬.

Just finished the audiobook for When Devils Sing and I really liked it! The writing is eerie, dark, and beautifully done. The Southern Gothic vibes are strong… you can almost feel the hot humid air and hear the cicadas screaming (IYKYK).

The main characters are diverse and layered, and I really enjoyed how their individual stories slowly started to intertwine. I thought each narrator (Michael Crouch, Anjali Kunapaneni, Jennifer Pickens, and Landon Woodson) did a great job 👏🏻 and having different voices really helped distinguish the POVs.

The pacing was slow at the start but felt a bit rushed at the end. The horror elements were compelling in concept, but I’d call it more horror-lite which honestly works well for a YA audience. Definitely check the content warnings before diving in!

Content Warnings:
grief and death of a parent, mention of off-page suicide, mention of off-page child abuse, graphic imagery of people and animals (pets are safe), racism, homophobia, classism