The Devils and The Duchess

Verona Falls University #1

by Marissa Farrar, S.R. Jones

Everyone warned me to stay away from the Devils, but it’s not easy when one of them is going to become family…
Desperation sends me and my mom to the prestigious university of Verona Falls.
My mom is due to marry the dean—not because she wants to, but because we have no choice.
That’s when I meet the dean’s son, Domenic, and his friends, Kirill and Valentino.The three of them make up the Devils—the most feared group at Verona Falls—and they intend to make my life hell.
They call me ‘Duchess’, but it’s with a sneer. I’m poor and they’re not. They hate that I refuse to bow to them.
They might think they can make my life not worth living, but they don’t know my secrets. My life has already been harder than they have any idea about.
They control me and get under my skin, but I have to keep quiet or I’ll ruin everything.
I’ve become their obsession…and they plan to destroy me.
But they don’t know what I’m capable of.

Genres: Reverse Harem, Dark Romance, Dark, Why Choose, Romance, College, Enemies To Lovers

295 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 30, 2024

About the author

Marissa Farrar is a multi-published romance and fantasy author. She was born in Devon, England, loves to travel and has lived in both Australia and Spain. She now resides in the countryside with her husband, three children, a crazy Spanish dog, two rescue cats and six hens. She has a degree in Zoology, but her true love has always been writing.

Marissa is the author of sixteen novels, including the dark vampire ‘Serenity’ series. Her short stories have been accepted for a number of anthologies including, Their Dark Masters, Red Skies Press, Masters of Horror: Damned If You Don’t, Triskaideka Books; and 2013: The Aftermath, Pill Hill Press.

If you want to know more about Marissa, then please visit her website at www.marissa-farrar.blogspot.com. You can also find her at her facebook page, www.facebook.com/marissa.farrar.author or follow her on twitter @marissafarrar.
She loves to hear from readers and can be emailed at marissafarrar@hotmail.co.uk.

Reviews

[The Bodacious Bibliophile · Rating 1 out of 5]

OMG, this was so fucking bad.
Everything about this book was so beyond ridiculous, immature, cringe, ick to the max.
I don’t know why the writer gave the leading male characters the most weird and creepy kinks ever. None of them were hot and none of them were really believable. They just came across as creepy icky frat Bros.
And the story didn’t make any sense there was no real progression in it at all.
Her best friend was just the most random thing ever was basically everything in the book. It was just so weird.

[Meagan Grauel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a truly fucked up, reverse harem, dark/bully romance novel, the first in a the series. It ends on quite the cliff hanger. And it was awesome. Please make sure you read the trigger warnings before you read it. The full list of warnings is on the author's website. Mackenzie and her mom are on the run after Mackenzie defends herself from an ex-boyfriend. They find themselves at Verona Falls University, a college for mafia sons/daughters. Domenic is going to be her new step brother, since her mom has made a deal with the dean for protection in exchange for marriage. Domenic is a part of a group known as "The Devils" and all three of them are their own levels of fucked up. Despite her best efforts (she really doesn't try that hard), she finds herself the center of their attention and falling for each of them. Despite their connection, Dom still wants Mackenzie and her mom gone. He commits the ultimate betrayal, exposing her mom for past sins, and causing Mackenzie's illness to flare up. It was a fantastically well written (for a dark romance college scene book) and I can't wait to see what fucked up thing happens next, I downloaded the next book immediately. I'm a sucker for a good dark romance. The spice is legit too, like a 3/5 with some kinks thrown in there as well. Smut and a why choose bully romance? Obviously I couldn't resist.

So, earlier in the book, it's brought up how smart Mackenzie is and how she's done in her classes at her previous college. But she can't be that smart ... because it took her 70% of this book to figure out she was attending a Mafia college. Seriously, there are so many signs that point to it being that, and Mackenzie just thinks that it's an unorthodox school? Jesus Christ.

I'm not entirely sure why the author keeps Mackenzie's epilepsy as a secret until she has a seizure pretty far into the book. She continually refers to it as her "illness" or "getting sick." I understand that it's a secret to those around her since it's a weakness (in her mind; I personally don't think of it as a weakness) for anyone besides her mom to see that. I just felt like it was a weird choice, especially because the reader does find out before the characters in the book. Dunno why it bothered me so much, but it was something I was thinking about after her first seizure.

If she hates these guys as much as she claims, I'm really not sure the reasoning behind continually falling into bed with all of them. She goes on and on and describes in great detail on she can't stand them and how much she loathes them and then *BAM* falls onto a dick. And repeats the cycle with each of the devils. I suppose you can hate someone and still fuck them ... but maybe not as frequently or with as much gusto as Mackenzie does and still not recognize that you just have feelings for someone. But I'm sure she'll have that revelation at some point in either this book or one of the others in the series. And then after she finally sleeps with Dom her thoughts are, "maybe I'm as fucked up as him?" Yes. Yes you are as fucked up. Not even really a question.

I cannot stress this enough. There NEEDS to be ANAL PREP before an anal VIRGIN takes a dick up her ass for the first time. All they did was a small amount of prep that was immediately followed by her first ever DP encounter. And then they tell her to "just relax" and it will be easier. So fucking unrealistic. They would have ripped her in half. Take the time to do anal right ... prep is key! I do get that it's a fictional novel, but even fiction has it's freaking limits.

If dark romances are your jam, definitely try this one out. It's got a ton of great tropes - mafia, why choose, college, illness, & bully romance. I'm sure I'm probably missing some. But it was great and I enjoyed it; I recommend!

[Lammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so freaking good!! And that cliffhanger 🫣. Brilliant 🥺

[Spasticnontastic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closer to a 2 star.

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm dealing with conflicting feelings right now. Sure, I devoured this in one sitting. Yes, everyone is batshit crazy and has weird kinks. And yes, I will be diving into the next book because that was one hell of a cliffhanger. I mean, I totally thought it was going to end that way, but still!

HOW ARE THEY GOING TO FIX THIS?

[Sabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edit: I think upon reflection this is a 3.75*, and the sequel is a 4.

This was so depraved. I loved it

Slightly rushed tbh, especially some of the “plot” (lol) and reveals. Couldve done with some fleshing out.

This is very similar to Forsyth U but I don’t care, I love that series

[M1mi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enemies to lovers? I guess.. Dark? Not really.. a bit boring but still binged, lowkey wish it were just *more*, the plotwists and cliffhangers weren’t really all that, i was just expecting something more morbid.

[Kiley McLane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review

Starts slow but then it shift into something so good! It begins to draw you in until you can’t put it down and the cliff at the end. These characters are well written and the story is so interesting… a definite must read!

[Irene]

i dnfed book 2, i knew it was a bullying book, i think it just cements i can't deal with bullying books

tw because these might be dub con to some readers but non con to me

Tino undressing Mackenzie while she’s drunk and doesn’t like him,

Porn video made of her and tino made of it without her knowledge and consent (this is big ick for me even they were never going to share it)

And the den scene which again might be dub con to some but iffy to me due to her saying no couple of times.


LASTLY SHE IS DUMBER THAN ROCKS AND HAVE NO SELF PRESERVATION SKILLS, I HATE BODY BETRAYING SYNDROME.

[Iris Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this book or caring about these people at first but I did get there. I started to be interested in the dynamic of the guys and also her friendship with the girl she meets. But then the dang book ends on a cliff hanger!!! These kind of books arnt supposed to be ongoing series! They are supposed to be like stand alone book in a series not all one story line. So I did remove a whole star for that because I was just getting invested/interested and then it has no payoff. I removed a second star because the main charter was truly a despicable friend to the one girl trying to connect with her and watch out for her. But it was an easy fun read till that happened.

🌶️🌶️🌶️/🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bully RH with a lot of smut. Lots of body betrayal and wishy-washy convictions but one hate-sex session was actually really funny.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy shit..the ending though!!

Wow okay. So I figured this would end on a rather twisted note but I did not expect what actually happened!!! I think I'll be jumping into the second book. RIGHT. NOW.

[AMG · Rating 1 out of 5]

RH MMM/Academy/Dark Kink/Multi PoV

SYNOPSIS (of Trilogy): The series opens with the FC thinking she has killed her professer lover and she and her mother fleeing to Verona Falls Academy to hide and where her mother has agreed to marry the dean. The Academy is a school for the children of powerful criminals. The MCs are the “devils” and at the top of the academy hierarchy. The trilogy covers the FC’s relationship with the MCs as they bully her, fall for her and make her theirs amid a backdrop of kidnapping and stalker threats.

Personally I found this trilogy badly written and edited and the content just nasty. Not sexy or hot just twisted, sick and nasty. (Prepare for a bit of a rant) What is wrong with authors, especially female authors? This is not a romance by any stretch. This is basically bad kinky porn with a very basic bit of story joining the sex scenes together. There’s no character development or depth and the characters are all one dimensional. They’re all “broken and damaged” because, of course they are. Apart from possibly Kirill, there is no real reason for any of them to act the way they do. But then, these authors aren’t interested in actually writing a story or a romance, they just want to write porn.

The kink is just grim with the MCs treating the FC like a toy (and not in a hot way) and doing what they want with and to her. Pretty much anything goes from using foreign objects to others watching to getting off while kidnapped and watched by the kidnappers. Of course the FC laps this bad treatment up because, again, apparently this is how authors show empowerment in women.

I genuinely shudder at the fact that young women will read this kind of thing and actually think that this is normal or something to which they should aspire as opposed to being treated with respect and being strong.

In summary, don’t read this, don’t support authors who write this kind of anti feminist trash.

[Shelí Gabriela · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not shocking to me that I read this book first before all the other ones that I had lined up. A ver, es un tanto dark…. It’s kind of twisted… but it has one of my favorite tropes: reverse harem (no me escondo, me encanta), a pesar de no tener mucha spice teniendo en cuenta los tropes, la que hubo fue top notch y ni tan detallada de esas que ya te hartas y prefieres saltartelas.

Yo suelo tener mucha contradicción con estos libros, o básicamente cuestiono mi doble moral porque por un lado estoy tipo ojalá les pase un camión por arriba, go to hell y por otro lado… yasss kings take whatever you want. I need therapy and Mackenzie also needs therapy.

Overall I liked the book, it was a short read so it was good for my permanent slump (i don’t get how i can always be in the mood for this kind of readings when i literally don’t want to read anything at all), i do think there were parts that could have been written or expressed a little bit better, like it went in circles and kept coming back, also fuck that cliffhanger seriously.

[M Chappell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what to think

I'm really not sure what to make of it. It's an odd book, the characters are OK but a little flat, the storyline is OK. It's not a bad book, but neither is it a good book. It's OK is all I can really say.

[Bianka · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF’d at 2%
Just. No.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

What (and I’m saying this with my whole chest) the fuck was that? 😵‍💫 I read the reviews and got excited to read this. Did I read the wrong book?

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bully stepbrother mystery why chose. Really intriguing and love this angst. The cliffhanger is killing me, i will be reading the next book immediately

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Devils and The Duchess

Seriously H-O-T book. So much drama, so much heat. Definitely a future re-read fir me. I can't wait to read the next book.

[Natasha Coates · Rating 4 out of 5]

captivating

A captivating read with fleshed out characters and a range of personalities. I really enjoyed this book and plan to read the next.

[Rea Regan · Rating 3 out of 5]

fine, I guess.

[Merissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I binge-read this in just a few hours—it completely pulled me in. Mackenzie’s story grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go. The romance, drama, and tension were all so well done, and the characters felt real and engaging.

By the end, I expected the Devils to make a different move, but the twist made sense—and finally answered the question I had the whole time about what happened to her father and how it shaped her situation. Starting the next one!

[Daniella · Rating 5 out of 5]

YES YES YES!
Definitely gave enemies to lovers… the hate sex was intense and the spice was SPICY!!!
Triggers are there for a reason just fyi.

[Katie (Katie's Corner Blog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

KC Rating: 5🍁 | 2🌶️

This was absolutely amazing! I went into the book half blind (i stopped reading TW and CW long ago) the only thing i knew was that it was written by my favourite duo and it was college bully RH romance. And damn did it deliver! But truth be told please do read the TW!

I’m still reeling from that cliffhanger, but i’m hoping next books come out soon and i can enjoy them very very soon!

The story follows Mackenzie after some unfortunate choices her mom and her move to Verona Falls, as her mom has to marry the dean of the university and that’s where Mackenzie meets the devils (one of them is her soon to be step brother). There are sparks between them, but there’s also hatred because neither Dom (stepbro) nor Mackenzie want her to be there. And so the struggle for who will make each others life hell starts! But while Mackenzie has no clue what school she’s going in kr what are the new rules it is the boys playground and they dictate all the rules!

I loved the push and pull between all the characters. And the angst, so much angsts, the enemies to lovers was so good here! And the spice! Each boy gets his time with her and they also have group scenes and damn if it wasn’t epic!

There are secrets to uncover, characters to fall in love with and hate, and so many twists that you’ll be in for a wild ride!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is putting me to the test when it comes to the rating. I wanted to love it or even like it alot, but I'm just not there. Mackenzie is naive. Like, almost to the point of being absurd. She also acts lie a child. Now I get that she is still young but I swear she made my eyes roll multiple times. Because this is bully of course she won't like them but still find them hot. That's normal lol however I feel like she built up all these being in a relationship feelings with them but when did they develop any sort of realtionship? There's also other things about why I think she is naive but I won't get in to them. Moving on. The Devils. I feel like these characters have a little more to them then she did. Dom is a jerk(normal). Tino is mischievous (normal). Kirill is muscle and goofy. I didn't mind them to much. I like the plot of the story. I feel like it has potential but we need some growth with the characters, not only with relationship but within themselves. All in all it was a decent book and I will be moving forward with the next.

[Tanai ❾¾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting concept, even if some of it seemed a bit over the top. The writing style was fairly basic, but I appreciated the proper use of semicolons. Someone actually did some editing. After recently reading series that have painful lack of editing, this is a nice change.

The FMC wasn’t terrible, but the cliche of her wanting the guys but not wanting them was strong. A bit too strong. Still, I might be a little softer towards her since she has a condition I understand. She’s pretty dense though.

The guys… were also fairly cliche. And most of their thoughts and interactions were the same as Mackenzie’s. We want her but we want her gone. I think I like Domenic the best, as he also has a hidden issue I can understand. The other two seem a little more generic, especially Valentino.

The cliffhanger was intriguing enough that I’ll be reading the next book.

But seriously…. ‘An ancient 90’s movie’? That makes me feel ancient! 🤣

[Keira · Rating 2 out of 5]

"this won't happen again" is this woman's favourite sentence to remove meaning from.

She repeatedly makes dumb decisions you cannot find any reason for, getting upset and seeking out men who horrifically degraded her 24 hours ago etc.
Definition of "noooo I hate youuuu and never want to see you againnnn HEHE JUST KIDDING"

Then they do something nasty and she's like OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE I THOUGHT YOU WOULDN'T DO THAT and then that repeats 48 times.

The ending was satisfying and I am going to read the next one mostly out of wanting to know how shits gunna work out, but Jesus Christ is she dumb and also treats her only friend like CRAP.
Friend expresses concern saying they are not nice men and she gets MAD saying all that stereotypical abused woman shit like THEY HAVE FEELINGS AND YOU DON'T KNOW THEM
I have no idea how she hasn't been dropped as a friend.

It's been a while since a MC has annoyed me so much with being dumb.

Please look away as I continue the series.

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pass the freaking 🍿 cause I just devoured this unhinged book in one sitting and I don’t even know why!
The writing wasn’t great and felt somewhat immature and yet something kept me hooked. Reality tv like drama with
Bully/Mafia/Enemies to Lovers/Reverse Harem tropes and I was here for it all. Add in one crazy cliffhanger and now I’m wanting more.

[Jill Haworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a traumatic event that puts Mackenzie at risk of imprisonment, her mother makes a deal with someone from her past. He will keep them both safe if her mother marries him. She only lost her father a couple of years ago, and now their whole life has to be uprooted. She blames herself. Especially when they arrive at the exclusive Verona Falls University and she meets Dean Rossi, her soon to be creepy stepfather. His son Domenic and his two best friends Kirill and Valentino are her worst nightmare. Domenic hates her on sight and she can’t weigh up his sidekicks. Known as The Devils, they are feared by most. Now Mackenzie is their latest target. Between them, they toy with her, mess with her head, give her the nickname Duchess, woo her and ultimately seduce her to let her guard down and find herself in their beds, so to speak.
Domenic is angry. His father thinks that he can just replace his mother with this trailer trash! His aim from the start is to get them out of their lives.
Tino’s a dangerous flirt with a penchant for recording things…
Kirill makes you let your guard down.
Mackenzie is out of her depth, especially when she discovers exactly who the families are of the university students.
She makes a friend in Camile, who had warned her from the off to keep off the Devils radar.
Mackenzie needs to get herself and her mother out of there.
But then are they all starting to feel differently towards each other? The three guys have all got demons, but then so has she. All she is going by her feelings. Their chemistry in unparalleled. Off the charts. Do they have a chance? Then it’s the day of the wedding…
Wow! What a ride. Mackenzie is one badass. However the new living arrangements that she finds herself in start off as her worst nightmare and are uncertain throughout the story with so many ups and downs.
Her three enemy lovers are gorgeous specimens but deeply troubled. But they also right wrongs. You are kept on your toes throughout. Finishing on an out of the blue cliffhanger, roll on book two. Fantastic!