For A Few Demons More is the fifth installment in Kim Harrison’s Hollows series about witch and independent runner, Rachel Morgan. Taking place a couple of months after the end of book #4, summer in Cincinnati finds Rachel as a bridesmaid in Trent Kalamack’s wedding?!

 

From Audible.com:

Despite dating one vampire and living with another, Rachel Morgan has always managed to stay just ahead of trouble…until now.

A fiendish serial killer stalks the Hollows, claiming victims across society, and the resulting terror ignites a vicious Inderland gang war. And while the ancient artifact Rachel is hiding may be the key to stopping the murderer, revealing it could also create a battle to the death among the numerous supernatural races that live in and around Cincinnati.

For every action has its price, and 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.

 

Rote spoiler warning!

I’m really rushing through these audio books, partly because I have SO many books on audio that I want to get to but also because I’ve been approved to read a galley of book #9 in the series, Pale Demon and I’m extremely anxious to refresh my memory of events in the later books of the series to date before I begin reading that.

This book has the usual antics by Rachel, her partners and her friends including Trent Kalamack begging her to attend his wedding as a bridesmaid/bodyguard because he wants her to rescue Stanley Saladin from his stint as Al’s familiar. Trent apparently blames Rachel for Lee’s imprisonment, though she had actually tried to keep Lee from being taken by appealing to his better nature, even though he didn’t seem to have one at the time.

We also see the Focus that Rachel kept Nick from stealing in the last book begin to wreak havoc on Rachel’s world by causing her alpha David, who’s holding onto the were artifact for Rachel, to accidentally turn women he’s slept with into werewolves. Damn. And as if that weren’t bad enough, we have Newt, the insane demon that Rachel met in book #3 after Al took Lee, traipsing across the lines and blaspheming the church to hunt for something of hers that she claims is in Rachel’s possession. Double damn.

So the scene is set for yet another face-paced adventure with demons , vampires, werewolves, pixies, elves and one very snarky witch.  Yes, I said demons as in plural. Not only is Al back -and Newt- but we meet Newt’s demon familiar, Minias. Newt and Minias have similar accents and for some reason, Gavin gives Al the same accent that she creates for the other demons, instead of the British accent used in the previous books. His character lacks something because of it and it’s difficult to think “Al” when hearing her read his parts, I keep thinking “Minias”.

That oddity aside, I still enjoy Gavin’s reading, especially the personality that she gives to Rachel. Here are some of my favorite Rachel quotes from this book: “I wasn’t often recognized and it was even more rare that I didn’t have to run away when I was.” and “Do you think I’m stupid? Don’t answer that!” Also, Jenks’ “Piss on my daisies, I knew there was something I liked about the little cookie maker!” was hilarious enough to make me laugh out loud.

The funny aside, there’s plenty of edge-of-your-seat action to be had during the course of this book and I’m ready to plow through (or fly through, rather) the rest of the series to get to Pale Demon, hopefully by next weekend!

One thing that I need to get off my chest about this book (the series, really but this book in particular) is the whole love=sex thing in regards to Ivy. It is possible for people to express love without having sex but when Ivy is talking about sharing blood with Rachel, she talks of them (love and sex, that is) as though they’re the same thing. For some reason, I couldn’t say exactly why, that really bugs me. That and the fact that everyone feels the need to continually admonish Rachel for not wanting sex with Ivy as though she owes it to her just because Ivy loves her. Again… love doesn’t equal sex! Aaand end rant. :o)

I really wasn’t looking forward to listening to The Outlaw Demon Wails on audio because Gigi Bermingham replaces the usual narrator, Marguerite Gavin so I bought the paperback and will read it, instead. This way I don’t need to worry about the mispronunciations and unfamiliar ‘voices’ that make me shake my head in resignation and/or gnash my teeth in irritation… I’ll get back to audio and Gavin in Book #7, White Witch, Black Curse.

By the way, there are excerpts from the books at the other end of most of these links I post, but you knew that, didn’t you?