Review: The Devil You Know by Trish Doller

What: The Devil You Know by Trish Doller

Who: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

When: July 2nd 2015

How: A copy of this novel was provided by Bloomsbury Australia for review.

Eighteen-year-old Arcadia wants adventure. Living in a tiny Florida town with her dad and four-year-old brother, Cadie spends most of her time working, going to school, and taking care of her family. So when she meets two handsome cousins at a campfire party, she finally has a chance for fun. They invite her and friend to join them on a road trip, and it’s just the risk she’s been craving-the opportunity to escape. But what starts out as a fun, sexy journey quickly becomes dangerous when she discovers that one of them is not at all who he claims to be. One of them has deadly intentions.

A road trip fling turns terrifying in this contemporary story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

If I’m going to be COMPLETELY honest, I was expecting a little more from The Devil You Know. I’d been looking forward to reading it ever since I found out about it – back when it was going to be called Arcadia Falls (I’m pretty sure that was the original title). I love Trish Doller’s writing. Something Like Normal got me back into reading contemporary young adult novels, and Where the Stars Still Shine is a gorgeous book that had me swooning every page. So I expected to love The Devil You Know, and I’m quite disappointed that I didn’t end up loving it. Nevertheless, it was a book I enjoyed, though.

I did end up figuring out which boy was the ~bad~ boy out of Matt and Noah, but there were still moments when I questioned my assumptions. I really liked that. I love it when I’m kept guessing in a book, and where one moment you think you have it 100%, and the next you’re back to square one.

I was also a fan of the sex positive attitude in the book. I think that sex in YA is far too often made out to be this big, life changing thing that should only be shared with the person you think you’re going to spend the rest of your life with. Sex can happen without that. Sex can even happen without loving the person you’re having sex with. And I’m so glad that Cadie came to this realisation, and didn’t hate on herself for having sex without “true love” driving it.

Although, on the whole, I wasn’t a big fan of Cadie. I thought she was completely stupid for running off with two strangers. And when creepy as crap stuff starts happening, she isn’t even deterred for a moment. Did no one ever teach her about stranger danger? SERIOUSLY? She made silly decision after silly decision, and I just wanted to dive into the books, shake her shoulders, and cart her off back to her home. I mean, I understand that she doesn’t want to be a teenage mum to her younger brother but she was acting so irresponsibly and childishly that I found it hard to care about her at all.

Trish’s writing was awesome, as always, and I read this book in one afternoon/evening. I am always absorbed in the way she writes her characters, and the way she unfolds her plots, and that was present again in The Devil You Know.

I did feel that there was a little back lacking in the suspense department, though. This felt more like a mystery than a thriller, because the creepy shit was happening outside of the main plot. I never felt that “eep” feeling when I read thrillers, because the thrilling stuff only really happened at the end. I would love to see Trish grow as a thriller writer because she really has potential.

I loved the ending, and the fact that it wasn’t open. I was seriously cheering about this. YAY for closed ended novels.

All in all The Devil You Know was a good book. If you’re starting out on YA thrillers, I’d definitely recommend this one.

© 2015, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.