The Devil You Know

I was a little (my boyfriend would probably say "a lot") horrified to find this book in the romance section at Borders.

As previous reviewers have noted, Jenna Black's "Devil" series isn't paranormal romance...it's definitely urban fantasy with some dashes of horror and and a liberal dose of BDSM (bondage, etc.) subculture (I'm guessing the average romance reader doesn't get turned on by two gorgeous gay guys involved in S&M).

Anyway, Jenna Black is fantastic. This book ended a bit abruptly for my tastes (it felt like maybe there was a paragraph missing) but it achieved it's goal of making me excited for the next installment. ( )

I feel that this was just as good as the first book. Kept me interested the whole time I was reading. Morgan is still possessed and her life still sucks. I love the characters and the way they interact with one another. I'll definitely be getting the third book. ( )

Not as great as the first book but I still loved the characters. In this second book in the series Morgan is still possessed by the demon king, Lugh and she has decided to break up with Brian because she feels she is a danger to him. She is still the kick ass heroine that I have come to love but she is a little (and I do mean a little) bit better about thinking before she acts.

With the help of Adam, Dominic and her brother Andrew (who is no longer possessed by Rapheal) she must unravel the mystery of who her biological dad is (and what REALLY happened in the hospital when she was a child). Enter in the new threat to Morgan/Lugh's life a psychotic demon, Der Jager, who has been let loose by Lugh's brother, Dougal. Der Jager's job is to figure out where Lugh is because as far as they know Lugh has switched hosts. Once again Morgan must fight for her life (and Lugh's) otherwise a full scale demon war will happen. Morgan's interaction with Adam is slowly beginning to change her views on demons. She has learned so much that now nothing is black and white anymore.

I gave it 3 stars because it didn't come close to how interesting the first book was. I do hope that the third book is much more interesting! ( )

Demons walk among us. In fact, some of them are us.

In a world where people volunteer for possession, the unwilling aren't supposed to be taken. Unfortunately, that's not always the case, and the truth behind even willing possession isn't as pretty as the PR folks play it. For exorcist Morgan Kingsley that fact is just a tad too close to home. She's now among the unwilling possessed herself. Of course, her demon is restricted to snatching a few moments topside only when she's unconscious, but others aren't so lucky. And demon politics are a real killer.

I probably would have marked this a touch higher if I hadn't started with book 2 in the series. Not bad, though. ( )

There are a lot of paranormal authors out there in literary land who have delved into the demon plain. In the demon realm we do have a few heavy hitters: Lilith Saintcrow (one of my favs), Kim Harrison (of course), Keri Author, Rachel Cain, naughty Emma Holly (smoldering) and a spattering of more, but Jenna Black clearly has a distinctiveness of her own.

It's refreshing! I love championing the veritable bad boy/and or girl, and Black's Morgan Kingsley series is a virtual horn of plenty. It's got a plausible back-story of demon lore with a hierarchical pantheon, a potential coup in Hell, demons fighting each other on the Mortal Plain, professional exorcists like Morgan running the bad guys out of our realm, law enforcement officers possessed by lesser flight demons, and last but not least, Black's reality envisions middle-American WalMart "walk-abouts" embracing demon possession as a hip and holy lifestyle. Throw in a dash of S&M, and this series is cookin'.

Morgan is the type of exorcist heroine that readers (especially female) gravitate towards: self-powerful, independent, sexually potent and aware, but just as willing to kick you on your butt with a pair of her size nine motorcycle boots.

For fans, this book is a natural progression from The Devil Inside. Morgan starts to acquaint herself with her unlikely demon passenger, and starts molding a bearable lifestyle with him. But she still needs to unravel the mystery of not only how to get him OUT but how to help him prevent a full-scale war in Hell-a war that might just spill over into the Mortal Plain. What further complicates things is that Morgan is surrounded by frenemies, and a diabolical secret surfaces that her parents have been hiding from her...Revelations will be had.

After reading the Devil You Know TWICE I sat back with a smug smile. I am hoping Black won't paint herself into a corner with Lugh, because fans will be panting for more after this second book. How will Lugh and Morgan consummate their relationship? When are we going to see what he really looks like? How will Black keep the tension up if Lugh slips his noose? It's tricky-tricky. What would be devilishly naughty is if Lugh were to "borrow" Adam's body for a bit of extracurricular activities with Morgan. I'm snickering just thinking about it. Copyright (c) Nicola Mattos ( )