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A Fistful of Charms
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A Fistful of Charms (The Hollows, #4) by Kim Harrison
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*********SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 1 - 8**************“This was political?” The elevator chimed and the doors opened.
“’Fraid so,” he said. “They let subordinate Weres do what they will, but as a loner, what I do matters.”
---
“They don’t like that I started a pack with you. No, that’s not true. They don’t like that I’m not contributing to the Were population.”
Interesting. I have to admit I was a little worried about Rachel. I don't think a person would fair so well against a wolf.
“I can live twenty years,” he said, and I heard the frustration in his voice. “How about you?
“About a hundred sixty years,” she said softly. “Same as a witch.”
I can't believe Jenks would be mad at Rachel for 5 months. It took a crisis to get them back together, but he revealed his true reason for being upset. The man has only a couple of years to live. So is that live before becoming undead or the combined life expectancy of the two?
"They could rule the world by assassinations and blackmail if they wanted. But all they desired was a small plot of ground and the peace to tend it."
Interesting statement about Pixies. I guess their peaceful nature gives them less cred in the supernatural world?
"She loves Skimmer, but that woman is a big part of what Ivy was and how she got there, and if you leave…”
---
“That woman could have saved Ivy with her love, but she was so driven by the urge for better blood, hotter sex, that she sent Ivy deeper.”
First sign Skimmer is bad for Ivy. What exactly did she do?
“This won’t turn you into a Were, but this is how werewolves got started,” she said conversationally. “There was a fad about six millennia ago where demons would torment a human woman in payment for a vanity wish by forcing a demonwolf/human pairing. It always resulted in a human child that could Were.”
Nice bit of lore about werewolves.
“Traveling the lines puts a lot of blackness on your soul, which is why they’re so angry when you call them. Al agreed to pay the price for pulling you through the first time, and he wants information to compensate for the smut.”
Who would have thought?
“Any of us could die tomorrow,” I finished. He looked at me, the lines of anger smoothing out.
“You won’t die tomorrow,” he said. Putting the van into park, I turned to him.
“How do you figure that?” Jenks undid his belt and gave me a sideways smile that rivaled Kisten’s for mischief.
“Because I’m with you.”
Awwww! I love Jenks. :)
Thoughts on Chapters 1 - 8 Warning, Spoilers Ahead...
"I think my boss is trying to get me fired. This is the third claim this week to hit my desk that I'm not familiar with. He's waiting for me to make a mistake. Pushing for it." - I know it's due to werewolf politics but why would you want to fire David? Awesome employees are hard to find!
"Does anyone have a catalog? She doesn't know her pack number?" - It always amuses me that packs are so corporate-like in the Hollows verse.
"David isn't the first to start a pack with someone not of, ah, Were descent. But he is the first in this company to do so with the sole intent to save his job. This is not a good trend." - Yep, totally corporate.
"She would have to Were to even have a chance, and witches can't Were." - Challenge accepted!
"Go inside and we won't hurt you." - Rachel vs fairies is another long-running feud in this series.
"Thank me when I've watered seedlings with their blood." - Matalina's a badass.
Kisten - Meh. I'm in the minority but I never warmed up to him. I will grant that he's better than Nick.
"But he's in trouble and I can't just let whoever it is kill him." - You really could - you'd save yourself a lot of trouble in the long run.
"Travelling the lines puts a lot of blackness on your soul, which is why they're so angry when you call them." - Not to mention the sheer rudeness of being yanked out of your home dimension because some whiny stranger wants something.
"I am not evil because I have a thousand years of demon smut on my soul!" - Ceri puts everyone in their place.
Big Jenks for the win! His awkwardness with his new size is adorable.
"Jax was the first child Mattie and I were able to keep alive through the winter. He was so small, I held him in my hands to keep him warm for four months while I slept." - This is a good indication of the heartbreak and struggle Jenks and Matalina went through to keep their family alive.
"The wish for sterility I got from you is a blessing, since the last three years of children in a pixie's life have a very low life expectancy and it would kill Matalina knowing she was having children that wouldn't live a week past her." - Pixies' lives are so difficult.
Sara highlighted, "Jax was the first child Mattie and I were able to keep alive through the winter. He was so small, I held him in my hands to keep him warm for four months while I slept." - This is a good indication of the heartbreak and struggle Jenks and Matalina went through to keep their family alive.AND
"The wish for sterility I got from you is a blessing, since the last three years of children in a pixie's life have a very low life expectancy and it would kill Matalina knowing she was having children that wouldn't live a week past her." - Pixies' lives are so difficult.
I marked those too for the same reason. Proof of what a big thing Rachel did for them. Still strange Jenks threw that all away for pride. I still can't believe he lasted 5 months.
Exactly. You would think Jax would put his family's safety above his pride but you don't always act rationally when you're emotionally hurt.
Sorry for the delay - the owners of my old job went to Comic Con/DisneyLas Vegas from the 19th to yesterday - as a favor, I resumed my manager job at the old place while maintaining my current job so lots of work and little reading time. Thoughts on Chapters 9 - 12
Warning, Spoilers Ahead...
"Nick hadn't left me. He thought I had died." - Even before the boat explosion, Nick was checking out of that relationship.
Rex makes his first appearance. It's funny how a cat is so terrifying to Jenks but he's normally the size of a dragonfly so I suppose a cat might as well be Godzilla to him.
Jenks scolding of Jax's language is also funny. I wonder where he learned it from?
"He might still love me. Do I still love him? Did I ever love him, really? Or had it just been that I loved his acceptance of me?" - I'm going with the last option.
"And L-M-N-O-P is not one letter, but five. It took me forever to figure that out." - Darn that confusing song!
"I have only a year to get him up to snuff so you'll have backup when I'm gone....I've got maybe one more tolerable year. When it goes, it goes fast." - I think this is one of the saddest statements in the book.
I forgot how antagonistic Marshall and Rachel's first meeting was though I can understand how reluctant he would be to endanger his business.
We are off to rescue Nick...
I fell behind reading this one. Need to get back to it.
Can I just say I love Jenks biggie sized? lol
Yes. Jenks is the highlight of the book for me.
I'm about 75% through. Got distracted by RL. Kids go back to school soon and we had a tax free school supply and clothing holiday. Then my son was set to go to a charter school and we filled out everything that we were asked, but somehow the survey monkey form malfunctioned and they never received it so they said his seat was forfeited. There's no way to prove we sent the form so I had to set him up in another school. Very disappointing. We had to wait months to get in via a lottery.
That's extremely disappointing. I hate when technical malfunctions mess something up.I understand real life getting in the way - it's been very hard to squeeze in reading time lately. I think my sister is going to explode if I don't read the newest Kate Daniels asap.
LOL I'm going to finish this one and start the next soon. I finally have ME time again. Yay!Yes, very disappointing about the school.
Yay for me time!I'm looking forward to September 14th - my schedule will be more relaxed after that and I will have more time to read and catch up on all of my books - at least until Black Friday hits and the craziness resumes until the last week of December.
I did finish a Fistful of Charms. It's probably my second least favorite in the series and not because it's a bad book.
Pros:
Jenks becomes a multi-faceted character in this books. We saw glimpses in the previous installments but this is essentially the "Jenks book" of the series.
More in-depth look into the Were culture.
Rachel expands her abilities.
Kim Harrison does a great job of setting up future plots.
Cons:
The Ivy freaks out and the Rachel/Ivy will-they-or-won't-they storylines feel repetitive and tiresome.
Nick remains a karma Houdini.
No Trent, Quen, or Jonathan.
****** Spoilers for Chapters 9 - end ***********Pixies live to 20 years
Elves and witches live to 160
I wonder about the undead vamps?
“How did you know how to use that weapon?”
“Ah-nold,” he said, hitting an Austrian accent hard, and I barked in laughter.--lol
“The oldest stories say the statue belonged to a red Were before it was lost,”--Very Interesting
“Good God,” I whispered, sitting on the van’s cot and looking at my legs, horrified. They were hairy—not wolf hairy, but an I-couldn’t-find-my-razor-the-last-six-months hairy. Utterly grossed out, I took a peek at my armpit, jerking away. Oh, that’s just…nasty.”--LOL There was a series that had something similar happen to a werewolf that was a model. I found it: Confessions of a Werewolf Supermodel
“It’s demon made, and only a demon can destroy it. It has been passed from vampire to ranking vampire for generations.”
Does this suggest the red wolf was killed for the Focus?
What's up with Jenks love of toothbrushes?
“Face it, Rachel,” she said when I looked up, frightened. “You’ve never been the safe, nice girl next door, despite everything you do to be that person. That’s why you joined the I.S., and even there you didn’t fit in, because, knowing it or not, you were a possible threat to everyone around you. People sense it on some level. I see it all the time. The dangerous are attracted by the lure of an equal, and the weak are afraid. Then they avoid you, or go out of their way to make your life miserable so you’ll leave and they can continue deluding themselves that they’re safe. You trusted Nick knowing he might betray you. You got off on the risk.”--Hmmmm...
Things got a little scary with Ivy.
Why did Ivy and Rachel think they could trust a Master Vamp?
If there was any doubt to Nick's true colors before this book, there isn't any more.
Jax is gone? Will we see him again? Stupid move to go with Nick. I feel bad for Jenks.
So since the Focus was mailed to Rachel, could it be said it was gifted to her? You know, because of the curse associated with it?
Sara said, "No Trent, Quen, or Jonathan." I hadn't noticed till you mentioned this.
Sara wrote: "I did finish a Fistful of Charms. It's probably my second least favorite in the series and not because it's a bad book. "I'm glad you said this. I'm trying to read this series because so many just love it. But, I got really bogged down in this one. It is worth picking up the next? It is the only one I cannot get from the library . . .
Who's Your Author?
Books mentioned in this topic
Confessions of a Werewolf Supermodel (other topics)A Fistful of Charms (other topics)
This topic is open for discussion of A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison. Be prepared for SPOILERS.
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 rule. And suddenly more than Rachel's soul is at stake.