Ever After: A Dark Urban Fantasy Adventure in Cincinnati Filled with Vampires and Witches (Hollows, 11)

In Rachel Morgan's world, nothing is ever easy. Ever After is book 11 in the series, Rachel and her crew have come so very far, been through so much, and the hits keep coming. Through it all, Rachel is getting stronger, more confident, and I love her more and more. In some longer book series (8+ books), the series start to wane. Not this series. I feel that the most recent books have been awesome, the series just gets better and more exciting. I do recommend reading this series in order, elements and characters from earlier books play a vital role in Ever After. Rachel is once again being blamed for supernatural problems. This time, her rival enemy demon, Ku'Sox, has damaged the ley lines and is killing the ever after. The demons are willing to kill Rachel to keep the ever after. On a strict time line, Rachel needs help from the strongest elf around, Trent Kalamack. Rachel and Trent's relationship is complicated, each of them have hurt the other and they fight a lot. However, Trent has begun to open to different perspectives, and really think about who he wants to be. He is becoming, more and more, a fixture in Rachel's life. The pair come together to fight their latest enemy, and try to save Trent's kids and the demons who are so eager to end Rachel's life. It will take a lot of power, trust, and unexpected alliances to defeat this enemy. Kim Harrison definitely did not skimp on the twists, turns, and complications in Ever After. Ever After is an epic story; a wild ride full of action packed highs and devastating tragedies. Characters from Rachel's past pop in to cause trouble, and some past story lines and characters gain closure. The world in The Hollows is changing, and Rachel plays a key role. I found it a bit odd that Ivy did not play as prominent a role in Ever After as she does in earlier books. Rachel's relationships are all changing, it's a bittersweet feeling. I love that the characters are growing, but I have always loved the solid core of camaraderie and family between Rachel, Jenks, and Ivy that is evolving. There is so much to take in after reading Ever After. There were parts of the book that made me ache for the characters, parts that had me laughing, and parts that had me on the edge of my seat, gripping my e-reader eager to learn the outcome of the latest action. Kim Harrison has never shied away from the tragedies and tough hits throughout The Hollow Series, and Ever After is no exception. However, the tragedies are balanced by the humor, action, and growth of the characters. When the main action is over, Kim Harrison sets the stage for more twists, turns, and possibilities to come. Without a doubt, Kim Harrison is a master at anticipation. The minute I finished Ever After, I wanted the next book. Now. Readers, if you enjoy Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal reads, then I highly recommend reading The Hollows series. I eagerly anticipate each book release, and Kim Harrison delivers.

*ARC Provided by the author (cuz she's amazeballs!) It's my new favorite! I normally worry about using that term too loosely because it could diminish the potential quality of the series as a whole, but I genuinely think it's the best book thus far. Kim Harrison has done it yet again and all signs point to her doing it two more times, and in epic proportions. This time the Ever After, home of the demons, is shrinking at an alarmingly fast rate, placing the existence of magic in a pretty vulnerable position; without one there couldn't be the other. So as if our favorite itchy witch, Rachel Morgan, didn't have enough problems, this just sprang up to #1. If she can't solve this one, she won't have any others. If she can't fix it, the demons want her head as her botched leyline creation caused this mess in the first place. And no one wants to see that happen more than her old buddy, Ku'Sox, the former day walking demon who had the misfortune to cross Rachel and lose. He even resorts to abducting her friend and goddaughter as insurance...and boy is it effective. Thankfully she's got Trent Kalamack and Algaliarept by her side to restore balance and take him down once and for all. But the price may be too high for things to ever be the same again. I know there was criticism about not a lot happening in A Perfect Blood, though I personally enjoyed the old-school Hollows style mystery. But for those of you who didn't, for EVER AFTER I think a better question is what didn't happen! There was so much going on that I genuinely can't recall a dull moment. I think I felt and continue to feel every emotion possible, but I ultimately finished the book in pure euphoria. In case you needed a little reminding, Harrison presents really harsh realities and difficult decisions that prove she's an author with guts. I don't think I've experienced so many pulse pounding moments since For a Few Demons More (book 5). This book left me reeling like no other. The scenes that take place in the Ever-After were some of the best of the series. The race against the clock really made this book so intense. Learning the history of the demons and the elves and the eventual degradation of their relationship was great, though I would have loved even more insight. I just can't get enough of it. And that brings me to Big Al, who was totally amazing. Fans will absolutely adore him in this book as we learn more about his personal back story. He's much more prominent here than in A Perfect Blood and that's fine by me because he literally lights up the pages and keeps things exciting in his own peculiar way. After having read Trent's POV in the bonus chapter of A Perfect Blood, I saw everything he did in a whole new light, and boy was it refreshing. He's got his own personal demons to work through and it really makes you feel for the guy. He is in a rock and a hard place, accepting his actions that have led to certain consequences while still working to find the best solution possible. I loved seeing him use more magic. I feel like elves have a pretty powerful arsenal that deserve more exploration, so it was nice to see Harrison skim the surface here with the insinuation of even greater things. Magic is amped up for the elves, while more human qualities are amped up for the demons, so it was an interesting trade off. His teamwork with Rachel was one of my favorite parts of the book. The tension was insane and placed so well all throughout. It's seriously amazing to go back and read passages from Dead Witch Walking and then look at them now. Their progress is usually one step forward, two steps back, but the slow burn for this ship is probably what will make it my all-time #1 favorite if they end up together *fingers crossed*. This book was just about everything I could ask for, but it wasn't 100% flawless. With so much ever after, elf and demon action, the story manages to throw in a smidgeon of development in vampire politics. Unfortunately it felt very much like an afterthought and briefly broke the overall flow. We know vampires won't get a lot of focus until the final book 13, so 10 or so pages of development came off a random at best and forgettable at worst. All in all, this is an absolute MUST READ for fans of the series. Since Black Magic Sanction and Pale Demon the series has been invigorated and manages to improve as we reach the final stretch. That is a rarity for 95% of series that make it this far. I think it helps a lot that Kim Harrison has an end in sight and continues to write towards that. Many others have jumped-the-shark by this point. The Hollows is absolutely revving up for a grande finale and I cannot wait to be there.

Frustrating, painful, and beautiful. But if you've been reading this series, you already know that, don't you? This one is more so on every mark than most. The writing is tighter, even as the magic seems more random and subject to the needs of the plot more than consistency. The demons are revealed to have a completely different original form from the one that was assumed to be their first form seen in "A Perfect Blood." Also, the relationship between the elves and demons is further explained with stuff that we'd never seen before. Like the nymph, I get the feeling that stuff has been mentioned outside the books that I'm assumed to know. And yet, yeah, it's a near-note-perfect Rachel Morgan book. Ms. Harrison's writing is as silky and seductive as ever, though it feels a little less manipulative because the stakes really are that high and the terrors and shocks are really that horrible. Ms. Morgan's world (or, more accurately, worlds) are as brutal as ever and Rachel's nose is rubbed deep into just how broken its institutions and traditions are. The ending is hard and brutal as well, and very human. If Rachel's back to nabbing banshees and thwarting terrorists next time, I'll be disappointed. She has bigger fish to fry, though the frying of those fish will be the biggest shift in tone and theme and action this amazingly mutable series has yet experienced. I hope fervently that Ms. Harrison embraces that change; it could be the most amazing thing to come out of the urban fantasy genre yet.

- Le simple fait que je continue à lire chaque livre de cette série dès sa sortie est un signe d'indéniable qualité. Et le simple fait que la lecture soit aussi agréable et satisfaisante mérite bien 5* ! Alors je les ai gaillardement attribuées, même si j'ai pu dépister une ou deux défaillances du côté du scénario et si les descriptions magiques m'ennuient systématiquement dans mes lectures (en ce qui me concerne c'est comme expliquer les couleurs à un aveugle de naissance : ça me dépasse). Et je ne peux regretter ma générosité étoilesque au constat du remarquable travail de l'auteur : rigoureuse, consciencieuse, passionnée, prêtant un soin infini aux détails et à la crédibilité. En particulier, sa capacité à faire évoluer subtilement ses personnages, partant de profils classiques (la jeune femme courageuse et déterminée, mais immature, le démon cruel et inquiétant, l'homme d'affaire puissant et impitoyable, le vampire esclave de sa condition, aussi fascinant que dangereux, la fée Clochette version masculine, l'humain sans défense face à toutes ces créatures, etc.) pour aboutir à des personnages complexes, attachants, crédibles et si vivants qu'ils ne feraient pas de déshonneur à Jane Austen, est admirable, en particulier dans le genre urban fantasy. La caractéristique des romans de cette série est de se dérouler, pour chacun, sur assez peu de temps, dans une ambiance forte, d'action, d'urgence. Seulement quelques années se sont écoulées au fil de ces onze tomes, et l'évolution de Rachel a suivi un cours naturel - c'est-à-dire lent au regard de la densité des ses aventures. Ce tome onze, en particulier, nous fait quitter définitivement cette image de l’archétype de la wondergirl en cuir moulant qui agit avant de réfléchir, se morfond après coup et n'arrive jamais à savoir ce qu'elle veut. Rachel a vraiment mûri, et cette dernière aventure lui permettra de faire le point, de comprendre ce qu'elle éprouve vraiment pour les personnes qui l'entourent et surtout de les comprendre, eux, vraiment. Ce livre se focalise sur ses relations avec Trent, mais aussi avec Al - mon personnage préféré de la série. Vous aurez aussi le plaisir de faire mieux connaissance avec les gargouilles, avec un twist final malicieux que j'ai beaucoup aimé. Le roman se clôture sur une scène remarquable d'émotion et de finesse : bravo Kimmie, il faut continuer comme ça, je serai là pour le prochain !... ...Ainsi que ma fille de 15 ans, qui a gobé celui-ci avant moi, qui ne se lasse pas de relire la série, et ainsi que bon nombre de lecteurs anglophones - au vu des commentaires sur le site. Alors, pourquoi la traduction est-elle arrêtée alors que tant de choses médiocres sont proposées à la pelle ? Parce que c'est trop bien, c'est ça ?! D'ailleurs, à y bien réfléchir, cette série, par ses qualités, son caractère très visuel, ses idées foisonnantes, ses personnages nombreux et impeccables, ses rebondissements bien orchestrés, and so on, permettrait une excellente adaptation en série télé. Si il y a des volontaires, qu'ils lèvent la main, je leur donnerai ma bénédiction !

I held off buying this book after reading the first 10. Two reasons, one: I wanted to space out the book as the last book in the series is not till Feb 2014, and two: It was freakin' 14.99!!!!! I swore I would never pay that much for a Kindle book. Where is the need to charge that much. There is virtually no shipping, printing, paper costs etc. etc. Some books ARE worth the big price.....This is one of them. Not only does Ms Harrison write a very compelling book in the series, but eventuous things happen. We see Rachel "come of age" , there is a death of a main character, (though I kind of got hints she may be back) , we see Trent do a complete 180 from the Trent we first met. All in all...Its the best book of the series, with just the finale to come in February 2014. If you have got this far in the series you must get this book. My favorite so far!

Amazing read. Couldn't put it down.

'Ever After' is the 11th installment of Rachel Morgan, demon witch. I had kind of a mixed reaction to this book, but even so it's still good enough to warrant a 5 star rating. Harrison's world building skills are second to none, her characters are amazing in their different ways and Rachel's story always manages to keep me hooked from beginning to end. I won't say this was the best of the series - I think 'Pale Demon' was - but it was pretty solid stuff. First off, I don't like Trent. Never have and can't really see what Rachel sees in him, aside from his looks which is weird because she's not generally shallow. He comes across manipulative and self-serving and I actually dislike him more than even Nick. So that was my main complaint with this book. There was too much Trent and I don't like him for Rachel. I loved all the parts with the demons in the Ever After, those were the best bits for me. Al is a brilliant character and I was glad he was in this book as much as he was, though even more would have been better. I get the impression that he genuinely cares for Rachel and it makes him all the more likeable. He's also been proving himself more trustworthy than Trent has, I have to say. I kind of like the other demons too, Dali & Newt. They're interesting and all the demon stuff is always entertaining. More of this would be awesome in the next book! The part with Ivy felt strangely out of place. She doesn't show up until later on and honestly I didn't miss her. It feels as though she's no longer needed and the book could have done without her presence. She was essential to the story way back when the series started but she's not now and it's kind of a strange feeling. I think if she moved on now it wouldn't be as powerful as it would have been had it been done sooner. I still love Jenks and his pixy swearing. He goes through some emotional stuff in this one with one of his kids too. As for the plot, it wasn't totally riveting if only because there was a lot more explaining things than there was action sequences. There was however a lot of emotion stirred up over everything that was happening, Rachel certainly gets put through the wringer in this book. The big bad guy wasn't as scary as he probably could have been though he was very powerful. I liked the stuff with the rings and what it all meant. Without giving anything away I liked the ending but cringed at the last few lines.

Ever After hat alles, worauf man als Leser schon so lange gewartet hat - ein wahrer Höhepunkt der Rachel Morgan Reihe! Rachel ist tatsächlich erwachsener geworden, hat ihren Charakter spürbar und nachvollziehbar weiterentwickelt. Das Buch bietet reichlich Action mit Trent und Al als wichtigen Ankern innerhalb der Geschichte. Darüberhinaus verbringt Rachel auch immer wieder Zeit im Ever After und man erfährt wesentlich mehr über die Strukturen die dort herrschen, die Bewohner des Ever Afters und deren Geschichte. Wieder einmal treffen Rachel einige Verluste, die man auch als Leser nicht einfach so wegsteckt, die aber der zukünftigen Entwicklung der Reihe sicherlich gut tun werden. Ivy tritt in diesem Buch etwas in den Hintergrund, was mich persönlich nicht stört da die Vampirseite sowieso wesentlich an Spannung/Relevanz abgebaut hat ohne Kisten. Allerdings scheint die Autorin bereits einen neuen Handlungsstrang zu eröffnen, der die Vampire wieder ins Spiel bringen könnte. Wir werden sehen. Generell könnte dieses Buch der Anfang eines neuen Abschnittes sein, da Rachel sich nun dafür entschieden hat, sich nicht mehr zu verstecken. Dann ist natürlich auch noch offen, wem Rachel ihr Herz öffnen wird - Trent, Al oder doch jemand anderes? Al bekommt in diesem Buch überhaupt über weite Strecken sehr viel Raum, sein Charakter ist derart interessant dass er ein Spin-Off verdient hätte. Ever After ist bisher definitiv der Höhepunkt der Rachel Morgan Saga und birgt unzählige interessante Wendungen die auf weitere zukünftige Höhepunkte der Reihe hoffen lassen.