I grabbed Dance With The Devil by Amanda Richardson during a Stuff Your Kindle Event and I was glad I did. Now I have to dive into all of her books because she quickly became an author I’m going to love reading.
Dance with the Devil by Amanda Richardson
Dance with the Devil by Amanda Richardson is the first book in the Midnight series. It is dark romance but on the lighter side with 254 pages that was published on July 30th 2024. You can find the book on Amazon, Kindle Unlimited and the author’s website here.
Premise
The last thing Frankie wants to do is spend ten days in San Francisco with her grumpy boss who can’t seem to remember his own passwords, but he’s requested her to be there for a medical conference he must attend. To make matters worse the hotel is completely booked out, and she has to share his suite. At least he reminds her to lock the bedroom door at night due to his sleep walking condition. As she gets to see the more easy-going side to her boss, she wonders what would happen if she didn’t lock that door.
Triggers
The triggers found in Dance with the Devil by Amanda Richardson include:
- Sexually explicit scenes with breeding kink, dubious consent, somnophilia and somnambulistic sexual behavior/parasomnia, birth control tampering, and choking/erotic asphyxiation
- Mindfuckery and psychological torment
- Doctor MMC/Assistant dynamic
- Anxiety/panic attacks (on page)
- Brief mention of late miscarriage (remembered, not detailed)
- Brief mention of infant death (remembered, not detailed)
- Pregnancy (end of book)
- Stalking
- Coercion
- Manipulation
My Thoughts
Frankie has been through some rough times, and despite her boss’s late night or odd requests, her job has helped to get her back on her feet. She’s finally starting to feel like herself again, the stress of her job aside.
Dante Kincaid is a psychiatrist, and a damn good one. He was interested in hiring Frankie the moment he saw her application, and it may have been due to an instant obsession he had over her.
The dynamic between these two offers some banter, but a whole lot of tension. A boss/employee dynamic there is an imbalance of power, but at the same time, you don’t feel like Dante gets a rush from that. He more just wanted any excuse to spend time with Frankie.
“There were other rooms available—I just booked them out. I needed her to be here with me. I needed to see her in the flesh.” – Dance with the Devil by Amanda Richardson
These characters were well developed with painful pasts, personality quirks, and a personality match that jumps right off the page. I loved everything about them.
There are quite a few spice scenes throughout the story. As previously mentioned there is dub-con and somnophilia. The spice starts early and it’s not sweet. It’s also not the darkest that I’ve personally read.
Additionally there is birth control tampering and breeding in this book with a pregnancy at the end too.
“She’s my salvation, my redemption. The only person who’s ever made me feel like I’m more than the sum of my darkness.” – Dance with the Devil by Amanda Richardson
Our characters find a sort of solace in each other. Frankie has panic attacks due to a traumatic experience and Dante is unapologetically obsessed with Frankie. He knows what he’s done is wrong, but he can’t feel sorry about it if he gets the girl.
“I want you near me at all times. I want to fuck you when I’m awake. When I’m asleep. I want you during waking hours and in my dreams.” – Dance with the Devil by Amanda Richardson
He’s also not afraid to prove to her that he’s all in, in the ways that she needs. He will do whatever it takes to prove he loves her.
If you are looking for a twisted love story, without the darkness of gore or violence, this is that book for you.
Who Would Like Dance with the Devil by Amanda Richardson?
Tropes in Dance with the Devil by Amanda Richardson include:
- One hotel room
- Boss/Employee
- Age Gap
- Grumpy/Sunshine
Make sure you check out my reviews of the other books in the Midnight series below:
- Play with the Phantom
- Kneel with the King (Coming August 2025)
If you liked Black Ties and White Lies by Kat Singleton, No Control by Annie Wild, or To Have and To Hold by Alina Comsa you will probably like this book as well.