Azâzil loved the Creator more fiercely than any angel. But when devotion turned to defiance, he walked into exile—and there, he met Lehya, a mortal jinn who awakened his lost humanity.
He wasn’t born wicked. He wasn’t cast out screaming. He walked away, carrying love that turned to ash in his chest. Paradise was over, but life wasn’t done with him. In the wilderness he found Lehya—tender, mortal, real. Her presence didn’t erase his fall. It revealed the parts of him no angel ever his hunger, his loneliness, his fragile humanity.
When the Devil Loves is a sweeping tale of creation and exile that refuses to paint the Devil in black and white. It’s about love that endures, pride that blinds, and the raw honesty of walking away from a paradise that no longer fits.
Readers
“I started off resenting him… and ended up aching for him.” “Bold, gripping, unapologetically real.”
If you crave stories that are epic yet intimate, that make you feel as much as they make you think—this is your next obsession.
Cenk Enes Ozer is a Turkish-born novelist whose life has been marked by both exile and resilience. Before 2016, he published nine books in Turkey and built a career as a storyteller — until a government crackdown silenced his voice overnight. When his publisher was shut down, his books were pulled from shelves, and his future as a writer was erased.
Forced to leave his homeland, he arrived in North America with little more than determination. In Canada, survival came first. He worked in construction sites and carpentry workshops, sweating through long days to rebuild life for his family. For years, he stayed silent — not because he lacked words, but because he refused to let desperation define him.
Only after securing stability did he return to writing. And this time, it was with a new purpose: to give back to the people who opened their arms when he was in need, and to prove that stories can survive even when their authors are driven into exile.
His first novel in English, When the Devil Loves, is more than a work of fantasy. Through the eyes of Azâzil — a being caught between obedience and understanding, love and exile — Ozer channels the questions that haunted his own journey: What is the price of asking why? Why does the one who questions get cast out? Can exile be more honest than paradise?
Today, Ozer lives in Cambridge, Ontario, where he continues to build both homes and stories. His story has been featured in CBC The Morning Edition and CambridgeToday under the headline: “Turkish author rebuilds life in Canada after exile.”
When the Devil Loves is his testimony that even silence can be broken, and even exile can be more honest than paradise.
I’ve been a huge fan of Mr. Ozer for years, and whatever he writes somehow manages to feel both intimate and epic. Every book he has written has left a mark on me. So when I heard he was starting a new series, I had sky-high expectations… and somehow, this book exceeded all of them.
At its core, this is a fantasy novel — but not just any fantasy. It draws from ancient, almost primal themes of creation, existence, and the cosmic struggle between good and evil. And yet… it feels REAL. So real that it made me stop and wonder: What if this is closer to the truth than we think? I always wonder how and why things happened the way they did, and this book truly satisfied my curiosity. There were moments when I genuinely questioned whether the author had uncovered something hidden — or if some forgotten being had whispered truths into his ear.
One of the most powerful parts of this book is the way it handles "the Devil" — not as a flat villain, but as a layered, tragic, even heartbreaking figure. I started off fearing and resenting him, like we're conditioned to do... and ended up feeling compassion. His backstory, his pain, his loneliness — it’s written so masterfully that I couldn’t help but ache for him. I didn’t expect to feel this way, but here I am.
It’s fast-paced and full of mystery, yet has that emotional depth that lingers long after you close the book. And honestly? I didn’t want it to end. I read it quickly because it was so gripping… but I also tried to slow myself down because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
If you're looking for a story that grabs you with its plot, haunts you with its ideas, and makes you *feel* something unexpected — this is it. I can’t wait for the next one. Actually, I *need* the next one. I’ll be out here praying for it to arrive soon.