Book Review: Deal With the Devil by Kit Rocha

Deal With the Devil
by Kit Rocha (Rocha)

Librarians are sometimes called superheroes, Deal With the Devil answers the question: What if literal superheroes were librarians? Set in post-apocalyptic America, this first book in the “Mercenary Librarians” series focuses on two teams of highly augmented people: three women using their skills to bring supplies and books to regular people in Atlanta, and four men who just went AWOL from corporate military.

 

The men are dying as their implants degrade and the one person who can fix them has been kidnapped. To free her, they must capture the leader of the librarians, alive. One of the men knows the secret location of a Library of Congress backup collection and there’s no better bait for the librarians than that. But once they hit the road together and start fighting for their lives, the two groups start to inconveniently care about each other.

 

The primary genre here is science fiction, but erotic romance elements are a strong second. Though the characters are a bit archetypal, I found them all endearing in their own ways with satisfying handling of military SF and romance tropes. Just be sure you’re ready for lots of violence, sex, and coping with trauma.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews.)

 

( official Mercenary Librarians page on the official Kit Rocha web site )

 

Recommended by Garren H.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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