Narrated by Lidia Dornet, The Devil You Know by Kit Rocha is the second audiobook in the Mercenary Librarians sci-fi fantasy series. Information brokers and a group of elite soldiers join forces in this post-apocalyptic world. This time they need a cure for one of their own. Come check out my thoughts…
The Devil You Knowby Kit Rocha
Series: Mercenary Librarians #2
Narrator: Lidia Dornet
Genres: Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Rating:
Heat Level:
Narration: 5 cups Speed: 1.4x
The Mercenary Librarians and the Silver Devils are back in the next installment of USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Kit Rocha’s post-apocalyptic Action/Romance, with hints of Orphan Black and the Avengers
The Silver Devils and the Librarians are starting to get the hang of working together—but then a job goes sideways. Instead of the package they expected to retrieve, they find a young girl and discover she is a modified clone… just one of many. Horrified by the implications, the team try to track the missing children, but then Gray, one of the Devils, collapses. His implant is fading, and once rejection starts there's very little hope of a reversal.
Maya, the team’s resident mechanical and programming genius, finds herself torn in multiple directions. She wants to help find the endangered children and track down a threat from the past. And she wants to find an impossible solution to help Gray.
But she also wants to stay as far away from him as she can. Because the more time she spends with him the more she cares about him, and she's already watched one man she loves die because of the TechCorps.
The Librarians (Maya, Nina, and Dani) and the Silver Devils (Gray, Conall, Knox, and Garrett) are working together after they joined forces in The Deal With the Devil. They’ve got a secure building and are overhauling it as they help the community, build hospital beds, and take on missions..
Their latest mission goes sideways when they retrieve a young girl instead of their intended package. They soon realize the young girl is a modified clone and that actual children are being kidnapped. The enemy is on the move and they prepare to intercept when one of their own collapses. While the rest of the team goes ahead, Maya stays back with Gray.
This is part of a trilogy and has an overall story arc, but each book has its own side romance and mission. This book belongs to Gray and Maya. I adore Maya. She has been through a lot, but has spunk. She is walking encyclopedia. Seriously. She has an eidetic memory and is the team’s mechanical and programming genius. While she wants to help save the children, she also wants to help Gray. It seems his body is rejecting his implant. The outlook isn’t good, but Maya is determined to beat the odds.
Our story is set in Atlanta in the year 2081. TechCorps is abducting and cloning children for nefarious purposes. Much of the story is told from Maya’s point of view. We spend time within the compound and surrounding neighborhood. It gave us a sense of their world and daily life between missions.
The suspense came from the romance and Gray’s illness. Don’t get me wrong, we see plenty of battle, torture and villains, but this wasn’t as nomadic as book one. Gray is a good guy, a little shy but loyal to the core. He is second in command to Knox and quite smitten with Maya. Through him we see a growth in Maya as she overcomes some of her fears, learns to trust and stretches her abilities.
The tale can be dark and gritty. In their search for the children, they expose themselves to TechCorps, who takes some of them hostage. We learn quite a lot about Maya’s past and I was sweating bullets the entire time. I loved seeing the teams work together and the trust Maya and Gray have in each other tugged at my heartstrings.
I enjoyed the camaraderie between the Librarians and the Silver Devils. They have become quite the unit. We get to see them rely on each other, mourn, tease and break bread together. It’s them against the machine and I loved spending time with them again.
We got to know some key secondary characters as this writing duo fleshed out the world. I was so excited this finally came out on audio. The books are published through Tor, but we waited almost a year for the audiobook release. I stubbornly waited, and it paid off.
Lidia Dornet narrates and did a stellar job giving voice to Maya. She captured her personality, fears, and unique skills. Her male voices are well developed and her villain voices will make you shiver.
Because this is a trilogy I recommend listening in order. While each story deals with a current mission and romance, the overall story arc and spoilers make starting from the beginning the best way to enjoy this post-apocalyptic world.
Fans of science fiction, romantic fantasy and post-apocalyptic worlds will want to grab their earbuds and listen to the Mercenary Librarians. Kit Rocha is the pen name for Bree Bridges and Donna Herren. Fans of Ilona Andrews will want to try this duo.
The Devil You Know by Kit Rocha delivered suspense, romance, nail-biting action and a stellar second novel in the Mercenary Librarians series #audiobook #NewRelease #mustlisren #LidiaDornet #TantorAudio Share on XStay Caffeinated!
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MarthaE
So glad you really liked this. Thanks for sharing and reminding me of the series.
Debbie Haupt
Ooh this just went up a rung or two on my shelf Kim, it’s been sitting there awhile. Thanks for this FAB review. Can’t wait to get back with the gang!
Anne - Books of My Heart
I’m really enjoying the series. For some reason I am reading rather than listening just because I started that way.
Kimberly
I have series like that…Patricia Briggs, Darynda Jones, etc. Others are all audio. It all depends on how I started.
Mary Kirkland
I’m glad you liked it. Maybe one day I’ll try these authors.
Sophia Rose
Between the reviews of the older series and this one, I keep thinking I’d like these. Love that it had you sweating bullets and so into their story.
Angela @ Simply Angela
I’ve been looking for a series that’s a bit different (I’ve been in a reading slump lately) and I think this could be it. You’re review has me intrigued!
Ailyn Koay
maybe i should wait until book 3 so i don’t bite my nails and fingers off? Very cool librarians though, i can totally see how they can build civilisations.
Melliane
It’s been so long since I haven’t read a post-apocalyptic story!