Missing The Devil Wears Prada?: Not Today, Satan by T.B. Markinson and Miranda MacLeod

Writing duo T.B. Markinson and Miranda MacLeod of I Heart SapphFic have written a Devil Wears Prada-esque story where the leading ladies actually get together called Not Today, Satan. Perpetual fuck up and hothead Harley Plotkin does what she does best: loses her temper, sets fire to the ice queen’s work (literally), and causes her friend (an expectant father) to lose his job and insurance. Desperate to fix things for him, Harley offers Santana Torres the only thing of value she has left in order to get her friend’s job back. A few weeks of being at the devil’s 24/7 beck and call would be worth it. Right? Except somewhere between late nights and early mornings Harley and Santana find they don’t quite hate each other anymore.

This book is like a cornucopia of trope-y goodness. It has them all! Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fake dating, only one bed, and more. The plot isn’t exactly believable or realistic in any way, and mostly serves as a vessel for putting the leading ladies into Amusing Situations. This made for a light yet fun and enjoyable read, not to be taken too seriously. Not Today, Satan also features a Puerto Rican love interest with mentions of her cultural food and a plus sized main character.

Where Not Today, Satan falls a little short is in the character department. Harley, who happens to be the narrator, came off as completely insufferable for the first few chapters, so much so that I almost stopped reading. I’m glad I stuck it out, and Harley goes on a transformative journey throughout the story, but she still comes off as majorly childish. It also felt like a cop out to have a plus size character but only tell us this in the last quarter of the book. Santana, on the other hand, completely embodies the ice queen persona one second and is a complete sweetheart to Harley the next. The character from chapter one is almost a completely different person from the one in chapter five, for example. It felt like Santana flipped between personalities instead of gradually changing or warming up to Harley. I prefer my ice queens to keep some of their iciness, so I was a little disappointed. 

However, the love story is sweet enough to give you a toothache. There aren’t any silly miscommunications or a dreaded second act breakup, which is greatly appreciated. This fluffy, low angst story is a fantastic summer read for those looking for something fun and not too heavy. If you’re a fan of DWP, I’d definitely recommend you check it out. But if you’re looking for something with a lot of depth or spice, maybe look elsewhere. There’s some mild spice, two scenes that were quite vanilla but did not fade to black. If you’re interested, Not Toast, Satan is available on kindle unlimited.