This was a very interesting read. I will admit it was not exactly what I expected (a HEA). I will try not to spoil too much....

However, I realize now that the book is more about the transformation Cara makes & what she learns - about herself, gaining confidence, etc...

I love how she played both Luke & Elliott at the end... I also love how the lady at the adult store became someone to give her advice & gain confidence. I enjoyed the BDSM aspect to the book, and how Cara was learning throughout the book.

Overall, would I read it again? Yes. Did I love it as much as I would have if it had a HEA? No... but that's my 2 cents. Some will love it more this way, I know. Wouldn't mind seeing a sequel to the book!! (Hint, hint! 😉😉)

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you to the author (M K Rivers), publisher & Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Okkkkkk this book was nothing I expected at allllll!!! But let me say it was everything I needed the spice was on 100000000👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾 I loved it I usually donut read spice but it was so good I will recommend

The chaotic-ness that is Cara Devine speaks to my soul in the best way!! A very refreshing rom com that I devoured in 24 hours.
Being looked over, used and manipulated in every way possible by her boss, her counsellor and the billionaire her company is trying to get on board, humiliated by all of those people and then completely girl bossing her way out of it by giving them all their just desserts was absolutely amazing. I giggled and kicked my feet in glee!!
Massive shout out too to her best friend Charli, their relationship was so wholesome and filled with love I actually started to feel jealous that I couldn't be their friend too!

This book completely surprised me and I completely ate it all up! The story follows Cara Devine, a young personal assistant working in a high pressure finance company on Wall Street. She is ambitious in her own way, even if she does not fit the typical image of a polished professional. She leans into what she loves, embraces her femininity, and tries to make her place in a world that constantly underestimates her.

What starts as a simple mistake quickly turns into something much bigger when Cara finds herself entangled with a powerful and very influential man. From there, the story shifts into something darker, more unpredictable, and far more intense than I expected. Cara is pushed into unfamiliar territory that challenges her confidence, her identity, and the way she sees power and control. Watching her navigate these situations while trying to hold onto herself made the story feel engaging and layered.

What stood out the most to me was Cara’s growth. She is not the helpless woman that others assume she is, and the way she begins to take control of her own narrative was incredibly satisfying to watch. This book blends dark humor, tension, and emotional moments in a way that keeps you hooked. It is bold, messy, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys darker stories with complex dynamics and a female main character who refuses to stay underestimated.

Miss Devine bills itself as “a very different kind of rom-com,” and it earns that description by gleefully refusing to behave like one. M. K. Rivers drops readers into the fluorescent-lit underbelly of Manhattan finance and introduces Cara Devine, a heroine who is chaotic, yearning, self-aware in flashes, and deeply messy at heart. Cara’s voice is sharp and self-mocking, and the novel’s early chapters crackle with humour as she navigates her humiliating position at a finance firm and her all-consuming fixation on her boss. Rivers excels at skewering corporate culture and the way ambition, attention, and validation blur together in high-pressure environments.
The inciting incident—a very public slap delivered to a billionaire—sets the book spinning into stranger, darker territory. What follows is less a glossy fantasy than a study of power, performance, and desire, told with a wicked sense of humour. Rivers handles the imbalance between Cara’s vulnerability and the wealth and influence surrounding her with deliberate intensity, forcing the reader to sit with discomfort rather than smoothing it over. The glamour is seductive, but it’s never free, and the novel is at its best when it interrogates why Cara craves this attention so badly—and what it costs her to receive it.
What truly distinguishes Miss Devine is its refusal to provide easy answers. The book is funny, provocative, and often unsettling, building toward an ending that feels both inevitable and surprising. Readers expecting a traditional romantic arc may be thrown, but those willing to follow Cara down her spiral will find a sharp, high-voltage novel that has more to say about control, desire, and self-worth than its playful packaging initially suggests. Miss Devine isn’t just a rom-com with an edge—it’s a confident, daring debut that knows exactly how risky it wants to be. I cant wait to read more about Cara !

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫💫 (4.5/5) 🥵🥵🥵🥵

“These weren’t shoes. They were a flex in leather.” 👠

“Apparently, Elliott had no firewall – they were all auto rejected, never reached his sprain.”

“Oh, shit. My balls just dropped.”

Thanks so much to @miss_devine_books for my gifted copy of this book…it wasn’t one that was on my radar so I’m so glad it fell into my lap. It was a sexy good time. Holy shit.

Picture it…pining for your boss who treats you as less than. Then making another dude jealous…said dude is a billionaire, who just so happens to be your bosses boss but you don’t realize that and end up slapping him across the face BUT no worries, even though he’s the big boss…he gets off on you slapping the shit out of him. Then BOOM, next thing you know you’re a BDSM Mistress. I don’t make the rules…I’m just here flipping the pages in rapid succession 😂😂😂😂

This book so was much fun. I loved Cara, her bestie and Simone. In fact, I think I just loved the entire cast of characters in this one.

I loved how Cara did some sexy soul searching and took matters into her own hands.

If you’re into spicy dark romance then this is the book for you. Def check it out, I highly recommend.

This one is described as DARK, FUNNY, FILTHY and I wholeheartedly agree with that. I’d also say it’s a genre bending very witty dark revenge romance with a badass FMC.

Quote from the description that hooked me: "She slapped a billionaire. He sent Louboutins"... and it's not a romance? Cara Devine is an icon with her colorful wardrobe, imposter syndrome, and cheerful optimism.
I was a little concerned when I started reading about a young woman who gives up her pajamas on a Saturday night to cater to the off-duty needs of her boss who is clearly oblivious to her crush on him. While sitting at the bar a man makes a proposal so indecent she slaps him right in the face then storms out breaking her heel on the way, she gathers her moxie and sails on. The slap makes her a hero, the heel makes her relatable.
This spicy erotica was so fun to read, filled with fetishes, sex used as a weapon, and more content warnings than I could shake a stick at. And still I clutched my pearls and soldiered on for Mother England (or my own fantasies).
Thank you to NetGalley and M. K. Rivers for the advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions shared here are entirely my own. I am a librarian and I will excitedly share this title with my fans of dark romance subversive patrons.

Miss Devine by M K Rivers
Received an advanced Reader Copy from NetGallery

This is the first book that i have read by M K Rivers and its not going to be my last one either. This book grabbed my attention from the very beginning. This was a really funny read. Had some laugh out loud moments in this book. Cara's quotes, hilarious. The journey that Cara goes through of self discovery is chaotic, hilarious and amazing and I could relate with the FMC on so many levels with finding her worth and figuring out her path in life. If you're into Spicey dark romance then this book is for you, definitely recommend!

Thank you for the ARC!

This book was a riot. The details are graphic and draw you in from the beginning. The humor and satire in this was on point. It definitely had me laughing. There's even some questionable moments in this for me but it did not deter me from reading. I felt like these moments were necessary because you're getting to see the world through the FMC's eyes, their discovery of who they are. It felt like an awakening for the FMC and it's a doozy. This is dark for sure with an unexpected plot and a bit of revenge thrown in there. A good book that's worth the read.

I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time. On the surface, Cara Devine is quirky, chaotic, endearing, but don’t awaken her dark side.

Cara is skating by at work as she crushes on her boss, Luke Young. She’s unnoticed and unappreciated until the night she slaps a stranger and her life is changed forever. It appears the stranger is Elliott King, a billionaire, a client, and a kink connoisseur.

I was captivated by Cara’s fish-out-of-water tale. She embraces the BDSM world with curiosity, verve, and a wicked sense of humor. Who knew this awkward and unremarkable woman was a Dominatrix in the making? I laughed at her antics, commiserated with her doormat mentality, and cheered for her ultimate retribution.

There are many cringeworthy BDSM moments in the book, but seeing them through a novice’s eyes like Cara somehow made it tolerable. Her revenge is satisfactory, and the reader is left hanging at the end, but I have faith Cara will pick herself up and make something of her life with the help of her bestie and confidant Charli.

If you are looking for a dark comedy BDSM with a bizarre plot and a bit of revenge, give this book a try!

Thank you to M K Rivers for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

This was a chaotic, hilarious and wild journey. Cara is absolutely a mess but in the best way. She stumbled into being a domme for a billionaire and by the end learned her self worth and to ignore the haters.

A journey of growth and self discovery. Cara learns to embrace who she is

When I was offered a review copy of this book, I truly didn’t know what to expect. It was totally divine! Cara boldly leads us into situations many of us have never experienced (and may not want to). It was unexpectedly comical and the characters very entertaining. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next in the series. I received a complimentary copy of this book and chose to write a voluntary, unbiased review.

This spicy corporate romance novel is not for the faint of heart! Exploring kink, bdsm, and humiliation play, Cara is not your typical rom-com nice girl heroine, and even for a dark romance she’s pretty spicy! But, this book still had plenty of moments of wry comedy and “atta girl” moments as we witness Cara step into her own as an unexpected dominatrix. I loved the sharp dialogue - especially the “mask off” moments with her roommate where they break down the insane turn of events that lead to Cara’s transformation.

At first, Cara’s very uncomfortable in the explicit and challenging role, but Elliott King is a sleazy billionaire after all, so why not enjoy making him suffer? And the gifts rolling in from Cartier and Chanel assuage her guilt and shame nicely. But at the same time, her personal life is a mess, and things at work aren’t going well (including the massive crush she has on her boss). When a turn of events lead Cara to realize she’s been used, her taste for revenge blooms into an insatiable hunger. She’s done playing by anyone’s rules but her own and woe is he who steps into her stiletto’d path.

This book may be too explicit for some, but I definitely enjoyed the author’s ability to push boundaries and explore some taboos and power dynamics from the perspective of a relatable, likable and very funny main character. If there is a followup I’ll definite be reading it!

This book is messy in the best possible way.
Cara is one of those characters who will either completely win you over or drive you absolutely crazy—and I think that's exactly the point. She's loud, painfully insecure, desperate to be seen, and constantly making choices that had me cringing, laughing, and wondering what on earth she was going to do next.
If you're expecting a billionaire romance, this isn't it. It's a sharp, darkly funny exploration of power, manipulation, self-worth, and the lengths people will go to feel chosen. The humor keeps things entertaining, but underneath the chaos is a surprisingly thoughtful look at identity and how easily someone can lose themselves trying to become what everyone else wants.
The pacing never really let up, and I appreciated that the story wasn't afraid to make its characters unlikeable. Cara isn't written to be perfect—she's written to be painfully human. Watching her slowly realize the truth behind the people using her made the final act especially satisfying.
This definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea. It's awkward, uncomfortable, satirical, and pushes boundaries in ways that will likely divide readers. But if you enjoy flawed characters, dark humor, and stories that refuse to follow the traditional romance formula, this one is worth picking up.
A wild, uncomfortable, and surprisingly compelling read that proves sometimes the biggest love story is learning your own worth.