There is a lot going on in these books. Makes for good reading.

It is really hard to write about the Hollows books individually.  It would probably be easier if I weren’t marathoning them like all 7 seasons of Buffy, but I am, so it’s hard. If you like urban fantasy, and you haven’t read this series, you should.  The Hollows is an area of alternate universe Cincinnati populated Interlanders – Non-humans or former humans who have emerged into the open after a tomato born plague almost wipes out humanity.

There will be spoilers, but I’ll keep them as vague as I can, but no promises.

Kim Harrison keeps things interesting by having multiple story arcs that carry through over several books, problem of the book arcs that are resolved in one book and some series long stories that weave in an out.  That’s why it has been so hard for me to write a review as I finish each book.  I start a review and then I pick up the next book before I’m finished with the review.  And then I can’t remember where one book stopped and the other began.  It makes for fun reading, but frustrating reviewing.

In these three books, Rachel deals with the fallout from book 4, the murder of an important character, gets herself in deeper with the demons and lays the ground work for her coming conflict with the witch covens.  Rachel and Ivy have come a long way from their start as slightly cardboardish uneasy allies.  Their relationship feels real and nuanced.  Their grief brings them together and drives them apart, the way that grief does.  Rachel is growing as a character.  She learns from experience in the way that good characters do.  The books are fast paced and exciting, but not tight.  There’s a lot going on in each book.  They zigzag and loop crazily all over the place, going off on unexpected tangents.  Sometimes I find it frustrating.  I want Rachel to focus on the problem at hand.  But I also relish the complexity and most of these side trips fit in to the larger story which may or may not be resolved in one book.