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The Devil In Blue
He will come for you. He will find you. He will destroy you. All my life, that's all I've been told.
Briar
It was a kindness, what Lucien did. Taking a girl from an asylum to raise her and care for her did not earn him any praise amongst the nobles. I should be thankful, but... Something is missing. There is a dark void inside me. A past I can't remember. A part of me that's shattered. On Allhalloween night, we are invited to the catacombs for what is promised to be an unforgettable masquerade by a mysterious Count of Norbrooke. With our faces hidden, we can lose ourselves to lavish celebrations without the burdens we carry otherwise. But somehow, even with a mask... he found me.
Rune
I have gone by many names, but the whole world knows me as the Devil in Blue. I am the King of the Glyn, where all souls go before they reach their afterlife. The title is taxing, but when I found her, everything became worth it. Until she ripped my heart in two and left. I plotted my revenge for years, but when I finally found my little bird, why couldn't I destroy her? She claims she doesn't know me. Impossible... But I will play her game.
[This book is intended for audiences 18+. It contains dark themes such as mental illness, references to torture and brainwashing, dub con, sexual abuse (not by MMC), violence, and graphic sex.]
Briar
It was a kindness, what Lucien did. Taking a girl from an asylum to raise her and care for her did not earn him any praise amongst the nobles. I should be thankful, but... Something is missing. There is a dark void inside me. A past I can't remember. A part of me that's shattered. On Allhalloween night, we are invited to the catacombs for what is promised to be an unforgettable masquerade by a mysterious Count of Norbrooke. With our faces hidden, we can lose ourselves to lavish celebrations without the burdens we carry otherwise. But somehow, even with a mask... he found me.
Rune
I have gone by many names, but the whole world knows me as the Devil in Blue. I am the King of the Glyn, where all souls go before they reach their afterlife. The title is taxing, but when I found her, everything became worth it. Until she ripped my heart in two and left. I plotted my revenge for years, but when I finally found my little bird, why couldn't I destroy her? She claims she doesn't know me. Impossible... But I will play her game.
[This book is intended for audiences 18+. It contains dark themes such as mental illness, references to torture and brainwashing, dub con, sexual abuse (not by MMC), violence, and graphic sex.]
356 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 25, 2023
36 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Courtney Leigh
29 books81 followersI was born on a teeny tiny island in the middle of the ocean to two amazing and adventurous parents. When we moved to the mainland, I was raised on an ostrich ranch in rural Arizona where learned about hard work and responsibility. I attribute my determination to my upbringing and loved the adventures of my younger years. Myself and my siblings schooled in the city, a one hour commute each way.
I majored in theatre then immediately moved on to college when I was 17 pursuing fashion and costume design. I graduated during the recession and couldn't find work, so depression got me until I found the cosplay community and opened up again with both a social life and a creative drive.
Through ALL of this, I was writing in my spare time. From the moment I could draw really sloppy letters on a page, I was creating stories and it became something I did to relieve stress and cope with life changes. At 17, I finished my first novel at 160,000 words (it since got lost in many crashed computers and moves) But since then I have been writing like a mad woman and finally published in 2019. I have no plans of stopping.
I majored in theatre then immediately moved on to college when I was 17 pursuing fashion and costume design. I graduated during the recession and couldn't find work, so depression got me until I found the cosplay community and opened up again with both a social life and a creative drive.
Through ALL of this, I was writing in my spare time. From the moment I could draw really sloppy letters on a page, I was creating stories and it became something I did to relieve stress and cope with life changes. At 17, I finished my first novel at 160,000 words (it since got lost in many crashed computers and moves) But since then I have been writing like a mad woman and finally published in 2019. I have no plans of stopping.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 13, 2024
Beauty and the Beast with a dark twist
Wow...
This was the best Beauty and the Beast retelling that I've read.
Addicting and gloriously dark.
Briar tackled her inner demons in a way that was gut-wrenchingly relateable. This book did not shy away from the mental health struggles of someone who learned to deal with their captivity by compliance. Her journey was remarkable and so satisfying. If you like justified feminine rage, you will love this book.
Rune... I'm a sucker for a good, wounded soul. Now, have him lashing out at the world because of a broken heart... I was sold.
The blending of the original fairy tale and dark Gothic elements was seamless. And that twist! Damn.
Read this... you'll love it 😘
Wow...
This was the best Beauty and the Beast retelling that I've read.
Addicting and gloriously dark.
Briar tackled her inner demons in a way that was gut-wrenchingly relateable. This book did not shy away from the mental health struggles of someone who learned to deal with their captivity by compliance. Her journey was remarkable and so satisfying. If you like justified feminine rage, you will love this book.
Rune... I'm a sucker for a good, wounded soul. Now, have him lashing out at the world because of a broken heart... I was sold.
The blending of the original fairy tale and dark Gothic elements was seamless. And that twist! Damn.
Read this... you'll love it 😘
September 3, 2024
Very good and different
This is a great book. Great plot, good story telling, well written. Different that most paranormal romance. I am severely ADD and dnf more books than I finish but this held my attention throughout. That is the best compliment I can give it.
This is a great book. Great plot, good story telling, well written. Different that most paranormal romance. I am severely ADD and dnf more books than I finish but this held my attention throughout. That is the best compliment I can give it.
November 3, 2025
Another un-put-downable book by Courtney Leigh. I fell in love with Leigh’s writing in Withering Dawn, and this story only added her to my auto-buy list. This was such a unique story, I’m not totally sure how to describe it. Spoilers below because I have to talk about these amazing characters and this phenomenal story. The best Hades/Persephone retelling I’ve read!
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😈 Hades/Persephone retelling
😈 feminine rage
😈 lost memories
😈 enemies to lovers
😈 second chance romance
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-
-
We follow Briar, a woman with no memories of her past before being committed to an asylum 15 years prior. She’s currently the ward of Lucian, a man she holds no care for but who “takes care of her” and treats her as a trinket to use and discard. She’s been conditioned to believe she’s insane and can’t trust her own mind, and I found her immensely likable and relatable. Her story is so heart wrenching I teared up multiple times. She is so alone, fragile, but also gentle. Leigh is so descriptive in the ways Briar retreats into her mind when her body is being abused, and you can feel the despair and emptiness seep off the page. You feel cold, blank, and hollow right along with Briar, and I couldn’t stop reading.
She meets Rune, our king of the inbetween underworld where souls linger before moving on, at masquerade on Allhalloween. He kidnaps her back to his realm, but his rage at her only confuses her more as she has no memories of previous interactions with him. Rune is cold, harsh, and full of rage at Briar, claiming he loved her only for her to leave him bereft and full of vengeance. What follows is one of the most intense push and pull between two MCs I’ve read in a long time. Briar doesn’t know what’s real. She doesn’t know who she can trust. She feels drawn to Rune but fears him. She is left reeling over what she believes she knows and what she’s being told. Rune is heartbroken and livid, wanting to make her suffer like he has since she left, but he can’t make himself truly hurt her. They have some explosive interactions that were written so well my heart was pounding and my eyes filling with tears (the moth necklace?? 😭😭😭).
Leigh is a master at having her characters emote and I could not stop reading these two. They were both so broken, and their stories broke my heart. I loved Rune even when he was letting his anger guide him, because I could see the man underneath hurting. But boy did I feel for Briar. Her story unraveling only gets more horrific and as she learns truths that were taken from her, I was raging and emotional on her behalf. We have some excellent feminine rage in this book and it was glorious and oh so satisfying.
We have another micro trope I’m a sucker for… a MMC treating FMC unfairly, and when he realizes his error, so much guilt, regret and self-loathing. I love a strong ruthless MMC realizing he was wrong and burning everything down to make it right. Ugh, so so good, and boy does Rune wade through some serious regret and guilt. It was so satisfying to see him realize he didn’t know the full truth and for he and Briar to finally communicate with no missing truths between them.
The spice was 🔥 🥵 and I loved it. The villains understood the assignment and made you feel disgust and horror at what they did to Briar. The side characters were intriguing and while I guessed both twists early on, it didn’t take away from the story. When I say I couldn’t stop reading, I mean my eyes ached from staying up way too late.
4.75 ⭐️
Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Leigh manages to pack a story full of depth, heartache, tension, and love into a relatively short book, and her ability to make you feel like you’ve read an entire series in only 350 pages is a treat.
CW: dub con (not by MC), rape (not by MC), emotional/physical torture, emotional/physical/mental abuse and trauma
-
-
-
😈 Hades/Persephone retelling
😈 feminine rage
😈 lost memories
😈 enemies to lovers
😈 second chance romance
-
-
-
We follow Briar, a woman with no memories of her past before being committed to an asylum 15 years prior. She’s currently the ward of Lucian, a man she holds no care for but who “takes care of her” and treats her as a trinket to use and discard. She’s been conditioned to believe she’s insane and can’t trust her own mind, and I found her immensely likable and relatable. Her story is so heart wrenching I teared up multiple times. She is so alone, fragile, but also gentle. Leigh is so descriptive in the ways Briar retreats into her mind when her body is being abused, and you can feel the despair and emptiness seep off the page. You feel cold, blank, and hollow right along with Briar, and I couldn’t stop reading.
She meets Rune, our king of the inbetween underworld where souls linger before moving on, at masquerade on Allhalloween. He kidnaps her back to his realm, but his rage at her only confuses her more as she has no memories of previous interactions with him. Rune is cold, harsh, and full of rage at Briar, claiming he loved her only for her to leave him bereft and full of vengeance. What follows is one of the most intense push and pull between two MCs I’ve read in a long time. Briar doesn’t know what’s real. She doesn’t know who she can trust. She feels drawn to Rune but fears him. She is left reeling over what she believes she knows and what she’s being told. Rune is heartbroken and livid, wanting to make her suffer like he has since she left, but he can’t make himself truly hurt her. They have some explosive interactions that were written so well my heart was pounding and my eyes filling with tears (the moth necklace?? 😭😭😭).
Leigh is a master at having her characters emote and I could not stop reading these two. They were both so broken, and their stories broke my heart. I loved Rune even when he was letting his anger guide him, because I could see the man underneath hurting. But boy did I feel for Briar. Her story unraveling only gets more horrific and as she learns truths that were taken from her, I was raging and emotional on her behalf. We have some excellent feminine rage in this book and it was glorious and oh so satisfying.
We have another micro trope I’m a sucker for… a MMC treating FMC unfairly, and when he realizes his error, so much guilt, regret and self-loathing. I love a strong ruthless MMC realizing he was wrong and burning everything down to make it right. Ugh, so so good, and boy does Rune wade through some serious regret and guilt. It was so satisfying to see him realize he didn’t know the full truth and for he and Briar to finally communicate with no missing truths between them.
The spice was 🔥 🥵 and I loved it. The villains understood the assignment and made you feel disgust and horror at what they did to Briar. The side characters were intriguing and while I guessed both twists early on, it didn’t take away from the story. When I say I couldn’t stop reading, I mean my eyes ached from staying up way too late.
4.75 ⭐️
Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Leigh manages to pack a story full of depth, heartache, tension, and love into a relatively short book, and her ability to make you feel like you’ve read an entire series in only 350 pages is a treat.
CW: dub con (not by MC), rape (not by MC), emotional/physical torture, emotional/physical/mental abuse and trauma
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2024
Fun fast paced fantasy romance
I enjoyed this story. There were a handful of grammatical errors but didn’t impact the overall story. It was fun and fast paced.
I enjoyed this story. There were a handful of grammatical errors but didn’t impact the overall story. It was fun and fast paced.
April 20, 2024
Loved this
A stunning retelling if the Hades and Personphone love story. Briar sucks you in from very beginning, with every heartbreaking emotion she feels
A stunning retelling if the Hades and Personphone love story. Briar sucks you in from very beginning, with every heartbreaking emotion she feels
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews