"A Fistful of Charms" by Kim Harrison (The Hollows Book 4)

Description:

The evil night things that prowl Cincinnati despise witch and bounty hunter Rachel Morgan. Her new reputation for the dark arts is turning human and undead heads alike with the intent to possess, bed, and kill her -- not necessarily in that order.

Now a mortal lover who abandoned Rachel has returned, haunted by his secret past. And there are those who covet what Nick possesses -- savage beasts willing to destroy the Hollows and everyone in it if necessary.

Forced to keep a low profile or eternally suffer the wrath of a vengeful demon, Rachel must nevertheless act quickly. For the pack is gathering for the first time in millennia to ravage and to rule. And suddenly more than Rachel's soul is at stake.

My Review:

Somehow or another, Rachel has gotten herself into even more trouble than can be easily dealt with. Her ex-boyfriend Nick pops up in her life again to be an annoying thorn in her side, and with Jenks morphed into human shape, she hauls off to save Nick's annoying, ungrateful, stupid ass. But Nick isn't just in trouble, he's managed to get into something so big that it could start an Inderlander war, killing off not just Rachel and her clan, but anyone who gets in the way, innocent by standers included. The more Rachel gets entangled with the Inderlanders outside of Cincinatti, the more her efforts to stay alive seem to be screwing her over. Rachel is perfectly aware of just how much she is falling into the grey areas of right and wrong and as her realization grows that she is no longer sure of what is moral, her character becomes more believable and realistic.

Throw in the ever increasing relationships between her partner, Jenks and Ivy and we have the best book of the Hollows series yet. With twists and turns a plenty this novel is sure to please. It's only fault being found in the somewhat overly angsty revelations that Harrison seems to pile on in this novel. There are a few points at which one might wish to reach into the novel and slap someone a good one. Rachel in particular is capable of wasting endless hours upon her confused set of desires, especially as she fast wanders into hypocritical territory. I know it's all part of their charm, but between Rachel, Ivy, and even Jenks... well, it gets old.

Overall with the schemes in this novel and the plot progression so smooth one is willing to overlook the overdose of moral angst and enjoy the ride. With the inclusion of werewolf myth and history this novel feels full of rich depth. I love how full Harrison has made the mythology for this series and the interplaying threads, many of which are left loose leave the reader hungry for the next novel.

This book is a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Readers who like Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, CE Murhpy and Kelley Armstrong are sure to be pleased. Like the rest of its series, A Fistful of Charms combines action and magic, fantasy and modern day, vampires and werewolves and witches, producing something that really does stand out. Fans won't be disappointed with this book.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy, #5) by Ilona Andrews

I received this book as an advanced readers copy from Netgalley. ★★★★★ Ilona Andrews is an author whose novels I voraciously read. This one was no different. I couldn't put this book down and finished it in one sitting. It was action-packed and the chemistry between the protagonist and her love interest was stellar. Reader be aware, this does have a love scene. Many of the author's previous novels, while they feature romantic stories, don't have explicit scenes. This novel is set in a parallel universe where due to an epidemic flu and the subsequent solution, magic has been introduced into the world. I would recommend that any reader who hasn't read the first novels in this series starts with the other series first to give them a good grounding and so they won't be confused. The universe that the authors' have created is detailed and there are a lot of moving parts. Even though I had read the previous novels, it had been a while so I couldn't remember som...
Read more

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

  ★★★★ ☆ This was a thought-provoking and very interesting novel. The story follows the trials of a woman whose ex-husband has illegally and without her knowledge created a clone of her.  While the story is set in a science-fiction parallel world, I found that most aspects of the novel don't deal with the science-fiction. Instead, it is a story of betrayal, heartbreak, growth, and the human spirit. Despite not liking the protagonist, I still ripped through this novel. It was an interesting introspection on the relationships that create us, and the many facets through which we build our visions of ourselves.  The author subtly weaves a narrative that allows the reader to consider how our upbringings shape us and whether we are defined by our natures or nurture. The end of the novel left me filled with foreboding as I felt the main character began to display traits that she had previously despised in her father. I found myself returning to the storyline and the characters m...
Read more

"Every Which Way but Dead" by Kim Harrison, (The Hollows Book 3)

Image
Description: Some days, you just can't win. Witch and former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan's managed to escape her corrupt company, survive living with a vampire, start her own runner service, and face down a vampire master. But her vampire roommate Ivy is off the wagon, her human boyfriend Nick is out of town indefinitely and doesn't sound like he's coming back while the far-too-seductive vampire Kisten is looking way too tempting, and there's a turf war erupting in Cincinnati's underworld. And there's a greater evil still. To put the vampire master behind bars and save her family, Rachel made a desperate bargain and now there's hell to pay--literally. For if Rachel cannot stop him, the archdemon Algaliarept will pull her into the sorcerous ever-after to forfeit her soul as his slave. Forever. My Review: Harrison's third Hollow's Series novel is much better than the second. The book starts off with a bang as the action pits Rachel's brain aga...
Read more