I really like the Hollows series and I liked this latest installment - it had plenty of action/drama, etc. to keep it interesting, but this would definitely fall into the "not one of my favorite Hollows books" category. It had a lot of stuff going on, but I felt like the characters didn't really go anywhere.
Sure, the series loses a significant character and we learn more about some of the other character's history, etc. - but there wasn't much development or growth. By the end of this book, I didn't really feel like anything particularly important happened with the characters/relationships that keep me coming back to this series. I'm just as confused and irritated with the Rachel/Trent relationship as I ever was AND I don't feel like I gained any further insight into where the Rachel/Al situation is headed - and what's the deal with the whole Ivy/Cormell/soul-saving situation?? The only character that really seemed to grow was Newt...
I hope the next book actually focuses on making some progress with the main characters - let's move things along with Rachel, Trent, Al, Ivy, and Jenks - and can we PLEASE be done with Nick already??