Review: The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth O’Roarke

Item: The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Rating: 4
Author: Kate

Posted September 11, 2022 by Kate

Review: The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth O’Roarke

Check out on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon
Genres: Adult, Romance, Contemporary Romance
Series: Devil #2
Publisher: Independently Published
Source: Kindle Unlimited

You don’t really know a guy until you’ve vacationed with him…
When Drew Wilson’s ex-boyfriend Joel “Six” Bailey asks her to go on his family trip to Hawaii with him just as her life is falling apart, she decides it's the perfect time to give him another chance.
The hitch? The Bailey family includes Six’s rude older brother, Joshua—a hot-nerd doctor who has hated Drew since the moment they met and once suggested she’d steal the family silver.
Drew is determined to win the Baileys over and give this thing with Six a fair shot…but Joshua is making that difficult. Not simply because he is in her way at every turn, but because—as one tropical adventure leads to the next—she’s beginning to wonder if obnoxious, odious Joshua might be the brother she actually belongs with.

This book was such a surprise!! I read and loved A Deal with the Devil, but wasn’t sure what to expect going into this one. The plot made me nervous, and the whole scenario of vacationing with a shitty ex-boyfriend’s family… without the ex-boyfriend while falling in love with his brother… and I could just feel the second-hand embarrassment coming on.

But Julia @entirelybonkerz was adamant that the series continually gets better with every book… and I obviously wanted to continue on my adoration train. Drew from book one was hilarious, and I was hopefully for her debut as a heroine. And I was right!!!

Drew absolutely outshone every expectation I had for her. Her unwavering practicality (and hilarious grudge holding) was reminiscent of a Mariana Zapata heroine (which is an obvious win with me), and the banter these two had was utterly splendid!! I had so much fun with this duo, following the spectrum of their dislike of each other, then grudging friendship, before they accepted their feelings for each other. I laughed with them – all the time!!

“She’s at the center of every room for you. She’s the center of every conversation. She’s all you can see.”

Drew’s also had an incredible journey of self-exploration, and I love that it wasn’t prompted and led by her feelings for and relationship with Joshua. He may have guided her in small ways throughout, but she was largely prompted by friendship, and the unwavering support and admiration of Joshua’s mom, who took Drew under her wing and gave her all the affection and care her own family neglected.

PLUS THE TRAVEL VIBES!!! ✨ I’m positively craving travel-centric books, so this really fulfilled a need in me, to watch this family (and especially this duo) share new experiences and adventures with each other in touring Hawaii.

Another aspect of this book that I really enjoyed reading, unexpectedly, was then dark side of fame that this highlighted. Drew is a musician/popstar, struggling to maintain an identity in the drudgery of tours, interviews and nonstop glam with people who don’t care about Drew, the human, just Drew The Sexy Sparkly Moneymaker. If you read and enjoyed The Happily Ever Playlist and it’s representation of “the dark side of fame,” then you will likely similarly enjoy this one.

Once I got over my fears of awkwardness, this one really ticked off all the boxes, with a grump v. sunshine dynamic, forced proximity, a dislike-to-friends-to-feelings trope, and no moral lines to consider in terms of cheating. Pick this series up, you really won’t regret it!!!!!!