City of Souls and Sinners: House of Devils, Book 2

Renee

Everything You Loved About Book One Amplified by a Thousand!!

"𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞…𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧—𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. “𝐈 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦...𝐈 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞.” “𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐥,” 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲. “𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.” “𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐡, 𝐃𝐚𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬.” “𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚.” “𝐇𝐞’𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧…𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬.” 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝. “𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐬? 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐠, 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭? 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥. 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮.” “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐟*𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥. 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐭?” 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. “𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝.” “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬.” “𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐢𝐫. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫.” “𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.” “𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞…𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐭.” “𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝.” “𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐃𝐚𝐥. 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.” 𝐇𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥’𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡. _________________________ **Review Contains Slight/Vague Spoilers for Book One** This book has officially blown my mind AND blown this world straight out of the water!! If you finished City of Gods and Monsters wondering how this story could get better, how you could be any more obsessed with these characters, and how you could possibly fall even more in love with Darien and Loren, this book sees every one of those questions and raises new ones by the dozen. Everything you loved about COGAM shows up from page one and is amplified in a way that will leave you thoroughly satisfied and entirely speechless. Picking up in the weeks following Kalendae and the events that only Loren, the Devils, and those closest to them remember, we find everyone trying to move on and navigate their lives in the aftermath. There is a good deal of PTSD and struggle but there is also so much tenderness, love, and family and I could NOT get enough of the dynamic between these characters. You get SO much from the first part of this book: depth and backstory to each of the devils, sweet Loren and Darien relationship moments, an abundance of hot spicy Loren and Darien moments (can I get a hallelujah?!), incredible and hilarious banter, and the full welcoming into the family we all know and love at Hell’s Gate. And then reality hits. There is so much at stake pressuring Darien to take his father’s place over the Darkslaying houses, and still more that is forcing Loren to conceal every hint of what she did on Kalendae. As they both try to navigate their way forward while protecting each other, their loved ones, and Angelthene as a whole, they must also find a way to protect the love that they share and their future together as well. I was just so impressed with this book and I continue to be impressed with Kayla’s writing and this entire world structure. COGAM was truly only the very tip of the iceberg and I do HIGHLY recommend a reread because the subtle seeds planted in that book explode in this book. Everything intensifies whether it be humor, love, emotions, or monsters, and just when you think you’ve nailed it all down and that the stakes can’t get any higher it all flips on its head and sends you reeling. Loren has officially claimed her crown as one of my favorite heroines of all time. I had a feeling she was going to come out of Kalendae a stronger and more confident version of her kind and genuine self and she far exceeded that expectation. I was SO PROUD of her in this book. Everything she goes through, everything she endures…she is the quiet, inspiring, forceful yet gentle FMC that you just don’t see enough in fantasy books. Darien. This man. I truly didn’t think I could love him more. I was so very wrong. What he goes through in this book absolutely destroyed my heart and put it back together so many times. I said it before and I’ll say it again: to see this deep of a mental health journey in such a strong, dominant character is a poignant and breathtakingly devastating sight to behold. He has won me over forever and I just love him endlessly. I could rave about everything in this book if you let me but I’ll try to narrow it down…the POV we get from Max and the development of the relationship between he and Dallas is SO good. I adore them together and they deserve every happiness in the world!! Getting to know Lace and her story, getting to spend more time with Tanner, learning more about Ivy’s past through her brother’s eyes, and always having Jack and Travis there to deliver pure comedy gold when you need it most…it was all just perfect. Their personalities live right off the page like they are actual people and I wish I could squeeze them all. I was SO EXCITED getting more time with Dom and the Angels and there was a special twist for Dominic that had me all wrapped up in my feels!! The Butcher making his entertaining appearances and Malakai stealing the show every other second also layered in even MORE characters for me to fall madly in love with, though Mortifer may have come out as being my favorite character of all time in this series. Just please don’t tell Bandit, because I love him to death and I will play fetch with him every day if he wants to come home with me!! I can’t say much on plot without spoilers but what I WILL say is there is absolutely NO love triangle, there is no cheating, there is no miscommunication trope (this makes more sense when you actually read the book), it is just well and truly a journey in a turbulent world with vast secrets, dark legends, darker lies, horrifying creatures, powerful enemies, and magic both incredible and terrifying. After the generously happy ending of book one, you almost had to know we had it coming in this book and I am NOT OKAY after that ending!! However at the same time I also kind of am because the introduction to another character has me all sorts of intrigued already… All in all this series just continues to leave me awestruck. This will forever be one of the best series I’ve ever read and eternally a comfort read for me…just maybe not around any carnivals… Thank you SO much Kayla for sending me an ARC of your baby. It has been my ultimate pleasure reading/reviewing it and I am honored to have gotten an early peek at this masterpiece!! ["

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February 21, 2023 Verified Purchase

jenn_azhere

Book 2

"Loved this book but it is long so buckle up and settle in. It picks right up from book 1. Lots more info and characters and their back stories. I got stressed with the secrets!! Lots of yelling, just tell him!! Figure it out!! Lol!! Heading right into book3!! ["

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June 16, 2025 Verified Purchase

Sydni

5 star urban fantasy romance series 🌟

"This installment took everything to another level. The world building, the magic system, the plot!! There are a lot of moving parts but I LOVEEEE being completely immersed in an intense fantasy world. If you like found family— this book DELIVERED. I feel so much more attached to all of the Devils/Dominic/Malakai. Absolute babes, the lot of them. I wanted more found family in book one and I’m so so glad it really shined here. I love Angelthene and the plot, but the romance between Darien & Loren will always be the highlight. Their love is SO soft and pure and I could cry just thinking about them!!!! Easily one of my favorite book couples. This big bad Darkslayer is putty in Loren’s hands and I’m obsessed with them. “You are the exception to every one of my rules.” “My destination has always been you.” “You’re a girl worth spinning…My girl…Forever my girl.” “Do you want me on my knees? Do you want me to beg, is that it? Because I will. I’ll crawl for you.” He’s such a MANNNN and I’m actually devastated that he’s fictional. Because what do you mean I’m just supposed to go on with my life after reading how soft he is for his woman??? He’s so down bad. If you like a man who is utterly obsessed— you’re going to love Darien Cassel. They grew together in this book but we also saw a lot of growth individually. We got to know Darien so well in this book and I’m just a puddle at his feet. The way he views himself versus how Loren/his family view him is heartbreaking. “He could believe all he wanted that he was a sinner incapable of redemption, his soul too dark to be saved, but Loren knew better. She could spot an angel when she saw one, and this angel’s sin was that he loved too much.” IM TOTALLY FINE, DEFINITELY NOT FALLING APART AT THE SEAMS!!! Also, the grief/anxiety rep we got in Darien and Max, two strong male characters, was really beautiful. Loren’s arc in this book was fantastic— she was backed into some tight corners and never gave up. I’m excited to see where the rest of the series takes her. We’re in the era of strong, fierce fmc’s and I love that every time, but it’s really refreshing to see an fmc that is strong AND soft/delicate. She’s a flower in a sea of thorns and I’m so proud of her for some of the outright ballsy moves she made in this book. Kayla’s writing is incredible. Not only does she write emotion and vulnerability in a way that takes pieces of my soul with it, but her action sequences?? Top tier. She knows exactly what she’s doing, and she’s a master of strategically using pov’s to keep you on your toes and dying to keep reading! READ IT RIGHT NOW. ["

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July 13, 2025 Verified Purchase

Skylar Phaup

An okay read

"If I thought the first book was slow, this one had me in a dead limp. It’s been a really long time since it’s taken me so many days to finish a book. It’s not necessarily that the plot is bad or the characters are unlikable as this book felt stretched past its limits. There was so many pages and descriptions that weren’t needed, but so much action in pieces that it almost felt overdone. Look — I’m not a harsh critic, I typically like just about everything I read to some extent, but this is one time where I may not be able to finish the entire series. I might because I genuinely hate to leave things insisted, but I already know it’s going to be a painful experience if I do. For the record, the world building is alright, the characters are pretty okay, and there is a lot of action — but even when I pushed myself to the last pages, it took Darien — a character I was really trying to root for and love — and made him pretty awful. You make it through two books where he is obsessed/in love with/devoted to one girl and they go through what feels like a million ordeals together, and then when she saves him and everyone else AGAIN, and is taking TWO days to recoup in a coma he can’t handle it? He made it all about him, and how hard it is for him, and that’s almost the final nail in the coffin of my effort for this series. Honestly, this was the City of Disappointment and Wasted Time. ["

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February 12, 2025 Verified Purchase