A Perfect Blood (The Hollows, Book 10)

After the horrible fiasco of PALE DEMON, Rachel has now become a day-walking demon. With that, however, she has lost her citizenship/status as a living creature. She cannot get a driver's license, register her car, vote, etc. Unfortunately, she does not have all of the perks of being a demon either: no crossing the lines, no accessing the line energy, and she cannot do witch charms. All of this is because of the silver charmed bracelet Trent made her. While it protects her from the demons and the collective--they are convinced she is dead--she also loses all of her demon powers. When a human hate group enters the picture and starts mutilating and killing witches, Rachel is SOL without her demon and witch magic. However, because the humans are trying to make demons, she feels it is her responsibility to get involved and stop the killings before they go any further. What she doesn't expect is the depth of the conspiracy behind the hate group, her inevitable feelings concerning demon magic, and the budding attraction to Trent.

From the first page until the last, this was a wonderful book! Even though it appears as though only a few years time has past since the first book, Rachel has really grown as a character. She is still rather impulsive and quick to action without thought. However, I feel as though her actions are more firmly rooted in experience and maturity. In addition, with her changing feelings toward the demonic side of her and her acceptance of being a demon, I feel that her moral and ethical quandaries will only continue that growth. She is also starting to see that not everything is black and white.

Since Rachel was not willing to enter into a relationship with Ivy, I felt as though Harrison has been moving her to more of the periphery. Granted, I didn't want to see the two get together; however, it is sad to see her becoming part of the shadows. However, aside from taking her all the way into dead vampire, I'm not sure where a storyline following Ivy could go at this point. Rachel also commented that she felt Jenks and Ivy drifting away without her. While I can understand and see that they are moving on in their lives, my heart really hurt. I have come to see the three of them as a pseudo Three Musketeers. The books would not be the same without their crazy antics.

It is nice to see that Jenks is learning to survive without Matalina. She was a huge stabilizing force in his life, and it was really touch-and-go there for awhile. It makes me curious what will happen with Belle. Honestly, I don't see anything romantic happening, but her caring for him and his children is quite comical.

In the beginning, I always hated Trent. And, I hate to admit it, he has grown on me over the last few books. Whether I like it or not, there is a method to his madness. In addition, even from the get-go, I have always felt a sort of sexual tension between him and Rachel. Throughout the course of this book, I held my breath and hoped they would figure it out. And, when I read the bonus chapter, I started bouncing around saying, "I KNEW it!" It gives me much hope!

The story was rather disturbing, but well played out. In some ways, I would have liked to know a little more about Chris and Jennifer. Also, I couldn't fully understand how they would be able to wipe out all of the Interlanders. I felt was though Harrison didn't fully explain that. It was also neat to finally see piece of the demons' true nature.

And, of course, Al :) The books would not be complete without him. The time spent in Trent's garden made me smile and laugh. He is a great character, and I will always love to see more of him.

All in all, this was a fun book! Now I want to run out to the store and buy the next in the series. To hell with the fact that I have been buying them in paperback since the first book. I need to know what happens and see whether Rachel and Trent finally put their heads out of their asses! Had family not come into town to visit, this book would have been finished in a matter of days. It is a page-turner!

This was one of my favorite Rachel Morgan books so far. I loved everything about it: the plot, the characters, the pacing, and the action. Rachel has finally, finally embraced who she really is and it was great to read about her self-acceptance. She has really grown a lot throughout this series.

A Perfect Blood had the most depth of any of this series to date. I loved the inclusion of the paranormal hate group, which really thickened the plot. I also loved seeing more of Trent in this installment. He is one of the most nuanced characters, and I have really grown to like him. He's come a long way from book one, in my opinion. I also loved getting a glimpse of Ceri's happiness, having not been able to read about her for the last several installments.

I loved the quirky ending, which left me just wanting to read more. A Perfect Blood ended on an upbeat note, and left me smiling. For some reason, I really like Al. I know I'm not supposed to, him being an evil demon and all, but I keep finding good parts to him. He does serve as a great villain, and I find myself looking forward to his scenes.

If you have not read this series yet, I would definitely recommend it. It has witches, vampires, werewolves, pixies, fairies, and more, and it is set in present-day Cincinnati. It is one of the best paranormal series out there, in my opinion, and far outshines the Sookie Stackhouse books.

I am still reading but I have been reading whole series. I love this series. I love this author.

Its Kim Harrison!! this whole series has been awesome!!

Love love love Kim Harrison. She always keeps you on the edge of your seat with her witty ways of wording and the unique situations that she puts the characters in.

Rachel Morgan is ousted as a demon, and that after everyone thought she was dead. Which means trouble at the DMV, as a dead person cannot get a drivers license, and without that, she cannot get a car on her name. This means she needs the bodyguard her parents hired to protect her, to drive her everywhere. Not that she thinks Wayde is a good bodyguard, and he certainly doesn't trust her to defend herself. Of course, being cut of from her magic does make her more vulnerable. But the spelled silver string around her wrist protects her from the demons sensing her still being alive, and as she kind of made a hole in the Ever After, making their habitat leach out, she has reason enough to stay in hiding.

Both the FIB and the IS want her to give them a list of all the different demon curses she can twist but Rachel has no intention at all of giving them a list like that. They will only use it to blame all demonic action on her. They can just get some books from the library and make their own lists.
But now some people are trying to duplicate demons blood and change witches into demons, with the intention of using them to wipe out the whole of Inderland, and the IS and the FIB will need her help to track them down. And if she does not comply, they will just blame it all on Rachel and be done with it.
So Rachel has not really a choice but to help them, especially as she is a target for this HAPA group. They hate all the other species, and want the earth for the humans. When they do track down the kidnappers, pure incompetence lets them escape, and Rachel gets caught. Where is her bodyguard when she actually needs him? Or is it more than incompetence, and does HAPA really have friends and allies in high places?

This book sure has a lot of action going on, but there is also some quiet time to think for Rachel. And is she really getting closer to Trent Kalamack? I really did not like him from the first time he appeared in a book, but somehow, he manages to redeem himself here.
Still, I don't trust his motives one bit. Of course this also makes me want to read the next book asap but it will take a lot of months before that one is published in paperback. I did enjoy getting back with the main characters, Rachel, Ivy and Jenks, and detective Glenn. I do wonder what will happen to the relationship between Ivy and Glenn though; something did happen here that was not good. Jenks is still the boss over his enormous brood of pixie children, and I enjoyed the interaction with Biss, the young gargoyle, and Belle, the wingless faery living with them. Rachel finally got her pack tattoo, and she is actually happy about it. And I think it looks gorgeous.

Action, magic, evil humans, danger, different paranormal species, relationship troubles but also some fun moments make this a captivating story.

8 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian

Full review on my blog, www.boeklogboek.blogspot.com

I like all of her books. I have all of her The Hollows series. Once more "The Hollows" Series come out I will purchase them.