The Devil Inside (Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist, Book 1)

Let me preface all of this by saying I LOVED this. I sat down and read it all in one day. But I don't think everyone will love it. It deals with tough issues of religion and sex, and there are some difficult scenes. All of them are very well done and treated expertly, but they're still hard to read sometimes. At the core, I think this is a story about power more than anything-- power in human relationships and power between our realm and the Demon Realm. What I appreciated most about the book was how Morgan's struggle with the "higher powers" (demons, in this case) mirrors a religious struggle: Morgan can't decide if it's heroic or stupid to let a higher power take over. Sure it makes you stronger, but are you still you? If you're willing to explore some tough issues you may not have given much thought to, and have a wild Urban Fantasy ride at the same time, you'll really enjoy The Devil Inside.

I LOVED this book. Out of all the urban fantasies I've collected in 2007 (notice I didn't say "read" because I couldn't finish them), this is the only one that sent me into a panic when I thought I had lost my copy. An exorcist who's possessed? That's something you don't see everyday. With demon hunter books becoming the next biggest thing, it's good to see an author who's coming at it from a bold angle. The stakes are set so high that the heroine can't afford to lose. SHE'S possessed. Not a parent, a friend, or some sixth cousin twice removed. This is HER story and a personal as it gets. Although I'm not a fan of guy on guy antics, it didn't screw up the story for me. My focus was completely on Morgan. Ms. Black's first-person point of view not only drew me into the character, but damn if it didn't enhance the world building. Outstanding! That alone is worth the 5 stars. Lugh makes for one interesting "sidekick" and I'm glad Ms. Black spared no one while getting to the truth. It's a demon-filled world out there, so don't expect any hand-holding with this book.

This first book in a new series was highly entertaining. Morgan Kingsley is an exorcist who exorcises demons that have taken over illegal hosts, humans who do not want to be possessed by a demon. This is an age of willing humans or hosts, who wish to help society by having strong demons possess their bodies and do good deeds for mankind. It had continuous action; I liked the character, Morgan, very much. She was a blend of Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan and a younger Anita Blake. I liked her male characters; the homosexuality of some of her characters did not bother me. There was some sexual description, both male/male and male/female, but neither one took over the plot or was thrown in excessively. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to hopefully, several in a new urban fantasy series. This book was breath of fresh air. I found it to be unique, but comfortable within the paranormal genre.

Morgan Kingsley is an exorcist in a world where demons inhabit people's bodies. Of course most demons only inhabit the bodies of those who are willing, and there are many who are willing to have the extra strength and the healing abilities that demons confer, but there are also those who take unwilling hosts and it's Morgan's job to exorcise them; the only alternative is to burn the host person to death. Morgan's antipathy towards all demons has been partly caused by her brother being a willing host. When the story begins Morgan is exorcising a demon from a young girl. However there are a few strange aspects to the exorcism and Morgan soon begins to suspect that she herself may be playing host to a demon, against her wishes and without knowing when it happened. The demon isn't able to take over her body, he can only communicate with her when she is asleep by entering her dreams or making her sleepwalk and write messages to herself. When Morgan tries to get herself exorcised by her friend Val she stumbles into a shocking plot where those she loves may be against her and those she despises may be her only help. Morgan's demon is rather a VIP and there are many other demons and humans who want him dead; Morgan has to team up with another demon to help herself, and her unwilling passenger, and that means that those around her that she loves might just get hurt. This book was excellently written with an exciting story, some great characters and an interesting angle on the demon/host idea. Morgan wasn't always easy to empathise with but she was always an interesting person to watch bumbling along, trying to look out for her boyfriend Brian, not thinking very highly of herself and being alternately repelled and comforted by demon Adam and his partner Dominic. My only reservations about this book were the two S & M scenes which felt like they were included rather more for reader titillation than plot necessity; however the rest of the book was a great read and definitely deserves its five star rating and I look forward to the continuation of Morgan's story in the next book. Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book, www.curledup.com. © Helen Hancox 2007

It does deserve the five stars I have given it BUT if I allowed my emotions reign over my common sense telling me this was a darned good book, I would have given it four. The writing was truly a breath of fresh air, unique and fresh. I loved the book, will be buying the second in the series. Morgan Kingsley is a great heroine, strong when needs be but realistic enough to also have faults as the rest of us do. The demons in the story were well written. The story itself was unique and kept my interest throughout the whole book. I am eagerly awaiting more. If you enjoy authors such as Laurell K. Hamilton (NOT THE EROTIC BITS), Anne Bishop, Sherrilyn Kenyon, etc. You will probably love this story. If you only like stories that are filled with happy thoughts, this is not it for you. It seems to be an ongoing series, so while the story did complete itself partially, there is more to come in the story line itself. I find myself particularly interested in Morgan Kingsley and I hope the series turns out to be many, many, many books long. That said, there was one particular scene in this book that the more faint hearted of readers might like to skim over. It involves Adam and I don't consider myself fainthearted but I did NOT enjoy it and in fact feel it was a bit unresolved in that NO ONE SEEMED upset about it. It was more of, Oh, well, it happened, who cares. I would have liked ONE character in the book to at least have been angered over it on Morgan's behalf and empathetic with Morgan. It took quite a bit of telling myself it was just a book to calm me down. LOL. In essence, the book was fantastic, inspired laughter, tears, rage, and happiness. You can safely bet I WILL be buying the next in the series, The Devil You Know. If you love paranormal fantasy with a couple dashes of romance, this book is for you. I loved it. Thank you, Jenna Black, for a great story.