littleread1
Written on Feb 9, 2015
That said it all
New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison returns to the Hollows with the electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed Ever After!
Supernatural superhero Rachel Morgan must counter a strange magic that could spell civil war for the Hollows in this sexy and bewitching urban fantasy adventure in acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison's Hollows series.
Witch and daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan has managed to save the demonic ever-after from shrinking, but at a high cost. Now, strange magic is attacking Cincinnati and the Hollows, causing spells to backfire or go horribly wrong, and the truce between the races, between Inderlander and human, is shattering. Rachel must stop this dark necromancy before the undead vampire masters who keep the rest of the undead under control are lost and all-out supernatural war breaks out.
Rachel knows the only weapon to ensure peace: ancient elven wild magic, which carries its own perils. And no one knows better than Rachel that no good deed goes unpunished . . .
- ISBN13 9780007588695
- Publish Date 5 June 2014 (first published 25 February 2014)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint HarperVoyager
- Format Paperback
- Pages 400
- Language English
- URL http://harpercollins.co.uk
Reviews
That said it all
Linda
Written on Apr 15, 2014
Full review to come soon.
This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews
Berls
Written on Mar 1, 2014
yowza! Reading The Undead Pool is like the opening a gift that you’ve been dying to get for years. When you start to pull on the wrapper and see bits and pieces – like the cover including Trent – you get so excited because it’s finally happening!! You shake with excitement and then you start discovering your new gift. Really getting to know it and its 100x better than you could have dreamed. Yep – The Undead Pool was that good.
*Folks this is book 12, so I’m sorry, but there will be series spoilers.
The Characters…
One of the things that makes The Undead Pool so great is the way Kim managed to incorporate pretty much everyone I’ve loved since day one. Of course, that pretty much makes talking about the characters in any thorough yet succinct way pretty much impossible. So I’m not even going to try. Instead let’s just talk Rachel, Ivy, Jenks, and of course, Trent.
As is usual, Rachel drove me mad in The Undead Pool. She has finally come to the realization that she cares deeply for Trent. But she’s also continuing her ridiculously annoying path as martyr. She knows that being with her isn’t the “right” thing for Trent as a leader among the elves and she’s willing to let him go for his own good. While this made for some incredibly fabulous sexual tension, I think I was ready to pull my hair out by time all was said and done. But that aside, Rachel continues to be someone that you can’t help but love. And it’s a theme that really pulls through in this book – for a demon, she’s managed to surround herself with an incredible number of people and species who would literally risk their lives for her. I admit it, I cried a little. Imagine what I’ll do when the series ends?
Ivy has grown so much over the series and I really love where she’s at now. She’s gone from being insecure, self-loathing, and lost to someone who has confidence and is actively working to save someone else – Nina. Watching the way Ivy is with Nina brought tears to my eyes – both for what Nina was going through and because of the way Ivy was able to help her. It was heartwarming and I think we’re really seeing Ivy approach her HEA. I want it for her and I hope that the next (and last *sobs*) book will give it to her.
Jenks is the rock in this trio. Despite being technically younger than both of them, he’s always been the parental voice. I love that he continues in that role and yet, so much like a parent, I see him stepping back a little. He knows that his kids are growing up. Which, coincidentally, his pixie kids are too. Yet another somber note for me in The Undead Pool, seeing Jenks’s garden emptying has left me with lots of questions about Jenks’s future. How will he hold such a large garden as the last of his kids leave?
I’ll wrap this up with Trent. I’ve been waiting to see Trent become this guy since book one. We’ve been gradually seeing more and more of him, but in The Undead Pool - as the cover makes pretty clear – Trent is front and center. He’s finally crossed over to being an essential part of the team and he’s pulling his weight. He’s grown so much and it becomes so clear in The Undead Pool as you start to see why he’s made the decisions he’s made since way back in book one. More importantly, you see him changing the way he thinks in really crucial ways. I think I fell in love with him all over again.
The Story…
Alright so as is the case with pretty much every Hollows book – there are tons of magical problems afoot in Cincinnati and somehow Rachel is at the heart of them. In The Undead Pool magic is basically misfiring – you’ve got simple charms acting at 10x their intended intensity. And what do you know? The problem seems to be somehow connected to Rachel and maybe even her line.
I really don’t want to spoil the different elements that unfolded, since I found each one surprising and exciting. What I will say is that some of the elements get a little weird, but for me it was in a really great way. I absolutely loved the mystics – parts of the elf goddess – and the quirky element that they brought to the plot.
What made this plot particularly exciting for me was the way that it brought in everyone – Rachel, the demons, humans (at the FIB), the pixies, the elves, the vamps, the gargoyles, and even the weres (which I feel tend to be more in the backseat) are all working together – and sometimes against each other – to bring Cincinnati out of an extreme crisis. It was non-stop fun – whether it was the action, the magic, the mystery, or the sexual tension - something exciting was always happening.
Concluding Sentiments…
I loved every minute of this penultimate book in the Hollows. The Undead Pool definitely felt like a series coming towards it’s close, letting us see a bit of all our favorite characters and marching them towards their – hopefully happily – ever afters.
Melanie
Written on Feb 28, 2014
Wow, this book was wonderful and probably my favorite book in the series. As the second to the last book in this fairly long Urban Fantasy series, we are starting to see things come to a close as we see how the ending might play out for at least some of the characters. We get to spend some time with most everyone we've met and come to love over the years.
In this book, we start off with spells backfiring and causing chaos around the city. They then realize that all the undead vampires are asleep, but don't know why. The truce between humans and Interlanders, which has been uneasy at best since the Turn, is barely balancing on the edge of a cliff. Rachel, as she always does, takes this on almost by herself. Rachel has always wanted to be a person to take on the world by herself, but she is surrounded by great friends who won't let this be a burden on her alone. This is the first time that Trent is really around when everyone rallies around Rachel and he is quite amazed.
As you can guess from the cover, since this is the first cover with a character besides just Rachel, Trent plays heavy role in this book. It has been great over the series watching not only these two characters grow and change, but also the relationship that they have together. We have looked back in time to see them as children when they liked each other, but were mean about it as children tend to do, though Rachel was protective of Trent even then. To Trent entering Rachel into rat fights while she was stuck in the form of a mink. Rachel has saved his butt on more than one occasion. How Trent has learned to trust and stand by her as she defends, not just him, but herself, her friends and the city of Cincinnati.
We have a lot more time with vampires and weres than we have had in a long time in this series. A lot less time with demons than we have had in a while. Though time that is spent with Newt, who was way weirder than normal when she first shows up in the book, is extremely important. Al is around some, but he is not a happy camper, but then when is he ever.
We have lots of time with both Jenks and Biz. Jenks has always been my favorite character in this series. I think he is the only reason that Rachel is as solid as she is, he is the mortar that holds her together. He watches her back more than anyone else. He keeps things light by teasing her, even when it drives her crazy. As much as his kids annoy her, I think without them around, Rachel would be lonely in the quite. Biz is another great character who has grown on me a lot. He has become essential to the story and Rachel's life. I love that she starts to make plans to do more runs after dark just so that he could be included.
I love seeing where this series has come and where it looks it is going. My only concern is how Kim Harrison is going to top this. I mean this book really wraps things up and without a lot of changes, could have probably ended the series with this book without any complaints from me. I'm sure she has a plan in mind, so I'll just have to wait out the year to see what the finale is going to be. I'm sure it will be awesome, as she hasn't let me down yet.
The narration was great as it has always been. Marguerite Gavin has been a staple to this series for me. I started off reading, but really fell in love with the audio when I listened to the first book. Once again, Jenks is my favorite. How she can say, "Tinks little pink dildo" with a straight face, I'll never know. I also love Al's voice. Once again, "Motherpussbucket" is another word that is hard for me to say with a straight face. I'm really glad they have been able to keep her on for the full series.
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Jan 31, 2014
The Undead Pool will please fans as we see progress with some relationships and others are severed. The mystery regarding the strange magic effecting the Hollows and Cincinnati was a complex and interesting one. As I reflect back on the novel, I am simply blown away by the amount of threads and events that were wrapped around the case. Power struggles and nefarious plots within the supernatural world run rampant. Harrison managed to deliver what I was craving, shock me and add depth to secondary characters. We see romantic development, but I will let you discover those for yourself. From the beginning to end this was an action packed, and I simply lost myself within its pages. The ending was well done and of course left me eager for more. My anticipation for the next book is bittersweet as it will bring with it the conclusion of the Hollows series.
The Undead Pool delivered everything I wanted and more. The Hollows’ series is one that I will recommend again and again for its wonderful characters and captivating tales. The final book has an expected release date of 2015.
Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer