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DEMON INSIDE is a dark paranormal romance novel by author Stacia Kane about a character named Megan Chase who has somehow found herself in charge of a group of demons. The sequel to PERSONAL DEMONS, this particular story focuses on Megan’s struggles with her new “responsibility” and what she must do in wake of her knowledge of the dark things — namely demons — that exist in this world. Megan’s guide to this world is her sexy lover Greyson Dante, who is literally too hot to handle at times.

I feel that this particular story fits squarely in the paranormal romance genre, because there is a heavy emphasis on the sexy relationship between Megan and Greyson. However, that relationship has a purpose in this story, because Greyson is also her mentor who is trying to help her cope with what she must do. But first — she must get over her ugly past.

As far as paranormal stories go, this particular world is pretty dark. The demons are invisible to mortal eyes and thrive in a complex, almost “controlled” hierarchy of power, but that doesn’t mean that they’re any less dangerous. Some feed off of human emotions; others blood. Typically, there’s a demon on human’s shoulder. Well, except for Megan. You see, she’s the only one that doesn’t. Unlike other stories that dwell in the archetypal dark places of myth, you won’t find any angels in this universe. There is some mention of witches, but there wasn’t a lot of scenes spent explaining whether or not they were “good” or “bad.”

I haven’t read PERSONAL DEMONS, so I was experiencing this world for the first time. The demon language and the naming conventions for different things within their world really helps give the story a paranormal feel. There’s plenty of action and mystery in the story, which help propels a somewhat dazed-and-confused Megan from one nasty predicament to another. Many of her struggles with her current situation originate from her realization that she can’t be a morally just human lording over demons; she much do what a demon would in order to survive and to help her demons survive, too. Instead of attaching a morality judgment onto every thought or action, Megan seems to come to the realization that demons are a necessary part of nature. There is a lot of emotional confusion that Megan experiences, and I felt that really came through with the writing and the pacing.

While I don’t want to spoil the plot of this book, I will say that I probably would have enjoyed more of the details if I had read the first one. This book is wild ride, to be sure, but there are details that I’m sure I missed because I didn’t have the background from the first story. Characters are well-developed and unique; these demons are definitely not two-dimensional. Admittedly, I also want to know more about the witches and the other non-demon bits of the setting, too. For those of you that enjoy other horror elements like zombies, there’s plenty of mood-setting scenes that really bring out that dark paranormal feel, too.

Not for the faint-of-heart, DEMON INSIDE is a quick read and is perfect for readers who enjoy thrilling dark paranormal romance stories.

Review by Monica Valentinelli

Tags | demons, paranormal-romance