Review--Ever After by Kim Harrison

The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It's up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rache Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between the magic users and humans falls apart.

Of course, there's also the small fact that Rachel is the one who caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it. Not to mention the most powerful demon in the ever-after--the soul-eater Ku'Sox Sha-Ku'ru--has vowed to destroy her, and has kidnapped her friend and her goddaughter as leverage. If Rachel doesn't give herself up, they will die.

Forced by circumstance, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack--a partnership fraught with dangers of the heart as well as betrayal of the soul--to return to the ever-after and rescue those she loves. One world teeters on the brink of interspecies war, the other on the brink of its very demise--and it's up to Rachel to keep them both from being destroyed.


Kim Harrison is definitely one of my favorite authors! She was one of the first urban fantasy authors I read when I decided that I needed to read more adult books--this was wayyy back in the day when I was like 18 and Paranormal YA was nonexistent! Don't miss those days at all! Ever After continues Rachel Morgan's ongoing story. Life continues to change drastically for this 27-year-old witch and fate is definitely not cutting her any breaks.

Ever After is book 11 in the series and has been going on for years, yet time isn't moving as fast for Rachel. I honestly can't remember what year it's supposed to be in the series anymore. But alas, that's not important! Rachel once again has BIG problems going on and as always, it's up to her to fix them and keep everyone safe. Rachel has had more than her fair share of heartache, still can't get over Kisten myself!

Ku'Sox, the demon she and Trent battled in my fair city, is back. And he has his own devious plan that will result in death. He's gunning for Rachel since she cursed him to the ever-after. Rachel is on a tight timetable to find out what Ku'Sox did to the ever-after and find a way to repair the damage. Easier said than done! It takes a lot of pages for Rachel to get to the solving the problem and every time she manages a step forward in the right direction, Ku'Sox throws her three feet back.

But the stakes are definitely higher for Rachel when Ku'Sox kidnaps Ceri and Lucy. By taking Rachel's friend and her own goddaughter, Ku'Sox basically signs his own death warrant. Yet as I said, Ku'Sox is a powerful enemy and it will take everything she has in her arsenal to defeat him.

Rachel ends up working with Trent, somewhat, in this one and it was great seeing him again! Trent is definitely becoming a different person since we first met him in Dead Witch Walking. I can barely recognize him! I am happy for the changes though, he's turning into a better person, one that Rachel might even start to like. It's weird and she can eve admit to that. They are polar opposites, have had too much history from their childhood, and oh yeah, Ellasbeth hates her. Trent's ex-wife is back in the picture as well.

I truly enjoyed this one! It was fun and exciting! It never ceases to amaze me by how much Kim can take her readers bu surprise! She really knows how to suck her readers into the world of the Hollows. Rachel is a freaking-fantastic heroine that I enjoy seeing time and time again. She's a kickbutt heroine with a good sense of humor and snark! What's not to love?

It was mentioned in another review as one teeny, tiny downside and I'll mention it here; is the lack of Ivy. For the first half of the novel, Ivy is out of town. She returns eventually, but even then she's not there so much. It was kind of sad, because I miss Ivy, Jenks and Rachel being the trio they once were. But the characters are growing infinitely, and it seems too, that they are growing apart. Rachel can even see this.

There was another character who returns to the scene and I was surprised by that too, but by now I really shouldn't be. Nick in all his docuhery glory returns. Yep, ol' crap-for-brains is back and is going to cause more and more trouble for Rachel. This is one character I truly loathe! And I cannot even remember when I used to like him! But again, that's just more praises of Kim's writing!!

And one last note on the characters; Jenks rocks!! I will never get tired of him and his witty quips! Every blasted Tinkerbell curse makes me laugh, despite my love of all things Disney!

Ever After was phenomenal! I loooove the Hollows, the world Kim has built is just incredible! I love the balance of paranormal and regular old humans in this world. Although, we tend to see more of the supernaturals, it's still a wonderful balance! I cannot wait to see how this series all ends, but there's still awhile to go and I will enjoy it one book at a time!


Overall rating 5/5 stars