When the Devil Drives

Reviews

• Frida

  Started September 23, 2026 · Finished September 23, 2026

  Okay, THIS ONE. This was easily one of my favourites of the novellas so far because I genuinely wasn't expecting it to become the story that it became. It starts somewhere completely different, and then it just keeps expanding. Suddenly we're getting more of Ethan outside the very specific context in which Jack normally knows him. We see pieces of his life, his interests, the people he knows, and these little glimpses of a person who existed long before Jack walked into his life. Even something as simple as Ethan bringing Jack into parts of his world feels incredibly intimate because Jack recognises that this is somewhere Ethan is genuinely happy and that Ethan specifically wanted him there with him. And emotionally, I thought this did SO much. Because we're still in Jack's perspective, he is the one who can actually articulate what is happening to him, and those feelings are becoming increasingly difficult for him to hide even from himself. Ethan is different. We don't get the same direct access, so, so much of what he feels has to come through what he does, what he offers Jack, what he lets Jack see, and how he reacts when Jack pulls away. I really love that contrast between them. Then the actual suspense plot kicks in, another person is introduced, and suddenly this feels much bigger than I expected from a novella. And it WORKS. It doesn't feel like a random action plot shoved between relationship scenes. The danger keeps revealing things about Ethan and Jack at the same time, particularly when Ethan's instinct to protect collides with the parts of himself he clearly still struggles with. I loved the pacing, I loved the suspense, I loved where the story went, and I especially loved how much more dimensional Ethan became through it. This could very easily have felt like optional bonus material between the main books. It absolutely doesn't.

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