For a Few Demons More by Kim Harrison

Title: For a Few Demons More

Author: Kim Harrison

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: The Hollows # 5

Publication: March 20, 2007, 456 pages

Source: Libby, Audiobook

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Despite dating one vampire and living with another, Rachel Morgan has stayed ahead of trouble until now. A serial killer stalks the Hollows, claims victims across society, and ignites a vicious Inderland gang war. Rachel hides an ancient artifact that could stop the killer or start a battle to the death among supernatural races of Cincinnati. Every action has its price. When the vampire master Piscary is set free and the demonic Algaliarept dares to walk openly under the sun, even Rachel Morgan can't hide forever.

MY THOUGHTS

For the love of all that is holy, can we please stop with the Rachel and Ivy storyline? It's extremely toxic. It’s not interesting and adds nothing to the overall plot except to frustrate the reader. The beginning of For a Few Demons More is bogged down by Ivy-related drama, which unfortunately overshadows what should be one of the main storylines; a murder investigation. It wasn’t until the final 20% of the book that things finally picked up and got interesting. But getting there was a drag.

I own most of the books in the series and feel somewhat obligated to read them, but with each new installment, my tolerance for the characters continues to dwindle. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, the only characters I’m remotely interested in are David and Trent, maybe Quen and Ceri now. Everyone else, Rachel included, has been disappointing. We’re five books in, and Rachel’s character development has stagnated or worse, regressed.

In this latest installment, we see that most people fear Rachel, assuming she works with demons (which, to be fair, she kind of does), and therefore believe she’s a powerful witch. Yet when it actually counts, like when Kisten was being attacked by vampires, Rachel failed to act in any meaningful way. Once again, she survives not through cleverness or growth but thanks to the help of others or sheer dumb luck. I don’t like Ivy, and when a supposedly climactic scene involving her came around, I didn’t feel anything. The prospect of losing her wasn’t upsetting and unfortunately, she’s still around.

I genuinely hope the next books improve, especially now that certain characters are (hopefully) out of the picture. I also hope Harrison removes Al from the narrative. I thought he was gone, yet here he is again. If there’s an endgame involving him, it’s not apparent. He adds nothing of value to the story. If you removed him entirely, the plot wouldn’t change...which says a lot.

At this point, my reviews of The Hollows series are starting to sound like a broken record. Nothing has improved, and the characters remain a hot mess. Rachel is always whining and crying. I started this series hoping for a mature urban fantasy. So far, it’s just not delivering.

Every Which Way but Dead by Kim Harrison

Title: Every Which Way but Dead

Author: Kim Harrison

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: The Hollows # 3

Publication: 501 pages, June 28, 2005

Source: Personal Library

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There's no witch in Cincinnati tougher, sexier, or more screwed up than bounty hunter Rachel Morgan, who's already put her love life and soul in dire jeopardy through her determined efforts to bring criminal night creatures to justice.

Between "runs," she has her hands full fending off the attentions of her blood-drinking partner, keeping a deadly secret from her backup, and resisting a hot new vamp suitor.

Rachel must also take a stand in the war that's raging in the city's underworld, since she helped put away its former vampire kingpin - and made a deal with a powerful demon to do so that could cost her an eternity of pain, torment, and degradation.

And now her dark "master" is coming to collect his due.

MY THOUGHTS

Three books into The Hollows, and there hasn't been much improvement for our heroine, Rachel Morgan. Many of the problems she faced were entirely her own doing. Which would've been preventable if she stopped to think before rushing in. The demon Al continues to cause havoc, as always, trying to drag Rachel into the Ever After. Oddly enough, Rachel manages to outsmart Al toward the end, and I sincerely hope this is the last we see of him because his storyline has become repetitive and stale.

Nick, Rachel’s boyfriend, or rather, ex-boyfriend has finally left. I must say, I’m relieved. I never liked him, and his presence in the group added nothing to the story. As for Ivy, Rachel’s vampire friend and roommate, I’m tired of her as well. She’s overly possessive of Rachel in a way that comes off as borderline romantic, and honestly, it’s just creepy. The author tries to excuse it as a vampire trait, but… no. Just no. Even Rachel is growing frustrated with it! The codependency is pathetic, especially considering Ivy is supposedly next in line to be the most powerful vampire in Cincinnati. Powerful, how?

The only part of the book that truly piqued my interest was Rachel’s interactions with Trent. I enjoyed learning more about their connection and Rachel’s past. The more I read about Trent, the more I realize he’s not so bad. Compared to everyone else in Rachel’s life, he might actually be the most normal and sane one. We’re also introduced to a new character, David, whom I really liked. I hope to see more of him, especially after everything that happened at the end.

Every Which Way but Dead was a decent addition to the series, better than the first two. While Rachel remains frustrating, I’ll keep reading for now, if only to see more of Trent and David.

The Mist Thief by L.J .Andrews

Title: The Mist Thief

Author: L.J. Andrews

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Ever Seas #3

Paperback, 454 pages 

Publication: June 30, 2024

Source: Personal Library
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She tried to kill him, so he made her his wife.

Skadi first met her husband-to-be with blades in hand on the opposite side of a battle. She lost, and he claimed his prize.

To her horror, the king of the shadow elven agrees to marry her off to Jonas, a prince in the fae realms, as a way to unite their kingdoms against a shared enemy—the light elves. Skadi knows the marriage is nothing but a political game. Feelings won’t come into play.

Except her new husband makes not falling in love . . . challenging.

When new threats arise, Skadi must decide to either love her enemy, or keep him alive by betraying him to another.

MY THOUGHTS

To be frank, I had no interest in reading The Mist Thief. The couple, Jonas and Skadi seemed like a poor choice and are polar opposite and yes, I am familiar with the term 'opposite attracts'. And of all the characters in the Ever Seas series, I couldn't care less about Skadi. The only reason I read The Mist Thief was because of the following book, book 4 features Tate and Mira...and I don't want to miss any detail, so of course I read the third installment in the Ever Seas series. And I must say the title was poorly chosen. Skadi isn't a thief in any capacity. And while I've read both The Ever King and The Ever Queen books...when I got to this book, I had no idea who was chosen based on that title alone. Odd choice. 

The Mist Thief follows the popular trope, marriage of convenience between the Elven Princess Skadi and Alver Prince Jonas. Jonas is one of Livie's best friends whom reader met in the first book, The Ever King and we met Skadi in the last book, The Ever Queen. There wasn't much going on in this installment. Skadi and Jonas spent half the book fighting their attraction to each other which involved a lot of miscommunications (a trope I hate). During this time, we also saw them spending their time in Jonas's kingdom and Skadi's kingdom. What irked me the most about the entire story was the marriage contract and Skadi's grandfather scheming and trying to make and break contracts throwing Skadi around like a pawn. The entire situation was preventable, but of course...there would be no story without it. I didn't care about Jonas or Skadi's relationship. Skadi's personality at the beginning and the end were essentially the same to me. Her character development could've been better written but, in my opinion, she didn't have any qualities that stood out. Jonas was a cookie-cutter hero that I've seen countless of time. Unoriginal and boring. The only characters that stood out and surprised me at how much I enjoyed reading about them were Jonas's parents' Kase and Mal (Yes, also aware they have their own story in the original series. I haven't read it.)

So far I've read three novels in The Ever Sea Series by Andrews...and while her writing is good, the plot points are ALL the same. It's following a template or formula that makes it predictable. The author follows certain beats to the story which seems to always concludes with a ''battle'' in the last 20% of the novel and ends up being poorly done and rushed. It literally happened in all three novels. I prefer books that surprises me. Because I saw everything in this book miles away.

I am glad I pushed myself to finish this book, so I can get to Tate and Mira's novel. But all in all, I won't be picking up any other books by Andrews in the future after The Stolen Crown releases. The quality isn't there and that's something I can clearly see now with how many novels are published within the world/spinoff books. Quality over quantity. 

Middle-Earth: From Script to Screen by Daniel Falconer

Title: Middle-Earth: From Script to Screen
Author: Daniel Falconer
Genre: Non-Fiction
Series: N/A

Hardcover, 512 Pages
Publication: November 21, 2017 by Harper Design

Source: I received a review copy in exchange for a honest review.

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Middle-Earth: From Script to Screen tells the complete story of how J. R. R. Tolkien's magic world was brought to vivid life on the big screen in the record-breaking film trilogies The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy and The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy. Drawing on resources, stories, and content from the archives of the companies and individuals behind the films, much of which have never appeared in print before, as well as interviews with director Peter Jackson and key members of the Art Department, Shooting Crews, Park Road Post, and Weta Digital teams who share their personal insights on the creative process, this astonishing resource reveals: How the worlds were built, brick by brick and pixel by pixel;How environments were extended digitally or imagined entirely as computer generated spaces;How the multiple shooting units functioned;How cast members and characters interacted with their environments.

I legitimately screamed when I received Middle-Earth: From Script to Screen in the mail. It was like, “how did they know I am a big fan of both film trilogies by Peter Jackson?!” This book is massive, the biggest compendium I’ve ever seen; It’s approximately 10x12 inches, over 500 pages and pretty heavy! I imagine it’d be over 10 pounds, if not more and it is beyond beautiful. The compendium cover consisted of a matte dark forest green with a scenic image of Rivendell as the background and a risen golden decorative border. At the center was the shiny, slightly raised image of the well-known, infamous ring that started it all. Like previous Harper Design compendium, I loved the additional reading ribbon, a golden ribbon that tied everything together. The entire cover design was very cohesive and appeasing to the eyes; another stellar book by Harper Design.

One of my favorite aspect of film is learning about what happened behind the scenes. How the films came to be and all the stages that came in between. Middle-Earth: From Script to Screen is a all-encompassing, in-depth look at the creation of Tolken’s most beloved novels brought to life. The book was full of stunning conceptual artwork, pictures from the films, blueprints, quotes from cast and crew and so much more. Each chapter was dedicated to a key location from the films; such as The Shire, Rivendell, The Misty Mountain, Mirkwood, Rohan, and Mordor to name a few.

Middle-Earth: From Script to Screen is a must-have, must-read for all Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Fans, or any movie aficionado. Everything that you’ve ever wanted to know about Middle-Earth lies with the pages of this stunning book. The labor of love that went into Middle-Earth is evident; I can’t imagine how long it took to compile everything needed for this compendium. Falconer and Harper Design has out did themselves. This book can only be appreciated in person, like art that is displayed in a museum. If you want to truly own a master piece in your own home, then you need this book as part of your personal library. I highly recommend this book to everyone, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!