The Devil you Know by Jenna Black

rating
(Morgan Kingsley, #2)
  Urban Fantasy


The beautiful. The bad. The possessed.

Some people worship them. Some people fear them. And some people—like Morgan Kingsley—go up against them toe-to-toe, flesh to flesh, and power against power. An exorcist by trade, Morgan is one of the few humans with an aura stronger than her possessor, even though her demon can tease her body senseless. She’s also a woman who has just discovered a shocking truth: everything she once believed about her past, her identity, may have been a lie.

With a family secret exploding around her and a full-scale demon war igniting, Morgan is a key player in an unsettled world. Then a rogue sociopathic demon enters her life with a bang. His name is The Hunter. And since she is the prey, Morgan has only one choice: to hunt The Hunter down—no matter what heartbreaking truths she uncovers along the way….




In ‘The Devil you know’, the series first sequel kicks off with problems, exploding in all directions - personal, physical, emotional, it’s probably there. Hosts of issues for our Urban Fantasy host, Morgan, who is still housing the amusing and powerful demon Lugh.

She is again in trouble as one of the King’s enemies is trying to hunt down and destroy whomever the demon is possessing. And remember, possessing is using in the loosest term possible as it’s different for this series than what we usually think of when we heard the word possession.

There’s a lot going on from many sides – breaking off with Brian (drumroll or eyeroll?), Adam and Dominic still having fun embarrassing her (…), Raphael’s return (uh oh), her brother Adam’s recovery and the aftermath (meh), and Morgan finding her mind has a blank spot in it that even Lugh can’t penetrate to find what’s hidden beneath (du du dum.)

Just as good as the first, I’m still in love with this different twist of a series. A pity it’s not higher in rating and popularity, but I suppose different tastes is what makes the book world spin around.
Again with reading glee I’m delighted with an intense villain, high stakes, lots of dark themes, sexy wickedness from several of the key players, humor, and never quite knowing what’s going to happen next.

I’ll admit Morgan isn’t the best character in the world – she’s actually one of my least favorites, so it’s funny it’s told through her POV. She really is too moody and uptight. Still her world is fun to be in, especially because of the charming Lugh dreams, the darkly teasing Adam, and the unusual battles and crisis she must face.

It sometimes borders on Paranormal Romance over Urban Fantasy because of the emphasis on Brian and their relationship woes (this admittedly grows thin), but cools down unrealistic love interest types. Some are turned off by the bits of BDSM and alternative lifestyle stuff, but it affects me in pleasing, twistedly good ways instead.

Jenna Black obviously had fun writing this world. It’s unique structures, the obstacles are tough and wars fierce. Oodles of mental gymnastics and emotional ambushes accompany all the excitement to make me fall in love with the series even more than the first did.

Highly recommended for Urban fantasy buffs.


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