The Laughing Listener
April 2020
Format: Ebook

Story Rating: 3 Stars

*Shakes head in bewilderment* I just… have no words. In my brain. For what I just read. What in the HELL just happened?????? I’ve never had this hard of a time rating a book.



Okay. Okay. Let me try and break down my feelings somehow.

The friend who recommended this book to me gave me a bazillion warnings about it ahead of time. I could tell she was nervous and now I completely understand why because this shit is DARK. It’s probably good that I got so many warnings because I went in expecting the absolutely worst and this was pretty on par with what I thought. But friends, I am not joking around. DARK. ROMANCE. Trigger warnings galore. It’s kind of bully romance-esque if that gives you a better idea of what you’re in for.

Normally bully romances aren’t my thing. I’m all for enemies-to-lovers, but personally I have a hard time watching someone fall for the cause of their emotional or physical distress. I have to hand it to Penelope Douglas though, she weaved this story PERFECTLY. I couldn’t put this down if I wanted to because my need to get answers outweighed everything else. The way she flipped between the past and present was genius and kept me reading, even during the dark times. And she managed to dance right to the edge of what I could tolerate without ever crossing the line.

And now I’m in this series for the long haul because I NEED to know what happens.



But the rational side of my brain is very aware of how fucked up this all is. Like… this story is CRAZY INSANITY and these people need extensive therapy. I also spent 90% of this book being completely pissed off on Rika’s behalf because she’s surrounded by idiot men who are incapable of communicating. Like, imagine torturing and ruining someone’s life over a minor misunderstanding you didn’t bother double check.

That’s why I’m giving this 3 stars, because it’s batshit and being that mad for 400 pages isn’t exactly fun. But also, I was completely captivated by this story and characters and couldn’t put this down.

FINAL WORD

I’m tentatively recommending this book, but please proceed with extreme caution. If you decide to go for it, you’re in for a wild ride.

#1 ↦ [b:Corrupt|21981841|Corrupt (Devil's Night, #1)|Penelope Douglas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398947518l/21981841._SY75_.jpg|41292505] ↦ ✦✦✦✧✧
#2 ↦ [b:Hideaway|29082755|Hideaway (Devil's Night, #2)|Penelope Douglas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1495731109l/29082755._SX50_.jpg|49314977] ↦ (4.5/5) ✦✦✦✦✦
#3 ↦ [b:Kill Switch|43908024|Kill Switch (Devil's Night, #3)|Penelope Douglas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549821508l/43908024._SX50_.jpg|51820767] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#3.5 ↦ [b:Conclave|48921239|Conclave (Devil's Night, #3.5)|Penelope Douglas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574537639l/48921239._SX50_.jpg|74319475] ↦ ✦✦✦✧✧
#4 ↦ [b:Nightfall|53750794|Nightfall (Devil's Night, #4)|Penelope Douglas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591049482l/53750794._SX50_.jpg|51820772] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧