A Fistful of Charms (The Hollows #4)

Yuck. What the heck happened? Just as I was really getting into and enjoying this series, it completely derailed itself. How? Let me count the ways: 1. Just as we are getting comfortable with the setting, characters and interactions, the author plops us into a completely new setting, with characters we have never heard of and care nothing about. 2. The plot-line with these new characters is so convoluted it makes your head spin. Can’t tell ya how many times I thought, “huh?” 3. The whole WEIRDNESS between Ivy and Rachel is beyond tedious at this point and has entered into the skeevy. This alone is enough to seriously make me question whether I want to even continue the series. The entire, unrequited love/I’m straight but I want to be with you – drink my blood stuff? Oh good grief! Enough already! 4. And what the heck is with the Kistan storyline? It can’t be considered romantic because we don’t have a CLUE what is even going on there. They are supposed to love each other but we have seen narely a thing that supports that – the author is too busy spending half the stinking book delving into Ivy’s pining for Rachel and Rachel’s by-polar reactions to Ivy. Plus, there is no way we can actually believe in any “romance” between Kistan and Rachel when all Kistan does is push Ivy and Rachel together. GAH! The entire story is all over the place. I’ll probably give the series one more try but if things don’t change quickly, I’mma be tapping out.

I enjoyed the first three books in the series. They are not great literature but they are entertaining. The world created is fun and creative. The best thing about this book is the return of Jenks, and that\’s the list. For some reason Rachel has gone from admitted PIA to obnoxious in this title. She sees men in a bar ogling women who Rachel believes are there to be ogled, and the men are pigs. But it\’s OK if in every other chapter Rachel goes on about how hot Jenks, or the owner of a scuba dive school appear. Rachel is constantly sizing up every piece of man meat in the book. The story is OK though it takes our characters out of Cincinnati for a change. The entire story seemed to be negative. I think it was written as a set up for something major to happen in the future. It will be difficult for me to return to this series, especially if Rachel continues down the slide from entertaining to annoying.

My Hollows reread continues as we count down to the release of American Demon! Werewolves have begun to gather in Michigan. Multiple packs are binding themselves to one wolf, and their behavior is erratic and aggressive. To make matters worse, Nick has stolen an artifact they all want. Now he\’s being held captive by the gathered wolves, and they will do anything to him to find their prize. A desperate call from Jax is the only clue Rachel has to find Nick before it\’s too late. And too much exposure to cold will put Jax into a deep hibernation he may never wake from. Jenks could care less about Nick, but he will do whatever he has to save his son Jax. Rachel and Jenks team up once again to go on what should be a simple grab and run. But can things ever be simple for Rachel? Rachel\’s been toeing the line between white and black magic, but this time around she may just have to twist a curse or two. She doesn\’t want to be labeled as a black witch, but without the curses, she may not survive. Society has conditioned her to believe that all black witches are evil, and yet not all curses are bad. But even if they don\’t require blood and sacrifice, the imbalance of nature they create stains the soul. If Rachel invokes a curse, her aura will be black. Anyone and everyone will know what she has done if she puts up a circle in front of them. Is it worth the risk? For the most part, Ivy is going to take a backseat in this one. Rachel and Jenks have some catching up to do, and fences to mend. However, readers will have a chance to learn about Ivy\’s past and how she became the uptight living vamp we know. And while learning about your roommate\’s tortured past would scare most people away, it drives Rachel and Ivy even closer together.

I\’ve read all the books before, but am now re reading in order. This is good but could have been left out. We learn about werewolves, yes, but since they aren\’t behaving \”normally\” … It is really about Rachel growing up a bit more. I had to tell myself on every page, \”remember she is only 25,of course she is an idiot when it comes to men and sex\”. Ivy doesn\’t help, she is a bit older and much more experienced, so she certainly doesn\’t have a single excuse for the way she is acting. Like a very spoiled child. And no, I don\’t like Ivy much, she creates more trouble than she solve, and it is not the kind of trouble that builds up the story, nor is it comical. I really liked the big role Jenks got. He, at least, is acting in an adult way. So is Kisten, who deserves better than he gets.

I liked the first three books of this series, but just didn’t gel with this one. It was partly that Rachel seemed to be continually ogling men everywhere, even her married-with-many-kids partner. It was partly because Harrison made an entire race of beings look like deranged jerks (insert stronger language that Amazon won’t let me get away with here). It was also because the plot seemed slow-moving and predictable. Rachel also seemed weepy, more than I remember her being, and there’s just something in her personality that makes her seem wimpy. Maybe it’s her constant assertions that she’s bada**. Seems like you shouldn’t have to keep telling your audience that, you should just be it. All told, I think I’m done with this series. There’s better urban fantasy out there, like the Allie Beckham or Harry Dresden series.

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