AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Kim Harrison's Pale Demon (The Hollow's Bk 9)

Title: Kim Harrison
Author: PALE DEMON (The Hollow’s Bk 9)
Narrator: Marguerite Gavin
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; MP3 Unabridged
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1441776303
ISBN-13: 978-1441776303



My Ratings

Plot: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Originality of Plot: 4.5/5
Characters Development: 5/5
Ending: 4.5/5
Narration: 5/5
Cover Art: 5/5
Likelihood to Recommend: 5/5
Overall: 44/45 = 98%

Synopsis

To save her life, bounty hunter and witch Rachel Morgan must overturn a death sentence, outwit a demon assassin, and endure a cross-country drive with a vampire, an elf, and a pixy in this latest kick-ass adventure in the Hollows series. Condemned to death for black magic and shunned, Rachel Morgan has three days to somehow get to the annual witches’ conference 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 elfin 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 survive in one car for over 2,300 miles—and that’s not counting the assassin on their tail. For 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 fearless witch will do whatever it takes to stay alive, even embracing her own demonic nature may not be enough to save her.

My Review

(THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS)
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An elf, a witch, avamp, and a pixie walk into a restaurant. No this isn’t a joke, it’s Pale Damon, the ninth book in Kim Harrison’s Hollows’ Series. Rachel Morgan, shunned witch and paranormal bounty hunter, is on the road-trip from hell with her business partners Jenks and Ivy along with everyone’s favorite sexy elf Trent Kalamack.

Rachel had so much to overcome in this book. She’s a shunned witch with very little chance of making it through this road-trip alive. She’s making smarter choices, and finally tapping more into her demonic sidee. I was happy to see that she is starting to see that her demonic nature isn’t always a bad thing, as long as she used her powers for good purposes.

As in every Hollows book, Rachel love life is in shambles! It seems like the only person Rachel didn’t kiss/make-out with was Jenks, and I’m pretty sure that if he had been big enough she might have tried. All of these possible love matches, and she can’t find love again (R.I.P Kisten). My heart breaks for her! However, I was a little unsettled by Rachel’s lack of feelings towards Pierce in the first half of this book. It was almost like he didn’t exist. I love Rachel and Ivy’s bittersweet ‘good-bye’ scene. It was so heart wrenching and full of tightly held emotions. It brought me to tears. I have to admit, that at times in this series I have wanted Ivy and Rachel to be together.

As much as have fantasized about Rachel and Trent together, I shocked at how I loved their dream/reality make-out scene. I never thought I’d see the day that Trent cared about someone other then himself. He was the real stand-out character in this book for me. His character grew by leaps and bounds. He was not only able to work his way into Rachel’s life, but I believe he has gained Jenks’ trust. Plus, who would have guessed that Trent would be a father!!! I’m not going to lie, but for a minute I may have pictured Trent, Rachel and the baby as a happy little family.

I had two minor problems with this book. First, I felt that Pierce was ignored for the most part of the beginning of this book. I really loved the relationship blossoming between Pierce and Rachel in the previous book, and I was let down by his absence. Once he was brought back into the story, I felt that he was overlooked. Second, I was also annoyed at the way Rachel reacted to him. She had already taken herself out of the relationship mentally before it really even had a chance. Very sad!

I absolutely adore Marguerite Gavin’s narrations of The Hollow’s series. Hearing her narration Pale Demon felt like going home again. She is The Hollows to me. Even when I read this series, I can almost her reading the story to me. She does such an amazing job narrating the many Hollows characters that span different cultural backgrounds and eras. Her voice really draws you into the story with her emotional narration.

I believe that Kim Harrison stated on her blog, that this book is her favorite of the series so far, and I whole-heartedly agree. This book was not just a road trip, but story filled with personal growth, friendships forged, and trust cemented. If you are a fan of this genre and haven’t yet picked up The Hollow’s series, run right out and pick it up now!


The Hollows Series

1- Dead Witch Walking
2- The Good, The Bad, and The Undead
-- Undead in The Garden of Good and Evil--Ivy novella in the anthology Dates From Hell.
3- Every Which Way But Dead
4- A Fistful of Charms
-- Dirty Magic--Mia short story in the anthology Hotter Than Hell.
5- For A Few Demons More
-- The Bridges of Eden Park-Kisten/Rachel short in the US mass market edition of For a Few Demons More
-- Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel--Robbie/Rachel/Pierce novella in the anthology Holidays from Hell
6- The Outlaw Demon Wails
-- The Bespelled-Ceri/Al short story in the US mass market edition of The Outlaw Demon Wails
7- White Witch, Black Curse
-- Ley Line Drifter--Bis/Jenks novella in anthology Unbound
8- Black Magic Sanction
9- Pale Demon


Related Websites

Kim Harrison's Website

Kim Harrison's Blog

Kim Harrison's Twitter

Purchase Pale Demon - Blackstone Audio

Marguerite Gavin - Narrator




The Hollows Series Video