Pale Demon by K. Harrison

Pale DemonPale Demon made me feel happy, sad, angry, betrayed… I  laughed and I cried, I think I even jumped up and down on my bed and screamed a little at one point. I have never read a book to date that has elicited such a range of emotions from me, until Pale Demon came along.

Condemned to death for black magic and shunned, Rachel Morgan has three days to somehow get to the annual witches convention in San Francisco and clear her name. If she fails, the only way she can escape death is to live in the demonic ever after . . . for ever after.

Banned from the flight lists, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack, headed for the West Coast for his own mysterious business. But Rachel isn’t the only passenger along for the ride. Can a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy in one car survive for over 2,300 miles? And that’s not counting the assassin on their tail.

A fearsome demon walks the sunlight, freed after centuries of torment to slay the innocent and devour souls. But his ultimate prey is Rachel Morgan. While the powerful witch with nerves of steel will do whatever it takes to stay alive, even embracing her own demonic nature may not be enough to save her.

I do not think words will be able to express just how much I loved this book.. It’s funny too, I had almost stopped reading this series when she decided Kisten would no longer be a part of it. To say that I am so very glad to have continued the series would be a huge understatement.

As always, Harrison brings us a ton of action and drama in Pale Demon and in addition a ton of surprises! It is so hard to write a review for a book such as this because there are so many things I want to talk about but can’t since I don’t wish to spoil it for anyone else. And let me tell you.. there are TONS of scenes in Pale Demon that you guys are going to just LOVE!

One thing I wanted to mention is Rachel’s growth throughout the series. I am so damn happy that she is finally realizing that magic isn’t just black and white, and that she is finally accepting who she is and what she can do. I also really enjoyed reading about Trent and his growth as well.  I think for the most part Harrison has written him as an evil man, but I don’t believe for a second that he has done the things he did without reason or cause – just like Rachel has done. I actually find them two to be ‘two peas in a pod’ when it comes to doing the things they need to do in order to keep who and what they care about safe.

In Pale Demon we get to see a lot more of Al, and I have to say that he has grown on me quite a bit and even more so in seeing his interactions with Rachel in this book. I was almost rooting for the Coven and hoping Rachel would get stuck in the ever after forever… almost :P Something we get to see that we hadn’t before was more of the demon community and how they work. I found it to be really interesting and am really hoping she does a spin off based in the ever after so we get to see more of the demons in the lime light. (hey I can hope cant I!?)

So Rachel, Trent, Ivy and Jenks are all couped up in a car driving 2000 miles to get to the west coast for the convention that Rachel needs to attend in order to get her shunning removed.. can we say DRAMA? lol
The road trip was great, to have all four of them stuck with one another for that long made for such an interesting read. Here we get to see interactions between the four that we never have before, a camaraderie of sorts that would never have had the chance to happen without them all being stuck together – yes, including Trent.

Adding to the drama of the roadtrip itself are the assassins they have to dodge the whole way there (the reason Trent needed Rachel to accompany him to the west coast), as well as other complications that have a huge impact on Rachel’s future.

Overall Pale Demon is THE best book I have ever read. There are so many series with this number (or more) of books out there that are great but don’t come close to the emotional response that Harrison gets out of me.

There are several emotional events in Pale Demon, I can’t really go in into detail on any of them but I will say this – the one that had me literally jumping up and down on my bed yelling *YES YES FUCK YES! MUAHAHAHA* is something I think EVERYONE is going to love. And my one request to any of you who read my reviews is once you have read that scene (and I believe it will be obvious), come back and tell me how you responded to it :P

Read Order:
Dead Witch Walking
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
Every Which Way But Dead
A Fistful of Charms
For a Few Demons More
The Outlaw Demon Wails
White Witch, Black Curse
Black Magic Sanction
Pale Demon

Also reviewed by: Jackie’s review on Literary Escapism,

Want to preorder Pale Demon? Here, let me twist your arm: Amazon / Book Depository / Barnes & Noble

12 Comments

  1. I do think Trent can be classified as evil, but also that the events in this book signal a possible turning point for him. He definitely has regrets about his past actions, after all, as he alludes to with Rachel a time or too especially.

    I totally agree with this entire review, I loved this book so much too! The part where you mention Rachel’s growth and her realizations about black and white magic – to me this is one of the major points of the series, that there is no black and white when it comes to n=magic. Not only does she come to realize this, but other witches, too.

    As for the scene that made you jump up and down, honestly I’m not sure which one that it because honestly there was more than one for me. :D

    I’m so glad you enjoyed this one, too! It’s my fave so far, but all have really upped and topped the previous books, in my opinion.

  2. *YES YES FUCK YES! MUAHAHAHA*

    OMG, you have me foaming at the mouth for this!!! This series was my first UF and I have so much invested in these characters. I cry when Rachel cries and feel joy when she does. My stomach is actually fluttering over the possibilities of your comments ;)

  3. I read the first Rachel Morgan book a long time ago – it was the second UF series I ever picked up after The Dresden Files – but I never continued with it. I remember the first book was entertaining and I enjoyed it, but I think I had higher expectations because The Dresden Files is pretty much made of awesomeness IMHO.

    This is one of those series I keep meaning to give another try. After reading your review, I think I will make another concerted effort to get into this series because it sounds like it will be worth it. In the first book, Trent was by far the character I found most interesting, so I have a feeling I’ll like where the series is headed with Pale Demon. I kind of wish I could just skip to Pale Demon, but I’m sure I’d be missing way too much to really enjoy it.

    Your review has convinced me that I should give these books a second chance, and I’m looking forward to it!

  4. I am glad to hear that Lesley!

    It’s rather funny because I read half of the first Dresden Files book and put it down.. I been meaning to get back to them but I have been so busy its been on the back burner :P

  5. I love this series, but(altho I’ve kept buying the books) the last 4 I bought are still tbr and I haven’t gotten Black Magic Sanction or Pale Demon yet. ( FYI I don’t see Black Magic Sanction on your Read Order list of the series..?)
    After reading your review I am going to have to get back on top of the series and read the rest, as I am keen to get to it.
    I’ll also pass this review on to my e friends.

    Thanks for a great review

    MJ

  6. Rachel is my favourite of all the PNR/UF series I’ve read (though, the Fever series might make it close to a tie) and I’ve been mentally counting down until February 22 for a while now. Just hearing the premise of this book makes me slightly giddy with excitement and it makes me want to re-read the entire series before it comes out (or at least I would if I hadn’t loaned out my copies to friends and family).
    I got to meet Kim Harrison at a book signing last summer and I was SO excited… and then I got to the front of the line and my mind went blank. I wanted to yell at her for making me cry about Kisten, but I ended up just being really awkward.
    I’m so glad it’s only a week more now for me to wait, I’m going crazy with anticipation!

  7. I am going to have to read this Fever series everyone keeps talking about lol, your comment abou tit Erin makes me want to read it even more! lol

  8. *YES YES FUCK YES! MUAHAHAHA*

    I’ve read all of the Hollows series. But, your review/above comment has me super excited! I have this one on pre-order. I hope it comes this week!!!

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