Devil Music – Michael Penning

3 stars

Boy, did Devil Music have a lot of good things going for it. But it had an equal amount that didn’t quite work for me.

First of all, I’m a sucker for the whole “sell your soul to the devil to get ahead” trope, and it’s so much fun when combined with music. That’s what first drew me to the book, but as much as I wanted to completely love Devil Music, it did get a touch predictable by the end.

I loved the character development throughout the book, especially Rowan. She really went through it and changed her entire outlook. I loved that she finally came to understand why some people listen to heavy music (and dropped the whole ‘metal music encourages violence’ idea). Cole grew a lot also, and I enjoyed reading his journey.

However, parts of this book dragged and made it hard for me to really throw myself behind these characters. I felt enough for them that I wanted them to win over the demon, but I kept getting distracted away from what they were doing by all the other little details that were included. I also felt like I was reading certain descriptions a lot, which also limited my enjoyment of the book.

Devil Music isn’t a bad book by any stretch. A bit predictable and tedious to read at times, but still an interesting read for anyone who likes the trope.