Review: The Devil Dances

The Devil Dances by K.H Koeler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Urban Fantasy (Fairly dark)
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of darker urban fantasy, the first book
Trigger Warnings: rape of young girls, threats of rape, killing, murder

My Thoughts: A year has passed since the events of the first book, when things go crazy for Nick again. When a young man dies in Nick's shop, and Nick suspects he is Amish, Nick and Vivian travel to the nearest Amish community—Zion—and search for answers. What they find... is way more than they expected.

“I realized then that my life had reached a new low. The Devil was sitting with me in a haunted grove, and I was sighing with relief, thankful that it wasn't something really scary.”

The cool thing about the Devil in these books is that he is really quite charming. Nick is also quite charming, and is just a person most of the time. There are some interesting theological thoughts in this book, such as the idea that Yahweh defeated all the Old Ones and took over Earth from them, and redecorated, basically, and also the idea that the Devil was made exactly the way he was supposed to, to serve a vital function.

I love the character development in these books. While they are all in first person, Nick is a trained observer, and he notices things about the other characters that allow us a glimpse into their lives. I just loved several of the Amish characters. This is not a typical Amish community, by the way; the Ordnung has some rather shocking differences from a normal community of the Plain Folk.

I really like this series. I also hope desperately that there will be more books, since there are a couple threads that still need to be tied up. There is no word as to if or when there will be more books, but I'll be watching. I really like this author's style, and she has several other books out, so I plan to go through and add more of her stuff to my collection. If you like darker urban fantasy with some fascinating theological ideas, then definitely check these books out.

Series Information: Nick Englebrecht series
Book 1: The Devil You Know, review linked here
Book 2: The Devil Dances
See also: The Devil's Companion: A Guide to Nick Englebrecht's World for more information about the Nick Englebrecht universe. Includes glossary, playlist, sample chapters from the books, full-color illustrations and more.

Disclosure: I received an e-galley from Curiosity Quills via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: “You want to know something about me? Something important? When I was a kid, I used to read a lot of comics. I watched all the TV shows. Hell, I wanted to be a superhero. Then one day I grew up, and I learned I wasn’t the Lone Ranger. I’m not Spider-Man or Captain-Fucking-Marvel. I’m not a good man, and I never will be. My name is Nicholas Englebrecht and I’m the heir to hell. I’m the Angel-breaker. I’m the goddamn son of the fucking devil and you should know that if you piss me off, things are going to go very bad for you…”

Nick Englebrecht is lured to a strange, isolated Amish colony by the mysterious death of a nameless young man. It’s supposed to be a simple enough investigation. Find the kid’s family. Find out what happened to him. But when you’re the devil’s kid, with angels and demons gunning for you at every turn, things have a habit of turning bad fast. Before Nick knows it, he’s up to his ass in bodies, femme fatales, and ancient, bloodthirsty gods with a taste for human flesh.



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