I typically don't read series books out of order, but I found Devil and the Deep to be really easy to follow along without getting confused even when events from the previous books are mentioned. 
 I liked the suspense aspect to the story. This is helped along by the fact that each chapter starts out telling readers the time thereby setting the pace for all the action. And let me tell you things go along at a fast clip. This is the type of book I could have easily read in one sitting, if I had the opportunity to do so. Many times, I would be so caught up in the action and what was going on that I would be surprised by how much I had read. 
 Bran and Maddy are the types of romantic leads I love. It seems the early stages of their relationship began in the first book Hell or High Water, but takes center stage here. Despite my not having read the first book, there was nothing lost in Bran and Maddy's relationship for me. Their feelings for one another just jumped off the page. I liked that they began, more or less, as friends, so there was this solid ground in their relationship. Of course, things are not smooth sailing right out of the gate, but I was impressed with the way Julie Ann Walker was able to take the time to slow things down, in amongst all the chaos going on, and really dig into things going on in their personal lives. This mainly concerns Bran. 
 Something I always look forward to in romances is the secondary characters and Devil and the Deep does not disappoint. Mason and Alex are, I'm assuming, our next couple in the series and based on their interactions here, I'm greatly looking forward to it. 
 The bookend story of the Santa Christina, the sunken ship that has brought Deep Six Salvage out to the island, is very interesting. I like that it seems to be an ongoing storyline that ties all the books together even when the individual storylines of each hero / heroine can be read as standalones. 
 I really enjoyed the book depite not having read the first book. While I look forward to going back and catching up in the series, I also can't wait to see what happens in the third book.