Review – Devour Me (Devour Me, Book 1) by Emily Rath (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal/Romance
Length: 527 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: August 4, 2026
ASIN: ‎B0G2SBKY6J
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Devour Me trilogy
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Dáinn the Devourer has spent the last two hundred years of his undead life reluctantly bonded to a dark witch, doing her dirtiest work. Devouring corrupt souls may not be satisfying for a wraith, but it keeps him fed. Sent on a job to Burr Island, Dáinn is forced to devour the soul of a rival witch.

But Jasper Prescott is no corrupt magical misfit. He’s powerful and beautiful, with a soul worth savoring. Dáinn is eagerly devouring the witch when he’s abruptly stopped. By a human no less. With one word, Birdie Rhodes does what no being has ever done: she takes his breath away. Now the witch, the wraith, and the human are set on a path that could lead to their destiny…or their ruin.

Desperate for his freedom, Dáinn makes a deal with Jasper: kill my mistress, and I’ll let you keep living. But Jasper wants more than just to live. He has a coven to protect. Their secrets are being threatened by magical forces on and off the island. Bound together in this strange new deal, Jasper fights his growing attraction to the wraith, who is far more human than he appears. And Dáinn fights the urge to devour the delectable witch whole.

The only one who can save them is Birdie Rhodes, hapless historian and sometimes shop girl. Birdie only came to Burr Island for summer work. She has no idea magic is even real. She certainly has no idea she’s now the only thing standing between her witch boss and the hungry wraith aching to devour them both.
As magical forces of darkness loom at Burr Island’s shores, Jasper and Dáinn are both determined to keep Birdie close in Devour Me, book one in a dark, spicy paranormal romance trilogy.”

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Devour Me trilogy. I got an ebook of this for review from NetGalley..
Thoughts: This was a well done paranormal romance. This is ultimately about a throuple and involves some light BDSM which makes it a bit different from other PNR. There is a solid story here, but at times it does take a backseat to the romance. This does remind me of early 2000’s PNR, which is a bit odd because this is the second review book in as many weeks that I have read that is giving early 2000’s PNR.

The story jumps between three POVs: Jasper (head priest of the Burr Island coven), Birdie (grad student out on Burr Island for both a summer job and research), and Dainn (a wraith tasked with draining Jasper’s soul). When Birdie accidentally stops Dainn from draining Jasper’s soul it becomes a big deal. Dainn wants free from his mistress and he wants to know how Birdie stopped him. Jasper wants to know why Dainn’s mistress wants him dead. Birdie just wanted a summer job and to get her research credits but is suddenly drawn into a battle between some very powerful witches.

It should also be mentioned that Dainn desperately wants Birdie and Jasper in less platonic ways and Birdie and Jasper want each other. Leaving out the sex and romance here would be leaving out a lot of the story.

I enjoyed the island setting, the unique and angsty characters, and the deep relationship they formed. However, this is definitely more insta-love than I prefer. Sexy things happen between characters very quickly, and it feels almost a bit goofy and overdone at points. If you just go with the flow and don’t think about it too much, it works fine for the story.

I liked the mystery behind the island’s witches (which we get some answers about in this book) and the mystery behind Birdie’s origins (which are still a mystery at the end of this book). Again, though, much of this mystery takes a back seat to the romance. It’s one of those books where you are creeping through a forest searching for a clue with the characters and then they are having sex on the forest floor kind of stories.

I did find the book to be very engaging and hard to put down. The sex scenes are very spicy and creative, which was fun.

I will most likely continue with the series because I am curious to see what happens now that Baz is involved as well. I am also curious to see what happens with the witches’ grimoires. I would like to know Birdie’s background too. Additionally, I will admit, I am also a bit curious to see if this turns into a reverse harem type of series or if things stay stable with our throuple.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was engaging and has some intriguing mysteries but is mostly a hot and heavy throuple romance. I enjoyed the characters and the small island they are on. I enjoyed learning more about this world. I didn’t love the insta-love here and thought a lot of the sex scenes felt abrupt in an almost goofy way (although I give points for creativity and not shying from details). I put this in the trashy PNR category (no insult intended) and do plan to continue the series. This reminds me a bit of early to mid Anita Blake books, the Monere by Sunny, or any other plethora of early 2000’s PNR that involve many males “drawn” to a female character for as yet unknown reasons.