So. That’s how Harrison is going to come back to The Hollows after that epilogue–it was all just a dream.

I actually (mostly) liked that epilogue, so it’s kind of a bummer. But if you’re going to go back to mostly status quo, well then I suppose you have to do something. I do wonder if that actually means that anyone that showed up in the ‘dream’ can actually still die off now?

In any case, in The Witch with No Name Rachel saved the world! And now she has to deal with the fallout from that. Zombies, mysterious murders, new frenemies, and once again seeing how in the world demons are going to re-integrate into the world, oh my?

“Jesus, Rachel,” Edden coaxed, but I was having none of it. “Don’t take this personally. You can’t deny that forcing couples to kill one another is demonic.”

…

“What’s in it for them?” I asked, waving Ivy’s carefully assembled information. “Demons don’t do anything unless it’s for a profit.” Frustrated, I slapped the reports against his chest, and he fumbled for them. “And neither do I anymore,” I said.

And of course, things go sideways. Because even after everything–even after it nearly ending the world more than once–Rachel is still terrible at listening to the people she’s supposed to trust and acting fully on passion first, thinking things through… sometime–maybe.

Characterwise, one theme that we continue to seem in this series is the possibility of redemption. You have literal murderers (Trent and Al in particular), but they really are trying to be better people. So how does that work? Are they allowed to work towards a better life? Do they have to pay for what they’ve done? What price is high enough murder and thousands of years of torture and slave trading?

“It’s what we do here,” Jenks said. “All are innocent until proven guilty. Even demons.”

Hodin’s feet scuffed the old wood floor. “How . . . quaint.”

But hey, Rachel and Trent are cute together. I hope they get a few books at least to be happy.

“Stop,” Trent demanded again, frowning at Quen. “Everyone, stop. Relax. Rachel, you can kill me in a few minutes. I want to talk first. You like to talk, don’t you?”

And the girls are so cute.

“Because you’re a demon princess,” Lucy said, playing with my curling hair, and from the closet came Trent’s grunt of surprise. “And demon princesses are brave.”

Rachel constantly worried about Trent leaving for Ellasbeth and blaming herself for all the elf politics things is growing old.

I think my biggest negative for this entry comes in the ending. There’s a lot of mechanical talk about what a soul is and messing with souls, but heroic or not, there’s a sacrifice play towards the end that I’m hoping gets resolved quickly…

Overall, it’s fun to keep going. I can only imagine having a fairly definite end, waiting the six years between the books and then learning you actually get more! No break for me though.

Onward!

Some random thoughts:

This entire series has a weird pre-occupation with scents. It’s kind of weird that Harrison hasn’t even hung a lampshade on that.

Ivy hit the lights, and I squinted when they flickered on. I hadn’t even known power had been restored, but my flash of guilt vanished as I gave Ivy a quick one-armed hug and breathed deep, taking in the scent of oiled steel and orange juice.

Almost as odd every time she does it as those ‘bunny eared kiss kiss’es.

Another one… Why does Trent have Rachel as itchy witch in his phone? That’s an Al thing. He’s never called her that.