Devil’s Deal ♥ Layla Fae ♥ Jaga and the Devil #1

Published June 2024 ♥ Independently Published by Layla Fae

❥ Book Two Review : Devil’s Doom Review: Layla Fae’s Dark Fantasy Jaga and the Devil #2

If anyone ever said you need Jesus in your life, let me correct them. You need the devil in your life—the kind who will f**k all that’s holy out of you.

❥ Trigger & Content Warnings : death, grief, gore, violence, mutilation, murder, limb amputation, labor, miscarriage, infant death, infertility, erectile dysfunction, public sex, public orgy, animal death, auguring from animal entrails, patriarchy, secretive medication of a spouse, bullying, discrimination, domestic violence, marital rape, domestic violence victim mentality, social acceptance for domestic violence, social acceptance for marital rape and marital infidelity, graphically portrayed painful menstruation, discussion of abortion, discussion of soul metaphysics in unborn children, mention of children being exposed to public sex, mind control, sexual assault & suicide.

Dramatic age gap, physical violence, attempts at mind and body control, stalking, insistent seduction, threats of sexual assault, choking, non-consensual and consensual blood drinking, deception and lies, manipulation, dubious consent; the hero has other lovers but he and the heroine aren’t in an exclusive romantic relationship when it happens.

Virgin FMC, size difference, orgasm denial, choking, pain induced by the MMC’s anatomy, monstrous tongue, shadow magic, forced orgasms, blood drinking, transactional sex, breeding, cock worship, rimming & cock warming.

His presence is overbearing. He isn’t truly as large as a tree, but the robustness of his form and the canopy of antlers above his head make him seem like one. A dead, cursed tree, because there is no color to him, no life, only menace twisted around him like clothing.

I was on the hunt for a fantasy that was dark af. A pitch black Romantasy if you will. The darker the better. I needed some true enemies to lovers in my life. None of this enemies for the first quarter of a book, where they are actually just prejudice against each other because they come from different kingdoms and backgrounds. I happened upon Layla Fae’s Jaga and the Devil series in my search and decided to give it a go.

Spoilers Sweetie : Jump down to my Final Thoughts to avoid them.

1. What in the time traveling paradox is this?
2. I’m digging the vibes and the brutalness this world can offer. 
3. Touch her and die. 
4. Yes you should have. And now hopefully that fucker dies. Horribly. 
5. Sure, be feisty af with the literal devil. 
6. Jaga might be a witch but Ida is a bitch. 
7. Maybe should have clarified those terms. 
8. But seriously, I thought honey was an euphemism at first. 
9. Jarota is a f’n dummy. 
10. Be fitting if it wasn’t for the fact he came back home. 
11. They are the foolish curious ones? Girl. 
12. I bet it was Czeslawa.
13. Maybe tell her what’s riding on it. 
14. Nausea?!
15. Say yes. I want to know what he wants.
16. Wiosna!
17. Explains the nosebleed I suppose.
18. I’m not sure I trust Wiosna. 
19. A cunning fool. 
20. I’m getting frustrated. WHY does he want/need her. Just accept already. 
21. Perun sucks. 
22. I can’t wait to find out more about this war. 
23. Girl, I think you really went and doomed the whole town. 
24. Oh shit. 

Devil’s Deal Review

Minor Spoilers

Speaking his name makes my tongue bleed. And looking at him makes me weep bloody tears.

Devil’s Deal by Layla Fae is a dark enemies to lovers fantasy rooted in Slavic folklore and mythology. It takes place in a time when the old gods were both feared and worshipped. Even without the introduction of Gods, Goddesses and Monsters, this is a brutal time in the world for humans. Survival comes at a hefty cost. Devil’s Deal is dark and gritty. This is a misogynistic world where our fmc, Jaga, is shunned and outcast simply for being a woman suspected of being a witch. I mean, she is a witch, but they don’t know that. I loved being in Fae’s world. It was everything I was looking for.

“You will obey me, poppy girl,” he says mockingly. “Or you will watch everyone you love die.”

“I don’t love anyone, devil boy,” I spit out in his face, anger taking over the fear. “So do your worst.”

Devil’s Deal is a single pov story told from the perspective of Jaga. During the Summer Solstice celebrations of her small community the Devil himself makes an appearance. Woland, the Devil, has been looking for Jaga. He wants her soul and will stop at nothing to get it. Jaga wants nothing to do with him though. Her soul is hers. Her life is hers. And the Devil himself will not stop her from reaching her full potential. When Jaga wont submit to The Devil’s desires, he vows to destroy her life. Woland promptly begins his mission to break her both psychologically and physically. Targeting her community he plans on putting her in a position with no choice but to bend to his will.

“You need my verbal consent. Tell me, devil. Will you kill me when you realize I’ll never say those words to you?”

If you are looking for a true enemies to lovers tale, this is it. Does Jaga have sex with Woland? Yes, but they do not become lovers in the traditional sense of the word/trope. They eventually enter into a very tentative enemies to enemies with benefits type relationship. Jaga will not yield, she will not break. And boy oh boy, Woland is methodical in his attempts to break her.

What Jaga will do, is use Woland to reach her own goals. When Jaga was a young girl, members of her community attempted to take her life. They lost theirs instead when she was saved by an older version of herself. Jaga will go to whatever lengths necessary to become the powerful woman who can bend time. I loved Jaga. She is stubborn and resolute. Despite everything she has been through, she is still kind and protective of those she deems worthy of her efforts.

I will not be his. Not because he’s the devil. Not because he’s evil.
Because he doesn’t respect me.

If you are on the hunt for a dark fantasy series to read, I highly suggest Jaga and the Devil by Layla Fae. It did not disappoint. Not only was the world exactly what I was looking for but the plot was exceptional and Fae’s writing has me wanting to read her entire backlog. The moment I was finished with Devil’s Deal I moved on to Devil’s Doom. Fair warning, Devil’s Deal does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. Once completed, Jaga and the Devil will be a trilogy with the final installment coming December 21, 2025.

I see a thick, black manhood and a ring of thorns at the root where mortal men have hair. The thorns circle the base of his shaft like a crown.

His antlers spread out like a crown surrounding his head, making him into a wild god, a being of nature and power.

It’s like he’s an animal feasting on me. And I’m helpless to stop him, because his every rough, pleasurable sound settles between my legs like a caress, tightening my need into a hot, pulsing cord.

Gods, I am fascinated. This creature born of dark and hate brims with magic and potency. She seems invincible, and exactly the kind of thing I have to become. In her posture, in her unhesitating cruelty, I see the echoes of the Jaga who saved me.

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❥ Book Two Review : Devil’s Doom Review: Layla Fae’s Dark Fantasy Jaga and the Devil #2