📖 Review: Devil’s Mark – Lark Taylor

Series: The Reckless Damned

Pages: 372
Time to read: 1h28m
Pages/hour: 254

Date read: Mon 1 May 2023

Rating: 👿👿👿👿👿

Not like demons. Our love was rare but all-consuming. When we fell in love and marked another as our own, that was it for us.

It’s nearly all over!

The final book in The Reckless Damned series, Luck of the Devil, will be released next week, so this seemed like a great time to give the whole series a re-read. I’m sad it’s going to be over (or is… I read an ARC for Luck of the Devil already), but it’s been a fun journey.

This read-through of the book was actually my third time; I read it for the first time when it was the only book in the series and then for the second time last October/November, just before I read Devil May Care. Honestly, every re-read is a lot more fun, and I enjoy revisiting Oscar and Cal.

The basic set-up is this: Cal, son of Lucifer, is not out here looking for a relationship. He’s a one-night-stand kind of guy, and besides, he’s got some other issues to deal with, like his annoying brothers, and the headless bodies that keep appearing in his bookstore.

Turns out, that doesn’t matter when it comes to fate. One look at Oscar, a sweet teacher recovering from one HELL (😏) of a relationship, and Cal is gone. Ridiculously so.

The road ahead isn’t an easy one. There’s danger coming at them from all sides, and even if Cal knows they’re fated, that doesn’t mean Oscar is going to just fall for him.

First of all: not related to Cal and Oscar, but I love Harlow. So many quotes I have are from Harlow. He is 100% my favourite of the brothers but it leads to my main point, which is…

I love the characters in this series! Everyone’s so distinct, a little bit weird, a little bit dorky (which is a lot of fun when most people are like at least a couple of hundred years old), and that makes it feel more real.

Well, as real as a book about the sons of Lucifer can get.

The story is sweet, of course; there are definitely DV triggers with regard to Oscar’s past relationship, but part of this whole thing is his continuing recovery and how Cal is absolutely going to work with him to help him through it. I like this recent shift in how relationships like this (or other abusive situations) are addressed, where the victims have much more agency in how things end for them, and that’s highlighted well here, I think.

And, aside from that, I don’t think this is a generally heavy book. The relationship between Oscar and Cal is low-angst, which is a good contrast to the heaviness of what had been there before, and even with the extra supernatural plot, it’s not chock-a-block full of angst and danger. There’s fun involved (spa trip notwithstanding) and I enjoyed the lore and worldbuilding, too.

Mori stood to one side while Harlow and Cal placed shields over him. They’d made it sound far cooler than it looked. Which was essentially them putting their hands on him and frowning while he stood still.

Speaking of worldbuilding…

No spoilers, but if you have read the series and not revisited the beginning, I recommend it. I’ve enjoyed reading the development of the worldbuilding through the series, and love how it culminates. With Oscar and Cal being the first couple, it’s fun to see how their relationship, specifically, develops as well.

BUT part of the worldbuilding I love is that a large chunk of what we experience is through the eyes of human characters, i.e. not demons. It makes everything a lot more fun, obviously gives us the chance to experience new things alongside them, and really made me appreciate (from start to end of the series) how much they’ve all grown.

“I’ve never had any complaints, but you know what they say, practice makes perfect.” His voice dipped an octave lower. “And, sweetheart, I’d be happy to practise with you all night long if that’s what it takes to leave you satisfied.”

Should you read it, then?

Obviously!

Five little devils for these devils: 👿👿👿👿👿

Devil’s Mark is a really fun start to a series I’ve enjoyed from start to finish. There are definitely heavy moments, but generally, it’s a sweet, fun, sexy book that has some great worldbuilding, amazing characters, and an awesome supernatural story to back it up!

Calling on my ancient well of power, I leaned forward and placed my lips on Oscar’s forehead. Marking him as mine.

Fancy giving it a read?

Check out Devil’s Mark on Goodreads
Find Devil’s Mark on Amazon