devil's backbone series · book 1

dear reader

add to tbr

by Tate James

save 1 🌶🌶🌶🌶 dear reader by Tate James book cover

a scholarship pulls her into a secret society run by her stepbrother and his dangerous friends… and now she’s caught between surviving them and wanting them.

💀 darkness
4/5
🌶 spice
4/5

verdict

a scholarship pulls her into a secret society run by her stepbrother and his dangerous friends… and now she’s caught between surviving them and wanting them.

vibe

dark romance with dark academia, and why choose and dark edges.

spice

🌶🌶🌶🌶 — high heat. read this when you want the romance to bring both tension and on-page spice.

reader fit

read this if

you want dark academia, and why choose, dark edges, and a book page that tells you the heat level before you commit.

skip this if

you need something soft, light, or low-stress right now.

content warnings

heavier emotional content is flagged by the library rating. check detailed reviews first if you need exact trigger guidance.

standalone + hea

series-connected — best checked against the series order before jumping in.

ugh why was i waiting for the stepbrother moments?!?