by Jesus Ibarra

Kim will be signing copies of Ever After at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Suite #302, on January 25 at 7 p.m. At the end of this post is a link to purchase a copy of the book from Mysterious Galaxy if you can’t be at the signing. If you order before the event you can ask for a signed copy. There are also instructions at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Ever After.

Ever After, book 11 in Kim Harrison’s fantastic urban fantasy series The Hollows, continues the story of a witch–really a demon–Rachel Morgan and her friends, which include elves, pixies, vampires, werewolves, and some really pissed off demons. This being the 11th book in the series I’ll have to give some brief back story to the world of The Hollows.

In the 1960s the government accidently released a virus that was killing humans left and right forcing the Interlanders (a catch all term for any supernatural creature) to make themselves known to help save humanity from itself. Not completely altruistically mind you since a lot of the supernatural species depend on humans to survive. The series focuses on Rachel Morgan, a former witch, who starts her own do it all agency with her pixy partner Jenks and her best friend Ivy, a living vampire heiress.

Through the series Kim Harrison has built an awesome world with some fantastic alternate history and creative takes on the origins of witches (stunted demons), elves, werewolves, vampires, gargoyles, and fairies. This world building is one of the hallmarks of this series–it has consistent rules and reveals that feel natural and shocking at the same time.

This book focuses again on Rachel coming to terms with and finally using her demon status to her advantage. One of my gripes lately with this series is that ever since it was revealed that Rachel is in fact a demon, she constantly refuses and denies herself the power that comes with her status. In book ten Rachel finally accepts herself as a demon, and this book sees her finally be the kick ass heroine that we saw in earlier in the series.

The basic synopsis is the ever after (a parallel reality with our own where magic and demons come from) is shrinking and the demons are blaming Rachel. Not only that, but her greatest enemy–a day walking demon that eats souls–has been stealing kids for his own little army and Rachel has almost no time to save the kids, stop the day walking demon, and save the ever after along with all magic, before the demons kill her and call it day.

This is probably my favorite book of the last three that have come out, because Rachel is finally kicking ass and taking names since she became a demon. She finally shows some of the character growth she has developed from the beginning of the series, and so does the supporting cast. Trent Kalamack who was a quasi villain in the beginning of the series, has become a sort of anti-hero and a lot of his character gets explored here. He, Rachel, and the demon Al (another villain turned sort of protagonist) are instrumental to the climax of the book. Finally the relationship between Al and Rachel deepens to become a very familial one and we see that Al really does love Rachel. More ground is covered in the inevitable Rachel and Trent hook up because that’s where Kim Harrison has decided to take this series. Although I have no real interest or disinterest in seeing them become a couple (still bummed about Kisten dying) the groundwork is really laid down in an organic natural way.

My favorite parts were Rachel’s interactions with the demons, especially Al, because we see Rachel accepting them and understanding their tragic past. It was also a treat to see the gargoyles have a spotlight as their myth, origin, and function is expanded upon.

My biggest complaint is Kim Harrison’s tendency to sometimes kill off major characters by just stating it matter of factly–this lessens the emotional impact of these character’s deaths. Other than this small quibble everything to love about Kim Harrison’s books is on display here. I am extremely happy to see this series getting some much needed momentum to keep it going, so do yourself a favor and pick this book and series up. It is definitely a must area for any avid reader of this genre.

To enter to win a copy of Ever After, simply email KRL at life@kingsriverlife[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, with the subject line “After”, or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 26, 2013. U.S. residents only.

Use this link to purchase Ever After & you help support Mysterious Galaxy & KRL:

Ever After

Jesus Ibarra is 20 years old and currently attends UCLA; with a love of all media, he’s always on the lookout for the best finds.