The latest installment of Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan/Hollows series, Black Magic Sanction was just as awesome as the rest of the series.
Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter—and lived to tell the tale. But she’s never faced off against her own kind . . . until now. Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment—at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery. Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief.
It takes a witch to catch a witch, but survival bears a heavy price.
I absolutely loved this book. It seems so long since the Kisten tragedy and I am really happy that Kim Harrison didn’t set Rachel up with anyone until now. We finally see Rachel moving on (just a little bit) and actually making an effort to try and be happy. Of course, as usual, things get in the way and Harrison definitely doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the action.
Black Magic Sanction opens up with an exciting scene with Rachel and Al, of whom is still sweet on Rachel it seems, in his dungeon concocting a potion. I would personally like to see Al and Rachel together as she is part demon after all, and it just makes sense. He seems to have a genuine sense of care and compassion for her that we are seeing more and more, compared to when Al was first introduced.
This book, while action packed, was a huge tear jerker for me. I won’t explain why, though I am sure many of you can guess, but I definitely needed tissues when reading several scenes. I honestly didn’t think Harrison would go there but she did and I commend her for it and hope that this will open many doors for Rachel and her team in the future. I know a lot of people can’t stand Pierce and I really don’t understand why. He is just like Rachel in many ways, but without such moral constraints that she has (see below for a rant on that). I think Rachel can learn a lot from Pierce if she would just let him in a bit more in the future.
On the flip side, it was interesting to see Rachel and Trent’s past. This scene opened up many doors for the two of them and I can’t help but wonder about them as a couple. I certainly wouldn’t be against it, even though I prefer Al. I heard Trent was going to be a bigger part of future books (possibly the next one?) so I am really looking forward to what will come between the two.
Something that has bothered me about Rachel in this series is that no matter what her enemies try and do to her, she always feels bad about hurting them. I get that she is a good witch and she has morals, but if someone were trying to kill me and/or my family/friends I would feel nothing as I gave them what they deserved. I personally wish Rachel would get over her goodie morality crap and learn something from Jenks and Ivy so that she can truly be happy, instead of conflicted all of the time.
Overall I love the action in this series and how all of the characters are so well developed. The world is so amazingly written that I get lost in it when I am reading this series and even get attached to the characters enough to cry for them when they feel pain. Kim Harrison continues to outdo herself with each Hollows book she puts out and I can’t wait to read more!
Read Order:
Dead Witch Walking
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
Every Which Way But Dead
A Fistful of Charms
For a Few Demons More
The Outlaw Demon Wails
White Witch, Black Curse
Also Reviewed By:
Jackie’s review at Literary Escapism
Beyond Books
Brook Reviews
Damien Daily
SciFiGuy
Lurv a la Mode
Thanks for the review! I’m waiting for it from the library, although I usually add the books to my keeper shelf later.
Something that bugs me about Rachel, is that sometimes she acts like a teenager, and she lets the people in her life (Ivy, Jenks) TALK to her like she’s a teenager.
And OMG, I’m not the only one who sees the attraction in Al? Although I wonder if part of it is that she can actually have demon children, which makes her extremely marketable. And let’s face it: Al is a bigot. He likes Rachel because she’s a demon. Humans are worthless to him (in all fairness, they have brought it down on themselves.)
I could see Rachel and Trent ending up together, because they really see each other. But the elves aren’t looking so good in this series, are they? They are pretty much the cause of everything bad.
You’ve made me want to read this book even more! Thanks, again, for your great blog.
Thanks Michele :D I hope you like the book as much as I did, though honestly I have no doubts that you will! :D
I have also noticed she lets Ivy and Jenks treat her more like a child then an equal.. it bothers me to an extent and I wish she would grow up a little and stick up for herself.
I really love Al, its funny because I couldn’t stand him in earlier books when he was introduced but I really do like him now and think with a little more softening up that he would be perfect for Rachel.
Trent I also like a lot too because he is the guy you want to hate but you can’t lol.
I haven’t read it yet but I have to comment on one thing. I think that Rachel allows them to treat her like a child due to her underlying (and unresolved) issues revolving around her dad’s death. When her dad died, her brother left and she was alone with her mom which, although I enjoy her character now, at the time her mom was a hot mess and she was just one more thing Rachel had to deal with on her own. She has so much on her plate all the time, she steps comfortably into the submissive(ish) aspect of letting Ivy and Jenks (attempt to) contol her to a certain extent. I can see her being comfortable there and feeling safe not having to be completely in charge. Rachel is the “leader” of the group but it by no means makes her emotionally the strongest all the time.
OR….this could simply be my perspective completely ascewed due to my own person issues.