Demon Inside by H.L. Day

Demon Inside is an apt title for this book as we spend the majority of it fighting against not only full blooded demons, but also the one who resides inside our MC Dante. Forewarning, there are no cuddly demons to be found in this book. 

From the 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.

Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's Review:

"𝓦𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝔀𝓸 𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓿𝓮𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓪 𝔀𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓮... 𝓗𝓮 𝓫𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝔂 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝓫𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼."

Demon Inside was another recommendation from one of my bookish friends and I'm happy to say my first H.L. Day book was a win. I really enjoyed the entire premise of a half demon working to save the world. It's not without struggles. When I say Dante is half demon, I say it meaning his demon side is just as ruthless as his enemies. His demon doesn't care about innocents. It wants to maim and hurt. It wants to take without asking. It's only Dante's strong hold on his humanity that keeps his other side at bay...until he meets Jude.

My heart broke for poor Jude. He's spent his life being told he's crazy for saying he could see demons. His own family thinks he's nuts and some days Jude even believes them. Meeting Dante was like that first deep breath you take after being under water. It was vindication. It was finally being able to accept who he was and have another person understand in a way no one else ever could. It was destiny. A perfect balance. And when these two men unlock what they could truly be together it was magnificent.

Even though the epilogue gives Dante and Jude their well deserved HEA, I still wish one thing could have happened. I wish that Jude's brother Fletch could have seen something to convince him his brother wasn't sick. You could tell he truly loved Jude and wanted the best for him. It made me happy that even after everything that happened Fletch still wanted his brother in his life. Jude deserved all the love he could get and it was lovely that still included his brothers.

Rating: 5 Stars

SNik's Review:

Standalone. Paranormal. Close proximity. Dual POV. 

Saying he sees demons has haunted Jude his whole life, everyone thinks Jude is crazy, Jude thinks he’s crazy, but then he meets half demon Dante. 

With demons chasing them, Dante convinces Jude to work with him to try and eradicate the demons whose numbers seem to be growing. Dante needs Jude to identify the demons around them, but he finds a connection and companionship with Jude that quickly turns lust to possible romantic feelings. 

Dante and Jude go on the run while trying to survive, violence follows them and they find new skills that help them defeat the demons possibly due to them spending time together. 

The author does not ignore the fact that Dante and Jude don’t know each other well, but their sense of rightness whether it comes from destiny or just the ability to be their true selves with each other quickly leads to love. 

This story is full of good versus evil action, steamy interactions, and two men that are willing to work hard at being in a relationship together, while trying to save the world of course. A fun and entertaining read.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Demon Inside is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.