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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Intriguing World, December 3, 2007
The premise of The Devil Inside really intrigued me. It's the story of how Morgan Kingsley, powerful exorcist and hater of demons, gets forced into the role of unwilling demon host. It's the story about a world where demons exist, and where humans can accept them willingly into themselves in order to become stronger, greater and more powerful than they could ever be alone. It's the story of different factions of demons struggling for power- one group in favor of making humans across the world nothing more than puppets, another group in favor of abolishing unwilling demon hosting. With that backdrop, Morgan is placed right in the middle of the action when she returns from an exorcism to find that her world has changed forever, where friends are enemies, enemies are unlikely allies, and where the demons are always two steps ahead. I really enjoyed reading about all the characters in The Devil Inside, especially Lugh (the dangerously sexy king of demons unwillingly thrust inside Morgan), Adam (a demon who heads the Special Forces and who likes to inflict pain in the bedroom) and Dominic (a former Demon host and overall good guy). Morgan is a very likeable heroine. At first she comes across as rather hard-edged and cynical- kind of like she's seen and done it all. It doesn't take long to figure out that isn't true. Due to her upbringing in a family zealously in support of all demons and demon hosting, and her subsequent rebellion and hatred toward demons, Morgan is in fact rather close minded and naive. She finds out how much she has to learn after she moves in with Adam and Dominic. Her deep seated hatred and fear don't always allow her to make rational decisions, and in fact she makes several that she later regrets. However, I didn't feel like her actions were stupid or thoughtless, but were instead clouded by emotion and for the most part I found myself empathizing with her a great deal. I was tempted to give this five stars, but after putting the book down I was left with a couple questions. Mostly those questions stem from the fact that the story is told in first person. That means that we only know what Morgan knows, and because of her avoidance of demons her entire life, that's not a lot. For instance, I never felt like I really got a handle on why demons would want to possess humans. Or the other way around, actually. I guess I side very much with Morgan with the view point that it seems completely horrible to give up control of your body for the rest of your life to a demon while you can only watch. How did this become an accepted or a desired thing? How did it all begin? And as I said, I really don't understand why demons would leave their world behind to live inside a human body. Maybe because in their natural incorporeal forms, demons cannot touch, and as Lugh points out, younger demons become rather obsessed with the sense of touch and all possible feelings related thereto. But, regardless, it seems like there needs to be a stronger motive than that. How powerful are demons, really? And if they are that powerful, why would they need or want to possess human bodies? Overall, I really enjoyed The Devil Inside. The story starts off with a bang, and kept me turning each page, losing sleep so I could find out the conclusion to the story. I really liked Morgan, she loses a lot and has to make many sacrifices, and despite her protestations that she's not a hero, she really is. Unfortunately, some questions prevented me from really loving this novel, but I hope more will be clarified the next time around. Even with those questions, I can still enthusiastically recommend it.
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49 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting concept--but story bogged down in rough erotic content, December 4, 2007
Morgan is an exorcist. Her worst fear is demon possession--and she has good reason to be afraid. She lives in an execution state--yes, if a human is found to be involuntarily possessed and cannot be exorcised, they're burned alive. The story begins with Morgan being summoned to KS for an exorcism. The victim is a little girl, already strapped to the metal table and ready to go into the oven if the exorcism fails. The demon inside the girl is quite strong and Morgan gets touched by it--she wakens in a containment room herself, suspected possessed by the demon she just exorcised, but she knows that's not true and can't figure out why. Her sleep's been troubled for a long time. She sleepwalks and now she's writing notes to her waking self from a demon named Lugh, who claims to have involuntarily have possessed her when she was drugged by her family. This is just the beginning of a tale that takes you to a world where demons are on one side voluntarily hosted and almost worshipped by the Spirit Society and abhorred and abused by the Wrath of God. The hints of world-building in this novel are very interesting particularly in relation to demon advocacy. The characters show some potential. Morgan is a strong, feisty woman who doesn't always make the best decisions. Still, she is loyal and will risk her life for someone she cares for. I would like to see stronger character development in the future. Unfortunately, the plot got bogged down in heavy erotic content. When I say heavy, I am referring to whips and chains, etc. Fortunately, none of it was precisely non-consensual; however, I'd have enjoyed the politics and world-building much more than the explicit material. I'm not sure this first novel actually has a good niche. It's billed as a fantasy, but the erotic content should probably have it shelved in romance instead. However, most female readers of romance I know are not into the 'heavy' stuff. The sequel's concept looks promising, but I'd have to read through a good bit of it before I decided to give it a try.
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42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty Monumentally Stupid, March 14, 2008
"pretty monumentally stupid". That's not me speaking, that's how one character in this book describes Morgan Kingsley. Unfortunately that's a very accurate description of her. Morgan spends more than half the book apologizing for the stupid things she does. She spends the other half continuing to be stupid. Morgan is self righteous and hypocritical. At the beginning of the book she boasts to the reader how she likes to wear tight leather pants cause she looks hot in them. Later on she is too embarrased to wear a sexy outfit to a club. She is judgemental of the S&M lifestyle of Adam and Dominic and proceeds to make snotty comments about it whenever possible. The author, Jenna Black, has created some really interesting fully fledged characters. The romantic relationship between Adam and Dominic feels realistic even though one is a human possessed demon. I was really impressed by her imagination and the way she portrayed every other character. I just can't like a book when I hate the main character. I have about 50 pages left to finish this book, and I all I want from the ending is for her to die. So that I can read the next book with only the supporting characters. If you are interested in this book I recommend that you check it out from the library first so you don't end up in the same situation as me.
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