Speak of the Devil by Jenna Black

rating
(Morgan Kingsley, #4)
  Urban Fantasy


Morgan Kingsley, America’s most successful exorcist, is paying the price for an exorcism gone wrong. The victim’s family is suing the daylights out of her, the Exorcism Board has suspended her, and now she’s living on a diet of ramen noodles and bad coffee. But Morgan has a few good men at her side. One is her current boyfriend, nice-guy legal eagle Brian, who’s suddenly starting to reveal his inner bad boy. The other is Philly cop Adam White, who’s trying to help Morgan find out who sent her a little present—a severed human hand—and why someone seems determined to destroy her.

As her stalker turns more violent, leaving dead bodies in his wake, Morgan turns to the dark side of her life: a group of demons steeped in secrets, sinful eroticism, and otherworldly family feuds, including one sexy beast who shares Morgan’s body—and some X-rated fantasies. Soon Morgan must choose between her friends, her enemies, and her libido: to escape a mad demon determined to destroy her completely.




Speak of the Devil, possessing a stronger mystery angle than its predecessors, continues the Urban Fantasy series with a stylish flourish.

Morgan’s life has always been fret with issues, but the past few years have made those former struggles seem like Disneyland trips by comparison. Things still haven’t settled with her personal relationship ties, a bit to my annoyance, and the end of The Devil’s Due crunched her professional standing so now she is saddled with unemployment and career woes.

I do agree the last two books have slowed down a bit pacing wise, but they were still fantastic in my mind since I enjoy the characters and larger storyline arc so much. Some of this slowdown was due to the group’s dynamics and their many talking and planning scenes. That theme continues here, but again doesn’t really bother me as I enjoy those adventures with them and find the group fun overall.

It was intriguing to see a more vulnerable side of Morgan and she’s clearly opened herself up to becoming more trusting (thank God!). I admit her uptight paranoia irritated me from the start of the first book, but she’s finally growing now as she slowly releases that tedious grip and things breathe easier for the reader too. Saul has some disappointing changes with his storyline and how that played out is not at all how I pictured it. A new character is likeable but not sure yet how I feel about her becoming a permanent fixture, although admittedly we needed more female flavor.

Black again knows how to make the most of scenes with her writing, but by this point the trust issues between Morgan and Brian have been hammered to death. They are so yesterday and I’m more than ready to move on.

The story was a good one as the battle continues, and again I loved the characters for the most part, but the growth spurts need to be sped up for this series to continue with as strong of an impact. Still, a great book again and can't wait to read the fifth, I love this series.


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