The Devil Will Care

by Holly Day

What would you do if the devil claimed you were his destined mate?

Khaal Lupehell isn't really the devil, but he's a red-skinned, horn-wearing, tail-waving, eight feet tall alien who claims Azrail Crow is his mate. For eight months, Azrail has been in an intergalactic prison, and for the most part, he's managed to keep his head down and melt into the interior. That all changes when he runs into Khaal.

Khaal has to get out of prison. He'd planned to escape even before he met Azrail, but now he has to find a way out. He can't live with his mate in a prison cell. It's out of the question. So he'll steal a ship, take Azrail, and they'll run for their lives. It'll work out fine. Hopefully.

Azrail has read stories about destined mates, but surely it can't apply to him. He's human, and humans don't have mates. But when Khaal talks about escaping, Azrail wants to come with him. Being mated to the devil can't be worse than being locked up in prison, can it?

Genres: M M Romance, Aliens, LGBT, Paranormal

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 4, 2023

About the author

According to Holly Day, no day should go by uncelebrated and all of them deserve a story. If she’ll have the time to write them remains to be seen. She lives in rural Sweden with a husband, four children, more pets than most, and wouldn’t last a day without coffee.

Holly gets up at the crack of dawn most days of the week to write gay romance stories. She believes in equality in fiction and in real life. Diversity matters. Representation matters. Visibility matters. We can change the world one story at the time.

Reviews

[⋆｡°✮ Lucy InTheSky ✮°｡⋆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a few books from this author by now and I think I'm going to be saying goodbye.

Aliens, space, all good things, all good ideas but simply not told well. 2.5⭐

🟢 Intergalactic prison
🟡 Human / alien
🔵 Both gay apparently
🟣 Size difference
🔵 Magic
🟢 Fated mates
🟠 130 pages of Nutella
🌶️ One sex scene at the end; a handjob, penetration with a tail - it was good

First of all I'd like to ask what's up with the cover. It has absolutely nothing to do with the book and in general why are most covers in MM books so terrible? They're either awful or have nothing to do with the story or they feature a model that's been on 100 other covers already, in the exact same position.

Is it so hard to come up with this? I don't know.



There was a lot going on here and I'd understand if this were a series, because I'd hope we'd get more information on all the main characters, especially the Dogron, in the next installment .

But as it is, we're told there's a space prison on Nix (a moon) where creatures (and humans) are locked up for life, because they're too dangerous to be out in the world.
We don't get much of the main character's past, but we just know they want to escape, yet they don't have the slightest idea where to, since on Earth everyone's supposed to be crazy, so they're winging it and eventually land on the Luna Terminal that's closest to Earth.

Azrail is a life-stealer, which means he can steal one's life force, but he can also heal. Why this particular thing was important, is beyond me, because there was a mix up with his papers, so he was in the wrong prison anyway and his escapades with energy stealing weren't really that interesting.

Azrail and his human friend run into a group of Dogron, which are huge, devil like aliens who also can have fated mates and that's what Azrail is to Khaal, the leader of the three Dogrons who are incarcerated.

The whole story is about things happening in prison and Khaal wanting to get close to Azrail, but badly failing. Khaal wasn't a fearsome captain anymore, he was more like a cranky demon who wants to get laid, but can't.

The food, the life stealing, the fires, the steel, the exhaustion, do we really need all that for such a short novella? Oh, and let's not forget the bloody Nutella. Nutella is the third main character in this book, it all revolves around it and it's all they eat, apparently.

"Azrail narrowed his eyes. “The guards are getting Nutella?”"

No, it wasn't funny. 130 pages of fucking Nutella, give me a break.

If you're expecting a sexy fated mates story, this one definitely isn't it. The whole interaction between the main characters was awkward most of the time and you definitely couldn't feel the fated part.

What should've happened was the escape from the prison in the first 50 pages for sure, then the space trip where Azrail and Khaal get to know each other and get very cozy and then when they land on the Luna Terminal we'd have to actually read about their life there, but of course we didn't.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I managed to follow along pretty well. Three alien pirates who are described as devilish in appearance, a human fire starter, and a human life eater. Inmates in an intergalactic prison. How they got there is never explained which is a big miss. The leader pirate devil alien discovers the human life eater is his mate. That was good for some laughs.

So, these beings end up in a cell together, by choice, planning an escape. Mayhem ensues. I got lost in the mayhem. I could not figure out what the hell was going on. I read it twice, gave up, and moved on to the ending. Devil creature and life eater man get their HEA with no mention of the others that also escaped. It's a black hole so I'll use my imagination.

[Shelba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t been having the greatest luck with the last few Holly Day books, but this one definitely hit the spot.

A life stealer. A devilish alien… how is 8’ tall, has a tail and a forked tongue. Fun times with said tail. It was great.

Minus one star because the whole escape scene with the running and dashing and hanging in a hanger was kind of hard to follow.

[Kassu · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐

Alien prison break. Loving the suspense, the romance too to an extent. Grumpy devil alien is a good character but maybe just a tad too hostile. I would have wished to see more development to really love this couple.

[The Word Nerd Reviews Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Devil Will Care is a great read from a reliably good author.

This book is more of an adventure type tale, most of the focus is on the relationships, particularly between the two humans Azrail and Dot, and the 'Devils'. The romance, while there, is not really developed, and doesn't really have a large role in the story except for explaining how the humans and the devils started working together.

It is a lot of fun to read, and as always, this author's writing style is addictive and keeps you flipping the pages wondering just how they are going to manage to escape when everything seems to be against them. It has a gorgeous ending, and it was lovely to see a cameo mention of a character from a previous book - I love little Easter eggs like that.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a light space adventure with touch of romance and characters where you can't help but become invested on their success.

[Jeanette Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a few "I found my mate while in prison" stories and they're pretty much the same. The difference here is that all of the characters are murderers. None are innocently or wrongly imprisoned. There's bonding over Nutella as the MCs plot to steal a supply ship and escape. And there's an interesting aside as the humanish character teaches his Drogon pirate to kiss.
It was quick. Interesting world building. The actual escape barely covers a chapter. Not a bad read.

[Rhonda Boone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a real intense but captivating story between Azrail and Khaal. This story is filled with riveting suspense, intriguing drama, mystery, species language misunderstanding..and very entertaining characters!! Everyone need a friend in their corner like Dot and the mystery brown sweet stuff!!😉💖 I found this book fascinating and highly entertaining as the story played out..you will too..you have to just read the book!!

I received this as an ARC and voluntarily give my review.

[Jacquie Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating low steam novella. The world building was good, though I longed for some more details about how Dot and Azrial came to be.
I adored Khaal. He was often confused about his human mate and it made me smile.
A good read and I'd love more from this world.

[Flick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly intense intergalactic, fated mates prison break!

I really enjoyed this. I hadn’t expected it to be as intense as it was but boy did it keep me on the edge of my seat. I’ll admit I’d assumed it would be very romance heavy but I really liked that the focus was well split between Khall and Azrail and their precarious situation in the prison. I was worried for a second that we wouldn’t get to see a HEA, but I should have known better - Holly Day always gives you a sweet HEA even if it takes a bit of work for the characters to get there. The world building was excellent. By the end of the book I felt like I could make my way around the prison (though I would really not want to have to). For a novella that’s really impressive (but again, it’s Holly’s writing so it makes sense). I think though, that my favourite part was the that these were very real people. You know that they’ve all done bad things (that’s clear) but there’s also a very strong sense that they did those bad things for very good reasons and for reasons a lot of people would understand. There’s a level of moral ambiguity involved which I liked and honestly endeared the characters to me even more. Add in that there were both some sad and hilarious miscommunications, making this one of the bumpiest fated mates stories I’ve read, and you get a really interesting, different kind of story and one which is super enjoyable. Also, the miscommunications were perfect. So genuinely believable given their different cultures. Khall and Azrail might have managed to misread everything but it made it even better when they got their HEA. Also, I was really psyched to see a quick nod to Max and Noir. I’m really hoping we get some more from this world!

[Guardian.angel54 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok. I had a hard time figuring out how to rate this but I'm going with 3.75* stars - and I'll explain why.

I enjoyed the story, for the most part, but here's my critique: it's literally the middle of a story, without the beginning or end! As the story starts it's quite clear that a lot has gone on before this point but we don't get to see this. There are tiny comments that elude to things that happened prior to the start but nothing is really clarified. I'd really like to know more about how Azrail and Dot ended up on the prison planet and how they met. I'd like to know more about the Dogrons and how they ended up on Nix, the prison planet, as well. As it is, we're kind of tossed into the middle and left grappling a little to catch up. There were moments between the characters that could have been stretched out a bit and that would have given them more depth. I wanted to be a bit more invested in them and their plight. The underlying plot was unique and I was really interested, it just didn't quite reach fruition. The epilogue literally skipped over a heck of a lot of time that would have been great for showing the growing bond between Azrail and Khaal but, again, it just didn't! It also ended without truly resolving anything or even eluding to a HEA and that left me feeling disappointed and unfulfilled. In general, the story gave you just enough to get revved up and then leaves you high and dry.
Normally I am a big fan of this author's work but this one just left me wanting more and feeling a little cheated. I really want to know what happened to begin with and what happens after.

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the premise of this book. Everyone in the story is in a intergalactic prison so really, there are no good guys. But there are always varying shades of bad. This is the story of Azrail and Khaal Lupehell. Azrail refers to himself as a "life stealer". He has been surviving by being under the radar with his new bestie Dot. Azrail considers himself lucky because the prison didn't read his file. He is actually one of the most dangerous being in the prison. He was supposed to have been in solitary confinement. While Dot and Azrail are stealing food, they run into a devil like creature. They injure a demon while escaping. After Azrail meets Khaal to give him a peace offering. They didn't mean him any harm. Up close, he looks a lot like a devil. Extremely tall, red skinned, horns and a tail. Khaal's two partners join up with Dot and Azrail in making up a plan to escape. I enjoyed how Azrail kept educating Khaal about human customs and behaviours. I also liked how Khaal kept wanting to protect his mate. I enjoyed the story. My only hitch was that I found it very confusing reading the escape scene. I had to reread it a few times to track who was where and doing what. Other than that, the book was well written and easy to read. I enjoyed this adventure.

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

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

🚀Who doesn't crave a chocolate treat?!😋

3.5-4.0 🌟stars
Action adventure in space, aliens and humans with super powers, and an overpowering craving for a decidedly sweet tooth treat: all good elements that made this story fun and imaginative. The MM fated mate content didn't get truly steamy until near the end which suited me just fine.

Author Holly Day took a seemingly very human foodstuff and built a story including it as a key element, almost a character on its own. Odd but clever and totally appropriate for a February book release.

While I liked the plot and world building, these characters did not really engage me emotionally and that was a factor in my rating. We don't really get much backstory for them or how they ended up incarcerated in space. But for an action romp the pace was good. The ending struck me as HFN.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the story; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

[Susan Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Devil Will Care by Holly Day was written to celebrate World Nutella Day, another of the obscure holidays introduced to me by the author. I think this is the first sci-fi story I’ve read by Holly Day. One of the advantages of sci-fi, often shared with fantasy, is the creation of interesting aliens. Khaal, the alien, resembles the Earth idea of a devil, including a prehensile tail. Azrail is human, but with a twist, since he is a life stealer, able to take life essence to heal and pass it along to others for extra strength. Once Khaal realizes Azrail is his fated mate, Azrail and his friend Dot (a human fire starter) become part of the plot to escape from the lunar prison they are all sentenced to. The plan involves stealing a spaceship and fleeing, destination unknown. Since this is a romance, the aliens and humans do manage to escape and find their HEA. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice original read for a short story

Two (maybe?) humans and three aliens stuck on a prison planet, bonding over Nutella? Count me in!
I love Holly's Holiday stories and this one was fun, featuring a tall red-skinned devil with a naughty tail who meets his 'weak human' mate in less than ideal circumstances. Set against a jail break, the story is fast and fun, with communication issues (what IS a kiss?) and special talents, Khaal and Azrail and their friends were good characters who I was invested in from the start.
I just wanted a bit more of how Azrail and Dot knew each other, and a little more in the HFN epilogue, but it was quirky and entertaining.
As Goodreads keeps losing my star ratings, I've decided to put them in my reviews too. I rated this a four star read.

[Juniper · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this turned out to be a “come for the premise, stay for the characters” type of reading experience: I liked the idea of this story a lot, and I stand by that affection. While there were times when the implementation of various plot elements felt a bit hazy, Khaal and Azriel were vivid and compelling presences throughout— overall, a really enjoyable read.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Belinda Zamora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one.
Nutella as a major plot enhancement is unique but it worked out well.
There's magic and aliens and some pretty intense action, danger and drama.
The only drawback I have is I would have loved for it be longer and gotten to enjoy these characters more.

[Joscelyn Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prison break with super powers and a devilish alien who loves Nutella (doesn't everyone 😋). I would have loved a bit more backstory but as it stands it's still a very entertaining read.

[M]

dnf przy 2/3
chociaz sam pomysl mocy fajny

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a slow moving m/m Sci-Fi and it took a second reading to get through it.

[Edga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Khaal and Azrail, are mates, and should be a match made in heaven. Unfortunately, things don't always work out like that! The story's light-hearted and engaging, despite the content being full of violence and action. I laughed at Khaal's puzzlement that his mate is a puny human. Quite an original short story, which makes for a light, but interesting short story.

[Bec See · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could Have Been Better

I seem to be hit or miss with Holly Day. Loved “There Will Be Aliens,” but this one wasn’t that great. It could have been better if 95% of the book hadn’t been the build-up to a lackluster ending. It’s a story of a “human” in a prison who finds his fated mate in the form of an 8 foot devil. The majority of the book encompasses the two meeting while making a plan with their bunk mates on how to escape the prison planet they are on. I’m sure you can guess what comes next…and no, it’s not the two actually getting it on. The only shared time is a couple kisses and a shower handy. The epilogue was vague enough that it could have been two days after or 2 years. The writing was good enough that this could have been a great book or series? but it was almost as though the author got tired and ended it as quickly as possible.

[lphharrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE DEVIL MAY CARE by @authorhollyday

Okay, this book did not disappoint. This author does a great job world building in a novella length story! This one was fun with some magical aspects, mates, prison, and a sexy devil-like alien. Basically it was amazing and I wished it was longer!

#onederreadsfourstars

[Shawna (endemictoearth) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a pretty fun time with this one, planning an escape/heist from inside a space prison. However, the romance is practically non-existent, and I'd've appreciated some time with them on the new ship, seeing how they get on. Ending was a bit confusing/abrupt.

[Stephanie Windon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short read though I wouldn't really consider it a romance. We got very little of the couple together or spicy but was still an interesting read.