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For A Few Demons MoreGwen’s review of For A Few Demons More (Rachel Morgan & The Hollows, Book 5) by Kim Harrison
Paranormal fantasy published 20 Mar & 27 Nov 07 by Eos

My relationship with the Rachel Morgan books is complicated.  I both love and hate them.  I care about the characters, enjoy the action and predicaments, but I want to throw the book at the wall regularly when a character (usually Rachel) does something stupid.  There are many TSTL moments in a Rachel Morgan book.  Despite this, Harrison manages to work the characters thru these moments and the plot actually ends up moving along because of them, not in spite of them.  That’s the one thing I really like about these books – the plot moves.  It rolls unpredictably, jarringly, inexorably along.  And that is what makes these such page-turners, despite the flaws.  The reader just has to know what happens next.

This book was released in hardcover (the author’s HC debut) 20 Mar 07 and in mass-market paperback 27 Nov 07.  There have been some people decrying the fact that one of the main characters is killed off in this book; they felt cheated that an expensive hardcover rattled their Rachel-world.  There are others new to the series who were irritated that this book didn’t stand-alone; they felt cheated that an expensive hardcover wasn’t readable on its own.  None of those things bothered me. To begin with, brave authors take plots and characters to unpredictable and sometimes undesirable places and I think they’re allowed to do that, applaud it, in fact.   Lastly, buying an expensive hardcover of a book in the middle of a series you’ve never read may not be the smartest thing to do; but to then be irritated that you don’t understand all of the plot points or the characters is a bit simple-minded.

Rachel Morgan books are not a typical romances – they are paranormal fantasies set in an alternate reality.  None of the books have had an HEA, strictly speaking, though they all end on a somewhat upbeat note, even if the characters are all very changed by the events.  This one is no different, even with the tragedy.  I won’t give any spoilers other than what I have already, so forgive the vague wording.

I really liked all of the secondary characters in this book.  We get to know quite a bit more about the elf, Trent, and his second, Quen.  We get some tantalizing glimpses into the politics of the whole demon ever-after.  We get a glimpse of a new, sexy demon named Minias and let me just say that I’ll never quite look at my sneezing attacks in the same way again.  All of this serves to give us a very fun story and is setting the stage for Book 6, The Outlaw Demon Wails, coming in hardcover 26 Feb 08 (terrific excerpt up on Harrison’s site, just click on the title). I am really looking forward to it – can’t wait to see what new trouble Rachel gets into.

This was a good book for fans of the Rachel Morgan series and I highly recommend to to you fans out there.  Needless to say, it does not standalone so it would be a poor choice for readers new to the series.

[singlepic=80,80,80,,] Grade: B+

     Blurb: Despite dating one vampire and living with another, Rachel Morgan has always managed to stay just ahead of trouble . . . until now.

     A fiendish serial killer stalks the Hollows, and no one living in or around Cincinnati—human, inhuman, or undead—is safe. An ancient artifact may be the key to stopping the murderer—a mysterious relic that is now in the hands of Rachel Morgan, fearless independent bounty hunter and reckless witch. But revealing it could ignite a battle to the death among the vast and varied local supernatural races.

     Rachel’s been lucky so far. But even she can’t hide from catastrophe forever.

     Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Dead Witch Walking, Book 1 The Good, The Bad, and The Undead, Book 2 Every Which Way But Dead, Book 3 A Fistful of Charms, Book 4 An Outlaw Demon Wails, Book 6