Million Dollar Demon

Kim Harrison's fifteenth installment of The Hollows series, Million Dollar Demon, gives us what we ask for, a fun story that shows off what Rachel does best. Rachel always brings the Moxie.

Rachel has her hands in many proverbial pies. She is a strong presence in the magic community of Cincinnati. Admired by friend and foe, she commands respect both for her personality and force of will, and her ability to use magic. In this installment of the series, Rachel has to contend with a new vampire in town, Constance.

Right off of the bat, Constance hits Rachel where it hurts, and that is messing with her home and foundational support in the community. Constance goes after Rachels's allies and their homes, causing Rachel to consolidate everyone at her property, the partially destroyed church. Constance is trying to consolidate her power base, and between the two of them is a battle of wills. It is also interesting the contrast that Rachel and Constance have with each other. Rachel tries to take the high road and think about the citizens of Cincinnati, while Constance thinks only of herself and her power. She constantly takes the low road and is deplorable.

Even with the big squeeze coming from Constance's vampires, the cast of characters is strong in this story. Again, like in the previous novel, Ivy is absent. But Jenks and Trent are still huge in Rachel's life. We have a new character we are introduced to, and that is Pike. Pike is the scion to Constance and in a very gray area. For the entirety of the novel, I had no idea where he stood. I liked that a lot and found that once again, Harrison writes fun and exciting characters that are relatable even though they live in an urban fantasy world.

Al didn't play a massive role in this book as he is estranged from Rachel, but I am looking forward to future books where he comes back. The relationship/father figure thing that Al has with Rachel is one of the best parts of the series.

Once again, Kim Harrison has written a great book. The Hollows is consistently a great series with engaging characters. That is a giant accomplishment, especially since this is book 15. There is still more story to tell; with the way that Harrison writes, I could probably enjoy this series for another 15 books.

You can't go wrong with one of the best urban fantasy series out there.

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Million Dollar Demon

The Hollows are dissolving into chaos as the new master vampire, Constance, sinks her fangs into Cincinnati. Uprooting witches, demons, vampires, and all other denizens, she's staking a claim on the territory for her camarilla and leaving hosts of people homeless. But the citizens of the Hollows won't go down without a fight. Rachel finds herself among those tossed onto the streets and what starts as a joke curse to needle Constance, evolves into a war. And at the end of their conflict, Cincinnati will either have a master vampire, or a master demon overseeing the city.

Million Dollar Demon will push Rachel to new magical heights and open her eyes to the possibilities around her. For most of the series Rachel has relied on Jenks and Ivy, but this time Ivy is wrapped up in vampire politics and out of the picture. Rachel and Jenks will team up with an assortment of characters as they clash with an unhinged master vampire. The chemistry and comradery experienced in this book bring it to a new level of enjoyment. Now don't get me wrong, I love Ivy and the way she plays an important part in the team, but Kim Harrison is shifting the series in a new direction. We knew it had to happen at some point. Rachel, Ivy, and Jenks have been evolving as characters and heading in this direction for quite some time. But have no fear, this story is just as entertaining as the previous novels.

Kim Harrison never fails to put her characters into challenging situations, forcing them to change plans last minute and improvise. The conflict and tension are so well written, drawing both characters and readers into the moment. But despite all she faces, Rachel will never change who she is or what she fights for. She will never cross the line so many are pushing her to cross. And that is one of the core reasons I love her character. Despite all the stress, pressure, and internal torment, Rachel does what is right. She may make mistakes, she may second guess herself, but at the root of it all, she is a good person and does her best for those she loves.

I've said it so many times and yet I'll say it again and again. The Hollows is my absolute favorite urban fantasy series. The characterization is remarkable, the plot is constantly evolving and twisting in ways you can't predict, and the world-building is so incredible. If you love urban fantasy, you have to give this series a try.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S MILLION DOLLAR DEMON ABOUT?
It hasn't been all that long for Rachel Morgan, but for her readers, it's been ten books (and 14 years) since Cincinnati's Master Vampire was killed. When this book opens, Constance, the new Master Vampire is days away from arriving to take over.

But she's already exerting her influence to make things difficult for non-Vampire Interlanders in the city. From bogus evictions, trumped-up charges, intimidation, and just about everything else you can think of. There's a certain common denominator among many of these targets—they're tied in some way to Rachel. In more than a few cases, Rachel herself is clearly the target.

The message delivered is very clear—it's time for Rachel to get out of town. Otherwise, Constance is going to make Rachel's life miserable—and she'll also target Rachel's friends and families, their friends and families, and anyone that looks like might be sympathetic.

One of Rachel's demon friends mentions an idea—it hasn't been used recently but there is an old demon office called the subrosa—essentially the demon equivalent of the Master Vampire (there are nuances that I need to let you read for yourselves). Rachel initially blows off the suggestion to take up that mantle and from that position she can take on Constance, save some innocents and perhaps the city. But she keeps circling back to that idea, and her allies keep trying to talk her into it.

As a quick aside—Jane Yellowrock has a tendency to do things like this, too (I just finished revisiting Raven Cursed and the two reminded me of each other). It might not be a bad idea when someone mentions you taking up a title/position that you've never heard of to ask a few questions before you think about assuming the title.

Add in the ongoing drama with Trent and the Elves, the Elves fluctuating power structure, the changing relations between Elves and Demons, the Demons internal problems, Rachel's problems with the Demons (and Al in particular), and...well, all the stuff that we all thought were pretty well settled until last year's American Demon showed us we were wrong. Basically, there's a lot going on.

CONTSANCE
The idea that the ruling Vampires named Constance as the City's Master is pretty troubling. She is, to put it simply, bat guano crazy. I don't remember a lot about her predecessor, Piscary, but I remember he was nasty and cruel. But Constance is a monster. She's the kind of character that UF heroes are supposed to be focused on taking down, I wish Rachel had been quicker to step up (although I do understand her reasoning). I've been reading Urban Fantasy for about sixteen years, and I've seen a lot of nasty vampires (and other creatures), and Constance has got to be in the running for the worst.

But I've got to tell you, by the end of this book, I was convinced that her #2, Pike, is likely the vampire that's the real threat. I'm wondering what you think.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT MILLION DOLLAR DEMON?
I liked it. I had a lot of fun in these pages. And for a series as long-in-the-tooth as this one is, that's saying something.

I didn't get as thorough in this post as usually do and/or intended to. I had a few more notes that I wanted to cover, and I actually deleted 5 paragraphs from this because it just ended up being too vague to be of use—or all that interesting. Almost everything that I really wanted to chew on falls under what I'd call a spoiler.

Because there is a lot going on here—after shaking up the status quo in American Demon Harrison establishes—or at least starts to—a new status quo. She's ignored Vampires for quite a while, and that's over (and we shouldn't expect that werewolves won't stay out of the spotlight, either). I'm not convinced she's pushing Elves or Demons to the back burner any time soon, but they're going to have company on the front. How she's going to keep all these balls in the air at the same time? I have no idea, but it's going to be fun to watch.

Million Dollar Demon was exciting, there was plenty of drama, a lot of good action, and some important character growth—and as I said, it was fun. At the end of the day, that's all I ask for.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.