Pale Demon by Kim Harrison

Condemned to death for black magic and shunned, Rachel Morgan has three days to somehow get to the annual witches convention in San Francisco and clear her name. If she fails, the only way she can escape death is to live in the demonic ever after . . . for ever after.

Banned from the flight lists, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack, headed for the West Coast for his own mysterious business. But Rachel isn’t the only passanger along for the ride. Can a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy in one car survive for over 2,300 miles? And that’s not counting the assassin on their tail.

A fearsome demon walks the sunlight, freed after centuries of torment to slay the innocent and devour souls. But his ultimate prey is Rachel Morgan. While the powerful witch with nerves of steel will do whatever it takes to stay alive, even embracing her own demonic nature may not be enough to save her.

~~

First, for anyone who's wondering, I do not consider Pale Demon a stand alone. At all. There has been way too much back story and too much emotional baggage in this series for the new reader to pick up Pale Demon and appreciate it fully. The part of the story that we're shown in this one novel isn't bad, definitely not, but it's very complicated. There's a lot of back and forth and assumed knowledge that for a newbie I think would really distract from truly enjoying what was being portrayed on the page.

Essentially what we see in this book is a road trip. A long, dangerous, HUGE CONSEQUENCES having, road trip. With all the familial bonds and bad food that those words bring to mind, lol. Rachel is desperately trying to clear her name and to get to the West Coast on time is sucked into Trent's world again - this time though because he's on some mystical 'elf quest'. The whole crew goes with and we get a sh*t ton of action along the way. That's almost what I noticed the most. That the action made things seem to be going so fast but at the same time so slow.

It's like the action can be so enthralling in times I almost forget that people are saying and doing very important things while it's going on. Does that make sense? Either way it's breakneck pace and when I reached the 'conclusion' it kind of felt like I'd hit a brick wall. Which resulted in this ugly scene:

"What do you mean it's done? I want to know what happens next! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?" (there was a temptation to throw my book at the wall but really - I just couldn't do it)

It's not a cliffhanger in the traditional sense (*cough* Jim Butcher *cough*) but a feeling of WOW. Harrison has a lot of material to play with in the next book and I can't wait to see where she goes!

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.

Series - ...6) The Outlaw Demon Wails 7) White Witch, Black Curse 8) Black Magic Sanction 9) Pale Demon

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison

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've been with Rachel Morgan since the beginning and Harrison has done a great job at creating an enjoyable and compelling character. Having a heroine balancing on the knife's edge of good and evil makes for a more interesting ride I think. Who want's a character who has no faults, no doubts that what she does it right? Instead Rachel jumps between her demon teacher Al and her somewhat ghostly former love Pierce, trying to decide what's best for her. Throw in a not-quite-dead vampire and a pixy friend and you've got the kind of urban fantasy that stays with you. This latest book was dense - very dense. Don't plan on it making any kinds of sense if you haven't read the others first. There is just too much character back story for that to work. Once you get past that, I found myself dealing with a whirlwind; Rachel is working as hard as she can to not dig herself any deeper into a hole only sort-of of her making. This book is not really about romance, it's about her finding herself and making decisions independently about what is good or evil for her - not what is good or evil by everyone else's definition.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. A lot of fun, Black Magic Sanction has enough action for anyone and enough plot to confuse the hardiest of fans. Stay the course and pay attention and you end up making your way through a grand ole time.

Series - 1) Dead Witch Walking 2) The Good, the Bad, and the Undead 3) Every Which Way But Dead 4) A Fistful of Charms 5) For A Few Demons More 6) The Outlaw Demon Wails 7) White Witch, Black Curse 8) Black Magic Sanction

Book to Reel Wednesday (on Thursday)

This weekly event is hosted by Lori at Escape Between the Pages. What Lori does is each week she posts a trailer for a particular movie and the description for the book that inspired it. Readers are encouraged to comment on the book, the movie, or both.

Truthfully I don't think too often about the movie adaptations of books, because more often than not they're hideous reproductions that make me yearn for an ice pick with which to stab myself. But on my walk to work this morning I just started thinking about some of the ones I liked, times where either the the movie was a true representation of the book or it veered enough from the story to keep the spirit but exist as an independent entity.

**Disclaimer: Most of these will be movies based on books from my childhood, at least in the beginning, because those are my favorites.**


This is not a fairy tale. This is about real witches! Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There's nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of pesky kids. A boy listens closely to his Grandmamma's stories of the evil witches, but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face to face with The Grand High Witch herself!





I loved Roald Dahl when I was a child and love him now. I think he has some of the most unique and culturally pervasive children's characters ever - and those characters always seem to hang around. I haven't seen the movie in a while at this point but I still remember how scary it was! Angelica Houston was probably the scariest witch ever and that was before she started peeling off her skin and showing how grotesque she was underneath! If you get the chance I definitely recommend picking this up from Blockbusters (are those still around?) or NetFlix and reminding yourself how cool kid's movies were even before Harry Potter.

Belong to the Night by Shelly Laurenston, Cynthia Eden, and Sherrill Quinn

The Wolf, The Witch, and Her Lack of Wardrobe" by Shelly Laurenston:

Jamie Meacham has enough trouble controlling her supernatural abilities. There's no time for lust, or for Tully Smith, even with his smoldering amber eyes. But Tully's grappling with his own animal instincts as a powerful shifter-wolf, trying to protect all his territory-including a certain sassy witch-from vicious rivals.

"In the Dark" by Cynthia Eden:

FBI agent and leopard shifter Sadie James' undead ex, Liam, still arouses her deepest desires, distracting her from tracking the brutal rogue shifter who is terrorizing Miami. By teaming up with Liam, Sadie has a better chance of solving the case, but as passion consumes them, she stands to lose more than just her heart.

"City of the Dead" by Sherrill Quinn:

Dori Falcon is a witch with a plan: get to New Orleans, locate her missing brother, and recover the Eye of Bastet, a mysterious and powerful amulet. Her plan never included falling for sexy Cajun copy Jake Boudreau; but without his help, she may never find the demon who has her brother, and the key to her family's survival.

If you've read any of my other reviews you won't be surprised to know that I bought this anthology solely for the Shelly Laurenston story. She's probably my #1 favorite for funny, kick-ass erotic or romance. I mean, how can you not appreciate a woman who uses a phrase like 'molesting' someone's insides? That is as cool as all get out and you know it. The other two stories weren't bad either, but I would have preferred that the whole book was devoted to Laurenston - though I did feel like I was missing some back story just because of some of the couples that already existed in her story felt familiar. Sorry for the short review, but I'm already on to the next novel and I'm too distracted to say more about this one!

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. A fun read, with the characteristic violence and humor that make a Laurenston story great.

Series - None (I think....)

Strange Brew by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, and more

Today’s hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic!

In Charlaine Harris’ “Bacon,” a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In “Seeing Eye” by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother—and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher’s “Last Call,” wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers—the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer.

For anyone who’s ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who’s imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!

This collection was pretty decent - though I decided in the end it wasn't decent enough for me to keep. There were just so many authors that the worst happened: even the best authors didn't have enough room to create a great story. Most came out just a good one, and the rest were mediocre at the best. The 3 big authors, Harris, Butcher, and Briggs, each brought their own considerable skill to this anthology with me calling a tie between Butcher and Briggs for the best story. Butcher always writes a good short story (though I liked the one in Mean Streets better) and Harry is a character beloved by many a reader (and Murphy plays a heavy role in this story too - yay!). Briggs writes an interesting one in this anthology, mostly unexpected because it doesn't seem to have anything to do with her hit Mercy Thompson series. Despite of that she writes a quickie, entertaining and interesting, though it really just leaves me wanting to read what happens next.

Overall Feeling - This one gets an eh. Pretty decent, but would check it out from the library and save yourself the price of trade paperback.

Series - The anthology collects stories from a few different series, so read at your own risk!

White Witch Black Curse by Kim Harrison

Some wounds take time to heal . . . and some scars never fade.

Rachel Morgan, kick-ass witch and bounty hunter, has taken her fair share of hits, and has broken lines she swore she would never cross. But when her lover was murdered, it left a deeper wound than Rachel ever imagined, and now she won't rest until his death is solved . . . and avenged. Whatever the cost.

Yet the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and when a new predator moves to the apex of the Inderlander food chain, Rachel's past comes back to haunt her. Literally.

Kim Harrison has again crafted a great novel, one that gives even more insight into the complicated relationships of Rachel, Ivy, Jinx and everyone else they've come into contact with throughout the series. Since Kisten's death Rachel has been desperately trying to put together the pieces of what happened, thinking that this will allow her to avenge his death and get on with her life. But like all good writers, Harrison doesn't let the reader, or Rachel, find an easy way out. Kisten's death has roots much further back in the past then any of them had suspected, and it is only through looking backward can they begin to move forward. Sounds corny, huh? In fact this story is filled with surprises and it reaffirms the fact that Harrison has created characters that anyone would be excited to get to know better. Hopefully she'll be able to keep it up and continue Rachel's adventures in future exciting stories.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs (way) up. While you can't read this one without having the background of the first books, once you get to it it's well worth the wait.
Series - 1) Dead Witch Walking 2) The Good the Bad and the Undead 3) Every Which Way But Dead 4) A Fistful of Charms 5) For a Few Demons More 6) The Outlaw Demon Wails 7) White Witch Black Curse