Ever After by Kim Harrison

What can I say about the Hollows that I haven’t said numerous times in the past? Kim Harrison has created a fantastic world and every story set within the confines of it has been nothing but utterly fabulous. Even being the eleventh novel in the series, Ever After doesn’t hold back any of the drama, action or emotion and completely takes a hold of the reader and doesn’t let go.

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 Rachel Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between 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.

Seriously. Each Hollows novel just makes me love every one of the characters so much and to be able to watch them develop has not only been fascinating, but has taken me on such an emotional roller coaster. I know that term is a little over used, but it is nothing but the truth with the Hollows series. Nothing gets hold back this time when Rachel is put up against Ku-Sox and the entire demon realm. You heard that right. The demons are looking for a scapegoat, and who else do they turn to but their favorite witch-turned-demon. You really see how much Rachel has grown over the course of the series with the decisions she has to make. Rachel is faced with some really hard decisions, many involving characters we’ve grown to love and hate, and she knows she can’t do what she wants to. Not if she wants everything to come out right in the end. I think the biggest moment came when Rachel finally understood what it means to truly sacrifice something one holds dear. She never really had to in the past and now she can’t run from it anymore.

Believe it or not, I think the biggest surprise in Ever After is Trent. We get to see way more of him, even more than Ivy and Jenks, and what we learn will definitely change many opinions about him.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve grown to love Trent since Dead Witch Walking – this elf has been so complex. Every time I think I’ve figured him out, here comes another adventure that totally warps my perception of him.  Have we ever seen who Trent Kalamack really is?  In Ever After I think we do. Over the course of the series, we’ve seen so many different facets of Trent’s personality and they all come flooding back. We not only get to see who Trent has had to be, but Rachel also gets to see the Trent that not many see at all, maybe not even Quen. The dynamic between Trent and Rachel will change drastically after Ever After, and quite honestly, I think I’m going to get what I’ve wanted all along, and then some.

If you haven’t guessed by the title and blurb, Ever After focuses on the demons a lot. We not only spend quite a bit of time in the demon realm, but we get to see how their world actually affects the reality Rachel has grown up in. The two are not separate entities, but are closely tied together, and that really comes out in Ever After. Especially once you bring Al into the mix. You would think we would get to see a lot of Al, but he is actually out of commission for most of Ever After.  But don’t be sad, we get so much more of Al when he is on the page. We finally see who he was and what he has lost – and what he will do to keep what he has gained.  Al is another character with so many different sides, that finally seeing them get blend together gives him a whole new definition.

The actual story of Ever After is so utterly good, that you may want to ensure that you have a couple of hours to devote to it. There is so much going on, that your emotions will get a workout. I won’t say what, but Harrison does it again and it definitely changes the tone of the characters from that point on.  This is the point where you may need tissues at hand. It was definitely something I wasn’t expecting, but it gave Rachel the harder edge she needed to survive Ku’Sox.  If that wasn’t enough, there are quite a few telling sequences that not only give an idea of what will happen in future books, but shows how chaotic Rachel’s life has become. While some of these scenes may not have been needed to keep the plot of Ever After moving along, they definitely help show how much Rachel has grown.  I will admit to one thing though – there were times I felt like I hadn’t read the last book, A Perfect Blood.  A few characters (Nina, Felix and Belle)  walked onto the page so easily that their confidence in their right to be there kind of confused me. I don’t know if I’m just not remembering much from A Perfect Blood or I haven’t in fact read it, but while I had this confusion, it really doesn’t take anyway from what is going on.

Overall, Kim Harrison delivers another fabulous piece of storytelling involving a cast of characters that one can’t help but connect with. An emotional thrilling ride,  Ever After demands nothing but the best of Rachel Morgan and she has to decide who she can trust and learns exactly what it means to sacrifice it all. For fans of the series, you’re going to love Ever After and will be begging Harrison for the twelfth novel before you  even finish it.  Especially after the bombshell that is the ending. I know I can’t wait to see what happens next.

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
A Perfect Blood
Ever After