The Devil Comes Courting

*4.5 stars

I waited so long to read this. I was afraid my expectations were too high for the book to live up to, but one should never doubt Courtney Milan. This book was simply SO incredibly good. My one and only complaint is that I would have liked a smidge more romance, as it is a romance novel. But I absolutely adored the characters, their individual journeys, and their story together. (Side note: it's so refreshing when the couple actually COMMUNICATES.) I also want each and every of the side characters to have their own books. (Except one. You know who you are.)

I listened to this on audiobook, which means two things: 1) I can heartily recommend the audiobook, because the narration is terrific! 2) My wife found me standing in the kitchen with my Bluetooth headphones, full-out bawling while cooking dinner. Thanks for that, Courtney!

3.5 stars

It is likely that if I didn't go into this expecting a romance, this book would have been a 4-star read. The hero and heroine both went on such beautiful journeys. But I feel like their romantic connection suffered as a result. They both had a few big emotionally meaningful moments where the other person was not present. This is a more realistic view of life in general, people have emotional journeys outside their partners. However, when I sign up for a romance, I'm signing up to see the journey these two individuals . Which means I'm expecting that most of the on-page, emotionally vulnerable interactions will be between the main characters. I expect that even when they have emotionally charged conversations with other people, we will at least get to see the two of them discussing those conversations. We will get to see the mcs be open and honest about the most important moments in their lives. For me, those are the moments that make me buy into the depth of connection between two romantic leads. In this book, I felt their connection was sorely lacking.