Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Demon Inside

AUTHOR: H L Day

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 325 Pages

RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2023

BLURB:

The forces of darkness are gathering, and only two men can stand in their way.

Jude Campbell can see demons. His psychiatric history says it’s all in his head, but he knows they’re out there. Watching. Waiting. Biding their time.

Dante Moretti is the half demon child that should never have been born. He might exorcize demons, but the dark urges from his demon side are growing stronger, and he knows the day will come when he’ll lose himself to them completely.

When Jude’s time runs out, Dante is tasked with keeping him alive. Jude might be temptation personified, but for Jude’s sake, Dante won’t give in. Only, being together is changing them, in ways neither could possibly hope to understand, and it’s no longer clear who is saving who.

Destiny has come calling. And love could be its prize.

Demon Inside is a 94k action/adventure paranormal MM novel. It features a demon king who can enter dreams, two flawed main characters who don’t have the happiest of backgrounds, a priest sidekick, secrets that go way back, and plenty of steam.

Content warnings: violence and murder, past mentions of sexual assault (not of the main characters), and mentions of psychiatric difficulties and medication use.

REVIEW:

Psychiatric institutions and medication did not affect Jude’s ability to see Demons – so he learned to say the right thing. Was he mad? Jude’s family believed so. Then one day, he met Dante.

Demon Inside is a standalone story of good vs evil amid the wantonly oblivious. It’s a book that I was emotionally invested in once I read the first few pages, and I couldn’t put it down.

The story is told in the first-person, present tense, with named chapters from the viewpoints of Jude and Dante. The scene setting builds a London-based world of two halves – those that know about demons and those who don’t. The tale also follows a writing pattern of – grabbing the reader’s attention, giving some background, developing the relationship, gathering information on the bad guys, and then trying to beat them.

There is a small cast of family and those ‘in the know’, which suited my reading taste. If there are too many named extra’s I lose track of who’s who – so this handful of people was perfect. I must shout out, Rory, the straight-talking, upstanding, yet bordering on sarcastic priest. I’d probably be more religious if all priests were like him.

Jude was a superb main protagonist. His past of people treating him like a toddler, with psychiatric incarceration, and a family unable/unwilling to understand, doing what they believed was support pulled at my heartstrings. Then to join his journey to becoming the man he was meant to be was a privilege to read.

Dante, oh my, what an action-packed knight for good vs evil. He’s a man with darkness in his soul and a thirst to do good, supported by the fantastic priest Rory. I also shed a tear at a particular aspect of his past.

Demon Inside is a long novel, and I didn’t skim-read anything. The author gave me everything I like in a story – an emotional ride, action, angst, a super journey, retribution, and breathing space between the action. Bravo to a small yet immaculately written cast, all of whom had standout performances in various roles. I hope these characters pop up in another novel sometime.

RATING:

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