Charming Devils by Katie May

Charming Devils Reviews

• 
  Namera [The Literary Invertebrate]

  Many, many times over the last couple of years, I'll see a Katie May book and fall in love with the premise, then have to DNF halfway through because SOMETHING about the writing just keeps putting me off. For a long time, I'd scratch my head over it and then optimistically try the next May release. DNF, rinse, repeat.
  
  Until now. I have finally worked out why I can't read Katie May books: they're overwritten as hell.
  
  Not to the extent of C.M. Stunich, thankfully, but not far off either. The fundamental problem is that May writes using first-person narrators, but pairs that with third-person language. This means that the vocabulary she uses often feels very jarring and inconsistent. Her narrator will use super-fancy words that don't feel like organic parts of her language (like, they're not words people usually tend to say/think to themselves) and don't actually tell me anything. I'm not sure I've explained that very well, but here are examples of what I mean:
  
  ➽ Characters never just 'get' things, they 'procure' them. This results in really silly sentences like 'I procured the paper from my bag', and then the word 'procure' is used multiple times in close succession. It's NOT a word people think to themselves. Who uses phrases like 'let me just procure that from the cupboard' in their own mental dialogue?
  
  ➽ Sometimes the fancy words are misused because apparently, the author doesn't actually know precisely what they mean. Case in point: 'transpire'. As the Oxford English Dictionary will tell you, it is NOT a synonym for 'occurred'. It actually means 'to become known', as in of a secret. In fact, let me just quote the OED to you:
  
  

  ‘To escape from secrecy to notice’ (Johnson); to become known, esp. by obscure channels, or in spite of secrecy being intended; to ‘get wind’, ‘leak out’. Misused for: To occur, happen, take place. Evidently arising from misunderstanding such a sentence as ‘What had transpired during his absence he did not know’.

  
  
  May uses 'transpire' completely wrong, and it's Rule #1 of writing that you do not use words you don't actually know the meanings of. Failing that, if your editor hasn't caught an error as egregious as this, fire them.
  
  ➽ Every single time we meet a character, we're told what they 'exude'. Usually danger, but also lust, hotness, irritation, anger, etc. GIVE ME A F*CKING BREAK, PLEASE. Either find a thesaurus or, even better, stop telling me these characters' emotions instead of showing me.
  
  There are other examples of just generally irksome writing littered throughout the book, but I won't go into them now because I haven't got my Kindle with me so I can't delve in to quote them for you. The thing is, individually, I could probably forgive most of these mistakes. May has great plot ideas and the writing almost works. But at the end of the day, there's a reason I've never been able to finish a single book of hers, and it's that all her mistakes add up to make a very uncomfortable reading experience.
  
  And now, finally, off to read Kate. I'm 10% in so far and it's not great, but please God let it get better so I can read at least one good book this weekend...
  
  
  [Blog]
  
• 
  Lauren

  Not for me
  
  I couldn't get into this read and dnf. Predictable from the beginning, girl is bullied and wants revenge, yet she's looking and having feelings for them, while said boys are all the sudden giving her the look and protecting her now that's she's grown and back. Our fmc talks over and over about this revenge she's gonna dish out, how she's tough this time around, nothing could be further from the truth, she's still weak and confused if you ask me, the first revenge she has is giving one of the guys a boner ( really)? And as you read on and her first cheerleading day a boy pulls up her skirt and she has tears in her eyes and does nothing but feel humiliated! What happened to this tough girl? This imma show everyone this time around? I just stopped right there and decided not to even bother with this book any longer! That was seriously it for me, I can't stand a story that doesn't even stick to itself.
• 
  Alaina

  It's been a while since I've read a bully romance book and I definitely devoured Charming Devils. In it, you will meet Peony and you get to see what happened in her past and what was going on in her present. It, of course, has to deal with four boys that bullied her years ago. No one really knows why it happened but she ended up leaving town pretty drastically.
  
  Even though they know what happened, this group always felt a pull towards one another. Yet, this time around Peony isn't here to have fun. No, she is back for revenge on her bullies and just hopes that her heart stays out of it.
  
  Along the way, she does meet a couple of interesting side characters. One of them turned rather creepy instantly and it just made me question everything about them. I also was trying to figure out if the romance was going to follow the same storyline as her grandmothers or not.
  
  Boy, I was wrong on so many things but was right on a few. In the end, it had a pretty cute ending and some twist throughout it to make this a page turner. I definitely look forward to my next book by this author.
• 
  ❀ Crystal ✿ - PEACE ☮ LOVE ♥ BOOKS

  Honestly I was so conflicted for most of this book because as always I wanted some sweet sweet revenge and instead the heroine kept going soft on me. As a Katie May stalker I really had high hopes for this one and I really struggled throughout hoping and praying the heroine would go darkside and start ruining some lives. That ALL changed when we find out the only reason they bullied her so hardcore was because of her mother. HER FLIPPING MOTHER. The one person she has in the world who is supposed to love her unconditionally but no, she’s stuck with this batshit crazy lady who was too threatened by her powers that she literally drove her own daughter to kill herself. Like I can't wrap my head around that. It changed everything and made my emotions feel radioactive. That aside, I really loved the book in hindsight. I want to bitch and moan about what the heroine went through (her memories are pretty savage) but because the guys' aren't really the ones to blame anymore I don't know where to release all this rage. Thank the lord the heroine at least has a badass (naughty) grannie-who has her own harem might I add ;) I love that I was so shook by the book and some of the revelations and I am damn glad I didn't give up on this one.
• 
  Alli

  3.5 stars rounded down
  Pretty good but very predictable. It’s nothing new and it’s a stereo typical book for this genre.
• 
  Belle

  This was an enjoyable read! Didn’t feel as long as it is, and had an interesting premise.
  
  I didn’t feel like the revenge was as intense as it could have been, but once you find out why the guys did what they did, I’m glad that it wasn’t. I liked how the story played out when she arrived, and the details of flashbacks of intense bullying moments were done well.
  
  I really did like all the characters. The guys kind of had their own stereotypes, but it’s to be expected. I didn’t feel like we got much background to before the bullying, when they were all best friends, because it would’ve explained when/how they had developed feelings for each other. Without this, it felt like she fell in love with her bullies despite all she had been through.
  
  I wish we got a little more from her magic, like it mentions she’s going to be super powerful, which is something her mom doesn’t like, but we never see her get to use her magic in an intense way. Her grandma is stated to be a sex witch, and she gets her power from sex (i think), so i didn’t understand where her’s came from or if she had a distinct power like that.
  
  It was a solid read, and my first from Katie May, but I’ll definitely be reading more!
• 
  Annette

  We reached the point where I'm reading Katie May books that are probably not gonna be my thing. I usually know very well what I'm gonna like and what I won't like. I usually avoid the books I already know I won't like, but Katie May is an amazing author. Her writing style fits my reading style and so far she has made me love books I was doubting about. So, why wouldn't she be able to sell me a story I normally wouldn't like?
  
  And surprisingly enough I actually DID enjoy this story. Mostly because it eventually takes a completely different direction from what I was expecting. As someone who has been severely bullied herself bully romances are always an interesting read. It depends on how they're written and how the trope is done if I eventually like them or not. Not without a lot of groveling, saying sorry and atoning at least.
  
  However, since this book took an entirely different turn it's all of a sudden not really a bully romance anymore. I don't want to give too many spoilers, but there was a point in the story where I somehow started to realize what was truly going on and it turns out I was right. At the very least it made it a whole lot easier to forgive these guys, especially because they were also very understanding towards the whole revenge plot.
  
  I have to admit that I do wonder if there needed to be so many extra plot-lines in this novel. The book is a quick read and I wasn't bored and flew through it, but especially the storyline of the Bloods felt a little extra in the end. I understand it gave the heroes some chances to be heroes, but apart from that it didn't add much. I think without that storyline the book would be a little shorter, and therefore less intimidating, and would feel a little less unfocussed.
  
  However, it was an amusing and entertaining read and I had a good time with it!
• 
  Dara

  DNF around 60%? Damn, I wanted to like this so much. The premise hooked me: a girl bullied horribly in middle school comes back to town six years later for her senior year of high school. She's now a powerful witch and plans to exact revenge on each of her former bullies. I LOVE a good revenge plot. But this failed to deliver. There's all these flashbacks showing just how awful these guys were to her, and she keeps on saying 'I hate them, I'm going to make them suffer' and then she sees them and it's all 'omg, they're hot now.' UGHGGGHGHGHGHHH.
  
  Then she finally does a little bit of revengey stuff and almost immediately feels bad and wonders if they'll forgive her. ARE YOU KIDDING ME.
  
  Sigh.
  
  (Also, when they propose the harem idea she acts all shocked and like it's a whole brand new thing, when she lives with her grandma who is a sex witch with three hot live-in boyfriends.) More Nana, more revenge, plz. I really wanted to like it.
• 
  Mummy's Naughty Corner

  Well this was mixed for me. the first half is only 3 stars but the second half is the 4 stars for me. I loved Granny and how she stopped her mum. I liked the fact that granny also had a harem. I didn't like the witch angel as very few witchy or magic played apart in the story. I also don't like the jump from hating them to loving them. there was no real struggle or romanticizing. I liked the twist with the mum I did not see that coming and it also showed her mother's true character.
• 
  Natalie - Halloween mode

  It’s nice when you think you know an author’s style and then get blown away. I went into this one thinking it was going to be ridiculous, dick humour, a no filter mc amd mommy issues. Add in the bullying and I usually wouldn’t have read it. However I read the preview and it sounded good.
  
  It was good. There is bullying flashbacks and it is a revenge story of sorts. Four guys nicknamed devils and a witch. There is mental issues and past suicide. It was a strange one because unlike other revenge stories I’ve read, the guys in this one were regretful and they were broken up. There are a lot of apologies.
  
  The mommy issues felt like every other book by this author but they made sense and I didn’t see the twist coming. The Blood, yes, how much of a bitch the mother was, no.
  
  
  From the start this one was complicated. A witch now with powers facing her bullies and realising she’s not that strong. A bit melodramatic in parts but it was another one I stayed up late to read and I liked all the guys as well as Mari. Nice rounded ending. It was a really good book. Favourite parts were the guys with the chilli, the comforting and Lucas being badass.
• 
  Jessica Kayuha

  Wish I liked it more
  
  I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it either. As another reviewer has said, when the FMC forgives truly heinous behavior just because they are hot, I get irrationally angry. And that happened here. I also think there were too many side plots. I'm all for long, drawn out books, but everything needs to fit together. And to me, these just kind of came out of left field. And not in a good "oooh, what a twist!" kind of way. I should probably stop reading bully romances. But since every author seems hellbent on writing them these days, it's hard to avoid them.
• 
  KotrynaDž

  “…>emotions were like a pendulum, swinging from hate to love in the blink of an eye.”
  
  “Hope was a fickle thing. When it faded, it left you feeling empty and bereft, as if you had nothing inside of you anymore. It constructed impenetrable walls around your heart that no one could remove, not even an army.”
• 
  Bianca Souza

  It could be a 5 stars if it had more smuty scenes.
• 
  ιᥒgᥱ ♚

  Wow. this book was really really good! I loved it!
• 
  Jennifer AP

  Awesome
  
  This book drew me in from the start. I absolutely loved it! I wish there was more! I will definitely read more of this author!
• 
  Amber Nicole Nicole

  Phenomenal
  
  I didn't know what to expect going into this but I was hooked to the point that I could not put it down.
  I can't recommend this enough.
• 
  Kelly Wheeler

  Love !
  
  One of the few books I actually enjoyed in this genre , Katie May knocks this one out the park ! Peony ( FMC) is a strong ,resilient , yet vulnerable character that is back for revenge against her childhood bully’s , and unlike a lot of other books in this genre , Peony actually does take revenge , she doesn’t forget about what they did , she punishes them and by the end of this book , I couldn’t help but be grateful she did and also question my sanity for rooting for the guys . I wanted them redeemed and they do actually get there . If your hesitant to read this because of the bully theme , give it a shot , push through it a bit and by the end you will be glad you did , this is the bully RH done right , an excellent read !
• 
  Kerry

  I need a voodoo doll
  
  I loved Peony and her charming devils. This story was unique in the way of how Peony set off to get her revenge. With a list of grievances and her dolls she goes to face her middle school bullies. Katie once again pulls you into a bewitching world of magic. Toss in some delicious men and you’ve got one wonderful book.
  I highly recommend picking up and reading this massive stand-alone book. I’m already hoping a Katie decides to continue this well into the college years!
• 
  Michaella Dieter

  Fantastic witchy read
  
  Absolutely loved this! This is my first solo (not a co-write) book by Katie May. I was hooked immediately, and could hardly put it it down. This one's thiiick ladies, so be prepared to lose a day or two reading it!
  
  Peony was a fantastic character, very relatable. The guys...🔥🔥🔥. I'm calling Lucas!
  
  The story was very well written, was very engaging, and brought out all the feels. I will definitely be checking out more of her books! ❤
• 
  Amanda Way

  I'm obsessed with this book!
  
  A definite must read, I was hooked from the very beginning!! I felt like I got to know each character and it was amazing to experience the guys redemption! With a couple surprising plot twists and the off the charts chemistry between Peony and her guys I couldn't put the book down!!
• 
  Mizzel22

  for me this was a story that could have been written on a lot less pages. Not a lot happened anf couold have been done in half a many pages.
  I liked the Harem and the main girl was fine, but I was promised a good revenge book, with follow through all the way and that is really not what I got.
  it's an okay book.
• 
  Lil'Mama2021

  What the ??
  
  All I can say is, the 1 and 2 stars reviews are spot on. I hate the fmcshe freaking all talk about her revenge and just do the opposite, the guys don't have any redeeming qualities and all I can say is if I put all the bad reviews together, I can make another book of how stupid and crap this story is. I'll definitely this book and go on with my life... buff said
  
• 
  Sanam

  Stayed up reading this until 4am but then it just stopped being good. No revenge. Doing magic in the middle of the road? Walking to and from school where you know you’re in danger? Why didn’t the grandma let her borrow a car or give her a ride. Smh too many inconsistencies.