The Devil You Know: Special Edition

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His steps glide over the carpeted floor—slowly, purposefully—until he is directly in front of me. My pulse triples. Pining hero, righteous indignation and lots of steamy scenes. That was fun and a good enemies to lovers but... I just expected more after the heroine had some great ideas and hopes for a better workplace. ben and gemma are workplace rivals ever since ben came into the firm and stole a huge case from gemma. except, when they're both assigned to work on a huge case and she starts working side by side with ben, she realizes their rivalry might be all in her head. We don’t really know about Ben’s feelings–at first–as the story is seen almost exclusively through Gemma’s eyes. But clearly learning more about Ben’s past and mind forces her to re-evaluate the way she sees him, and she realizes there were some misunderstanding. And yes, I know it's a shirtless dude kind of cover and we all universally agree it's cringey by default, but I won't hear anything about this one because guy on the cover is simply G O R G E O U S.

In case you're wondering - and I know you are -, the model's name is Álvaro Torralbo and his IG is very public) This also had enemies with benefits vibes which is usually not my favorite thing but I enjoyed it here. I’m sorry I don’t even know if this review is helpful at all? I know I sound like a very shouty unhinged banshee, but I hope I’ve not scared you away from reading the book. JUST PLEASE READ IT and then come into my DMs to scream about it. H (Hero) rating: 3 stars. Ben. I liked him but I really wanted him to confess much sooner and communicate better.I liked it, but not as much as I liked the first two books. Heroine lowkey annoyed me most of the book, and was a bit of a hypocrite at times. I did end up liking her at the end though, but she made me angry because of how angry she was throughout the whole book 🤣 I also understood her trust issues which she had a lot 😅. I did love though that she was actually good at her job. I get so annoyed when the heroine is supposed to be a girl boss and smart but totally stumbles around when trying to do what she made us think she could do. I feel like it took way too long for her to know her true worth, but I liked her reasonings for the things she did. I also loved the hero (most of the time...) And I like how he was patient with her and didn't just break it off when her trust issues got in the way. He also made some really sweet gestures, things she didn't even know about, that made me like him more. reread 2/25/23. the perfect workplace romance imo. ben and gemma are my fav couple from this series!

Y'ALL THIS MAN IS THE SIMP TO END ALL SIMPS. like he was so down bad but protective, possessive, and so hot. Gemma Charles, sharper than the Louboutin she weae at her feet, is thoughtful, deadly, insanely smart, beautiful, a woman who radiates power (in short, I realized I fell for a badass admirable woman.) For example, I found very degrading that someone like Gemma would throw a fit and get drunk over something so clichéed as a miscommunication trope moment.

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Gemma is fierce and goes to lengths for her clients and the people that she loves. Her passion speaks beyond the work she has done as an attorney and her demand for justice for those who have been abused by those in power is admirable. I loved, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 how tangible she felt - her emotions and the way she struggles to express how she feels was so real and raw and accurate. My heart hurt for her in this book; I was in awe of her strength. Ben-Stealer of Clients, Evicter of Homeless Women, Nemesis. Sitting across from me every damn Monday with his lovely, smug smile and his too-perfect teeth, the living symbol of everything I hate. The are a few things I didn't really appreciate, that obviously kept me from giving this more than those 4 stars; for one, there were certain scenes and situations that didn't get along well with the characters and their personalities. after they kinda got together that's when my opinion did 180 and i couldn't stand Gemma. Jesus her indecisiveness, jumping to conclusions and assuming things annoyed me so much. She acted like an ungrateful brat always misundertanding stuff and doing stupid shit instead of just talking it out with Ben. We know that Ben is whipped for this woman the minute he talks about his kink for her heels, but for Gemma it’s much more of a slow-burn. He slowly melts the ice wall around her heart by making her feel valued every step of the way. Ben is incredibly patient, but that’s exactly what Gemma needed. She needed someone who worshipped her and phew, did Ben worship her (in and out of the bedroom).

But–here are the spoilers–it’s revealed in the end that Ben has serious stalker tendancies, and it made me cringe hard. Some of his actions were definitely cute, but others would put him in a ward in my opinion. Obsession isn’t a sexy trait. It kind of ruined the character for me. And it made me sad because I really enjoyed him until then! And the cringiest element wasn’t even necessary. I suppose the author thought it would be funny. The Devil You Know is book three in the Devil series and is the enemies to lovers, workplace romance story of Ben and Gemma. h (heroine) rating: 2 stars. Gemma. I struggled with her, especially how she held other people’s behavior against the H too much IMO. Only you would try to make that sound like a flaw,” he mutters. “What a fun night out you must be.” She’s a boss when it comes to her job as a lawyer, and is extremely goal-driven. In The Devil You Know, she is laser-focused on making partner so she can dismantle the male-dominated club who are higher up in the career ladder. She’s a fierce woman and I loved her for it. Surprisingly, even though she’s got this impenetrable wall around her, she holds romantic notions of who she wants to end up with. She wants a Hallmark type hero, and Ben Tate is anything but a Hallmark hero.Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Gemma and Ben’s story. They are work colleagues and have a kind-of a nemesis relationship after Ben took one of Gemma’s clients when he started years prior. They enjoy fighting and riling each other up with jabs, but they have to play nice when they are both assigned to a big case. The tension comes to a head one night and they end up crossing the line and sleeping together. There is some work drama, some heavy baggage they have to work through, and some sweet and sexy times…and they get a HFN ending. Day like everyday, Ben = hot, smart, obsessed with you lawyer shoveling your mom's path because you were mad that no one else did it for her in her neighborhood. Separation: Very small They are separated very shortly (a day?), but there was no mention or suggestion of other partners during this time. Ben laughs under his breath, and my head jerks toward him. “Don’t you have a single mother you can evict somewhere?” There’s nothing like a good old fashioned, snippy, bantery, enemies to lovers office romance to revive your zest for life.’

I caught myself screaming, crying, sweating, the best banter I've read in MONTHS, the best sex scenes, the BEST DIRTY TALK. Despite all her prejudices–somewhat legitimate, as they come from past experiences–Gemma was a great character. She’s dedicated, has a good heart, and wants to change the office’s ways. It was terribly frustrating to see how her bosses kept interfering. Her journey wasn’t an easy one. Gahhh, Ben! MY HUSBAND!!!! I was already halfway in love with him from the glimpses we saw of him in the previous book, but Elizabeth O’Roark said “you haven’t even seen an ounce of what I did with him”. WHAT. A. MAN. Gemma stole my heart for sure, but Ben had me wanting to spread my legs (read: had me swooning). Once again, @God, when will it be my turn? Gemma is looking for her happily ever after, only she has this ridiculous idea in her head that she wants a picture-perfect Hallmark movie fairy-tale, to fall in love and be swept off her feet by a small-town guy who will take her away from the rat race of the big city and stressful job and teach her to love the quiet life.I thought we would be missing such a huge aspect of this story by not having the male POV this time, oh boy was I wrong! I also thought A Deal With the Devil was going to be my favorite devil book forever. I felt like I was constantly nodding my head in agreement with everything Gemma thought. I loved her so much, she's tough as nails and has had to make some hard choices in her career while playing the long game to make partner at her law firm of sexist, horrible men. I really wanted to hug her but she probably wouldn't have wanted that 😂 Of course, given Gemma’s trust issues, she has moments when doesn’t trust him and it understandably blows up in her face. But you can’t blame her though given her experience with men. Usually, I’m very indifferent to the low moments in romance, but this one had me clutching throat because of all the pains I was experiencing. I was just SO invested in these two. MY BABIES. It’s been my policy to avoid him, but when a case comes into the firm-one that could change his career and mine-I make an exception. It means weekends and evenings by his side. It means enduring his smirk and his smart mouth and never taking the bait.