Kim Harrison: Early to Death, Early to Rise

• ISBN-13: 9780061441691
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Publication date: 4/26/2011
• Pages: 256

Madison Avery's dreams of fitting in at school died when she did. Especially since she'd maintained the illusion of a body, dealt with a pesky guardian angel, and oh yeah, brought the reaper who killed her to his untimely end. Not exactly in-crowd material.
Now Madison has learned that she's inherited the job of dark timekeeper and is in charge of angels who protect fate, whatever that means. Never one to abide by the system, Madison forms a group of rogue angels who definitely don't heed the rules of the heavens. But as she grapples with terrifying new powers, Madison may not be prepared for what lies ahead - unless she gets some seriously divine intervention.

If you haven't been following the story up to this point, here's a refresher: Madison - she dead. And she's now in charge of the "Dark" reapers. The big problem with that is that she's not really into doing the job as described. The main conflict of the story is that age old supernatural go-in-hand: Choice. The light reapers and their commander, Ron, foresee a person doing something naughty, one might even say evil, and they decide to preemptively take him out. Madison believes that a person should have the chance to change their minds, to be the better person.
 In this installment, we're dealing with a computer virus and two best friends by the names of Ace and Shoe. I won't let you in on the big twist, but I will tell you one of them is a major douchebag and the other a misguided, but essentially good-hearted, doof.
 Other characters include Madison's frequently exasperated bestie, Barnabas, and her newly acquired reaper, Nakita, who switched to her side in the last book. Also, Paul, Ron's naive new apprentice, who winds up showing some good sense in the end. Three cheers for Paul, keep up the good work on thinking for yourself.
Overall: B+
 It was pretty well written, but there were times when it felt a little rushed and cut off. This is the penultimate book, though, so we have to wait until the next one to see how Madison resolves to resolve her problems.

Kim Harrison: Pale Demon

• ISBN-13: 9780061138072
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Publication date: 11/29/2011
• Pages: 528

 Condemned for black magic, Rachel Morgan has three days to get to the annual witches' conference in San Francisco to clear her name. if not, she'll be trapped in the demonic ever-after...forever. 
 But a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy travelling 2,000 miles in one car is a recipe for disaster - not even counting the assassination teams waiting in ambush...or the demon they unleash on St. Louis.
 Now, after centuries of torment, a fearsome creature walks free, craving innocent blood and souls - especially Rachel Morgan's, who'll need to fully embrace her own demonic nature to survive. And even that may not be enough. 

 Oh, Rachel. You've done it again - managed to get yourself into a situation you can't escape without making your life substantially worse.
 We pick off a few months after we left off, with Rachel preparing to go bridesmaiding at her brother's wedding. Unfortunately, what with the events of the last novel, there is quite a bit of doubt as to whether she's actually going to make it. Then - surprise of surprises - Trent shows up asking for her help with something he needs done, but he's not going to tell her what it is. I'll pause to allow a moment of shock to sink it. Trent asking Rachel for help? Did the world end while I was sleeping? No, he just really needs her help. When Rachel (naturally) can't get through airport security because the Council is determined to make her life as difficult as possible, we have the perfect storm - for a road trip.
 Yes, you heard me. This novel is essentially a Lampoon Family Vacation in which all of the members of the family want to kill the annoying one. So basically a family vacation. Jenks, Ivy, Rachel, and Trent all bundles themselves into Rachel's mother's car and away they go, bickering all the way to the West coast. Of course, along the way they run into some nasties, including demons and mercenary elves, because whatever Trent wants, other people apparently want it, too. And when you find out what that thing is - hoo boy. I was shocked and I am so very anticipating what new developments that revelation will bring.
 Furthermore, Rachel is called on once again to use the very powers she is being crucified for. And she isn't going to get any thanks for it either. The difference is that this time, she doesn't care. Rachel is fed up with people trampling all over for something she has no control over, and I for one cheered raucously. Instead of trying to force her life into the shape she thinks it should be, she finally accepts that, for the time being at least, she is royally screwed and why waste energy trying to fight it? Accept it and make the best of it. You go, Ray-ray (oh, bad memories. Let's not call her that ever again).
 This one wasn't as action packed as the last one, and I liked it better for that. In my last review I mentioned that. Sometimes it just gets to be a little too much and you want some time to breathe between catastrophes. Harrison gave us that in this installment, and we got to remember why we liked the characters so much in the first place. Plus - road trip. Substantial time for hilarious dialogue and super-frustrating-bitch-Trent moments.
 Overall: A

Kim Harrison: Black Magic Sanction

• Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager; Reprint edition (December 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061138045
• 
  

Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter - and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind...until now. 
Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment - her worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery. Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom. But trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and a lowlife ex-boyfriend-turned-thief.

I love Kim Harrison. I always have, ever since I first read one of her books, which was actually the third in the Hollows series, which was understandably confusing. I got through it, obviously, and enjoyed it. Part of what I love about Harrison's Hollows is that the world is so amazingly fleshed out. She's got pretty much every supernatural species one can think of, working in a fully functioning Cincinnati with its own history and complex political structure. She also has fully developed characters that come and go, but that always bring something to the table. She is able to handle multiple plotlines smoothly and they make sense. Sometimes it can get hard to keep track of what has happened and what's going to  happen next, especially when sometimes there are large gaps between readings, as is the case with me. However, Harrison does a great job of reminding us what has happened to get us to the starting point of the new novel without making it sound like a painful recap.
 In this edition, we have Rachel - surprise - running for her life. She has managed to piss off everyone at least once, but she's good enough at what she does that she eventually convinces them what a bad idea it really is to mess with her. She is, unfortunately, a victim of circumstance this time. Her previous battles have forced her into a corner, and instead of understanding that most of what she does is out of necessity and not choice, her enemies chose to punish her for what others have caused. Yes, Rachel made the choice, but when your other choice is death, becoming the student of a demon isn't all that bad of an option. Anyway, the point of all that is that she is being hunted for something that is out of her control. While she may be forced to practice black magic upon occasion and consort with demons, she still holds onto her morals, sometimes to the inconvenience or detriment of herself. I like that about her - even if it makes things harder, she still will do what's right. It's suitably frustrating when she sticks her neck out for someone (several times in this particular novel) and she catches crap from the person she's saving because they can only see the method. That's a personal rant, though.
 Harrison develops Rachel even further, and she finally accepts what she is. Furthermore, her relationships with Trent and Algaliarept are developing and I'm interested to see where it's all going. Honestly, I don't hold out much hope for her and Pierce, although he's funny and useful at times. We're heading to the end as the series is to end at thirteen books and this is number eight. Rachel's going to have to get her life together in five books, and it's going to be one hell of a ride. She got one demon mark off, she's only got one left and a boatload of smut on her aura. We'll see....
 Overall: A
 There wasn't much breathing room in this novel and it largely focused on Rachel's issues, naturally. At times it got a little confusing, especially the physics of ley lines. Still brilliant obviously.

Kim Harrison: Once Dead, Twice Shy

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 Reprint edition (April 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061441686

Madison's prom was killer - literally. Now, thanks to a mysterious amulet, she's stuck on Earth: dead but not gone. She has no idea why the dark reaper who did her in was after her, but she's not about to just sit around and let fate take its course. With a little skilled light-bending, the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys...maybe), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison's ready to take control of her own destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her.
Well, if she believed in that stuff.

 Pacing, pacing, pacing. However, my complaint is less about the pacing of this book in particular and more about the pacing of YA novels in general. HOWEVER (one more time), it is to be expected and there is nothing wrong with the pacing being different for a younger audience. I only point it out because sometimes it surprises me. That being said, Harrison does pretty well with it in her first foray in to the Young Adult Fiction genre. We find out a lot of information very quickly and are left quite confused by the end. That is to be expected, though as we are dealing with a completely new world, for both ourselves and our main character. Harrison is notoriously good at world-building though, so I'm not worried about the second novel.
  The plot itself is interesting and addresses pretty big issues for a teen novel. Like free will and the consequences of the choices we make. Heavy stuff, but handled with aplomb. Harrison writes well no matter the genre, and she didn't dumb the language down so far as to be ridiculous in comparison with her Hollows series.
  The characters - Madison herself is a strong female role model, if a little skittish for my tastes at times. She has recently awoken dead and must hide the fact that she no longer needs food or sleep from her father. While he's not terribly observant, it's a bit of a feat, no matter how you approach the matter. Josh's characterization was a little shallow, but he at least had the guts to stick with her even when he thought she was crazy. Hopefully we'll see more character development in future books. The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the relationship between Barnabas and Nikita, although we only get a glimpse at the end. Nikita is going to be wonderful as she struggles with her future.
  In summary, a promising beginning but leaves plenty of room for character and plot development. The next book should be even better as the author immerses the reader further in the world she has envisioned.
  Overall: B+