Book Reviews/ October 5, 2023October 22, 2023

Icarus and The Devil by Layla Reyne Book Review

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Blurb

My name is Icarus for a reason.
If there’s a way to screw up a plan, I’m your man.

Case in point:
Falling for the man I’m supposed to seduce and ferry to his death.
Adam Devlin, aka the Devil.
A vigilante ex-cop and a thorn in the side of the mobster blackmailing me.
Should be easy.
Except Adam’s longing for intimacy—for submission—is irresistible.
Seduce him, yes. Lead him to his death, world of no.

There’s only one solution to save us both: kidnap the Devil.
I mentioned my name is Icarus, right?
Three guesses how this plan will go.
Bet you only need one.

Icarus and the Devil is a steamy M/M paranormal romantic suspense novel. It features two danger-magnet men trying to stay alive and failing to stay away from each other. Chaos ensues on their way to happily ever after.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content I observed while reading this book:

Alcohol
Death of a Loved One
Grief
Profanity
Sexually Explicit Scenes
Violence

Ratings

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There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Overall Rating

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved Icarus and The Devil so much! The paranormal aspects of this book were very enjoyable and unique. I really liked the new species that we got to meet and learn about, including our incredible MMCs. The post-apocalyptic vibes of the story made the sinister plot really believable and it was fun to be immersed in this new world. There are some fights and action scenes in between these MCs falling for each other that totally rocked! I also loved how we got to see a little of the magic we can expect in future books in the series. But I adored the fact that there was a lot of depth to the story outside of this super steamy romance between Icarus and Adam. The side characters were really lovable and created an enviable found family aspect to the book.

Icarus is such a chaos demon! And I absolutely loved it! You can bet that any time his character is involved with a plan that it is just going to go horribly wrong, but also incredibly well… IYKYK!! Icarus was so adaptable and resourceful and I liked to see him figure things out after things go awry. I absolutely loved how he and Adam would banter back-and-forth, but the flirting was very fun to be a part of too! Icarus really had game which with his line of work as a cam boy makes sense, but I loved to see Adam swoon from being pursued so heavily by Icarus.

My heart hurt for Adam, and all the things that he lost. But I also really loved his quiet admiration and respect for his found family. He is the resigned leader and seeing him open his heart up to someone else was so beautiful. When we learn about his past, it made the romance between him and Icarus mean so much more! Ugh! Adam deserves the world!! He has so much on his shoulders, and what better way to relieve some tension than with the sexy chaos demon himself? His submission was perfection! I really loved seeing him let the walls around his heart down.

This book was so super hot! The spice was everything for me! What I would not give to be a fly on the wall! The connection between Icarus and Adam was intense because really the tension was through the roof! But the care and compassion between these two characters was lovely. Thank God this was not a closed door romance!

I would definitely recommend this book to those who love paranormal romances! This is book one of the series and could definitely be read as a standalone because there is an HEA! This was also my first book from Layla Reyne, but it will not be the last… I’ve already got my eye on a few others! Thank you to Valentine PR and the author for a copy of this book for review!

Spice Rating

3.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

There are several open door scenes in this book with kink adjacent content.

Setting / World / Universe

This world was heavily inspired by San Francisco and I like the post-apocalyptic scenery. This is definitely a broken world and the dire circumstances created from the rifts splitting up the land was a cool touch, as well.

Genre & Tropes

Genre

Paranormal Romantic Suspence

Tropes

Age gap romance
Emotional scars
Opposites Attract
Found family

Favorite Quotes

“Eyes closed, he smiled, soft and fond, affection with fangs.”

“Did [he] want him? Because Adam… wanted… Icarus… More than he wanted his next breath right then. Maybe even more than he wanted death. That thought fucking terrified him.”

“My name isn’t Adam.” “It is to me.”“My name isn’t Icarus.” “You’ve told me that before… But you’re Icarus to me.”

“I haven’t felt like me in ten years. Not until I met you.”

“The only danger you’re in is missing out on the best night of your life if you leave here without me.”

“I am no one’s fucking hero… Even if I were, this isn’t me trying to rescue you. This is me trying to find any excuse not to haul you into the bathroom and let you fuck me senseless with this piece.”

“How do I reach you?”
“Seems you already know where to find me.”
“For a proper date.”
Icarus laughed out loud. “Sweetheart, I am not the sort you date.”

“Hell, he couldn’t be certain he could deliver Adam anywhere but to his bed.”

“He nuzzled the crook of Icarus’s neck as his warm breaths and rapid heartbeat slowed. Every second like this made whatever it was Icarus was doing with Adam feel less and less like a job and more and more like something he also wanted.”

“I want everyone to see you on my arm, then I want to take you home.”

“Icarus faltered and lost his breath, worried at first, but looking to the source of those tears, he found no sadness in Adam’s bright eyes. Only relief, only desire, only sheer worshipful appreciation. Only fire. Fuck, had anyone ever looked at Icarus like that before? He didn’t think so, and he didn’t think he was ever going to get the vision out of his head.”

“Adam smiled wider, unable to contain the laughter that bubbled up and out of him. That was something else he’d missed. Something he could hardly remember doing the past ten years until a certain vampire courtesan had marked him as his own.”

“You have someone I belong to. I need him back.”

“You’re going to help me ruin these pretty panties…Just with that gorgeous mouth of yours.”