The Devil You Know Series: Morgan Kingsley #2 Published by Dell on July 29, 2008
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
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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….
So, I’m continuing my reread of Jenna Black’s Morgan Kingsley series. She lives in a world where people willingly allow a demon to possess them to make them heal faster and become stronger. There are some who even worship these demons like gods and feel it is an honor to sacrifice your life, so the demon can walk this earth. See, when you’re possessed by a demon, you become a passenger in your own body.
Morgan is an exorcist. She has never liked the idea of demon possession, no matter how much her parents tried to convince her to take a demon. Morgan is called in to exorcise any demon who is found to break the laws, which includes violence or illegal possession. Sometimes, the human recovers their ability to live on their own without the demon and others become catatonic and may or may not ever recover.
So, there is a demon war brewing. One faction wants to allow demons full run of the human world and let them do whatever they want. There is another faction, ruled by the current demon king, who wants to keep things as is or even put more rules in place to protect humans. Morgan finds herself in the middle of this work and working with both demons and humans to help solve it.
I don’t want to go into too many details so as to avoid spoilers for both this book and the first book. I will just say this is a very interesting world. I love reading about the dynamics of Morgan’s family, which are full on fanatics when it comes to worshiping demons. Morgan learns some really difficult truths in this story, too.
I also really love these characters. Morgan is a very strong heroine, even as she makes some bad decisions at times. She’s also very vulnerable at times too. I really like her boyfriend, Brian. I think he is very good for her. He forces her to really look at herself and make those tough choices that must be made sometimes. I also really like the Adam, a cop who works on demon crimes, which is odd, since he’s demon possessed himself. There is also Adam’s boyfriend, Domenic. Dom was demon possessed, but his demon was exorcised because his demon fought off people who didn’t like demons and one person didn’t live. There is also Andy, Morgan’s brother, who when his demon is exorcised is left catatonic.
Lastly, I have to mention two demons who are prominent in this story. Lugh is the current king of the demons. He wants to keep things as is. However, his brother is trying to kill Lugh and take his throne, so that demons can turn the human world into a playground. There is also Raphael, which is another brother of Lugh’s, but this one is on Lugh’s side. Though he does have different moral code than Lugh and is willing to get his hands dirty, and even seems to enjoy it.
If you’re looking for a fun Urban Fantasy series with a strong heroine that is flawed, this is a great one for you. This world created by Jenna Black is really fun. She also has a great ability to create fun and interesting characters.
About Jenna Glass
Jenna Glass (Jenna Black) is your typical writer. Which means she’s an “experience junkie.” She got her BA in physical anthropology and French from Duke University.
Once upon a time, she dreamed she would be the next Jane Goodall, camping in the bush making fabulous discoveries about primate behavior. Then, during her senior year at Duke, she did some actual research in the field and made this shocking discovery: primates spend something like 80% of their time doing such exciting things as sleeping and eating.
Concluding that this discovery was her life’s work in the field of primatology, she then moved on to such varied pastimes as grooming dogs and writing technical documentation. She writes paranormal romance for Tor and urban fantasy for Bantam Dell.
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I started listening to audiobooks when a new book in a series was coming out and I wanted to get a refresher, but didn’t have time to read all the books (I think it was Anita Blake). I fell in love. I stayed with strictly re-reading books that I’d already read for a long time. I eventually tried an audiobook for something that I hadn’t read first and was hooked there too. Now, I listen to audio for both re-reads and first time. I have some series that I’ve given up reading and only listen. I try to get any many books/audiobooks from the library to help save on my budget. Books on CD and the newer digital downloads from the library really allow me to listen more. I then purchase my favorites (because who can wait in line for your favorite book??) and less mainstream books from Audible or some other online retailer.
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wow I did read this series so many years ago
I really loved this series. I’m glad that I’m revisiting it. It has held up to the times.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
Well now, this does sound good and I’d not heard of it. I haven’t read a good demon UF in a while. Sounds fab, Melanie!
This is really fun, old school urban fantasy. It reminds me of old Anita Blake (like, first six or so books). It never got as much attention as I thought it should. I hope you get a chance to try it.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
Great review. I’ve added the first book to my TBR. I’ve not heard of the series, but it sounds wonderful and something I’d enjoy.
I think this series is right up your alley.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
I enjoy this author but have only read the Nikki Glass series and only the first couple of books. I have them all, but ran into other books.
I really like the Nikki Glass series too. This is also one of the few authors that I read YA.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
Wow, the premise for this series sounds cool. I’ve not tried this author yet, but will add series to my wishlist!
This is a really great series. I just started my reread of book three.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
This sounds so good. I love a good demon type story. I might have to add this one to my wish list.
I do love demon stories too. You don’t see many with possessions like this though. I’m used to seeing them as a different paranormal species
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
wow…this world sounds pretty amazing and I love the dynamics described.
I really love this series. I’m rereading book three now.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
I did like the Jenna Blck books i read….why did I not read these then? Hmm
I love all of her work. I even read her YA stuff, which is very rare for me.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
I don’t think that I have heard of this series before but it really sounds like something I would enjoy. This is an interesting twist on demons.
I haven’t read many other series where demons possess humans. That really drew me into the series. I really love the characters too.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
This series sounds really good and kind of creepy. I’ve never tried this author but I think it’s about time that I did. I’ll add the first book to the ever growing pile. Wonderful review Melanie!
I really love Jenna Black. I’ve read all of here stuff, even YA, which is rare for me.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart