Review: A Perfect Blood

Reviewed by Jen
 

Ever since I finished the amazing and phenomenal Pale Demon, I have been counting the days until I could get my hands on this book. Pale Demon was epic: huge action, major personal developments, and a sweeping array of the major characters in the Hollows universe. A Perfect Blood went in a decidedly different direction.

The first half of the book was hard for me to connect with. Rachel is being very introspective about the events of the last book and attempting to live her life without the benefits of ley line magic. She has been staying away from Trent and trying to find her footing in society now that she is "out" as a demon.

As the story begins, she is called in by the IS to consult on a horrific serial killer case, with overtones of demonic magic. It turns out the bad guys are actually trying to turn witches into demons, hoping to use their blood to twist curses. Rachel jumps into the case with both feet. This is partly to avenge the victims, but also partly because she knows she could be an ultimate target. She already has the perfect blood they need.

In the meantime, Rachel is sporting a new were-bodyguard --and having angst over the fact that Ivy and Jenks seem to be moving on in their lives without her. And all I could think to myself is: this would be so much better if Trent or Al were around. Trent made an innocuous appearance or two early on, but I kept wanting to skip ahead to get to the part where the spark comes back. The book just wasn't doing it for me --until Rachel gets put in big danger around the half-way point. That's when the sun came out from behind the clouds.

And from then on out, the book rocked. I became more invested in the storyline involving the killers. Al finally made an appearance. And we see more of the "real Trent" beyond his businessman facade. Is there romance? Well, it's complicated. And sometimes ambiguous. And riveting and exciting and frustrating. Rachel is at her best when she embraces who she really is and what she really wants. That's true when she's kicking ass and when she's navigating through her personal relationships. It just took her awhile to get to that point in this book. 4 stars.

*ARC Provided by Harper Collins

Click to purchase: Amazon

A Perfect Blood

by Kim Harrison

Release Date: February 21, 2012

Publisher: Harper Voyager