A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison (The Hollows #10)
Urban Fantasy
February 21, 2012
Harper Voyager
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “My mother isn’t crazy. She simply has a harder time than most reconciling her reality with everyone else’s reality.”
Rachel has survived shunning, capture, and an elf curse. She gave her all in Pale Demon and now embraces her demon heritage. Somewhat. A Perfect Blood picks up right after Rachel is brought back from the ever after by Trent and now wears a bracelet made by him to effectively hide her from the demon collective. When she is called to view a murder scene by a master vampire, Rachel realizes that once again she is about to be blamed for crimes she didn’t commit if she doesn’t figure out who is killing these people. And why.
Pale Demon (book 9) was a climatic story that addressed and resolved many long standing issues. I expected A Perfect Blood to continue in that fashion. It didn’t.
Rachel takes a huge step back in here emotionally, mentally, and physically. She is scared and has every right to be. If the demon collective realizes she is alive, they will snatch her back to the ever after in a heartbeat. She is also facing prejudices from humans and fellow supernaturals. As the only “human” demon, everyone wants to know what she can do and Rachel is refusing to say. By wearing Trent’s bracelet, she loses all access to her power. This leaves her virtually unprotected. She knows she has to make a choice but her fear hampers her as much if not more then the bracelet. I found myself becoming bored and annoyed by Rachel’s attitude through out half the book. I wanted the old Rachel back. The impetuous, map cap, impulsive Rachel.
Relationships seem to the main theme of this installment. We see many different examples of them in here and how they relate back to Rachel. This is particularly telling as we all know that Rachel tends to shy away from relationships. Everyone seems to be moving forward while Rachel is stuck and it eats away at her. Once again, her fear hinders her.
The plot and secondary characters is where the book is saved for me. Humans are attempting to fight back against the supernatural community in a fashion that leaves you wondering who exactly the real monsters really are. I found myself mortified and disgusted by the villains in here and riveted as I watched Ms. Harrison slowly and masterly unveil the entire plot. Rachel, Ivy, and Jerks investigate and while they figure out the the who’s and what’s, Rachel’s lack of magic only continues to hinder herself and others. She finds herself having to rely more on her physical skills which leaves her battered continuously through out the book and somewhat oblivious to important clues.
Trent plays a much larger role in here and I love that we see a different side to him. His and Rachel’s relationship still remains largely undefined but the wind blows in a particular direction and we will just have to see if our protagonists choose to ride it out. Ivy and Jenks are their wonderful sarcastic selves and we even get some Al time. Al continues to hint at an end game that has me both intrigued and frightened.
I really felt this story was a bridge of sorts. A relaxed “week in the life of Rachel” that really doesn’t address much beyond Rachel’s emotional hang ups. It was slow and meandered along at a steady if uninspiring pace. Towards the end it picks up pace and we see sparks of the old Rachel. The plot wraps up in an explosive exciting manner that went a long way to me not tossing this book aside. I do hope the next installment brings back the old Rachel in full and allows for some growth that was sorely missing in this story.
Overall Rating: C-
Recent Reviews:
Vampire Book Club – 2.5/5
Claire’s Book Corner – 5/5
Under the Covers – 4/5
Heroes and Heartbreakers
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I enjoyed the book but I think this book’s purpose was to set up and put certain things in motion to finish up the series. I think Kim Harrison has said there are only going to be 2 maybe 3 more books in the series and this book seemed to plant the seeds of where things are headed in the end. I love Trent and the character that he is becoming and hopefully his relationship with Rachel continues to grow and evolve. I kinda love them together and after the whole Kisten ordeal I think she owes us one ;)
Oh I agree. She definitely used this book to steer us in a certain direction. Trent has become my fav charcter in here. (the little cookie maker) There are just certain aspects I’m ready from Rachel to get past. Kristen is one of them. Also ready for Ivy to to suck it up and realize Rachel can’t/won’t be what she wants/needs and quit being so broody all the time. Is it bad I don’t like Ceri? lol
I was disappointed with this one as well. I felt like the whole first half was basically filler. There was so much momentum coming from Pale Demon and it was almost like we hit a brick wall here.
Exactly. I was like, “Whoa…what happened?”
Book 10!!? Too many for my taste
I just finished it this morning. I’d give it a B-, it started right off with the troops on a case and followed it through. Given where the last book ended and Rachel wanting her magic contained, it couldn’t begin with that much fire power. The point of this whole book was for Rachel to accept what she is and her abilities.