Review: Million Dollar Demon by Kim Harrison

Million Dollar Demon (The Hollows, Book #15)

by Kim Harrison

Release Date: June 15th 2021

2021 Ace Books

Kindle Edition; 464 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593101445

ASIN: B08

Audiobook: B08

Genre: Fiction / Urban Fantasy

Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary

The new master vampire of Cincinnati has arrived . . . and she wants Rachel Morgan out. No matter where Rachel goes, Constance is there--threatening Rachel's allies, causing city-wide chaos, and, to add insult to injury, even forcing Rachel out of her current quarters. Ever since Rachel found a way to save the souls of vampires, the old undead's longtime ascendancy has been broken. Now Constance sees eliminating Rachel as the key to consolidating her own power.

Rachel has no desire to be enthralled or killed--and she's terrified of what may become of the city if Constance forces a return to the ancient ways. But even a witch-born demon can't stand against the old undead--at least, not alone. And if Rachel refuses to claim the role of Cincinnati's master demon, the city will tear itself apart, taking her and all those who stand beside her with it.

 

My Thoughts

Million Dollar Demon is the next entry in the The Hollows series featuring Rachel Morgan and I definitely liked it a lot more than the previous entry.  I felt like Rachel was more like her usual kick-ass self, and was much more willing to lay it on the line, so to speak.  Maybe having Trent in the background for most of the book played a role in this, or having Rachel back in her beloved church, I don't really care the reason, it was nice to have the kick-butt Rachel Morgan back.   

There were a host of characters in this book, and it was nice to see long-time favourites make an appearance, even if it was for only a chapter.  Like I've already mentioned, the Rachel Morgan I've come to appreciate was back.  I don't know what happened to her in the previous book, but she was so dependent on Trent and what he thought that it really got on my nerves: in this book, Rachel asked Trent for his opinion, but if she didn't agree, she made her own plans and made them work.  It's also nice to the see the more vulnerable side of her along with that tougher side, and I have to admire the author for making that work as I can't imagine it's easy to do.  I definitely empathized with her fear and the responsibility she was going to have to take on if she did what she knew she had to do, and I liked that her doubts were intertwined throughout the story in such a way that it didn't make her seem weak, but actually made her seem stronger and not power hungry. 

I love Trent as a character, but there is a part of me that still misses the 'evil' Trent of previous books as his character was just so much fun.  His character is actually getting on my nerves at the moment as the author keeps hinting about his financial business without giving any information, and while it was interesting at first, now it's just getting annoying.  I am hoping the author finally picks up his story line in the next book because I don't necessarily want to read another book of 'is he' or 'isn't he' broke and I would like to learn more about his leader status and what is happening with that. 

The writing style is great as always, with a good combination of action and character development.  I don't mind the slow-burn sections as I find them interesting and they allow me a chance to really get to know the characters and the world.  There are actually a lot of threads in this book, and only a few of them were completely developed, and completed, in this book, so I am expecting some interesting things to happen in the next future.  And Rachel's interactions with Pike? My favourite parts of the book, hands down.  

I wasn't a big fan of Constance and how she was portrayed though.  I understand the author was trying to show her as this deranged, dangerous, vicious vampire who was essentially having major self-esteem issues, but I just felt like her character wasn't developed enough for me to get that evil, scary vibe that is so essential to a story like this.  Everyone was so frightened of her, but I just...didn't....feel...it.  Some of the things she did, one in particular, were not so great, and she definitely tried to stop Rachel from gaining a power base with some tactics I thought were interesting, but big bad scary wasn't it, at least for me.

Verdict

Million Dollar Demon was an enjoyable entry in The Hollows series, and I am really glad I continued the books, especially after the last one.  The story was interesting and I definitely enjoyed Rachel's interactions with both old and new characters.  I've always thought one of the strengths of these books is the fact the author spends time developing her characters so that you care a lot about them, even the ones who are up to no good.  If you are new to this series, I do recommend you start at the beginning in order to get a full understanding of the world and the characters.  I am looking forward to the next book as there are some interesting times ahead for Rachel.