A Review of White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison

Four Fangs for White Witch, Black Curse By Kim Harrison

I am a little disappointed with White Witch, Black Curse. I can't quite put my finger on it but something was lacking in this book that is normally in the other books. The magic that Kim Harrison can put into words is something amazing but it wasn't there through most of this book. I didn't start feeling the magic until close to the end.

I have been waiting for the 7th book in The Hollows Series to see what happens with Rachel Morgan next and after the bombshells that were dropped in the last book I expected...I don't know more revelations, more ties revealed, more dots connected I suppose. Now Kim Harrison did clear up everything about Kisten's death and revealed his killer so that is all out of the way so Rachel can move past it. The problem is, it was all a bit too anticlimactic for Rachel, Ivy and for me as a reader.

The book pretty much starts and ends with Rachel trying to remember, then finally remembering what happened the night Kisten died. Yet while trying to remember she gets tangled up in the mess that is her life.

The FIB wants her to track down and bring in a banshee...really bad news since they can kill without even touching you. Rachel's brother Robbie comes to town to visit and Rachel is having relationship issues as she decides what to do about Marshall. They've been hanging out for months...should she take the relationship farther?

**Warning Minor Spoilers Ahead Do Not Read Any Further Unless You Want to Know**

To top it all off Rachel learns she has a ghost in the church...and who should that ghost be? Pierce (read the Holidays From Hell Collection, Harrison takes us back to when Rachel is 18 and she conjures up Pierce). So throughout the book Rachel is obsessed with giving Pierce a body...again. But something isn't right about Pierce we just don't get to know what...Harrison drops clues but of course leaves the trail going at the end of the book so we don't know what the heck is going on.

Jenks doesn't trust Pierce one bit. And Al, the demon can't keep him under control. There is definitely more to Pierce than what we see and too many coincidences for it all to be nothing. Let's see, Rachel's dad's watch, the one she used to conjure Pierce well it was originally Pierce's that's why she ended up with him instead of her dad. Then we learn that Pierce is the one buried at Rachel's church on unsanctified ground, the one with the name scratched off the tombstone and the creepy angel statue...yeah, that's Pierce. Creepy and not a coincidence. Then there's the fact that Pierce seems to be really smart and powerful and can evade a demon. Hmmm... yet we don't learn much of this until the end of the book.

Most of the book focuses on Rachel's inner turmoil and her battling the banshee that keeps ripping apart her aura and leaving her weak. I guess it was a major plot that would lead Rachel to where she is now. You know her growth as a character but I felt a lot of it was blah, blah, blah. Nad rachel even manages to get herself shunned which doesn't get cleared up. This is really going to make her life harder.

Rachel's interaction with key players in the series was absent until close to the end when both Trent and Al were finally given larger roles in the book. And Ceri was absent through the entire book, just a mention here and there but she was never on screen. I want to know more about Al and Trent. There is a lot underlying there that we have not been introduced to yet. Al and Rachel's relationship is weird. He torments her yet I get the feeling he protects her as well, he seemed to be very concerned about Rachel sleeping with Pierce and Pierce killing Rachel. Jealous? Hmmm. Does Al have a thing for Rachel? I don't know, I sometimes get that vibe.

And then there's the whole Trent and Rachel thing. Now that is complex as hell. I really feel a vibe there but I don't know where that is going to lead. Trent fears Rachel yet is drawn to her. They have a shared connection, a history Rachel doesn't remember all of and Trent seems to want her to remember. She saves his butt all the time and he makes her cry, why does she get so worked up over him if she doesn't care? And even Jenks thinks she should play nice with Trent.

Those are the two characters I really want to see more of with Rachel, Al and Trent. Of course Harrison will string us along because we want to know and if she revealed all well there might not be anymore books.

I just think White Witch, Black Curse was lacking a bit of focus yet it was still a phenomenal book and I really want more. The last part of the book was the best and really got me excited though I knew she was going to cut out the good stuff just to leave me wanting more. Which I do. A lot more.