White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison

I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book via The Book Smugglers. I *heart* them. It's an unedited galley, which I've never had the opportunity to read. I'm not putting a back blurb on here, but will do my best to tell you what I think of this book. ****And just an FYI...I can almost guarantee a lot of spoilers. Be warned.****

I've been a fan of Rachel Morgan and the Hollows for a long time. I remember picking up book 1 in the series, not sure what I was getting into. But, once I did get into it it's like crack and I can't stop.

WW,BC is book 7 in this series. Rachel has had her fair share of ups and downs (mostly downs) and it's been fascinating watching her struggle to become something other than what everyone expects her to be.

My very favorite book of this series is book 5, though it's the hardest book to read emotionally. I was positive The Outlaw Demon Wails was going to pick up from the end of book 5 and have Rachel searching to find the killer of Kisten her living vampire lover, but it didn't. That's where WW, BC comes in.

Rachel knows that Jenks hit her with a spell to make her forget what happened the night Kisten died and has never been able to fully remember what happened. Bits and pieces will flash by, but nothing concrete. With the help of Ford, the FIB's psychologist, she decides it's time to finally figure out just who did it and why.

And this book is just too complicated to try to remember it all and give you a good rundown, so I'm going to fall back on my tried and true method of Good and Bad (hence the name of the blog...ha!).


The Good-


Rachel. I know, sometimes she makes some ridiculously stupid decisions, but the thing I like about her is that she's true to herself. Yes, she makes some really bad decisions, but instead of whining about the ramifications, she sucks it up and lives with it.

Ivy. I wish this book had delved more into the relationship between Ivy and Rachel. It does, but it seems very much on the outskirts of the story. Maybe that's just me. I'm not a big fan of f/f romances, but I wish the two of them would suck it up and become a couple. Argh!

Jenks. I *heart* Jenks. One of my favorite characters. Knowing what'll happen to him and his wife just makes me want to cry!

The basic story-Again Ms. Harrison delivers. Each of her stories has so much detail and depth to them that you can't help but be sucked into them. WW, BC is no exception.


The BAD-


The "Men" in her life. Oy. Ya know, I KNOW why she chooses the men that she does, but come on! She'd made so much progress by the end of TODW and I was so proud of her for how she'd grown, but talk about taking a giant step backwards. Eesh! *headdesk*

Rachel's stubborness. Okay, so we know she's stubborn, but honestly, sometimes she just takes things too far. I'm amazed she survived this book.

The end. Open...and weird. I'm not sure what I think of it.



Overall Impression:


Again, Ms. Harrison writes some amazing books. It was nice to find out who killed Kisten...finally and reading the scene where Rachel remembers his death was downright heartbreaking. I LOVED Kisten and thought he was wonderful for Rachel, but I can also understand why Ms. Harrison killed him off. Rachel needed to grow. And still does.

I cannot wait to read the next book in the series. I. Can. Not. Wait!!!!!


Rating: B+ Excellent, but could've been better (i.e. not having Rachel take a giant step backwards in her personal growth)