Book Review — A Perfect Blood |Sinnful Books

Title: A Perfect Blood
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: Urban fantasy
Pages: Paperback, 497
Publisher: Harper Voyage, February 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-195790-1
Opening Lines: "The woman across from me barely sniffed when I slammed the pen down on the counter."

Rating

"Ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cincinnati, terrifying amalgams of human and other.

"Pulled in by the FIB to help investigate, former with-turned-day-walking demon Rachel Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth: others want to create their own demons, and to do so they need her blood.

"She's faced vampires, witches, werewolves, demons, and more—but this time Rachel's toughest challenge might be humanity itself."

~ Jacket copy

I love Kim Harrison and the Hollow series. Honestly, it is one of my most dearly loved urban fantasy series. Since Laurel K. Hamilton really screwed up the Anita Blake series, I ended up falling into this one when the first book came out. They have had me hooked since the first page of the first book!

After the horrible fiasco of Pale Demon, Rachel has now become a day-walking demon. With that, however, she has lost her citizenship/status as a living creature. She cannot get a driver's license, register her car, vote, etc. Unfortunately, she does not have all of the perks of being a demon either: no crossing the lines, no accessing the line energy, and she cannot do witch charms. All of this is because of the silver charmed bracelet Trent made her. While it protects her from the demons and the collective—they are convinced she is dead—she also loses all of her demon powers. When a human hate group enters the picture and starts mutilating and killing witches, Rachel is SOL without her demon and witch magic. However, because the humans are trying to make demons, she feels it is her responsibility to get involved and stop the killings before they go any further. What she doesn't expect is the depth of the conspiracy behind the hate group, her inevitable feelings concerning demon magic, and the budding attraction to Trent.

From the first page until the last, this was a wonderful book! Even though it appears as though only a few years time has past since the first book, Rachel has really grown as a character. She is still rather impulsive and quick to action without thought. However, I feel as though her actions are more firmly rooted in experience and maturity. In addition, with her changing feelings toward the demonic side of her and her acceptance of being a demon, I feel that her moral and ethical quandaries will only continue that growth. She is also starting to see that not everything is black and white.

Since Rachel was not willing to enter into a relationship with Ivy, I felt as though Harrison has been moving her to more of the periphery. Granted, I didn't want to see the two get together; however, it is sad to see her becoming part of the shadows. However, aside from taking her all the way into dead vampire, I'm not sure where a storyline following Ivy could go at this point. Rachel also commented that she felt Jenks and Ivy drifting away without her. While I can understand and see that they are moving on in their lives, my heart really hurt. I have come to see the three of them as a pseudo Three Musketeers. The books would not be the same without their crazy antics.

It is nice to see that Jenks is learning to survive without Matalina. She was a huge stabilizing force in his life, and it was really touch-and-go there for awhile. It makes me curious what will happen with Belle. Honestly, I don't see anything romantic happening, but her caring for him and his children is quite comical.

In the beginning, I always hated Trent. And, I hate to admit it, he has grown on me over the last few books. Whether I like it or not, there is a method to his madness. In addition, even from the get-go, I have always felt a sort of sexual tension between him and Rachel. Throughout the course of this book, I held my breath and hoped they would figure it out. And, when I read the bonus chapter, I started bouncing around saying, "I knew it!" It gives me much hope!

The story was rather disturbing, but well played out. In some ways, I would have liked to know a little more about Chris and Jennifer. Also, I couldn't fully understand how they would be able to wipe out all of the Interlanders. I felt was though Harrison didn't fully explain that. It was also neat to finally see piece of the demons' true nature.

And, of course, Al :) The books would not be complete without him. The time spent in Trent's garden made me smile and laugh. He is a great character, and I will always love to see more of him.

All in all, this was a fun book! Now I want to run out to the store and buy the next in the series. To hell with the fact that I have been buying them in paperback since the first book. I need to know what happens and see whether Rachel and Trent finally put their heads out of their asses! Had family not come into town to visit, this book would have been finished in a matter of days. It is a page-turner!