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He’s the Devil
FLATMATES ARE HELL…
'Massimo lived here now. And things had begun to happen. Sounds, smells, dreams. A private horror show. A usurper in my ordered world…'
Simon has always been a good boy. He’s invariably employee of the month at the seasonal small plates restaurant where he works, he neurotically tidies his home, he keeps on top of repairs on behalf of his twenty-something, permanently-abroad landlord and tries to do right by everyone. But when his best and only friend, Josh, moves out of their shared flat, Simon is lonelier than ever – until in moves a new flatmate, the strange (and strangely sexy) Massimo.
But Massimo’s brought something with him. Odd sounds emerge from Massimo’s room, smells of earth and meat drift through the corridor and Simon’s nights fill with disturbing and tantalising dreams. Massimo is awakening something in Simon, something wild and exciting and horrifying that could be the end of him – or maybe a new beginning. But whatever’s in Massimo, whatever’s in the flat, isn’t finished. It wants more …
He's the Devil is a wickedly funny, chillingly suspenseful modern day horror story, painfully relatable to anyone who has ever had to share their living space with someone they'd honestly just rather not share it with.
'Massimo lived here now. And things had begun to happen. Sounds, smells, dreams. A private horror show. A usurper in my ordered world…'
Simon has always been a good boy. He’s invariably employee of the month at the seasonal small plates restaurant where he works, he neurotically tidies his home, he keeps on top of repairs on behalf of his twenty-something, permanently-abroad landlord and tries to do right by everyone. But when his best and only friend, Josh, moves out of their shared flat, Simon is lonelier than ever – until in moves a new flatmate, the strange (and strangely sexy) Massimo.
But Massimo’s brought something with him. Odd sounds emerge from Massimo’s room, smells of earth and meat drift through the corridor and Simon’s nights fill with disturbing and tantalising dreams. Massimo is awakening something in Simon, something wild and exciting and horrifying that could be the end of him – or maybe a new beginning. But whatever’s in Massimo, whatever’s in the flat, isn’t finished. It wants more …
He's the Devil is a wickedly funny, chillingly suspenseful modern day horror story, painfully relatable to anyone who has ever had to share their living space with someone they'd honestly just rather not share it with.
391 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 3, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
February 13, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of
He's the Devil.
A better title would have been "He's a Demon."
If Simon's roomie Massimo had been the devil, I think the narrative would have been more 'fun' in the only way pure horror and the devil can be.
The premise piqued my interest but it failed to hold my attention for the following reasons:
1. Simon is not likable. I don't have to like a character to enjoy the story but he's not a nice person.
He's a loser, he's not charming, he's self-centered, and that's okay.
That's relatable but the way he's drawn and described, he's not just a loser. He's pathetic.
He's desperate. He has no friends. He has no ambition.
He has no hobbies. He's one-dimensional. He's not interesting or compelling.
He moons over his previous roomie, Josh, who moved out under auspicious circumstances.
And maybe that's why a demon moves in with him.
2. Simon is obsessed with sex. That's all he seems to think about, talk about, want to engage in.
He's got nothing else going on in his life so why not, right?
There's a lot of sex and sexual references that did nothing to move the story forward except maybe to give readers an idea of Simon's personality; he's a horny loser perhaps?
3. I imagined the story would be dark, bloody with small moments of humor and levity.
But the pacing dragged and the story became monotonous as Simon debated whether something was going on with Massimo.
There was a lack of urgency and suspense even when Simon had a bad feeling about his roomie, mainly because he's such a drag.
The writing was good, but I didn't like the tone or the writing style.
I got the feeling the author was trying to sound literary despite the subject matter.
The ending was a given; I wasn't surprised because the type of person Simon is, it couldn't have ended any other way.
A better title would have been "He's a Demon."
If Simon's roomie Massimo had been the devil, I think the narrative would have been more 'fun' in the only way pure horror and the devil can be.
The premise piqued my interest but it failed to hold my attention for the following reasons:
1. Simon is not likable. I don't have to like a character to enjoy the story but he's not a nice person.
He's a loser, he's not charming, he's self-centered, and that's okay.
That's relatable but the way he's drawn and described, he's not just a loser. He's pathetic.
He's desperate. He has no friends. He has no ambition.
He has no hobbies. He's one-dimensional. He's not interesting or compelling.
He moons over his previous roomie, Josh, who moved out under auspicious circumstances.
And maybe that's why a demon moves in with him.
2. Simon is obsessed with sex. That's all he seems to think about, talk about, want to engage in.
He's got nothing else going on in his life so why not, right?
There's a lot of sex and sexual references that did nothing to move the story forward except maybe to give readers an idea of Simon's personality; he's a horny loser perhaps?
3. I imagined the story would be dark, bloody with small moments of humor and levity.
But the pacing dragged and the story became monotonous as Simon debated whether something was going on with Massimo.
There was a lack of urgency and suspense even when Simon had a bad feeling about his roomie, mainly because he's such a drag.
The writing was good, but I didn't like the tone or the writing style.
I got the feeling the author was trying to sound literary despite the subject matter.
The ending was a given; I wasn't surprised because the type of person Simon is, it couldn't have ended any other way.
Read
January 6, 2026He's the Devil is funny, seductive and outrageously delicious. Simon is mostly a people pleaser until his only friend and flatmate moves out and sends in his place, Massimo. Aloof and sexy, this new man is odd, and as Simon becomes more obsessed with him, things aren't quite what they seem. It's about possession, parasites, and how it might be good to be a little bit bad. This is Tobi Coventry's debut and I loved it.
August 9, 2025
I went into this book expecting a campy horror novel based on how it was advertised, but ended up a bit disappointed. Instead of delivering the fun, over the top horror I was hoping for, it leaned more toward a stale, formulaic style that didn’t really grab me.
The characters felt flat and one dimensional, and I struggled to stay invested in their arcs. The beginning was rushed, giving little time to build tension or connect with the story, while the middle dragged without much payoff. It also had an oddly horny tone for a book that wasn’t about romance: we get it, your nipples are chafing.
That said, the ending was enjoyable and finally brought in some of the chaotic, unhinged energy I was hoping for from the start.
The prose itself was solid and flowed well, I just wish the plot and characters had more depth and nuance. If you’re looking for a light, not too deep horror read with a touch of gore, themes of demons and possession, and an unreliable narrator, this might be worth picking up. Just lower your expectations if you're hoping for something more campy or character driven.
The characters felt flat and one dimensional, and I struggled to stay invested in their arcs. The beginning was rushed, giving little time to build tension or connect with the story, while the middle dragged without much payoff. It also had an oddly horny tone for a book that wasn’t about romance: we get it, your nipples are chafing.
That said, the ending was enjoyable and finally brought in some of the chaotic, unhinged energy I was hoping for from the start.
The prose itself was solid and flowed well, I just wish the plot and characters had more depth and nuance. If you’re looking for a light, not too deep horror read with a touch of gore, themes of demons and possession, and an unreliable narrator, this might be worth picking up. Just lower your expectations if you're hoping for something more campy or character driven.
January 12, 2026
Where to begin. First, thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy of this title. 🦇🕷️🎃👻💀
He’s The Devil wasn’t quite what I was expecting, and according to the description, I think I completely missed the mark. While there are moments of humor and the synopsis hints at that, it never fully pulled me in.
I couldn’t connect with the protagonist (or antagonist), Simone—whatever he was meant to be. This is purely a matter of personal taste, but he grated on me from beginning to end. The thirstiness was over the top. I understand the human need for connection and to feel wanted, but everything about him—especially that desperate need to please—drove me a little mad.
Because of the graphic nature, this one won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I didn’t mind that aspect, but I found myself more distracted by trying to figure out whether this entity was a devil, a demon, or some blend of both. Even when its origin was explained, it didn’t bring much clarity.
In the end, I gave this book ✮✮ ✮ three stars—mostly for the confusion, dread, and the overall chaos that every character seemed to bring to the table.
He’s The Devil wasn’t quite what I was expecting, and according to the description, I think I completely missed the mark. While there are moments of humor and the synopsis hints at that, it never fully pulled me in.
I couldn’t connect with the protagonist (or antagonist), Simone—whatever he was meant to be. This is purely a matter of personal taste, but he grated on me from beginning to end. The thirstiness was over the top. I understand the human need for connection and to feel wanted, but everything about him—especially that desperate need to please—drove me a little mad.
Because of the graphic nature, this one won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I didn’t mind that aspect, but I found myself more distracted by trying to figure out whether this entity was a devil, a demon, or some blend of both. Even when its origin was explained, it didn’t bring much clarity.
In the end, I gave this book ✮✮ ✮ three stars—mostly for the confusion, dread, and the overall chaos that every character seemed to bring to the table.
April 16, 2026
Holy Moly , He's The Devil by Tobi Coventry was quite the ride . With a man character that feels off from the beginning this book nails the dark humor, unsettling feeling that some isn't right, lust , envy and all the thoughts that a demon can't help but want to latch on to. If a page turning Queer Horny Horror sounds up your alley then definitely add this one to your tbrs !
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.
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Favorite Quotes :
I have no choice; if I am not good, it will be clear just how bad I really am. People will discover the grime within me. Because it’s there, wriggling through me, whole strings of filthy rotten boy coiled up and squirming.
I would smile back, give a wave, and as they left the shop I would think about them stepping into oncoming traffic.
It could be hard sometimes, to be so good for so long, and alone I could melt into a version of myself that required no effort. It was a relief.
Maybe it could come in, if that’s what it wanted. It could come in and take everything, leave nothing left, fill me up like foam and nestle in my bones.
.
.
.
Favorite Quotes :
I have no choice; if I am not good, it will be clear just how bad I really am. People will discover the grime within me. Because it’s there, wriggling through me, whole strings of filthy rotten boy coiled up and squirming.
I would smile back, give a wave, and as they left the shop I would think about them stepping into oncoming traffic.
It could be hard sometimes, to be so good for so long, and alone I could melt into a version of myself that required no effort. It was a relief.
Maybe it could come in, if that’s what it wanted. It could come in and take everything, leave nothing left, fill me up like foam and nestle in my bones.
August 13, 2025
Thank you Netgalley and Abrams press for this earc in an exchange for a review of He's The Devil.
They always say new roommates are hell but also so is working retail so maybe Simon's crash out was valid on that point.
He's The Devil has a particular writing style that will probably not work for everyone but I found it paired well with Simon's inner monologue. He is jittery and overthinking by nature, his thoughts all quick and jumbled in a never ending stream. While the story has a slow start and a casual pace and picks up near the end it felt to me the pace matched when Simon was being pried open. He keeps so much buried even from himself he has literally boxed himself in (comparing his own emotions to Pandora's box even).
With Simon's attempt to never step out of line and be Good he fully circles back around to being unlikable or forgettable by all of those around him which only feeds further into his manic personality and obsession of not being alone. He wants the world to revolve around his actions, he wants them to pat him on the back and it's to the point he is missing all the horrors happening around him. It's no wonder the moment he got a taste of what the demon has to offer he didn't want to let it go even while knowing the horrors.
And with the nature of demons and Simon's selfishness we are pulled along by a unreliable narration. Is his roommate eating people or is that just all the drugs Simon has done mixed with paranoia? Is he slowly losing his mind or did the loss of control of his own space have him twisting the truth?
Desire, horror, and disgust are intertwined throughout the narrative and overall this is a story about accepting ones demons, both figuratively and literally and how sometimes it really is okay to let people see the weird parts of you because there will always be someone who also has parts of them that are strange and it's simply not healthy to hold all that in.
Simon just needed to let his freak flag fly
They always say new roommates are hell but also so is working retail so maybe Simon's crash out was valid on that point.
He's The Devil has a particular writing style that will probably not work for everyone but I found it paired well with Simon's inner monologue. He is jittery and overthinking by nature, his thoughts all quick and jumbled in a never ending stream. While the story has a slow start and a casual pace and picks up near the end it felt to me the pace matched when Simon was being pried open. He keeps so much buried even from himself he has literally boxed himself in (comparing his own emotions to Pandora's box even).
With Simon's attempt to never step out of line and be Good he fully circles back around to being unlikable or forgettable by all of those around him which only feeds further into his manic personality and obsession of not being alone. He wants the world to revolve around his actions, he wants them to pat him on the back and it's to the point he is missing all the horrors happening around him. It's no wonder the moment he got a taste of what the demon has to offer he didn't want to let it go even while knowing the horrors.
And with the nature of demons and Simon's selfishness we are pulled along by a unreliable narration. Is his roommate eating people or is that just all the drugs Simon has done mixed with paranoia? Is he slowly losing his mind or did the loss of control of his own space have him twisting the truth?
Desire, horror, and disgust are intertwined throughout the narrative and overall this is a story about accepting ones demons, both figuratively and literally and how sometimes it really is okay to let people see the weird parts of you because there will always be someone who also has parts of them that are strange and it's simply not healthy to hold all that in.
Simon just needed to let his freak flag fly
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2026
“A semi-possession. I still had one hand on the wheel.
Half a demon. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
This was addictive & I flew through it so quickly, but I am left feeling it’s a little over-sold and under-delivered.
Simon is an absolute loser, and while my favourite books are those with very unlikeable main characters - it just didn’t quite hit for me. I was vibing with this choice until closer to the end, but the idea that THIS guy is the only one the demon/devil found who’s aggressively repressed urges are evil and grimy enough to hold him… is a bit weak.
Just don’t go in expecting your mind to be blown, and I think most will enjoy this. It’s one to read on holiday - where you just need something engaging and pretty easy to get through.
Half a demon. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
This was addictive & I flew through it so quickly, but I am left feeling it’s a little over-sold and under-delivered.
Simon is an absolute loser, and while my favourite books are those with very unlikeable main characters - it just didn’t quite hit for me. I was vibing with this choice until closer to the end, but the idea that THIS guy is the only one the demon/devil found who’s aggressively repressed urges are evil and grimy enough to hold him… is a bit weak.
Just don’t go in expecting your mind to be blown, and I think most will enjoy this. It’s one to read on holiday - where you just need something engaging and pretty easy to get through.
March 13, 2026
dnf at 27%
I'm bored. The writing is good but the tone isn't for me, Simon as a main character is not compelling to read about even with the obvious attempts to make him more layered and complex, the book would greatly benefit from more tension too but most of all, I'M BORED.
Thank you Netgalley and Abrams Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review
I'm bored. The writing is good but the tone isn't for me, Simon as a main character is not compelling to read about even with the obvious attempts to make him more layered and complex, the book would greatly benefit from more tension too but most of all, I'M BORED.
Thank you Netgalley and Abrams Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. To be candid, I stopped reading at 33 pages in for a myriad of reasons. The writing was bland, the plot already somehow confusing and boring, and the inner monologue was too inconsistent between gross teenage-boy type inappropriate thoughts and being a perfectionist. While I can understand the attempt at creating a layered character, all that this book succeeded in achieving so far was a simulltaneous inability to retain my attention and gross me out. I have no interest after the main character started getting a boner from a gory car crash that was written about in such a lackluster way that it did not feel like anything of importance. This is nothing that I was expecting based on the blurb.
March 23, 2026
Just so you guys have an idea of what I was going through here, this is the first collection of sentences that open this novel:
"He's in there. In the room next door. I can feel him through the breezeblocks. Breathing heavy, sweating, turning over in the thin cotton sheets that I bought. Pulling a wedgie out from between those melon-tight cheeks."
Girl....what?
Anyways, this isn't a fault of the book itself but the audio book. And sorry to this man, whoever he is- I'm sure he's awesome but his voice is so so grating I could barely stomach this due to his strong UK accent and the out of pocket insane stuff he was forced to read. (See: above, Pulling a wedgie out from between those melon-tight cheeks) (sorry to the UK I actually like the accents it's genuinely just his- sorry king)
This was disgustinnnnnggggggggg!!!!! Horny loser activities.
This book was advertised as campy, and funny- but it lacked the charisma to do either.
"He's in there. In the room next door. I can feel him through the breezeblocks. Breathing heavy, sweating, turning over in the thin cotton sheets that I bought. Pulling a wedgie out from between those melon-tight cheeks."
Girl....what?
Anyways, this isn't a fault of the book itself but the audio book. And sorry to this man, whoever he is- I'm sure he's awesome but his voice is so so grating I could barely stomach this due to his strong UK accent and the out of pocket insane stuff he was forced to read. (See: above, Pulling a wedgie out from between those melon-tight cheeks) (sorry to the UK I actually like the accents it's genuinely just his- sorry king)
This was disgustinnnnnggggggggg!!!!! Horny loser activities.
This book was advertised as campy, and funny- but it lacked the charisma to do either.
September 29, 2025
I had the change to read a beautiful proof of HE’S THE DEVIL, and I can’t even begin to explain how happy I was when I received it. When I saw the cover reveal on instagram, I knew it was going to be one of my most anticipated reads of 2026.
It’s more than 300 pages, and yet I flew through the book, it took me maybe a day to read it, it was impossible to put it down. I loved the main character Simon, he was such a good boy.
I can’t tell you much more about it without spoiling it, but believe me, I want to, I need to talk to someone about this.
It’s a story about friendship, betrayal, possession, and obsessions, and it also helps as a reminder to cut your nails, and to put those red belt peppers in jars on your grocery list.
He’s The Devil will come out on the 12 of February, and if you’re a horror girly like me, it needs to be on your list. Mark my words, this one, is going to be big!
It’s more than 300 pages, and yet I flew through the book, it took me maybe a day to read it, it was impossible to put it down. I loved the main character Simon, he was such a good boy.
I can’t tell you much more about it without spoiling it, but believe me, I want to, I need to talk to someone about this.
It’s a story about friendship, betrayal, possession, and obsessions, and it also helps as a reminder to cut your nails, and to put those red belt peppers in jars on your grocery list.
He’s The Devil will come out on the 12 of February, and if you’re a horror girly like me, it needs to be on your list. Mark my words, this one, is going to be big!
September 18, 2025
The book made my heart stutter. Tobi punctuates in a way that moves you through the story as quickly as the plot moves. He manages to instil the same anxiety in the reader as he does in the MC. I’ve never read (and believe I will never read) a more believable devil.
He’s The Devil is a perfect blend of Artful Storytelling with sinful imagination. The book will make you want to be bad, for the fun of it all. It’ll make you question how much of the Devil came off the page to get you too.
Genius.
He’s The Devil is a perfect blend of Artful Storytelling with sinful imagination. The book will make you want to be bad, for the fun of it all. It’ll make you question how much of the Devil came off the page to get you too.
Genius.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I really wanted to like this one. The synopsis seemed right up my alley, the devil moving into Simon's flat as his new roommate. I could see where this horror was going from the first few pages, and I was excited. However, the main character was insufferable. His inner dialogue reads like Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye. If you too were unimpressed by Holden Caulfield, I would not recommend this book to you.
I also had many issues with the story itself. We read from Simon's POV and I came to understand him as someone with mental health issues, though I couldn't pinpoint if he had depression, anxiety, or psychosis. He is obsessed with his former roommate Josh, and again, it's unclear until the latter stages of the novel why Josh continues to come up. Even so, when the reason is revealed, it's not something that truly moved the story forward. While the novel is mainly told from Simon's perspective, we get the devil's and Massimo's perspective toward the end of the novel, which I felt was unnecessary.
Both of these last two issues could be solved by rearranging the story itself. Josh's reason for moving out of the apartment could be moved to the beginning of the novel, creating more build up for Massimo to move in. Kat, a paramedic, could have had her own POV seeing the destruction around the city. Finally, Massimo and the devil could have had their POVs woven throughout the story.
Overall, I found this novel difficult to read, so much so that I restarted it after reading half of the novel. The second read through was just as difficult and hard for me to want to pick up the novel.
An arc was provided via Netgalley and Abrams Press in exchange for an honest review.
I also had many issues with the story itself. We read from Simon's POV and I came to understand him as someone with mental health issues, though I couldn't pinpoint if he had depression, anxiety, or psychosis. He is obsessed with his former roommate Josh, and again, it's unclear until the latter stages of the novel why Josh continues to come up. Even so, when the reason is revealed, it's not something that truly moved the story forward. While the novel is mainly told from Simon's perspective, we get the devil's and Massimo's perspective toward the end of the novel, which I felt was unnecessary.
Both of these last two issues could be solved by rearranging the story itself. Josh's reason for moving out of the apartment could be moved to the beginning of the novel, creating more build up for Massimo to move in. Kat, a paramedic, could have had her own POV seeing the destruction around the city. Finally, Massimo and the devil could have had their POVs woven throughout the story.
Overall, I found this novel difficult to read, so much so that I restarted it after reading half of the novel. The second read through was just as difficult and hard for me to want to pick up the novel.
An arc was provided via Netgalley and Abrams Press in exchange for an honest review.
October 5, 2025
2.5 stars
This was unfortunately not for me! The writing started off really gorgeous but eventually felt pretentious and overwritten. The plot also felt very repetitive and I felt myself screaming at Simon to do something!! A great idea but it just felt very lacklustre.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #HesTheDevil #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This was unfortunately not for me! The writing started off really gorgeous but eventually felt pretentious and overwritten. The plot also felt very repetitive and I felt myself screaming at Simon to do something!! A great idea but it just felt very lacklustre.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #HesTheDevil #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
February 22, 2026
This was a deeply uncomfortable read and I mean that as both a warning and a compliment. This book asks you to live inside the head of an unreliable, obsessive, painfully lonely man who thinks he’s a good person… while consistently proving that he isn’t. Simon is desperate to be seen as kind, charming, and morally upright, but his inner world is ruled by jealousy, fixation, and self-justification. He’s the type of character who does something awful and then convinces himself it was for someone else’s benefit. Watching that mental gymnastics routine in real time is exhausting in a very intentional way.
His relationship with Josh is especially suffocating. It’s tangled up in envy, possessiveness, and this warped sense of devotion that is more about control than care. I did feel some early sympathy for Simon. He’s awkward, isolated, and deeply human, but that empathy curdles as the story goes on. By the end, I was honestly just relieved that Josh got out. Simon’s brand of “niceness” is the kind that expects a reward, and that makes him more unsettling than if he were openly cruel.
I did find the “darkly comic” label confusing. I didn’t find this funny or touching at all. It’s tense, grotesque, and psychologically grim. The horror isn’t just the demon in the apartment; it’s how easily something subtle and selfish can be nurtured into something monstrous. I loved that the demon’s influence isn’t loud or theatrical. I mean, it IS, but that's not the important bit. It thrives in small resentments, quiet envies, and rationalized cruelty. That felt far more disturbing than any flashy evil would have been.
Structurally, the middle did drag for me a bit, but I think that’s partly because of how claustrophobic Simon’s perspective is. You’re stuck in his spiraling thoughts, and it’s not a comfortable place to be. I wasn’t always sure what was real versus what was filtered through his warped perception, and while I understand why the story gives us clarity later on, I almost wish it had stayed more ambiguous. Letting us doubt everything might have made the descent feel even more unhinged.
The writing itself is genuinely strong and leans literary in a way I appreciated. It reminded me most of If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, but darker, gorier, and with far less romance and far more rot. This is horror rooted in obsession, loneliness, and the kind of moral decay that looks small at first and then consumes everything.
Overall, this is one of those books where I respect what it’s doing more than I “enjoyed” the experience. It’s uncomfortable, twisted, and deliberately hard to sit with, and that feels exactly right for the story it’s telling. If you like horror that lives inside a character’s worst impulses and explores how evil can feel… reasonable (???), this will probably work for you. Just don’t go in expecting humor. Go in expecting to feel unsettled. And, as always, be prepared for an ending you didn't see coming.
Thanks so much to Colored Pages and Abrams Books for the complimentary physical copy and libro.fm for the complimentary audio copy. I ADORE tandem reading and this audiobook was incredibly done. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.
His relationship with Josh is especially suffocating. It’s tangled up in envy, possessiveness, and this warped sense of devotion that is more about control than care. I did feel some early sympathy for Simon. He’s awkward, isolated, and deeply human, but that empathy curdles as the story goes on. By the end, I was honestly just relieved that Josh got out. Simon’s brand of “niceness” is the kind that expects a reward, and that makes him more unsettling than if he were openly cruel.
I did find the “darkly comic” label confusing. I didn’t find this funny or touching at all. It’s tense, grotesque, and psychologically grim. The horror isn’t just the demon in the apartment; it’s how easily something subtle and selfish can be nurtured into something monstrous. I loved that the demon’s influence isn’t loud or theatrical. I mean, it IS, but that's not the important bit. It thrives in small resentments, quiet envies, and rationalized cruelty. That felt far more disturbing than any flashy evil would have been.
Structurally, the middle did drag for me a bit, but I think that’s partly because of how claustrophobic Simon’s perspective is. You’re stuck in his spiraling thoughts, and it’s not a comfortable place to be. I wasn’t always sure what was real versus what was filtered through his warped perception, and while I understand why the story gives us clarity later on, I almost wish it had stayed more ambiguous. Letting us doubt everything might have made the descent feel even more unhinged.
The writing itself is genuinely strong and leans literary in a way I appreciated. It reminded me most of If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, but darker, gorier, and with far less romance and far more rot. This is horror rooted in obsession, loneliness, and the kind of moral decay that looks small at first and then consumes everything.
Overall, this is one of those books where I respect what it’s doing more than I “enjoyed” the experience. It’s uncomfortable, twisted, and deliberately hard to sit with, and that feels exactly right for the story it’s telling. If you like horror that lives inside a character’s worst impulses and explores how evil can feel… reasonable (???), this will probably work for you. Just don’t go in expecting humor. Go in expecting to feel unsettled. And, as always, be prepared for an ending you didn't see coming.
Thanks so much to Colored Pages and Abrams Books for the complimentary physical copy and libro.fm for the complimentary audio copy. I ADORE tandem reading and this audiobook was incredibly done. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.
February 22, 2026
This was so captivating and fun! I love a dislikeable and yet completely charming little sh*t of a protagonist. It made the story highly enjoyable. I could really visualise everything as it happened, like a movie unfolding before my eyes. And I found the uncomfortableness of living with a stranger really well portrayed. The narrative developed well and always kept me guessing. So happy I read this.
March 25, 2026
This book was actually soooo weird. I don’t tend to read horror in general and I’m glad I did with this one. Such an unlikeable and unreliable narrator and such disgusting descriptions of smells, feelings, textures. I don’t even know if I’d recommend this to anyone because it’s really weird but I enjoyed it
March 5, 2026
Ironically, where Simon was only half possessed by the devil, I was only half consumed by this book.
It wasn't particularly funny, it wasn't very scary, and the style of writing wasn't for me. The final act was pretty fun, though.
It wasn't particularly funny, it wasn't very scary, and the style of writing wasn't for me. The final act was pretty fun, though.
April 2, 2026
Also selten habe ich mich so durch ein Buch gequält. Der Klappentext leitet leider völlig in die Irre. Ich könnte selbst nach dem Lesen nun die Handlung nicht zusammenfassen. Ich bin als Leser nicht überzeugt, dass es um Übernatürliches in diesem Buch geht. Ich halte den Hauptcharakter einfach für schizophren. Die Charaktere sind seltsam und platt und ich weiß immer noch nicht in welche Richtung dieses Buch wollte. Für Horror war es zu absurd. Und ja ein paar Metaphern kamen schon rüber, aber nicht gerade spannend.
November 27, 2025
This was so crazy and icky and fun! I loved the writing: a perfect balance between gross and funny at times (e.g. the description of someone’s head cracking open “like a cocktail lime”).
Simon is lonely, deluded, twisted, and self-destructive but I was still rooting for him. The reader can really feel his repulsion mixed with desire.
Simon is lonely, deluded, twisted, and self-destructive but I was still rooting for him. The reader can really feel his repulsion mixed with desire.
January 24, 2026
who wants to be good anyway x
April 6, 2026
The conclusion of that book was rushed and hence, underwhelming. It started so well, I really had high hopes.
January 14, 2026
This was a dark and gruesome read, written with a unique tone, and I really enjoyed my time with it.
Firstly, I must mention that if you’re after a likeable character to root for, I don’t think that you’ll find any in this book. All the characters are flawed, with very questionable morals. I personally loved this aspect of the book. I didn’t know who to trust, and was so intrigued by what was going on inside of our MMC’s twisted mind.
The slow, tension-filled unraveling of the story kept me gripped the whole way through. This would make a great read for those cold, long, dark evenings where you want to get lost in a good, creepy book.
Thank you to 4th Estate for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Firstly, I must mention that if you’re after a likeable character to root for, I don’t think that you’ll find any in this book. All the characters are flawed, with very questionable morals. I personally loved this aspect of the book. I didn’t know who to trust, and was so intrigued by what was going on inside of our MMC’s twisted mind.
The slow, tension-filled unraveling of the story kept me gripped the whole way through. This would make a great read for those cold, long, dark evenings where you want to get lost in a good, creepy book.
Thank you to 4th Estate for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 17, 2026
Heel vreemd
April 8, 2026
The writing was good, but I really had to force myself to get through this, which was a struggle
March 23, 2026
I did finish the book. But the writing style was not for me. And for the main character, I am not going to lie. I dislike Simon so much. Because in general, I was reading and I’m like oh seems fine. He just lost his roommate/best friend because he was moving out. Until you find out later in the book why he moved out. I completely get why Jost felt the way he did when he left. Because Simon has always been “good boy. “. And he’s made that his whole personality. But then once you get into the book, you realize he’s very weird and strange. Because of all the things that he did to Josh, his old roommate. And now he’s doing even stranger things to his new one. Massimo is his new roommate and he is acting weird right off the bat. And also, why would you let your old roommate find a new roommate for you that he’s known for literally 10 minutes. I just could not with that. Also, the thing that’s inside of Massimo It’s just causing Simon to go more crazy stressed out and a whole bunch of other things. And then you realize after a while he accepted the thing he realizes he’s not really a good guy at all. Because of the dark desires and stuff. He’s just finally letting it out at once. And that’s what made the demon attracted to Simon the most. The ending was fine because he came to a lot of realizations at the end. Overall, for the whole book, I kept reading it because I thought it was gonna get better throughout the book.
October 3, 2025
He’s the Devil
Tobi Coventry
Simon’s new flatmate may not be the person he thinks he is. Found as a replacement by his last flatmate, Massimo’s entrance also brings something else with him. A blend of traditional and psychological horror, Coventry’s debut novel starts off slow and builds the tension until it has its hooks in you.
At first glance it read as a different take on the themes from American Psycho. Is it real or is Simon just hiding his depravity? The situations he finds himself in, are in fact, darkly comical, but the choices in the plot nullify these moments by the end.
A story of demonic possession, circling around ideas of queer romance and obsession make it an interesting read. Coventry knows how to write characters that feel genuine in their character but at times it felt like maybe everybody would be a little more weirded out by the situations happening around them. A solid and brief, yet also flawed, read which makes me intrigued where their next tale may go. Perfect for people wanting a queer horror read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Abrams Press for providing a free eARC for review
Tobi Coventry
Simon’s new flatmate may not be the person he thinks he is. Found as a replacement by his last flatmate, Massimo’s entrance also brings something else with him. A blend of traditional and psychological horror, Coventry’s debut novel starts off slow and builds the tension until it has its hooks in you.
At first glance it read as a different take on the themes from American Psycho. Is it real or is Simon just hiding his depravity? The situations he finds himself in, are in fact, darkly comical, but the choices in the plot nullify these moments by the end.
A story of demonic possession, circling around ideas of queer romance and obsession make it an interesting read. Coventry knows how to write characters that feel genuine in their character but at times it felt like maybe everybody would be a little more weirded out by the situations happening around them. A solid and brief, yet also flawed, read which makes me intrigued where their next tale may go. Perfect for people wanting a queer horror read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Abrams Press for providing a free eARC for review
March 31, 2026
Christ. I feel the same way after finishing this book as watching Fantasia as a kid. WTH ?!
March 22, 2026
What a perverse story. That isn’t a critique. It feels like a story out of Clive Barker’s world. Sexual, graphic, cold, romantic?
The protagonist is almost completely unlikable and definitely self-destructive. What unfolds is dark and grim and almost unbearable at times. I managed to finish it but it wasn’t a walk in the park. Finishing it was like a dark cloud leaving me.
Not for all tastes
The protagonist is almost completely unlikable and definitely self-destructive. What unfolds is dark and grim and almost unbearable at times. I managed to finish it but it wasn’t a walk in the park. Finishing it was like a dark cloud leaving me.
Not for all tastes
February 15, 2026
BWAF Score: 7/10
TL;DR: He’s the Devil is flatshare horror as a cursed little artifact: voice-first, sweaty, bodily, and uncomfortably funny, with dread built from obsession and proximity until the walls feel complicit. It’s not flawless or tidy, but it’s fearless. If you like your horror queer, transgressive, and fucked up, this slaps.
This book opens like a confession you weren’t meant to overhear. The voice comes in hot, close, and nosy, pressing its face to the wall between rooms, savoring sounds you should not be savoring. It’s funny in a slightly sick way, too. Not “jokes,” exactly, more like the brain’s defensive little tap dance when it realizes the night is leaning in.
Here’s the basic setup, in human terms. Simon is a service-industry do-gooder with weaponized tidiness and a desperate need to be liked. His best friend and flatmate Josh moves out, and instead of a gentle transition, Simon gets handed a replacement roommate like an organ donor cooler dumped on the doorstep. That roommate is Massimo: magnetic, sexual, strange, and immediately destabilizing, the kind of person who turns a shared kitchen into a stage where everyone else forgets their lines. Simon becomes convinced something is wrong with Massimo. Not “bad vibes,” but capital-S Something. The book spends the rest of its time tightening that suspicion into obsession, then into a full-body problem.
The writing is the main event. First-person, present-tense intimacy that feels like being trapped in an elevator with someone who is simultaneously charming, panicking, and narrating their own undoing in real time. Coventry’s sentences have this greasy shimmer to them, a mix of precision and delirium. Simon notices everything: textures, smells, the social micro-violences of politeness, the way a room changes when a person enters it. That attention reads as anxious comedy at first, then flips into dread once you realize the narrator’s fixation is not just a personality quirk. And, crucially, it’s not fully reliable. Simon’s certainty is always doing too much, which makes every “I swear this happened” feel like both a promise and a threat.
The novel is a a steady escalation ladder with some intentional wobble. The early chapters lock you into the flat, the walls, the routine, the itch of cohabitation, then start opening doors that do not feel metaphorical anymore. Coventry is good at reveal timing: you get enough to feel the supernatural (or the psychosexual) creeping in, but not enough to file it neatly. Mid-book, the story takes a few sideways steps into social orbit, new connections, new rooms, new air, and that shift works because it changes the pressure rather than releasing it. If anything, the broader the world gets, the more claustrophobic Simon feels, like the curse is portable.
Character work is mean and tender in the same breath. Simon is not a “likeable protagonist” in the bland marketing sense, but he’s compelling as hell: needy, performative, sharp-eyed, self-disgusted, yearning. His contradictions are the point. He wants intimacy and control. He wants to be good and also wants to be seen doing goodness, which is a different hunger. Massimo, meanwhile, is drawn as an orbiting object rather than a fully explained man, and that choice is smart. He’s sexy, yes, but also unnervingly opaque. The dialogue between them is rarely direct communication. It’s people negotiating power, attention, fear, desire, and self-image through mundane talk about food, plans, schedules, the weather, the usual bullshit we use to avoid saying “I am becoming unwell about you.”
You can smell the damp building, the streets, the restaurant work, the cheap wine, the bleach. The flat becomes a literal stage for recurring motifs: doors, walls, listening, cleanliness, rot, hunger, the body as both temple and landfill. Coventry’s sensory detail does a lot of horror work before anything explicitly horrific even happens. The dread mechanics are mostly proximity and attention: Simon listening through walls, monitoring movement, reading meaning into small shifts, spiraling into bodily awareness until the body starts answering back. When the horror turns physical, it’s not just “gross stuff happens,” it’s aftermath-aware. It lingers. It stains. It changes how a room feels.
This is Tobi Coventry’s debut novel, and it’s been positioned from the start as a “flatshare literary horror,” which is honestly the perfect container for the book’s blend of intimacy, paranoia, and social performance. Coventry’s day job context is unusually relevant: he has worked for years as a book scout focused on film and television adaptation, which makes the novel’s refusal to become a tidy “package” feel intentional rather than sloppy. Taken together, the career arc reads like someone steeped in story structure and market logic choosing, on purpose, to write something that feels more like a cursed little artifact than a pitch-perfect adaptation unit. If Coventry’s future work keeps this level of voice-commitment while sharpening the mid-book torque, that’s going to be a fun problem for all of us.
Underneath the blood-and-breath surface, this is a novel about loneliness as appetite, masculinity as performance, and “goodness” as a kind of self-harm when it’s done for approval instead of connection. It’s about the terror of wanting someone who might ruin you, and the even worse terror that you might be the ruin. It’s also about shared space, and what happens when your home stops being a refuge and becomes a witness.
There are moments where the intensity of the voice risks flattening other registers, and a couple of sequences feel like they’re luxuriating in the spiral a beat longer than they need to. Some readers will call that indulgent. I call it part of the aesthetic, but it’s still where the book comes closest to sagging. If you love voice-first novels that are intimate, queer, nasty, and funny, and you do not need every plot beat to click into a clean diagram, you’re going to have a great time. If you want your horror to behave, explain itself, and wrap up with a neat bow, you will want to throw Simon out a window by page fifty.
The book is uncomfortably strange in that specific way where you can’t tell if you’re aroused, horrified, or just impressed that the author committed to the bit with both hands.
Read if you want a voice that grabs you by the collar and whispers, “We’re doing this, babe,” while your brain screams for HR.
Skip if you want your horror “spooky but comforting,” like a scented candle that says Haunted Library.
TL;DR: He’s the Devil is flatshare horror as a cursed little artifact: voice-first, sweaty, bodily, and uncomfortably funny, with dread built from obsession and proximity until the walls feel complicit. It’s not flawless or tidy, but it’s fearless. If you like your horror queer, transgressive, and fucked up, this slaps.
This book opens like a confession you weren’t meant to overhear. The voice comes in hot, close, and nosy, pressing its face to the wall between rooms, savoring sounds you should not be savoring. It’s funny in a slightly sick way, too. Not “jokes,” exactly, more like the brain’s defensive little tap dance when it realizes the night is leaning in.
Here’s the basic setup, in human terms. Simon is a service-industry do-gooder with weaponized tidiness and a desperate need to be liked. His best friend and flatmate Josh moves out, and instead of a gentle transition, Simon gets handed a replacement roommate like an organ donor cooler dumped on the doorstep. That roommate is Massimo: magnetic, sexual, strange, and immediately destabilizing, the kind of person who turns a shared kitchen into a stage where everyone else forgets their lines. Simon becomes convinced something is wrong with Massimo. Not “bad vibes,” but capital-S Something. The book spends the rest of its time tightening that suspicion into obsession, then into a full-body problem.
The writing is the main event. First-person, present-tense intimacy that feels like being trapped in an elevator with someone who is simultaneously charming, panicking, and narrating their own undoing in real time. Coventry’s sentences have this greasy shimmer to them, a mix of precision and delirium. Simon notices everything: textures, smells, the social micro-violences of politeness, the way a room changes when a person enters it. That attention reads as anxious comedy at first, then flips into dread once you realize the narrator’s fixation is not just a personality quirk. And, crucially, it’s not fully reliable. Simon’s certainty is always doing too much, which makes every “I swear this happened” feel like both a promise and a threat.
The novel is a a steady escalation ladder with some intentional wobble. The early chapters lock you into the flat, the walls, the routine, the itch of cohabitation, then start opening doors that do not feel metaphorical anymore. Coventry is good at reveal timing: you get enough to feel the supernatural (or the psychosexual) creeping in, but not enough to file it neatly. Mid-book, the story takes a few sideways steps into social orbit, new connections, new rooms, new air, and that shift works because it changes the pressure rather than releasing it. If anything, the broader the world gets, the more claustrophobic Simon feels, like the curse is portable.
Character work is mean and tender in the same breath. Simon is not a “likeable protagonist” in the bland marketing sense, but he’s compelling as hell: needy, performative, sharp-eyed, self-disgusted, yearning. His contradictions are the point. He wants intimacy and control. He wants to be good and also wants to be seen doing goodness, which is a different hunger. Massimo, meanwhile, is drawn as an orbiting object rather than a fully explained man, and that choice is smart. He’s sexy, yes, but also unnervingly opaque. The dialogue between them is rarely direct communication. It’s people negotiating power, attention, fear, desire, and self-image through mundane talk about food, plans, schedules, the weather, the usual bullshit we use to avoid saying “I am becoming unwell about you.”
You can smell the damp building, the streets, the restaurant work, the cheap wine, the bleach. The flat becomes a literal stage for recurring motifs: doors, walls, listening, cleanliness, rot, hunger, the body as both temple and landfill. Coventry’s sensory detail does a lot of horror work before anything explicitly horrific even happens. The dread mechanics are mostly proximity and attention: Simon listening through walls, monitoring movement, reading meaning into small shifts, spiraling into bodily awareness until the body starts answering back. When the horror turns physical, it’s not just “gross stuff happens,” it’s aftermath-aware. It lingers. It stains. It changes how a room feels.
This is Tobi Coventry’s debut novel, and it’s been positioned from the start as a “flatshare literary horror,” which is honestly the perfect container for the book’s blend of intimacy, paranoia, and social performance. Coventry’s day job context is unusually relevant: he has worked for years as a book scout focused on film and television adaptation, which makes the novel’s refusal to become a tidy “package” feel intentional rather than sloppy. Taken together, the career arc reads like someone steeped in story structure and market logic choosing, on purpose, to write something that feels more like a cursed little artifact than a pitch-perfect adaptation unit. If Coventry’s future work keeps this level of voice-commitment while sharpening the mid-book torque, that’s going to be a fun problem for all of us.
Underneath the blood-and-breath surface, this is a novel about loneliness as appetite, masculinity as performance, and “goodness” as a kind of self-harm when it’s done for approval instead of connection. It’s about the terror of wanting someone who might ruin you, and the even worse terror that you might be the ruin. It’s also about shared space, and what happens when your home stops being a refuge and becomes a witness.
There are moments where the intensity of the voice risks flattening other registers, and a couple of sequences feel like they’re luxuriating in the spiral a beat longer than they need to. Some readers will call that indulgent. I call it part of the aesthetic, but it’s still where the book comes closest to sagging. If you love voice-first novels that are intimate, queer, nasty, and funny, and you do not need every plot beat to click into a clean diagram, you’re going to have a great time. If you want your horror to behave, explain itself, and wrap up with a neat bow, you will want to throw Simon out a window by page fifty.
The book is uncomfortably strange in that specific way where you can’t tell if you’re aroused, horrified, or just impressed that the author committed to the bit with both hands.
Read if you want a voice that grabs you by the collar and whispers, “We’re doing this, babe,” while your brain screams for HR.
Skip if you want your horror “spooky but comforting,” like a scented candle that says Haunted Library.
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