Review: Ever After by Kim Harrison

This is the 11th book in The Hallows series by Kim Harrison, not counting the 4 or 5 novellas also in the series.  Ms. Harrison has stated that the series will be ending with book 12 or 13, she hasn't really decided yet. But it was obvious from this book that the series is winding down.  Let's just say that this is not the book to begin at.

The series is set in Cincinnati and showcases some of the best parts of this underrated city.  In this alternate reality, witches, vampires, werewolves, pixies, and other paranormal creatures have come out of hiding due to a genetic experiment involving tomatoes gone horribly wrong.  The mutation ended up killing over 50% of the human population, evening up the ratio of supernatural to human numbers.  In fact, during the worst of the turmoil due to the genetically mutated tomato virus, a vampire stepped in and became President of the United States.  Needless to say, the genetic engineering field has been labeled illegal and most of them killed.

The series follows a young witch, Rachel Morgan and peripherally her two partners, alive vampire, Ivy Tamwood and pixie Jenks.  The story is told through Rachel Morgan's point of view and she has grown and developed so much through the last 11 books.  I can honestly say that I don't know of a character who has shown such gradual yet radical change.  Of course, if you have been reading the books, you know she has had some wonderful and terrible things happen to her of the course of the years.  This book continues all of this, and just keeps ramping up the action and drama.

I would love to go on and on about the wonders of this book, but if you haven't read the series, I don't want to give any spoilers, especially this late in the game.  All I can say is, get out there, find Dead Witch Walking and get your first introduction to Rachel, Ivy & Jenks.  If by the end you aren't calling Tink a Disney Whore, and completely hooked, I don't know if there is hope for you.  5 OMG Stars on Goodreads.

Goodreads:

The ever after, the demonic realm that parallels the human world, is shrinking. If it disappears completely, so does all magic. It's up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to avert catastrophe and keep life from changing... for the worse.

While saving the world is important, it isn't Rachel's only motivation. There's also the small fact that she caused the ley line to rip in the first place, setting off a chain reaction of unfortunate events. That little mistake has made her life forfeit unless she can fix it. It's also made her more than a few enemies, including the most powerful demon in the ever after—a terrifying entity who eats souls and now has an insatiable appetite for her. He's already kidnapped her friend and goddaughter to lure her out, and if Rachel doesn't give herself up soon, they'll die.

But Rachel has more than a few impressive and frightening skills of her own, and she isn't going to hand over her soul and her life without one hell of a fight. She's also got a surprise: elven tycoon Trent Kalamack. With this unlikely ally beside her—a prospect both thrilling and unnerving—she's going to return to the ever after, kick some demon butt, rescue her loved ones... and prevent an apocalypse before it's too late. Or, at least that's the plan...