Rating 4 Stars
Review
Hideaway is the second book in the Devil’s Night series by Penelope Douglas and a fantastic way to get into darker romance stories for newbies to the genre!
If you’ve read anything by Penelope Douglas before, you’ll know she is a fantastic author for anything dark and/or taboo. Her ability to bring ‘twisted’ tales to life is so beautiful and Hideaway is no different despite being on the lighter side of the dark romance genre.
The Devil’s Night series focuses on four friends – Michael Crist, Kai Mori, Damon Torrance and Will Grayson (the Horsemen), who began a tradition in high school to cause havoc and mayhem on Devil’s Night (aka 30 October/the day before Halloween). Several years later when the group are in college, things go awry and three of the four find themselves sent to prison for three years. Now they’re released and the Horsemen are seeking their revenge on the people they believe wronged them all those years ago.
Hideaway is Kai and Banks’ story and alternates between their meeting six years ago and present time. Little to anyone’s knowledge Damon has a sister and her name is Nik Banks. Six years ago, she and Kai meet by accident in a confessional booth and the two develop an immediate attraction which continues to present day, despite the time, distance and drama along the way.
In Corrupt (book 1), we don’t get very much information about Kai, Will or Damon as the plot is primarily about Michael and Rika so getting a better look at Kai’s life was fantastic. So far, he is my favourite of the four and I love his balance of dark, badboy behaviour with his lighter, genuine feelings for Banks and the insightful traditions of his cultural background. He knows exactly how far to take things with Banks without going beyond her boundaries or being disrespectful and I loved that so much. When she was upset with something he had done the previous year, he understood where her feelings were coming from (jealousy) and took the time to explain to her why he did it, how it helped him and how he views all parties involved now which helped Banks get past her own toxic feelings about the situation. The way Douglas wrote Kai is the perfect example of how decent, respectful men can also be sexy alpha types.
Oh Banks, what can I say about her… Banks grew up secreted away by her half brother Damon, dressed in his old, outgrown clothes to avoid being cast in the typical roles of women as viewed by her ‘family’ – toy or tool. As any woman can attest, being covered up is not going to stop creeps from being creeps though and Banks goes through a lot of crap because of her family’s misogynistic views. Despite it all though, she is a hard working, caring person and good strategist giving the Horsemen a run for their money.
I absolutely loved Hideaway and can’t wait to read book 3, Killswitch, which will be Damon and Winter’s story! Though I’m trying to pace myself so it won’t be such a long wait for book 4, Nightfall, Will and Emory’s story. But when the author is as great as Penelope Douglas, pacing oneself seems impossible.
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