A Fistful of Charms (The Hollows, Book 4) (edition 2006)

Instead of growing to like Rachel Morgan more and more as this series progresses, I like her less and less. As plenty of others have said, and as even Rachel herself has said, she really is too stupid to live. Not only is she stupid, but she is also careless and reckless, and she seems to have lost whatever moral compass she started out with. She is a merciless tease and can't make up her mind what she wants. She doesn't want Ivy to bite her. She does want Ivy to bite her. Which is it? The situations that Rachel gets involved in and survives are becoming more and more implausible as the series progresses as well. Not only did the characters and story line disappoint me in this one, but the editing was also a mess. The highlight of this book was Jenks (as always), and for that alone I gave 3 stars. I'm not sure at this point if I'm going to continue reading the rest of the series, but if I do, it will be just to see what happens to Jenks and his family. ( )

The series keeps improving - this one was actually pretty good. There's a couple nice changes of dynamics - the bulk of the action takes place out of town, Trent's not in the picture, Jenks is temporarily human-sized, and the focus is on Weres mostly, rather than vampires. The first half is a little slow, as Nick being in peril is not exactly pulse-pounding (and Jenks' son makes for a plausible secondary motivation, it's clear throughout he's written as secondary - they find him pretty much immediately and while he has a part to play later, he's a minor character.) But the second half is quite engaging, between the Weres, who are fairly credible opponents, and Ivy.

A moment about Ivy. I was super excited, the first time I read this book, that Rachel and Ivy would finally manage to sort out their differences. And the way it's played in this book is mostly great - there are some real revelations about both of their core motivations that make both of them much more sympathetic. But I cannot quite buy Rachel's dogged insistence that she's too straight to make it work - too much is made of a vampire's bite being irresistibly orgasmic. I am depressingly monosexual myself, but if I met a dude who could get me off by breathing on my neck, who I had a deep mutual friendship with, who was incidentally smoking hot, I could make an exception. I just don't buy it. It feels like a marketing decision, not an organic outgrowth of the characters.

The whole book feels a little bit like a side trip - none of the previous themes are touched on much. But it's a fun side trip - the best so far, I think. ( )

Kim Harrison always produces reliable escapist literature, so that didn't let me down. I had a few complaints with this book, the most central being that Harrison is playing the lesbian erotica card, even while denying she is denying her main character's potential bisexuality. Rachel is SO sure that she is exclusively straight, but, reading her reactions to Ivy, I am not. Here's the thing, I know Harrison wants me to be unsure. I get it, wavering sexuality is exciting. This is maybe true for the first few books, but by now I am sort of fed up with it. Also, I have a little bit of an issue with the "forbidden" nature of Rachel's relationship with Ivy. The hesitancy is entirely due to gender, not at all to having sex with a vampire, as Rachel has no qualms (well, comparatively) with Kisten. So, I am wondering, is Harrison just having a hard time making the jump to lesbian erotic scenes because she thinks her audience can't handle it? Is she hesitating because she doesn't want to compromise the old-school sexuality of her main character? Or, maybe worse, is she exploiting the sexual pull of lesbianism without following through and showing us a healthy, working lesbian relationship (which isn't nearly as sexy as some vaguely lesbian scenes and may, in fact, be disgusting to some readers, even those who lap up Rachel's brief interactions with Ivy, accepting them because of their transience)? In other words, is she devaluing a relationship between Ivy and Rachel by refusing to develop it as she did Rachel's heterosexual relationship with Kisten? Harrison has built some pretty deep contradictions into Rachel's sexuality, and I am not sure that she is prepared to write about their natural conclusions. ( )

The premise: ganked from BN.com: 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 Rating: Worth Reading, with Reservations

It may have been me, but this book was a slower read. Part of it was, like I said, me: lots of stuff going on and not enough time to read. Yet certain sections felt like they were dragged out slightly longer than necessary, and when it comes to Rachel ruminated over the same facts or fears over and over and over, I could always use less of that. Still though, some pretty big things happen in this book, and I suspect Harrison's setting up for something much bigger. What, I'm not sure, but I know I'll be finding out soon enough.

That being said, I'm taking a brief break from the series before moving on to book five, which is the last book in the series that I own. I think part of the slowness was the simple fact that I'm feeling overly familiar with the world and characters, so I wasn't as eager as I could've been to find out what happened next. Still, with the exception of book two, which really wore on my nerves, the series has been pretty enjoyable. Not perfect by any means, but interesting with an ever-expanding cast of characters who are increasingly enjoyable. I definitely look forward to continuing, but right now, I need a slight break. :)

Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay. Lots of spoilers actually, so if you're not caught up through this sucker (which is book four in the series), don't read the full review, which is located in my blog. For those of you caught up, feel free to check it out. The full review is linked to below, and as always, comments and discussion are most welcome.

REVIEW: Kim Harrison's A FISTFUL OF CHARMS

Happy Reading! ( )

This is a series that I've been savoring slowly. I love the mix of magic with vampires, witches, pixies and demons. Harrison weaves together a believable story that I'm glad that I started reading.This time, Rachel is off to save Jax and Nick, only to find out Nick has been selling her to the demon, Al. I enjoyed the story so much that I dove directly into the next book. ( )