Devil of Dublin A Dark Irish Mafia Romance (Special Edition)

The story is told from Darby's and Kellen's Point of view in the first person. The devil has many faces but honestly I wasn't expecting this. This is a book with a remarkable warning content a explicit scenes. That's not something that scares me and it hasn't. This story goes deep and opens eyes in a way romance is not often showing. I won't say it's a unicorn fest cause it's not. This hits too close to reality. The one people are ashamed of talking out loud. With this written down I can go deeper into the characters. We follow Darby into Ireland, the fairy-tale believing girl who's visiting her grandfather when she first meet Kellen in the woods. The have instantly that bonding of young children. Playing in the woods they connect and falling for another each summer she comes visiting until she doesn't. We get to know Kellen from a younger age until adult. Life hasn't been easy for Darby nor for Kellen. Both thought they'd been lost for each other. Both have passed through much pain and guilt. Such deep emotions cutting them from inside it cut my heart in the process. There are so many feelings to process. They're all so present and not pretty at all. But I feel their necessity for the progress of the story. The story around Darby and Kellen is deep and dark and still there's some sweet. The little boy who fell in love with the girl next door. His salvation. I could see that both, Darby and Kellen, have evolved a lot within this story. Not only by becoming adults but how to deal with life's hand. Both got the courage to engage with they utmost fears and grow from them. Get stronger and face them in the eye. This in their very individual journey. This could give hope. Together they faced another part of growth. They choose to help each other in their own very way, with all the fails and challenges in-between. I like how the find their own way in communicating their needs. Conclusion: This isn't an easy romance, so please read the content warning (see the book description) beforehand. It is dark, it has explicit scenes and they're needed for all the complete context. Does it come with deep emotions. Definitely yes. Is everyone prepared for it. No. Did I enjoy this story? Yes, I did. Non English native readers/listeners-information: Reading this book as a non English native is easy. There aren't many struggles. Hearing the audiobook was sometimes a bit of challenge as the male narrator speaks with an Irish accent. I'm not good at hearing accents off, so if you're like me, you might have some little struggles at the beginning but it's getting better the longer you're listening. Audiobook: The audiobook is narrated in a duet with a female (Elizabeth Klett) and a male voice (Eric Nolan). Duet means both voices are interacting within the same chapter which I like because its easier to follow dialogs. The female narrator has an American accent and is very easy to understand. The voice matches Darby perfectly. I like how the female narrator could change her voice into younger and older. It's really perfectly done. The male narrator has a thick Irish accent that accentuate Kellen perfectly, but could make it a bit of a challenge to get all his words correctly (I'm a non native English listener). But I do like the voice, a deep timbre with rough edges that give me goosebumps. Book information: This is book 1 of series Devil of Dublin. Book 1: Devil of Dublin (Kellen & Darby) Book 2: The Devil himself (Clover & Damien) The author described the books as a continuation and not as standalones which should be read chronologically. I felt "Devil of Dublin" as a complete storyline for Darby and Kellen (standalone).