After five long years, the story of the fourth and final Bell brother is here—and let me just tell you, it was worth the wait!
Way back in 2015, Sierra Simone shocked readers (I mean that in the very best way!) with Priest, the first book in a seriously steamy series that is ripe with commentary on the Catholic church. First, Tyler Bell broke his vows as a priest. Then, his brother Sean encouraged an aspiring nun to break hers. Next, their brother Aiden’s commitment to the monastery was challenged. Now, over a decade later, it’s time for baby brother Ryan to have the spotlight.
A quick warning before diving in: Sierra Simone’s stories never have any shortage of explicit spicy scenes. They also often have darker themes. Add in the religious aspects of the Priest collection, and this may not be the book for everyone. Simone is careful to lay all the warnings out plainly at the start, so be sure to take a peek before deciding if you want to move forward.
Now, if you’re in, it’s time for the fun stuff …
In Devil, Ryan Bell is exactly that—he’s a devil hellbent on getting what he wants, no matter the cost. And what does he want? Birdie Cooper, a supremely talented—and extremely inexperienced, albeit older—sculpture artist. From the moment he sees Birdie, Ryan is obsessed. Literally. It doesn’t matter that she first meets him as a student in her college art class. He will stop at nothing to slake his thirst for her, even if it causes her to lose everything.
As you might expect, that’s exactly what happens. Ryan’s infatuation leads to a brief encounter that upends her life, then Birdie disappears from his.
Fast forward seven years. Neither Ryan nor Birdie have forgotten each other. They can’t. Although they might appear to be different creatures from the outside, Birdie harbors a darkness that is not entirely unlike Ryan’s. She craves the things she’s always been told are wrong, the impulses she has suppressed for so many years. So, when Ryan finally finds her, he knows exactly how to catch his little bird. He offers her a deal she can’t refuse: the money to care for her beloved sister in exchange for becoming his, in every way, for one year.
Birdie wants to fight her attraction, questioning how someone like Ryan could ever want someone like her—even if he is deeply flawed. Yet, try as she might, she just can’t say no to him either. And so their complicated relationship begins … but how will it end?
Here’s what I really love about this book—and all of Sierra Simone’s work, actually: She really goes there. In every imaginable way. There is no topic too taboo or off limits, no risk she is not willing to take. Dark romance, by nature, tends to be a collection of real-life red flags; yet when fictionalized, it can create an intoxicating story.
But don’t take my word for it, take a peek at Ryan’s red flags for yourself. He holds none of his darkness back with Birdie, even going so far as to tell her: “I want to be the only thing you’re scared of, the only thing that makes you tremble … I want all the suffering in your life to have one cause, one name. And I want you to love it so much that you smile when you so much as whisper my name.”
In a life that has been so painfully difficult already, this intensity doesn’t scare Birdie away the way you might expect. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. To Birdie the idea of being possessed is almost a relief, as she realizes “the thought is so comforting, so achingly lovely. Bell is the worst thing that will happen to me. All I have to do is let him be.”
As she digs deeper into this dynamic between the two, it’s obvious that Sierra Simone can really write. I mean that with the utmost respect … because sometimes we come to romance novels for the entertainment value, if you know what I mean. Simone, however, gives readers the best of both worlds. Devil is sure to be one of the hottest books you’ve ever read with an emotionally rich storyline.
I also urge you to stick around and read the afterword, if that’s something you don’t generally do. It provides a great deal of insight into Simone’s intentions when building these characters and fleshing out this story. It’s a really enriching way to end the book, giving the reader a look at her thought process from a religious, political, and just plain human perspective.
If you’ve read the rest of the Priest collection, you are no doubt anxious to get your hands on Devil. And if you haven’t, no worries. Each book tells a standalone tale, so you can start anywhere. Sierra Simone sets the standard for well-written, explicit romance. I genuinely applaud her brave choices here—from the fragility of the topics covered (religion and mental health aren’t easy to tackle alone, much less together) to maintaining her signature spice level—and I think you will too.
Devil is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of August 11th 2026.
Will you be picking up Devil? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis
From USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone comes an ALL-NEW standalone romance in the Priest universe.
Birdie Cooper has nothing left.
Just one moment of weakness seven years ago—and she lost her job, her church, her only friend. Now she’s working nights at a gas station to scrape together a living and a way to care for her sister, completely alone and separated even from the art that gave her life meaning.
Ryan Bell has never forgotten his first obsession.
He’s been trying to find the tremblingly shy lecturer from his senior year of college after she abruptly disappeared after their first and only kiss. So when he comes upon a statue of Lucifer carved in Ryan’s own likeness, two things become starkly apparent.
One: he knows how to find her now. And two: he’s been haunting Birdie Cooper’s memory as much as she’s been haunting his.
Ryan can’t offer love—or even an apology—but he can offer her a bargain, one crafted first and foremost to free him from his punishing obsession with her. If Birdie agrees to be his in every way for a single year, then he’ll pay for her sister’s care for as long as she’s alive. And what does Birdie have left to lose anyway? The forbidden fruit is her only chance at salvation.
Unfortunately for Birdie, she might just be the only chance for his…
