A Perfect Blood (The Hollows, Book 10) [Hardcover]

Kim Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 21, 2012 | Series: The Hollows (Book 10)

“I wouldn’t miss a Kim Harrison book for anything.”
—Charlaine Harris

There’s nothing more darkly satisfying than time spent in the Hollows—New York Times bestseller Kim Harrison’s alternate urban fantasy Cincinnati where vampires, pixies, and werewolves roam free. Harrison takes us back in A Perfect Blood, as former bounty hunter witch-turned-reluctant daywalking demon Rachel Morgan investigates a series of ritual murders, only to discover to her horror that whomever—or whatever—is responsible is actually seeking her blood.  Rachel’s sexy, supernatural adventures have consistently landed atop bestseller lists from coast-to-coast, and A Perfect Blood is no exception—another supremely satisfying excursion to a deliciously eerie fantasy realm that’s certain to delight Kim Harrison’s voracious army of fans…not to mention Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs, and Stephanie Meyers aficionados, and any reader who craves a walk on the wild, dark side.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Harrison’s colorful cast of supporting characters keeps the story moving among the fast-paced action scenes. Longtime fans will obviously be standing in line for this one. However, readers with any interest in urban fantasy can easily jump into the story.” (Library Journal)

“With the end of this popular series coming soon, fans will be savoring the remaining episodes all the more, and those who have delayed entry will begin jumping on board.” (Booklist)

“The pace and tone of A Perfect Blood reflects its protagonist: a little more cautious, reflective and purposeful, and the book is more powerful as a result…Harrison provides the strongest and most self-assured Rachel we’ve seen yet.” (Miami Herald)

“Kim Harrison has created a popular series that captures the imagination.” (North County Times)

From the Back Cover

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

Pulled in by the FIB to help investigate, former witch-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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager; First Edition edition (February 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780061957895
• ISBN-13: 978-0061957895
• ASIN: 0061957895
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (392 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times bestselling Kim Harrison was born and raised in the upper Midwest, but has since fled south to better avoid snow. After gaining her bachelors in the sciences, she moved to South Carolina, where she has remained since. When not at work in the Hollows series, she spends her time tending orchids, cooking with some guy in leather, and training her new dog. Her current vices include good chocolate, and exquisite sushi. She is a member of both the Romance Writers of America and The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Her bestselling novels include Dead Witch Walking; The Good, The Bad, and The Undead; Every Which Way But Dead; A Fistful of Charms; and For a Few Demons More.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#13 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#17 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#25 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#72 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#97 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

#13 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#17 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#25 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#72 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#97 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

340 of 383 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Romantically charged and brimming with action, Harrison delivers a satisfying installment in the Rachel Morgan Series November 23, 2011

By Fiendishly Bookish VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

*tiny spoiler

At the end of Pale Demon, Trent sagely outlines to Rachel the danger of rendering herself helpless in the midst of so many enemies. Brought back from the brink of death after kicking Ku'Sox's butt, and nearly losing her aura by unwittingly carving out a new ley line that has devastating effects in the everafter, Rachel has some tough choices to make. Will she try to live her life without her demon enhanced abilities? Can she? Can she even go back to being an earth witch?

Harrison smartly leads with this thought in A Perfect Blood where Rachel will reap the consequences of her all decisions...good and bad, to finally realize that with great power, comes great responsibility. With one charmed Elven bracelet, Rachel chooses to effectively cut herself off from the scrutiny of the demon collective, ley lines...even Al thinks she's dead. After the fracas in San Francisco, even the Inderlander government has her declared dead. But has she chosen wisely?

When a deep-seated cell of HAPA (Humans Against Paranormals Association) embarks on a sinister quest to tinker with witch blood carrying the Rosewood syndrome and develop an unearthly weapon against all Inderlander species, Rachel and the gang are up against a foe that will stop at nothing to bring humans back on top of the food chain. While Rachel's past incursions have mostly been personal, HAPA's threat spells doom for all Inderlanders and if they succeed it would make the Elf/Demon war look like a walk in the park compared to the death and destruction that would reign down in the Hollows and everywhere else.

This pronounced intensity rages throughout A Perfect Blood, honing the point home that everything is at risk, and Rachel's final decision about her destiny will be the ultimate game changer. Even the schisms between the I.S. and F.I.B. have to be put to rights-inter-agency cooperation is absolutely essential in combating HAPA.

In order to make this happen, Harrison has introduced a few peripheral characters and situations that makes the mix more interesting, the mysterious vamp Felix (head of the IS) who creatively "borrows" Nina's body (reminiscent of Ghastek in Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series) and Wayde, Rachel's new were bodyguard makes an appearance, bringing the were contingent into battle by proxy. Even Glenn has a hidden agenda but is playing nice. And there is also the suspicion that HAPA might already be entrenched in either the I.S. or F.I.B...or both.

A Perfect Blood is also about integrating normality into Rachel's rather abnormal life. Harrison sets a few homey scenes in between battles that relieve some of the tension, and we get a few appearances of Ceri, her new daughter Ray, and Trent's daughter Lucy, a billiard scene with Wayde. Ivy and Jenks have even seemed to move out of their transitional phase...Ivy now in a relationship, and Jenks interestingly enough could be enamored by Belle (Sidereal's daughter, the fairy, from Black Magic Sanction). This only puts the focus more on Rachel as she tries to suss out her romantic life and its uncertain future.

Though fans might have been expecting a love connection with one particular character (Trent), instead we find a true burgeoning friendship developing between them that doesn't disappoint. To what end...we shall see. Rather, it more than whetted my appetite. Harrison is smokingly seductive, as she taunts us page after page with their interactions.

First Trent and Rachel must learn to be friends, learn to trust before anything else can happen and that means that Rachel has to forgive Trent and drop the animosity she has for him.

The newfound playfulness between Rachel and Trent is refreshing and intensely appealing. Rachel finds herself musing more and more about Trent (and his hair!), unable (or unwilling) to recognize what those feelings really mean. He continues to prove himself yet again as he protects her from Al, HAPA, and even herself. He is instrumental-absolutely key in helping Rachel grow into who she is (he admits it to her and Al). He even alludes that he is her S'han. Come on...he made her a ley line pinky ring...there is obviously more there than meets the eye, but Harrison is playing it close to the vest.

Besides Trent being absolutely fantastic in A Perfect Blood...sexy...single-minded, and just plain delicious-I honestly don't think Harrison is going to abandon this yummy loose end. There's too much invested in it and it seems pretty clear that Harrison is building a foundation...will Rachel end up taking the plunge? I would have definitely liked to have seen a repeat of that smoldering kiss in Pale Demon, but still readers will raise eyebrows over and over again at the delicious hints that Harrison scatters throughout the book. It's simply tantalizing, but looks like we'll have to wait to see what happens in Book #11.

Once again, Kim Harrison stole my sleep because I simply could not put it down. Was it worth it? Hell yeah. Harrison never disappoints and the quality of A Perfect Blood was consistent with all her previous novels, energetic and romantically charged. Hands down...I loved it.

A Fiendishly Bookish Review

108 of 129 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Lots of frustration to get through to the good stuff! November 24, 2011

By A Book a Day TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I have to admit that I was rather disenchanted with the repetition the series was taking on for the first 6 or 7 books. After reading Pale Demon, five stars in my opinion, I was completely reinvigorated and couldn't wait to see where A Perfect Blood was going to take us, and after reading it, I guess my answer is actually, not very far. After everything that went down in the 9th book, I was dying to see if Rachel and Trent would finally develop a friendship or how Al would react if he finds out Rachel is alive, or if she was going to embrace her powers and try to save Pierce, or even what the impact would be when Ivy acknowledged that they were on different paths, and to be fair, some of this is addressed, but the way it was addressed was either frustrating or somewhat anticlimactic and the book as a whole took a completely different direction.

Several months after defeating Kusox, Rachel is struggling to adjust with her new life as a demon. Declared deceased, she has no laws to protect her, she can't get her new car registered or her driver's license renewed, and she needs a body guard since she's wearing a bracelet that strips her of her demonic power. When Interlander Security recruits Rachel for an investigation that hits a little too close to home, Rachel takes it personally. A group called HAPA, Humans Against Paranormal Association, are trying to genetically create demons for their blood to spell the supernatural world into extinction and they're modeling Rachel to do this, targeting witches who are carriers of Rosewood Syndrome. Even though Rachel is nearly defenseless, not having her witch or demon powers, she stubbornly gets involved, forcing two agencies to work together, and learns some very hard lessons along the way.

My frustration with the series has always been the lack of growth in Rachel's character. I can honestly say that we finally see development here, but it's almost too little too late, and the story starts with Rachel reverting back to her impulsive, lascivious, and often downright stupid self. After saving her life and naming her his daughter's god mother in Pale Demon, Rachel intentionally avoids Trent for five months even though he's been trying to talk to her, she runs away from her bodyguard, and she makes herself an easy target for a group who'll stop at nothing to get demon blood, all the while waffling over the various men she finds attractive. The first two hundred pages are very slow and repetitive with limited action and much of the focus on the investigation, introducing new characters as well as enemies. Around the two hundred page mark, things really start to pick up and if I were rating this just on that, it would have been a five, but it really felt like half the book was filler. I'm finding that the amount of Trent in the book is directly correlated to my opinion because we see him grow and develop showing new sides to himself and unfortunately, he's firmly rooted towards the end and not evenly throughout. The ending is fantastic, and once again leaves you guessing on what will happen next, but after defeating the biggest baddest demon in the last book, it was difficult to accept the struggles against, dare I say, mere humans.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Small Step for Rachel December 14, 2011

By Summeroz

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This book takes place about 5 months after Pale Demon. I truly loved Pale Demon I thought it reinvigorated the series really brought in some great ideas and plot lines. However I felt that A Perfect Blood was sort of a staging novel. Kim Harrison used it to set up a bunch of things to come in other books. Things like : Rachel's life once she truly accepts being a demon, a possible new relationship with Trent (what kind we don't know) and conflict (?) with old friends Ivy and Jenks.

However Rachel is still Rachel. Untrusting, leading with her gut not her head, lonely, and still getting beat up all the time (actually that is kind of amusing). I really want Rachel to grow out of the "woe is me" phase and doing things that just don't make any sense. She should group up a little (which admittedly she does a tiny tiny bit in this book)

I gave this book 3 stars b/c although there was some action and plot there really wasn't too much advancement it was all just set up for the future. The Hollows fans will still enjoy it but don't expect it to be as good as Pale Demon.