The Devil You Know: Special Edition

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reread 2/25/23. the perfect workplace romance imo. ben and gemma are my fav couple from this series! I wanted her to crush those old codgers... but... in the end... she was left an insecure girl who questioned everything Ben ever said to her and couldn't make any choices that freed her from where she was.

Technicalities aside, both Samantha Brentmoor and Elizabeth O'Roark made it into my list of favorites, this week, and The Devils series is hands down becoming one of my favorites. Samantha Brentmoor brought this audiobook to life and my goodness she does a fantastic job on this solo project. Samantha is an incredibly talented woman and her performance as Gemma and Ben was phenomenal. I felt every emotion the characters went through and always know when I see Samantha’s name that a book is in good hands. Gemma is guarded, determined, hard working…and lonely. She’s devoted her life entirely to her work as a lawyer, pushing off family, relationships, and general work life balance in pursuit of her goal. And she makes no apologies! If she were a man, she’s just be labeled “ambitious”. I got a lot out of the gender norms being challenged in this book, and was here for it with Gemma! We know that Ben is whipped for this woman the minute he talks about his kink for her heels, but for Gemma it’s much more of a slow-burn. He slowly melts the ice wall around her heart by making her feel valued every step of the way. Ben is incredibly patient, but that’s exactly what Gemma needed. She needed someone who worshipped her and phew, did Ben worship her (in and out of the bedroom). Day like everyday, Ben = hot, smart, obsessed with you lawyer shoveling your mom's path because you were mad that no one else did it for her in her neighborhood.His eyes dip to my mouth, and I find words emerging from my throat, words I don’t approve of. “Fine. You. Wouldn’t. Know. What. To—” The Devil You Know is book three in the Devil series and is the enemies to lovers, workplace romance story of Ben and Gemma.

Closure: This ends in a cute place with what I would call a HFN ending but I know other readers might be fine calling it a HEA they are about to get engaged. The author does offer a bonus epilogue if you sign up for her newsletter (but I’ll be stubborn and refuse to read it 😉). She’s a boss when it comes to her job as a lawyer, and is extremely goal-driven. In The Devil You Know, she is laser-focused on making partner so she can dismantle the male-dominated club who are higher up in the career ladder. She’s a fierce woman and I loved her for it. Surprisingly, even though she’s got this impenetrable wall around her, she holds romantic notions of who she wants to end up with. She wants a Hallmark type hero, and Ben Tate is anything but a Hallmark hero.

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Cue, Ben being one of the best book boyfriends ever. He was so good to her, so patient, so open and wonderful. Samantha gives an engaging performance as Gemma. This story is about women in corporate America, working in a male-dominated profession - law. Samantha puts us right inside Gemma’s head feeling her frustrations and anger at the patriarchal system of the company she works for. We simply feel her hate for Ben turn to love. As always Samantha brings her “A” game on the male voice front, easily flipping between all the characters' different voices. Such amazing skills producing a seemingly effortless narration which you just know is way harder work than she makes it sound.