A Perfect Blood (Hollows, #10)

by Kim Harrison

[kimbacaffeinate]

Like many Hollows fans I pre-ordered A Perfect Blood and was counting down the days till its release. I was anxious to get my hands on it and stayed up Monday night just to download it promptly at 12:01. I just wanted to read a few pages; such was my anticipation. It took me three sessions to complete this novel, as the gods and life worked against me. Now that I’ve finished, I am glad because I had a chance to savor it. Now I find myself, stuck right back where I was on Monday...waiting for the next Hollows release..sheesh. A Perfect Blood, had a blended feel of earlier novels and newer ones as Rachel dealt with being a demon and spent much of the novel with limited powers. As always I loved my trip back to the Hollows.

The tale begins with Rachel, a declared demon, trying to gain status as a citizen; well get her car registered. She is wearing the bracelet Trent gave her, and basically has no more power than an earth witch. While it protects her from the entire demon collective and keeps Al from dragging her to the ever-after, it is pitiful to see Rachel like this. She feels stuck and feels like Ivy and Jenks are moving forward. She has a bodyguard, courtesy of Daddy. A delicious werewolf named Wayde and even without all of her powers she is still quite capable of getting in trouble and driving him crazy. While at the DMV she is paged and taken to a back office. She meets a living vampire who asks her to take a seat and then proceeds to be inhabited by a very old Master Vampire. He wants Rachel’s to help the I.S. department. Someone is abducting witches and using demon magic on them. Rachel immediately agrees but only if, he gets her car registration taken care of. Rachel is first suspected of committing these crimes, and asked to produce a list of curses that she is capable of performing as a demon. Rachel calls Glenn and the FIB when she sees evidence that this might be a crime involving HAPA (A human hate group). The first part of the book progresses at a slower clip, as Rachel contemplates life without magic, has mini-pity-parties and works to solve the case. The second half of the book is non-stop action and left me breathless. No filler words here my Hollow loving peeps. Tons of twist, trickery, traitors and secret groups will have you turning the pages. Rachel as always finds herself in trouble, kicks butt and never ceases to surprise anyone..even herself.

I love Harrison’s characters and many make an appearance along with a few new ones. Trent is back, a softer Trent, a happier Trent. An elf who is embracing his magic. Is that hearts I see in Rachel’s eyes? Harrison weaves their stories closer together in this novel and makes Rachel see him in a somewhat different light. It is almost magical, like perhaps this was Harrison’s vision all along. Eek gads she is wickedly good. What we also see in this novel is a lot of character growth. While Rachel still (and always will) rushes into things, she is getting better and actually made plans. She, listens (well some of the time) and is starting to think things through and see the bigger picture. Ivy is finding peace and acceptance and Jenk’s is surviving the loss of his wife. David makes an appearance and he and Rachel make peace about her position in the pack. Trent has a lot of character growth and I loved it. Our beloved AL puts in an appearance or two…is it freaky that I love that little demon. We meet Ella, the young living vamp, who is possessed by the Master Vampire and Dr. Cordova and FIB agent you will love to hate. We also meet a witch, named Winona, who is held prisoner and befriended by Rachel. I really liked Winona, she is clever, witty and one brave cookie. Daryl is back and living with Glenn and we learn a little more about her.

While not without flaws, A Perfect Blood delivered and lived up to my expectations. I really liked the blended feel from the first few books of the series to the present. I am anxious to see what Rachel does in the next installment of the Hollows entitled, Ever After.