Ever After By Kim Harrison

*Spoilage*

***Three 1/2 Stars!***

For me, three stars for Ever After is generous. I am a bit let down and disappointed in this book. Although I do not recommend anyone skip this book if they plan on reading anymore of this series. LOTS of things happen that will surely have you lost with the next book if you skip this one. So. Read this shit.

From the opening paragraph, something about this felt different to me. Rachel seemed off, a touch more wordy and emotional than she'd been in the last book, A Perfect Blood. I overlooked it. Then things kept being mentioned, events that apparently had happened in past books, people I remembered almost nothing about and major plot points I felt had no place in this book kept popping up. I was con-freaking-fused for a great deal of it but still, I credited it to me not having read any of the past Hollows books in a while; I was just a little misty on the past details.

Ku'Sox reprised his role in Ever After, making big waves and causing poor Trenton HUGE problems. Kidnapping his daughter and her Stand-In mommy made the big bad Elf vewy angwy. Nick and a few other almost-forgotten characters also popped in to say heylo, too.

Al seemed a little less snarky than usual, the snap and bite gone from his words. Jenks...ahh, he was still Jenks, I suppose. Just not...Jenks. I wish I could explain it better, but I can't. Ivy was absent for almost all of this book, hopping in for the last seven or so chapters but playing as small a role as Harrison dared without cutting her out of the book entirely. Which vexed me greatly. And she fxcking killed Ceri!! BY TINK'S LITTLE PINK NIPPLES, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!

*Breathes deeply* Okay. I'm sorry for snapping. I just...It was stupid. And I was enjoying the book up until then. First Piscary, Kisten, Matalina, and NOW Ceri. Oh, and Pierce - who was technically already dead but you catch my drift. Obviously Harrison has no qualms about killing off her characters. As quiet as kept, I like her all the better for it. I love a good ballsy author who isn't afraid to kill off a few people. Keeps things lively.

Trenton was a bit too mushy-romance-y for comfort, IMO anyway. It seemed to be a bit out of character for him but then again...this book kinda flip flopped around. Everybody felt a little disjointed. To me at least. Al....gosh. Rachel didn't get slapped or hit on by him once in this entire book. NOT. ONCE. I didn't get it. By all rights, Al should be such a pig, I'm forced to find him nothing but dangerously, wittingly charming in a weird sort of I'm-So-Obtuse-And-Offensive-With-My-Completely-Garish-Flirting-That-I've-Looped-Back-Over-To-Sexy kind of way.

Hey, don't judge me. Al is badass.

Rachel's favorite new word was Sorry. She said it to every single person besides herself in the damn book. If I never ever read the word 'Sorry' coming from Rachel's mouth again, it'll be too soon. Rachel seemed to break off her tough-ass-kicking-demon self and flush it down the toilet before this book because not an ounce of her HAPA and Coven ass kicking self shown on a single page of this book. Nick was able to get the drop on her and give her a good smack. Nick. Does no one else see the problem with this? Alas, I was disappointed.

Ellasbeth gave me a good giggle, though. Man, she is just awful. But I love her as a character.

The whole big-bad/antagonist/oh-shit-we've-got-trouble factor in this book was reallyyyy good. The whole Rosewood baby kidnapping thing - friggin GENIUS. But I feel it was played all wrong. Harrison could've taken it to unforeseen heights, built a platform/big-bad for the next book kind of branching off this, but it just didn't do it. I kind of feel like she's setting things up to pull Ivy completely from the series and leave Rachel with just Jenks and a handful of his kids. Oh, and Belle. Can't forget the Fairy. But, no more Ivy? Is she INSANE?!

ALTHOUGH, I DO feel like that ending with Trent just might have made Ceri's death tolerable. Maybe.

**Image Copyright to Kim Harrison, No Copyright Infringement Intended**

Why I've Been So Quiet

My sincerest apologies for being silent for more than a month but the month of December is always monstrous for me and things tend to slip through the cracks. This past December was a bit more time consuming for me because my best friend in the entire world got married! *Claps* And I was actually her Maid of Honor. It was a beautiful day, she looked breathtaking and by the end of the month, I was pooped.

Anywho, I haven't really been writing much but lately, that has changed somewhat. I've added another couple thousand words to a bit of Caleb and even some to Caylee. A few of my other WIP's are coming along as well. Slowly, but coming along nonetheless. Usually, for me, writing is an escape from my daily monotonous life. Breaking up the tedium with pockets of creativity and new secret worlds no one knows about, can criticize, poke holes in or destroy because it is all in my head and generally, what I say goes. . And I love that I am able to step back from my life and live this other full and complete life without even having to leave the safety of my own home. But some time ago, writing became something of a chore. Not a bad chore per say, but I wasn't sitting down to write for pleasure so much as 'needing' to get it out. Other writers understand me when I say that. Alas, for the past couple of weeks, I've been feeling excited about getting home and sitting down at my laptop and spending time with these wonderful people inside my head. It would be sacrilege not to tell their stories.

So I've drawn the conclusion that I will just keep writing There is no 'until'. I write, therefore I am. And there is nothing more beautiful than that. -- A.

P.S. A little teaser/snippet of Caleb will be coming soon! Next blog post is alllll about Caylee!