"problems come full circle in this fifth installment of the Hallows series"
In many ways, Rachel Morgan's problems come full circle in
this fifth
installment of the Hallows series. With enemies drawing
closer than they ever
have before, her palette of choices is fast becoming slim
to none. In one power
play after the next, Rachel's about to fall behind enemy
lines, instead of the
one step ahead we've been seeing. It's back to Cincinnati after her desperate attempt to
save her pixie partner's
son and her ex-boyfriend, Nick. Rachel harbors a rather
nasty curse trapped in a
bone prison, the focus, which threatens to twist the
realities of Weres and
vampires alike, both of whom squabble over it like
children. With Trent vying for
it, someone killing for it and our favorite demon Al
lusting after it, Rachel
once again has to find a way to undo another problem
forced upon her. As the
delicate balance between her and Ivy begins to come to a
roiling boil, it's all
the earth witch can do to stay this side of good,
acceptable magic. With her
special blood and desire to help others though, it's near
impossible for her to
deflect the trouble that comes looking for her with a
vengeance. Unable to
unload the focus on just anyone, she'll have to decide
who's the best choice...and
none of them are looking particularly stellar. The first of Harrison's series to be offered in hardback,
it's a worthy
installment for it, tipping the scales even further
towards excellent. For a Few
Demons More wraps up some of the problems that Rachel has
been having over the
course of the other books while of course unraveling
others even further. Trent
comes back into play and it's a totally different side of
him than readers have
read before. Ceri, the powerful ex-demon familiar, shows
Rachel just how much
she respects her and Rachel's pack mate David takes on a
major role. The demon
Newt is back and we get some interesting information and
insights into that
character too, though whether they help or hinder the
outlook on Newt is the
reader's choice. Ivy's dilemma with Piscary is
excruciatingly dealt with and it
was a struggle at certain points to get past the powerful
emotions Harrison has
written surrounding Ivy and Rachel. As always, Harrison
manages to insert a
shocking twist, one I never saw coming, involving
Rachel and another of her closest friends. For a Few
Demons More is inundated
with its fair share of pain, angst and utter despair and
readers most certainly
may feel closer to Rachel than ever before because of it.
It's not without it's
glimmer of hope though and some very interesting new
characters are introduced
that I hope will continue to make appearances in the next
book, most notably a
mysterious organization of demon practitioners and Dr.
Ford Miller, a
psychiatrist for the FIB (Federal Inderlander Bureau, the
human division to deal
with Inderlanders). In the end, as much as Rachel has had
to deal with, she's
never appeared stronger to me. As always, the once-a-year
release of Harrison's
Hallows series just can't come fast enough and I only hope
that there will be
many, many more to come.
Reviewed by Kenda Montgomery
Posted April 23, 2007
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**2007 PEARL HONORABLE MENTION - BEST OVERALL PARANORMAL ROMANCE** The fifth and latest instalment of the urban fantasy-thriller series starring Rachel Morgan. A pacey and addictive novel of sexy bounty-hunting witches, cunning demons and menacing vampires. Bargaining with demons has left Rachel Morgan in constant danger of losing her soul. As if being famous in the underworld - for all the wrong reasons - and sharing her home with a vampire and her jealous girlfriend didn't make her vulnerable enough, one night Rachel finds demons ransacking her home with no fear of sanctified ground. They are searching for something they believe Rachel to possess - a danger that Rachel thought was well hidden and secret. But when the human morgue starts to fill up with partially-turned lupine women who have been brutally murdered, Rachel realises that someone else knows the Focus still exists and that she may have been betrayed.
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