The Undead Pool (The Hollows #12)

Kim Harrison released a new book in The Hollows series a couple days ago, absolutely truly intoxicating news for me. I\’ve gone back a few books to reimerse myself in her world before the absolute happiness of starting the new one. When she declared the series finished in 2014, I was so sad. Hearing that a new book was thing to be released exhilarated me; I pre-purchased on Amazon immediately and with breath-held glee. Now I\’m waiting for the new Dresden Files July 14th, *squeal.* And I sure hope Charlaine Harris goes back to Sookie; a girl can dream.. And if Patrick Rothfuss would release the 3rd in his trilogy, Brandon Sanderson would go back to The Wheel of Time, and George R. R. Martin would release his next… Absolute bliss could be ours for the taking..

When The Undead Pool was originally published back in 2014, it was planned that the series would come to a close after 13 books. This being book 12 would indicate we\’re nearing the end of the story arc. But woohoo! Ms. Harrison is publishing a return to the Hollows book later this year titled American Demon so hopefully we won\’t be saying goodbye to Rachel and Jenks for some time yet. 🙂 In The Undead Pool, Rachel is again out to save the world, with Trent right by her side. I don\’t want to give away too much, but if you\’ve been watching the relationship (or previous lack thereof) between Rachel and Trent, you\’ll definitely be surprised how things develop here. Suffice to say, I was gleefully happy with the direction it\’s taken. 😉 Overall, this was a fantastic addition to the series—fun, fast-paced, and exciting. Highly recommended!! But definitely start with Book 1, Dead Witch Walking.

Whoa. I mean whoa. I am a horrible fan who got this book when it was released and then didn\’t read it. Why? I have no idea. This was SO. FREAKING. GOOD! I have to admit, because it had been a while since I\’d read the series, it was a little hard to get into, but once the ball was rolling, I had to work to keep up! And while I realize that in PNR, authors have quite a bit of leverage in terms of where the story can go (no annoying reality or physics to deal with, lol), this was really imaginative! And I loved that Trent sort of grew a pair and decided what he really wanted and completely backed it with his actions. Now I look forward to the end of the series. It will be bittersweet to see it end, but I also think it will be phenomenal.

This is a big story in this series because Trent and Rachel finally become a couple. They have been enemies, allies, employer-employee and many other things through the course of this series. They have been flirting with each other and wanting each other and denying each other for what each deems good reasons for two years. Elves and demons are not supposed to have a relationship of equals. After all, elves and demons fought a war which isn\’t ancient history to the long-lived demons. Both Trent and Rachel are dealing with other big issues too. Strange magic is attacking Cincinnati and spells are going wrong. It is like they are all supercharged. Besides that the Free Vampires have found some way to put all the Master Vampires to sleep which is leaving the Master\’s vampires rudderless and confused. Then there is the ancient elven goddess who is wandering around. The Free Vampires are trying to catch pieces of her because the pieces are essential to keep the Master Vampires asleep. Rachel becomes a magnet for these pieces of the Elven Goddess and they come very near to making her insane. She has to find a way to free these pieces from the Free Vampires and reunite them with their goddess. Trent is also facing issues with other elves. Ellasbeth is making a play to keep his daughters from him and he is losing his role as speaker in the elven enclave. That means his political influence in Cincinnati is decreasing. This was an excellent story which makes me want to read THE WITCH WITH NO NAME immediately. Luckily, it is on my Kindle waiting for me.

I enjoy this series enough to stick with it until the end. Like many reviewers, I think the first books in the series were stronger than later ones. I only buy these when the price drops low for the kindle editions, they aren\’t worth the full price in my opinion. I enjoyed it but was able to set it aside for several days at a time and come back to it later. When a book really pulls me in, I can\’t do that and have to read it every chance I get until completed. Despite the horrible things Trent has done in the past, I can accept a romance between Rachael and himself. She doesn\’t make the best choices in men so I believe it. The relationship was just so slow going, it drug out too long. a this point they\’ve known each other for years, if they want to do the deed, just get on with it. Rachael is constantly pining to touch his hair and she gets way too excited when he touches the small of her back which also happens a lot. I can think of other safe body parts to touch in the presence of other people. When the author introduces the concept of the mystics as a magical force, it was hard for me to picture in my head. Normally her descriptions and explanations of the different types of magic and paranormal forces are well done but the entire mystics phenomena was shady. Maybe that was the intent but it didn\’t flow well for me.

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