Downtown Devil (Sins in the City #2) by Cara McKenna #BookReview

*** This review is SPOILER-FREE! Read on with confidence! ***

Some of the things that appealed to me the most in this story were also the things that made me feel a little uncomfortable, a little off.

In that respect, Downtown Devil is reminiscent of Lilah Pace’s Asking For It series: the connection between the characters is a physical storm of sensation and want, but the emotional relationship trails so far behind the sex that it feels sorta wrong. Yet so right. And as the characters shrugged away and justified all those nagging warning signs, so did I. And that is actually part of the appeal. This story that begins with crazy sex and an impromptu mini orgy feels far more real than a whirlwind romance and three-way courtship.

Mica had that quality… Not androgyny, but…something. Something about the way he held himself: too sensual to be completely masculine; to assured, too cocky to be truly feminine. Graceful and raw, that was Mica.

Mica is really well written. Edgy, transient, bossy, and a little wild, this man’s personality screams “hot lay but not boyfriend material”.

Mica lowered, nipping at her jaw and throat. “Be a good girl,” he said again. “Come on my cock, and maybe I’ll let you have his.”

Fuck, he was a maestro. The dirtiest, nastiest, most gifted conductor.

There’s an art to writing discomfort and dysfunction in such an appealing way, and Cara McKenna definitely has the knack. In Crosstown Crush, kink ruled the story. Downtown Devil is all about three people in a true love (well, lust) triangle trying to find their way to each other emotionally, without spooking one another out the sexual door for good. Downtown Devil isn’t your typical romance. It’s not even a typical menage story. It’s an experience all its own. This story concludes the only way it really can, coming 360 and signing off with a satisfying emotional landing.

A person lost their virginity not once but a thousand times throughout their life. The first time they touched themselves, made themselves come.The first time they had sex, the first time they went down. The first time they experienced any number of carnal milestones. Tonight, perhaps both she and Vaughn were surrendering the same scrap of innocence, sharing a lover for the first time in their lives.

I read Downtown Devil in a single day. And when I finished, I felt a little sad. Sad that it was over, sad for the way it had to end (which won’t be a surprise for most readers), and sad for who Mica had to become in order to survive his childhood. The emotional arc in this story is complicated. Unique. Compelling. And very well written. But it’s not earth shaking or life changing. Memorable, though? Most definitely.

Mica dazzled, but Vaughn delivered.

Downtown Devil is recommended for readers who like steam and heat and emotional angst, threesomes and kinky sex and man-on-man action. This is a story for those who want something a little different than the standard happily-ever-after or even happily-for-now (although it does sort of have a HEA ending). Downtown Devil is titillating and a little uncomfortable, and is totally worth the journey.

Note: Downtown Devil is part of the Sins in the City series, but it is totally unrelated to Crosstown Crush. The characters never reference each other and the books don’t need to be read in any particular order. You can safely read this one as a standalone if you haven’t read the first.

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Find your copy online at Amazon here.

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