“Hideaway” by Penelope Douglas

I would describe “Hideaway” as being an “apocalyptical” book. It got me frustrated, only to tighten hard my heart in the end. I was left speechless, tensioned, mind blown and skeptical. It was a volume full of charisma and a fresh sense of humor and stubbornness. It was the unexpected silence before the disaster.

For a complex and fulfilling review, I had to read first all the six books of “Devil’s Night” series by Penelope Douglas before reviewing any of it. To make a trustful review, I needed something to compare each book to.

Title: “Hideaway” (#2)

Series: “Devil’s Night”

Author: Penelope Douglas

Number of pages: 527

Genre: Romance, Fiction

Trope: Dark romance, Masked love interest

Stars rating: 3/5 ⭐

Recommended age: +18

The book is a dual perspective story. It is narrated subjectively (the 1st person) by Kai and Banks as well. During the reading, there are sneak peeks to their common past, technically a parallel between the two tenses.

Meet the characters

Kai Genato Mori is one of the richest boys of Thunder Bay. He’s Katsu Mori and Vitoria Genato’s son, half Japanese on his father’s side, and half Italian on his mother’s. Kai came from a loving family, but grew up feeling he was a continuous disappointment, especially for his dad. The boy is one of the Four Horsemen and Michael Crist’s best friend.

Nikova Sarah Banks is Kai’s love interest and Damon Torrance’s half-sister. She is Gabriel’s unrecognized daughter, being born out of an affair.

Look here for more information about the characters: Nikova – here Kai – here

Sneak peek

Kai never felt like truly confessing in the Catholic church. He preferred to admit his sins in front of himself, in the silence of loneliness. One day, someone listened to him. Contrary to his expectations, his confession did not scare her. She wanted to become part of his story, to be chased herself. Kai did not know then, but he sensed the same mischief and darkness in her that he found in himself. His secrets are now known by one too many persons.

Trigger warnings

• Violence
• Stalking
• Animal cruelty

The power behind the mask

Kai’s character

I felt like there was more about Kai’s character. I liked how he was the balance in the Four Horsemen’s group. Each of the characters had their “position” in the team. Kai was the mind of the group, the rational one. He had this allure of darkness which surrounded his every move. I was excited and surprised by his moments when he expressed freely his feelings. He just did not seem that kind of guy. I have heard so much about him, especially on TikTok. Honestly, I had far, far more expectations from him and Banks.

I liked them somehow, but they did not really impress me. They were remarkable, while their spark was missing. The appearances are a lot more entertaining and captivating than the reality. I expected to meet that silent, but dark kind of guy. The one whose actions spoke more than his words. Unfortunately, in the first three quarters of the book, he was all just grumpy and proud. He insulted Banks in an awful way and when he found out the truth, he felt so sorry. NO! You do not judge before knowing the backstory, especially not out of hurt pride.

Kai’s nature

He, unlike the others (it seemed to me), needed to hide behind the mask. The thunder would come for each of them when they put the masks on, but for him it was more than that. He built himself an armor, the perfect appearance and attitude. This was who he was.

I found catchy how he could be himself, show his emotions and true self when he was wearing his mask. It was like something clicked in his mind. As reading the book, I got to feel myself the patience and silence. No matter how quiet he seemed, there were a lot of things RUSHING through his mind. When he put on the mask, it all went quiet.

When he invited Rika over and planned scaring her, I know he was not pushed only by his wish of training her better. He loved scaring her! It was not just a set-up. He needed that moment, to feel her fright and sense any possible weakness in her. It was like the darkness gave him strength. It could have been only my imagination, but he had a full of darkness and danger kind of vibe.

“𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭, 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

Kai was calm and patient, and only a calculated man waited that long for the storm to settle in and then put on an ambush. Every of his moves was long analyzed and a part of something bigger. Few things were out of Kai’s control, maybe actually none. Nevertheless, even when something unexpected happened, he would act like that was the expected result all along. He was a step further every time. I have said it already, but I am going to repeat myself: he had so much character potential! Unfortunately, it got messed up on the way.

The stranger from the confessional

Banks and Kai’s first interaction, in the confessional, just left me… speechless. She was there all along. I think I will even say that I liked Nikova even more than I liked Kai. She always seemed the little hidden and unpredictable devil. Banks was so nosy, but also kind of cute. Beside the actual scenes from the confessional, I prefer talking about their depth aspect. That first moment, when they were only teenagers, was far more important than it seemed.

All those romance scenes were romanticized all over social media, but the essence was skipped. Beside the physical attraction, Kai felt listened. He was stunned someone truly knew his emotions and… just too much, I guess:) Even so, I think a small part of him felt relieved. Maybe it meant he could change if he wanted to. But let’s face it as it is: he would have never changed. He liked breaking the rules just a little bit too much:)

I will make an assumption and say he felt Banks like his little dark secret. The unknown girl who just made him crazy without even seeing her. He used to tell the boys EVERYTHING, especially Michael! Okay, not everything… 🙂 He kept his mouth shut about her, revealing no further details. Banks wanted to be chased, so he made sure she would have the scare of her life:)

“𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

Secondly, yacks! His little secrets in the confessional were just awful and crazy! He is one of the Horsemen, he is unstoppable and so on, but where was his decency?! It was all too much. He was 17 years old back then, so let’s not exaggerate his game:) I mean, he was kind of weird in my eyes. Nevertheless, it seemed Banks fell for his weird nature, so who are we to judge?:)

“𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐱 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐈’𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

Reality-fiction

Many of the readers of this series said the books were horrible to them. I completely respect your opinion! Even so, I do not think we should quicken ourselves, but just analyze the plot a little bit. The Four Horsemen were in prison for a long time, right? Arson, physical aggression, rape (it was actually not, but we will talk about this in the review of “Kill Switch”) and so on.

Even though they were really handsome, influent and rich, they were very dangerous in the book! They were not some people you would play with, I assure you. As fictional characters, it was an amazing thing for the plot, but in real life it would not be! The thing is we are talking about books now!

I think it is unpleasant judging a book, with fictional characters, for its reality equivalent. There is no equivalent. We should only read the books and have a nice time. If you do not like this kind of dark romance, this kind of characters or even plot, just skip the books and move on to something more pleasant. A reading which would suit your preferences. We read to enjoy our free time. Make sure you choose the right book FOR YOU.

The danger is back

Damon was still on Rika’s pace. In “Corrupt”, when Trevor stole Kai’s mask and pranked Rika to scare her, he hesitated. Damon even stopped Trevor. His intention was to scare her, not to actually traumatize her. Damon was violent, stubborn and impossible to understand, as it seemed so far, but he sensed something in her. He suddenly regretted going that far with the prank.

Even though it is not that spoken about, Damon was the fright she needed to become the powerful woman she was. He raised her, like a teacher who taught her the most important lesson in life: you are either the hunter or the hunted. He, indeed, used unholy methods, but it worked. She felt weak, until she was not anymore.

Rika trusted Kai, who taught her to fight, and Michael who protected her on every day he was alive. Nevertheless, her fiancée would not be near every single moment of her life, so what would she do when the danger approached and she would be in plain sight? Kai tried to make her understand that nobody is trustworthy. There was more than the good people, but the ones compelled by consequences. Was she truly innocent and harmless? It could be she had not tasted this kind of life yet, the one in which they were the ones making the rules.

“𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐈 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

Rika was one of them, so she had to learn that no one is to be trusted, but herself. She had to fight and overcome her frights. The two scenes in “Corrupt”, when she was scared twice because of at least one of the Four Horsemen, were the needed proof she was a force. She was kept behind only by her own frights.

The strategy in her eyes

Bank’s childhood and experiences built the grown up woman nobody could mess with. It could have been only the iron walls she built around herself, but she seemed so determined! Nikova was quite a startling opponent. The scene of Will, Kai and Michael coming to Gabriel for business talk made me so proud! I caught the irony: she was a powerful woman, in a household where, normally, she would have been underestimated and got used.

I liked how Kai analyzed their every single interaction. The business meeting at the dojo, when she sat in the back of the room and how that simple move was hiding much more.

“𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

The vibe

Whenever I heard the music of the “Hideaway” playlist, it immediately gave me goosebumps. It was everything: the life in it, the need of action, the broken rules and all the adrenaline. This was one of my favorite things. The details of this series never disappointed me:)

There are songs chosen, as “Emotionless” by Red Sun Rising, in which important nicknames or key words for the plot are used. In this song, it is mentioned Kai’s nickname for Banks, “little one”, so the lyrics are very specific:) I saw in the playlist another great and unique song from a singer named Banks. Coincidence or not, I loved it!:) I enjoyed how the author introduced in the playlist songs that just gave the sequences of another kind of vibe. How incredible it was reading how Damon was smoking in the locker room and Will was singing the song “Smoking in the Boys’ Room” while, guess what, the song was bursting in my airphones:) It matched just on time.

Blood is forever

Damon clearly loved Banks, even if it was in his own way. He was wrong keeping her away from the outside world. She had no friends and wasn’t even a normal student. He made up her life, without Nikova having the chance to speak her mind about it. She experienced a great happiness for the chance given to her, feeling safe and glad she had a roof above her head. Their relationship was like a blade. Thin, dangerous and unpredictable, but still protective and reassuring. Even though Damon felt love for his half-sister, he did not show it appropriately.

“𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐍𝐢𝐤. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

I do not think this part of the story was that much about her, as it was about him. His fear for her safety was not necessarily the reason of his overprotective attitude, but his fright of losing her. She was (he thought) the only one who truly loved him, no matter his stupid or selfish actions. Nikova was his safety net. He would not have risked anything and lose her. Damon was traumatized, so he couldn’t see someone would actually care about him. When Kai came in the general overview, he lied and made everything seem horrible and so wrong. How far Kai was from the truth!

Damon loved the boys, but he did not trust them well enough to let them know about her. Not because they would have cause her any harm, but they would have showed her there is so much more in life than what he offered her. He would have given her the world, but his rules overcame any freedom. The lines of her world were defined by him.

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐰𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

Even though his “parenting” was strongly influenced by his trauma, he loved her dearly. She would not have survived without him. Without Damon, she would have continued her unhappy and poor childhood. If Damon hadn’t kept her locked, she would have probably been exposed to the shameful intentions of Gabriel’s men. Beside Damon’s mistakes and wrong way of managing the situation, he kept her safe from the “world” where a woman was good only for two things: sex and cooking. Gabriel Torrance was rich, but cruel and the most horrible man to ever exist. The two kids lived under his roof, Damon seeing and experiencing unforgettable things for a 12 years old boy.

“𝐌𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

But still, there is no way to forgive how Damon made Nik feel about being a girl. His mother sexually abused him, destroying and influencing forever his future interactions with girls/women. Even so, he generalized in judging, making Banks think he hated her for growing up and becoming a woman. She hid her body to avoid his eventual hate. That feeling would have been out of case, but she did not know that. He highlighted with any given occasion the differences between the life her mother would’ve offered her and the one he offered her.

𝐇𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭, 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

Just a name

I completely fell in love with this episode! Banks left Kai’s house, as the respected independent woman she was, proving him how foolish he acted. A couple of simple words and his world fell apart for good: he should have asked about her name. It was that simple. That move was one of strategy and power. I can tell you for sure right then she became unforgettable!

“𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

The name Nikova was the female version of “Nikov”, Gabriel Torrance’s initial Russian surname. Her name, her game were so completely clear. Right under their nose, all this time:)

“𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐈 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

The game

The boys spent all their time and mind assuring themselves the girls were safe and trying to forecast Damon’s strategy. All the hired detectives and clues were not enough for establishing his current location. Even though they tried to play better Damon’s sick games, they forgot they knew him best. They had been his best friends, so they knew better than underestimating his plans.

Well, he played them well enough to keep all the three girls in the same place, guarded only by two men, whom he was the one to employ in the beginning. He had all his pews on the table and the failure was not an option. Will was right, he knew Damon best. Everything was just a huge trap and they all fell for it.

Michael knew

I was actually too stunned to have an actual reaction. Michael knew all along what Banks was to Damon. He could have saved his best friend’s sanity and tell him the truth, but he preferred fate to have its own way in their story. Michael was The Four Horsemen’ rightful leader, always being a step farther. He certainly knew his surroundings at any time. Michael would have saved YEARS of Kai day dreaming and not finding his place. The boy searched for Nikova in every person he met.

The bond

My favorite thing related to The Four Horsemen was actually their bond. Each of them was traumatized more or less by their family. Money can not assure a loving and safe household, the feeling of being understood and not alone. Their families disappointed them on every occasion. We need family to survive. Even so, it is not necessarily to be the one you are born in.

The Four Horsemen found each other at a young age and chose each other no matter what. This was their family. The one which they chose and would have kept choosing. They shared the need of denying the rules and the expectations. They denied the place in which their families wanted them placed, just sitting tight. Call them black sheep, but they were angels comparing to the people who surrounded them.

When the memories from “Hideaway” took place, the boys were in their senior year. The last year they would spend together. The last Devil’s Night. They were aware they would leave Thunder Bay and spread through the US, miles away from each other. It was their personal duty to make this one memorable. They, indeed, left quite a famous legacy in their home town, the tradition started by them on Devil’s Night being continued by the next generations. They were untouchable.

“𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥’𝐬 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭.

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

Michael and Kai were best friends and partners in crime. Not metaphorically:) Nevertheless, the humor was brilliant:) They had their inside jokes, a thing which only made the action even more comic and realistic. They were continually teasing each other.

Even though the boys’ bond was more than unreplaceable and tight, Damon and Will were closer, as Kai and Michael were. They simply got each other better. Will was the sun of Damon’s inside thunderstorm. He understood him and helped him survive the day. I just consider the dynamic of the group literally amazing. As Will was Damon’s better self, Kai and Michael were both calculated and true leaders, the mouthless mind fighters. No detail ever got missed from their nose.

“𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫, 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫. 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐇𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

As close as they were, sharing too many dark secrets and sins, the girls empowered them. Rika was one of them now, but she was Michael’s fiancée, the only other person in whose chest his heart was beating. He could not have equalized her in his heart. They were his brothers, his friends, but she came first and would always do. She was his reason to breath. As tough as their relationship development was, he would have been a fool not to act that way. Protect her with his life, idolize her with his own existence.

“𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬, 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞? 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

The silence and the fire

I observed how it was not a coincidence that Kai and Banks’s volume was the next one after Michael and Erika’s. It could have been a parallel between the two relationships: Kai and Banks were the silence of the storm, while Michael and Erika were like fire… burning everything in their way. Both of the couples were powerful and strongly united, but the source of their power was such a different game in the overview. While some were empowered by wisdom and patience, the others had strategy and cunning.

“𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈’𝐦 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐲-𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐲, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲? 𝐈’𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

The legend

Kai and Banks’ past years were haunted by the legend of the black ballerina from The Pope. Banks told it to him when they were too young to maybe remember it again, but it shortly became their secret. The story was terrific: a strange ballerina, looking gorgeous and elegant, dancing every night on the balcony of a secret floor. It sounded far-fetched. The ballerina’s identity was the key of Damon’s life story, unbelievable and cruel.

I liked the idea of this kind of legend, something that would only keep the protagonists closer to each other. The curiosity and the thirst for the big discovery was their kind of love. They were not the greatest characters, maybe, but most of their replies were tasteful! Funny, spicy sometimes and full of power. The only promised aspect for every volume of the “Devil’s Night” series was that the protagonists were going to put the world to their feet. With physical strength if it were to be needed. These guys are amazing:)

The order of the “Devil’s Night” series

“Corrupt” (#1) – Read here the review

“Hideaway” (#2)

“Kill Switch” (#3) – Read here the review

“Conclave” (#3.5)

“Nightfall” (#4) – Read here the review

“Fire Night” (#4.5)

As far as I know, the series is complete and no spin off was yet announced. An interesting fact which connects this series and the other Penelope Douglas book, “Punk 57”, is the family relating between Will Grayson III and Misha Lare. They seem to be cousins.

All the volumes of “Devil’s Night” series are connected, since every next book is a sequel to the previous one. Even so, each of the volumes has in main sight one of the Horsemen’ relationship with his love interest.

In the following part of the review, I will approach aspects of the book which will include possible spoilers.

The symbol of the snakes

When Banks met Damon for the first time, he had two snakes in his bedroom. He threatened her he would let them bite her. Young and pushed by her fear, she searched information about his snakes and was amazed by what she found. They were completely harmless. He never really put her in any danger. I think on that day, the fact that he scared her, was her reason to make sure she’ll never feel scared again. He, unconsciously, actually taught her the most important lesson: a harmless provoked animal is as dangerous as a venomous one. Everything is in the perspective. Maybe not physically, but there are more ways an “animal” would become life-threatening.

“𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬.

𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝.”

“Hideaway”, Penelope Douglas

“Hideaway”

The key word “hideaway” refers to Kai’s house inside his house:) He and Banks were the kind of people few were able to understand. They lived their life under their own rules, in their own rhythm. It was so nice and unexpected to find out, at the same time with Nik, about it! I mean, a hideaway is a safe place, where the outside world gets quiet and time stops. The hideaway, I think, was their family. Nik and Kai’s, their forever home and safe place.

By the way, extra points for the final scene! 9 dogs and a servant:) I guess, in the end, everyone was welcome in their house… I thought well about it, since it truly impressed me with its dry humor. Well, I liked it, so well played, Penelope! 🙂