Devil in the Dark

Devils Heartbreak #3

by Alannah Carbonneau

He was my first crush.

He was my first fantasy.

He was my first love.

Now, he’s my last hope.

For years, I hid the bruises and absorbed the terrible tongue lashings. I cowed under the dark weight of my sister’s sins, soothed only by the sound of his music.

It had been my plan to wait for the day I turned twenty-one, for the inheritance my grandmother left me. If I could hold out until then. I could save myself.

But the sinister plans of my wicked mother had me engaged to the cruelest man I’ve ever known. A man whose eyes hold promises of pain, who smiles only at the thought of my discomfort. The brother of the only man I’ve ever loved.

On the day of my engagement party, I flee to the only place I can. To the only person in the whole world who might help me.

Only, the last time I saw him, I was a love-struck little girl—and my big sister had just shattered his heart in the worst abuse of trust possible.

I’m still in love with him. But he hates me, my last name, and everything he thinks I stand for.

It’s too bad for him, because I have the one thing he wants. The one thing he needs to take them all down.

We strike a deal. A dangerous deal where my poor, battered and bruised heart, is on the line.

If I can just hold out until twenty-one…

If I can ignore the way it feels when he kisses me—and the whiplash I get when he glares.

If he doesn’t see the scars…

Maybe we might not crash and burn in the secrets of our past.

Genres: Enemies To Lovers

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 9, 2024

About the author

Born and raised in Alberta, Canada, Alannah Carbonneau is only a short drive away from the Rocky Mountains that have a staring place in so many of her novels. With seventeen novels and counting currently available on Amazon, Alannah is not only a full-time author, but a full-time mom of two beautiful boys, and wife to an amazing man who always has her back. She lives in a rambling ranch house that needs way too many renos and has one too many cats, but she is happy and in love.

With a solid circle of friends and family, and a very manly, supportive husband who does his best to make sure his family is taken care of, Alannah’s novels feature manly men (sometimes they can be a LOT manly) and friend/family relationships weaved into the stories, because life is about a whole mess of people, and although this is fiction, the best fiction is sprinkled with sweet (and sometimes not so sweet) bits of reality.

Because she loves romance, Alannah writes Contemporary and New Adult Romance. Soon to be released is the Creekwood Valley Series that has ties to the reader beloved Donnelley Brother Series, where light suspense and romance weave to create titillating stories that not only steal your heart but keep you on the edge of your seat. She is the author of the highly rated Teach Me Series, an emotional read about love, life and lessons learned. Our Dark Design is a standalone erotic romance peppered with enough suspense to keep you turning the pages, and The Choice is an entirely unconventional standalone romance about three.

She is currently working on a Cross World Fantasy Romance Series for Adults she can’t wait to share with you, because this will feature hot men who are a little bit dominant and a lot protective who are head over heels in love with stubborn, magnificent women.

When Alannah isn’t writing or spending time with her three men, she can be found in her garden, or with a paint brush in hand. But no matter where she is or what she’s doing, you can bet that she’s thinking of a love story she can share with you.

Reviews

[Terri Zumbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing I like about this series is that you don’t have to read all the books to be comfortable with all the characters, but I did enjoy reading them in turn.

In DEVIL IN THE DARK, the story is griping from the start. I wouldn’t have minded more overlap between the sinister elements in the story and the romance unfolding. Ophelia’s demons ran parallel to Tav’s and both were so important to the romance and the drama.

It was a good found family book, something of a second chance love story, and the flavor of a rock star romance.

Early copy read. My honest opinion is that it is worth reading as a part of this series. As a book on it’s own, it’s not as compelling.

[Auj · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.45 stars

My life was so busy this past month of April that I'm super late to finish this book and write the review, so apologies to the author.

I found the first few pages hard to get through and didn't want to read about someone's past abuse, but since it was an ARC, I tried again another day.

Olympia's on the run from an engaged marriage & an abusive family. She shows up on the doorstep of Tav, the brother of the man she's supposed to marry, and the man she's been in love with since she was a young girl. However, because Tav had dated and been betrayed by her older sister (messy, I know!!), he's very distrustful of her intentions and suspects she's a snake. Alannah must love the faking date trope because all the books in this series have had it. Tav wanted Olympia to pretend that she was dating him, even though he acted as if he hated her, when she was trying to live with him for asylum until she turned old enough to receive her inheritance. Thus, I'm not sure the trope was so necessary or worked well with this plot.

I adored the steamy sex scenes, which were quite romantic, but I needed more conversation between them (that wasn't just about Olympia's awful situation), for me to see why he loved her. I know that a lot of times female romance readers are more likely to dislike the heroine than the hero as we're attracted to the hero and can see why he's so great (he's hot, good in bed, caring, etc.), but since most of us are heterosexual, we don't get the heroine's appeal as much. So I don't know if it was just a case of the author not making Olympia interesting enough as a character or just the internalized misogyny/not being attracted to women for me. It's not that I disliked her; I didn't understand why Tav suddenly fell in love with her. It mostly seemed to be lust.

Yeah, I think I just didn't feel enough development for their romance, even though the sex scenes were super romantic, it didn't compensate for the lack of connection and time.

Moreover, I didn't like how Olympia was juxtaposed with her sister. Olympia was described as so innocent and "clean" while her sister, Ophelia, was portrayed as a seductress, slut, and cheater.

Lines I related to:
“Man, I’ve had some of the best nights with Nevaeh in hotel rooms.” -- Gerald & I
"He doesn’t give me a moment to gather myself, to prepare myself for the assault on my heart that is his mouth on mine, before he’s dropping his head and— oh, my! Plundering is the only word." -- Gerald when we had our first kiss in my hotel room

Thank you to the author and BookSirens for the ARC! This hasn't affected my honest rating or review.

[Ulli Zaiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ophelia has been abused by her mother as long as she can remember. Before being forced to marry an even more abusive man she took a chanve and ran to the one man who might be able to protect her. Tav does not need this blast from the past, he hates Olympia's sister, her family and therefor her. But she has something to bargain with and so reluctantly he allows her to stay. But the longer she lives with him the more he is attracted to her and maybe she really is telling the truth…

This is the third book in the "Devil's Heartbreak" series but it can be read as a stand-alone. I really enjoyed reading this book and read it in one day. I rooted for Ophelia from the start and hoped she would be free from her past. It took me a while to warm to Tav but I could understand his anger and wariness to an extent.

The twist at the end took me completely by surprise and I felt the last chapter after that could have been longer and told us more details but maybe we learn those in the next book of the series.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Mar-Mar bookaholic · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will start at the end- this book was a MMA fighter’s fist in a face last 10 pages. What the ever loving fuck of a fuckup fuck-fest shit-fuck was that? Her sister shoots her in the stomach, she gets full hysterectomy and never can get any children of her own.

My face reading this part as a 17 weeks pregnant woman
👁️👄👁️

That was horrible ending.

Back to the beginning- whole story was weak, felt rushed and I had no idea or understanding why and how he fell in love with her. It was just so random and disjointed.

First book will always be my favourite.

🔶 h is 19
🔶 H is 28
🔶 virgin h
🔶 sisters ex ( he wanted to marry the sister and was in love with her)
🔶 no ow/om drama
🔶 no cheating
🔶 tw: h gets shot in the stomach and can never have children
🔶 medium spice
🔶 HEA

[Teresa Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devil in the Dark: Devils Heartbreak - An Enemies to Lovers Rockstar Romance by Alannah Carbonneau is the third book in the Devils Heartbreak series. Devil in the Dark is a rockstar romance between Tav, drummer of the rock band Devils Heartbreak, and Olympia, his ex-fiancé’s little sister. Olympia, who also goes by Pippa, is escaping her sociopathic fiancé and abusive home life. She wants to stay with Tav until she reaches legal age and can use her trust fund money. As an incentive, Olympia will provide documentation of a will that proves Tav was swindled out of his inheritance by his family when his mother died. To protect Olympia from her family coming after her and forcing her to return home, Tav proposes that she pretend to be his woman. Their pretending to be in love ignites passion and yearning, which causes conflicting emotions since Tav wants to hate her until, little by little, he finds that her words prove true. Alannah Carbonneau uses morally grey characters to shine light in the darkness of evil and do what is needed to protect their loved ones. Devil in the Dark is a beautifully crafted rockstar romance that lingers in the reader’s heart long after reading the last page.

[Nikki'J' · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far I have raved about this series but for me, this one just didn't quite hit the same highs. I gave it 4.5 stars.

The characters were great. In particular, getting to know Tav was great. He's been quiet compared to the others I think and finding out why he's a bit broken was certainly a shock. His past would be enough to make anyone mad and untrusting.

Olympia on the other hand is more of an open book. She has her secrets but she tries to be open with Tav. The problem is that his trust issues particularly the part her family played in his past have left him unable to look at her without anger.

I didn't mind the fact that he was in a way punishing her for the actions of others it gave the story some grit and had them working through all the damages.

In my opinion, it was just missing a chapter or two to really have finished it off and given the story that five-star moment. Having said that though, I did enjoy their story and like the happy ending but I wish I could have loved it like the first two.
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.
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Olympia needs to get away from her family before it's too late. What her awful mother has planned for her she can't go through with. The only person she can think of that might help is the man that she loved as a child.

Tav is not happy to see the woman on his doorstep. She was only a child when he left that world but she was raised by the same people that twisted his world inside out, so he has no doubt she's just as twisted and evil as them.

When it looks like Tav is going to send her packing, Olympia plays the only card she has. It wasn't how she had hoped things would go, but he's so angry that she doesn't have any other choice.
"What the fuck do you want, Olympia?"
'You. It's only ever been you. I don't say that. Instead, I say, "I want you to tarnish me fully and completely. I want you to wreck and ruin me. I want you to sully everything they think is pure. I want them to hate me like they hate you."

He knows that making a deal with Olympia is likely to burn him somehow, but he's not the man he once was. He has real friends now to have his back. He'll play her game while he has too but the minute he gets what he needs he'll send her on her way. She can go back to the wolf's den and tell them she failed.

All that love Olympia had for Tav when she was young is slowly being snuffed out by his behavior. There are moments though when she sees him and it keeps the hope alive. In the end, though will it all be pointless and she'll end up right back where she started?
'I thought she had come to ruin me. And maybe she had, because the thought of losing her now nearly brings me to my knees.'

Happy Reading.

[Stacey T · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third book in the series. Olympia is running from her crazy, abusive family to the only person that can help her, her sister’s ex-fiancée. Tav is the drummer for Devil’s Heartbreak and cannot believe the woman on his porch is the little girl he once knew. Nor can he believe the things she says about her abusive mother, drunk father and being sold off to his brother. They make a deal, but he won’t believe her deception because he knows her sister and their twisted past. Can they learn to trust each other, or will the past keep them blind?
This was disappointing compared to the first two books in the series. I didn’t feel any chemistry between these two MC’s especially because of her lack of experience and the fact that he saw her as a child in the beginning and then all of a sudden as a woman he was in love with. The only drama came in the last couple of pages and we didn’t get to experience any of it as a reader. The epilogue was so far after the end of the book and although it provided a glimpse of what had occurred, it would have been better if it had been more incorporated into the story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sue Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great 3rd installment in the ‘Devil’s Heartbreak’ series. All the books are stand-alone, so you do not have to have read the previous ones to enjoy this. Olympia turns up without warning on the doorstep of her childhood crush, Tav (drummer with the band of the series title). She is running from a forced marriage and her vile family. I really liked both the main characters in the tale, especially Olympia who, despite her age, is very strong and determined to carve a new life for herself, if she can just convince Tav not to hate her and assume she is cut from the same cloth as her hateful relatives! Tav is a complex protagonist – hurt in the past by Olympias’s sister – he struggles to reconcile what she tells him of her life with what he knows about both their families. A really good romantic read with elements of steam against a dark background. As characters from the previous books appear in this novel, I do urge any reader new to this series to go back and read Tav’s bandmates stories!

[Jane Holloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book just as much as the others in this series! Tav was the drummer for Devil's Heartbreak and Olympia came from a very dysfunctional family. Infact she had been engaged to Tav's brother and the day that she turned up unannounced at Tav's front porch was supposed to be her engagement party. Tav was very shocked to hear that bit of news. Olympia had run away and the first person she thought of to help her was Tav. Tav had dated Olympia's sister who was a really nasty character. Tav didn't want to have anything to do with Olympia because of her sister. Olympia had an ace up her sleeve and made a deal with Tav. They were to pretend to be in a relationship but as often happens, the feelings became real. I enjoyed reading about the other couples who had all had their happy ever afters in the previous books.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Maddy Matos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olympia needs help and she has no one else, actually she doesn’t even have Tav but he’s going to help her whether he wants to or not. So this is how her battle for her freedom begins, and it’s quite the fight. Tav knew her as a child and he knew her sister very well, the reality is that he doesn’t know Olympia at all. She was eleven when he last saw her, now she’s almost twenty and absolutely stunning. These two have a battle of wills but it’s a battle they’ll both lose, along with a bet. Tav and Olympia have chemistry, and when they got together I thought my Kindle would self destruct. There wasn’t much conflict in this story but there was drama and I loved the ending. I’m giving this book five stars and highly recommend it.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining read. Tav and Olympia are interesting, relatable, intriguing, complex, entertaining characters. I enjoyed these characters as individuals and a couple. Their romance with its twists and turns is entertaining to read. I love that we got Tav’s romance and that it lives up to the others in the series. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. I love getting to see the couples from the previous books I the series. I do wish that we had gotten more from the ending climax than we did – but I do like the epilogue and how it wraps up the story. The book is easy to read and get into.

This is an honest and independent review given on a book that was a gift from the author.

[T.M. Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book: Devil in the Dark
Author: Alannah Carbonneau
My Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by: Tammy - Book Nook Nuts

REVIEW
The third book in this series will rock you...

Olympia hasn't had an easy life, although some would think that. And when she finally gets the chance she runs to the one man who she belives can protect her, who she has always loved.
The only thing is will he believe her?

Tav has moved on since his past, he hates everyone in it. He has made a new life, and now he finds a part of his past sitting on his front porch...

These two both have been scorned, and wronged. And trust is going to be a hard pill to swallow.

Can they trust in each other, and win the battles of their past?

Well get ready for some deals, twists, turns, and what was thought to be all wrong.

I have enjoyed every single book thus far in this thrillingly hot, twisted rockstar romance.

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helping the Enemy

This was a dark and gritty book with Olympia suffering her her family’s hand who has set her up to marry a monster. If only she can hold out until she’s turns twenty-one. When things don’t go that way she turns to abuser’s brother, Tav, who is the drummer in Devil’s Heartbreak. After what Olympia’s sister did to him, he wants nothing to do with her.

Olympia comes up with a deal with Tav that he can’t turn down and they start a pretend relationship that turns more real than either of thought would happen.

I cannot wait to see what this author brings next to this series.

[Chaos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't as devastated as I thought id be. Honestly, compared to the other 2, this one was kinda boring. Everything wrapped up with not too much drama until the end, which was weird, but whatever. Everything with Olympia's family, Tav's family, and their own personal issues weren't as big and dramatic as I expected or came to expect in this series. Yes Remira and Ophelia were god awful and so glad they got what they deserved, but it was Darius who was my fear. Yet nothing happened with him really thank heavens. I thought she'd end up in a similar situation as Naveah. Still a good story and im dying for Illya's book now

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better the devil you know, than the devil you don't.

I have read this book and devil in the details in the last 30 hours. I couldn't put them down. I do find the author is a bit repetitive with her word choices and story telling, but overall, solid romance book. I am deducting a star for the previous reasons, but start reading and see where it takes you. Now I will start the 3rd book.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying this Devils Heartbreak series. Book 3 tells Tav's story and connects him to someone from his past, Pippa. My only problem is that the end came to quickly and was a little abrupt. However, I am looking forward to a fourth book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Guylande Jeudy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series and I enjoyed the author's writing because she made it flow seamlessly. It was an emotional read because Olympia had an abusive upbringing and no support and I liked that Tav came to his senses before it was too late. Overall, it was a great read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Tiffanie Witman Bausher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

Tag and Olympia's story was a great third story to the series. Sometimes it hard to see past the hurt to what is standing right in front of you and so.stones its even harder to have the courage to change your fate. Alannah wrote a great series. I hope Ian and Candace get their happily ever after too.

[Rachel M Whealtey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muddy water turn clear…

Each book of this series has carried twist and turns but this one really threw me! Just wow! I hate the series is complete because I would love to know more about Candace and Ian’s story and if she finally says yes! And definitely hope Volkov, Kane’s brother and his story. THIS WHOLE SERIES IS A MUST TO READ!

[Jaime Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story has a great entertaining world building story line. The characters are great, and they have great chemistry. This story is a very entertaining read. Devoured this book without pausing. Couldn’t put it down. Definitely recommend!

[Joanna helms · Rating 4 out of 5]

it’s a good read

I fell hard for this series and fast. This one while it was a really good read I feel like it was rushed. There are so many places that the author could have filled that I was looking forward to reading.
Still all in all it was a good book that I really enjoyed.

[Nineette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olympia and tav

She went through so much and the hardest part that the person she loved didn’t believe her since his experience with her older sister. We can’t judge everybody the same and that something tav learn to be able to love her right.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it!!

****Somewhat spoiler***



I’m so heartbroken for Pippa, but so happy for Tav and the boys 😆. Wish there was more to the story..some background on the little people they adopted.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Gem in her Book Crown

Love the book. Enjoyed how to have worked his way through all the anger and hate and hurt that he had inside his soul. These two belong together, and I have enjoyed their journey to be together.

[Heidi Maynard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it !!!

Loved this whole series and this final book was a great conclusion. Tav and olympia chemistry was great together, her light to his darkness was such a great contrast. Just wished there was more about the rockstar aspect and the band. Reco.mend the whole series.

[Dimity Castellano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literate proof-reader needed

I enjoyed the story but was irritated by grammatical mistakes which should have been picked up eg queue for cue, who's for whose, ringer for wringer, recuperating for
recouping, etc. The writing deserves better care

[Joleen Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me mad at Tav and then fall in love with his character. Their lives have been so interwoven. It’s a less common trope too. Really enjoyed it and the protective possessiveness!

[Coralee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read . Loved it

[kase]

FMC is 19 and wants to be “ruined” - not the book for me

[Rosa Ascenso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved all three books. R. A

Its a must read and read in order. They are great and you won't put it down. Love it. Rock stars