Black Magic Sanction audiobook

Tink's tampons, I really hate that witch council! And Nick! And Trent (though somewhat less than the two afore-mentioned parties)!Rachel has been shunned. She now is depending on Ivy and Jenks since she can’t make payments, can’t earn money, can’t even buy groceries alone.When going shopping with Ivy one day, she’s attacked by a white witch - which is … odd. Until Nick summons her and it becomes clear that there is a plot worked by the witch council to eliminate Rachel (imprisonment in Alcatraz or being magically neutered) and Nick is helping them while, of course, blaming Rachel for everything. And Trent is in on it as a member of the city council, claiming that he can control her (his revenge for her only having one way of saving him in the Ever After). So there’s a prison break followed by Rachel trying to stay one step ahead of the council.I was sooo fucking irritated by the arrogance on display from the council witches (especially Brook, of course), their guard dogs, Trent, Nick and a number of other people. Not to mention the prison itself and Rachel’s time there (though I loved the creativity behind Alcatraz being the witch prison due to its location surrounded by salt water).The hardest part, without a doubt, was (view spoiler)[Madelina (hide spoiler)] dying and (view spoiler)[Jenks (hide spoiler)] losing it from grief. The rescue mission, if you can call it that, was equally heartwarming and I can’t believe (view spoiler)[Ceri (hide spoiler)] was against it and what was said to justify that stance. It’s one thing to have had different experiences but that things are different here has been evident so there is no excuse for saying what was said. It was absolutely time to break traditions and break them hard!Though I agree that Rachel shouldn’t have shown so much „compassion“ for their enemies. Honorable deaths, if they so desired, would have been better for everyone. Though it wouldn’t have prevented this particular death - it was a long time coming.In contrast, I loooved the lessons Rachel had with Al and how their relationship developed. Almost cute. Cute enough to make me barf fairy-farts. :DAnd that heist in the end was HILARIOUS despite it not really going according to plan!So yeah, drowning in feelings again. Not every author can pull this off and definitely not in such a way.

The great Hollows Re-Read continues, and it's consistently getting better and better. Or rather, it is never failing to travel on to greater intrigues, terrible shunning, constant hounding, and even a little romance on the run to keep things spicy.Let's face it. Rachel is having a bad life. Good friends, sure, but it's the bad choices in men that keep on haunting her: the dying, lying, or even ex-dying/currently lying, or just plain nice-guy-can't-handle-her-shit counts as bad choices in men.That, with black magic, aura-smut, breaking out of Alcatraz, going on the run, breaking INTO a massively fortified compound, performing a massive heist, AND keeping her best friend from committing suicide, it's a heavy tale.But an EXCELLENT UF. Delicious, even. Flabbergastingly good. And funny and heartbreaking all at the same time.I feel blessed to have this in my life. Again.

This review can also be found at https://carolesrandomlife.com/I had a great time with this book! I read the first few books in this series years ago but am just now getting around to reading further in the series. I am definitely late to the party but am glad that I finally decided to dive in. This is a series that I would highly recommend reading in order since each installment builds on the events in earlier books. I found this book to be very entertaining.Rachel can’t catch a break. She has been shunned by the witch community and now a group wants her to suffer a much more extreme punishment. Needless to say, she wants to avoid that fate. On top of that, she has to deal with Al, who has sent Pierce to be her babysitter for the time being. Things will get pretty intense in this installment and there were times that I was really worried for both Rachel and her friends. Rachel will be forced to work with a few characters that I am not sure should be trusted which added to the drama.Marguerite Gavin does a fabulous job with the narration for this series. I love all of the voices that she uses for the various characters in the story. They just seem so real and really come alive during the audiobook. I think that she was able to add just the right amount of emotion and excitement into her reading. I definitely think that her performance added to my enjoyment of the story and believe that audio is the way to go with this book if at all possible.I would recommend this series to others. This is a really well-done story in a series that just seems to keep getting better and better. I cannot wait to see what is in store for Rachel and the rest of her group in this next book.Book source: Purchased/Library

Well, I've been waiting for one of the Hollows books to bring a conclusion to the myriad stories being told. All of these secondary charaters...Nick, Trent, Peirce, Ivy, Jenks (and Madalena), the witch council, etc....there are so many people involved with what seems to be a conspiracy to bring down Rachel Morgan!! And for me, Jenks is still the only one on that list that I trust. I KNOW Ivy's a friend, by she's so volatile, and I still see her as being selfish and wishy washy.I do like Pierce. He's proven, and continues to prove, to Rachel that he's there to back Rachel up. Time after time, especially here, he is rock solid steady. Nick shows up, the biggest douche bag of all time. I've never really liked him, and that opinion has been validated time and again. He just continues to break Rachel's heart. Anywho, I was getting bored with the last few books...as bored as you can get reading this series. Even though every time you turn the page, Rachel is either fighting off demons or casting crazy spells, this series has started to blur together for me. Not so with this one! Al and Rachel take some pretty big steps in their relationship as student and teacher. I like how Al is an evil demon but he's not ALL evil. He proves it in this book. Both the evil and the not-so-evil. I like how he has stayed in the picture and seems to have a sort of affection for Rachel; albeit a selfish one.The end was GREAT! Really, the last two or three scenes were simply fantastic...wrapping up the story nicely, booting some mean ass people out of the series and setting up for the next few books nicely. I think the story has finally taken a turn and I'm really excited to get to it!!I 'read' the audiobook from Overdrive. The narrator was pretty good...she has now become my inner voice for Rachel!

Thank heavens for ARCs. After WWBC I was totally manic to read this one. I won't drop spoilers, although I can thank Kim Harrison for not leaving me drowning for book #9. I can actually take a deep, calming breath and mentally accept the year wait until the next book... even though it will still be an impatient 12 months. LOVE this series!I've always been a spoiler fan and speculator, though, so I have to say I hope the next book is the story that finishes what the short story "Unbound" started, with Daryl causing some SERIOUS fireworks on all levels and I can only pray in my little heart of hearts that #10 Skimmer gets out (alive or undead--but undead would be better) and goes on a rampage. Love Glenn, but I want him to die a hero saving someone.And I know there's a huge Trent/Rachel following out there, but I definitely want a Trent/Jasmin angle explored. Rachel and Trent are like siblings to me. I would gag and lose respect for everyone if they became an item.And that's all I have to say about that, although I welcome other speculators to throw their thoughts in :)

RTC!

4.5/5Mon avis en FrançaisMy English reviewI was eager to start this novel after finishing the previous one. I must say that we are easily taken away by the story and now that the series is over, I’m happy to buy the volumes the one after the other and thus to continue the adventures of Rachel Morgan.Our heroine is going to have plenty to do in this novel! Oh yes, because it does not stop! Rachel has to manage her shunning but now the convent wants more! Between those who want to kill her, to lock her in Alcatraz, to prevent her from having children or just to get her future children into a new generation, our witch will have to find a solution. Because of course, you can imagine that none of the choices is acceptable! But this fight is very difficult because she will have to join forces with her friends and her enemies but some have ulterior motives. Did I say that we find Lee again? And Nick? I confess I did not expect at all to see them. Moreover, it is very difficult to know if we can trust them or not. But I admit that the character who surprised me the most throughout the story was Nick. Wow, what a manipulator! And that in every sense of the term but the author has managed to fool us well throughout the story, making us change our minds about him constantly. I’ll let you find out what he is really in the end.Fortunately for Rachel, everyone is there for her, whether Pierce, Ivy, Jenks and many others. Our confidence about Pierce was also put to the test. Oh yes, because it is very difficult to understand exactly what he wants from our heroine and how it all will end. But like her, we want to trust him, to see what would happen, despite the fact that he is what he is. We can also see Trent in the novel, although I admit that we got the urge to strangle given the choice he offers Rachel. It is also difficult to statute on him but the end of the story gives us hope and I’m really looking forward to reading the next book to see what happens.Everything evolves very quickly throughout the history and we learn a little more about the past of the woman and what she is capable of. It was nice to see that here she finally agrees that she is much more, she accepts the fact that she is different and plays with it for her life and the others. But whatever happens, she will not change to please others. I was also surprised to see that she manages to work with Al, which I must say is pretty funny in some moments with Rachel.But that’s not all because Kim Harrison takes us through all the states in this book and I admit that I was very sad about the death of one of the characters. I did not expect it and it’s true that it’s been heartbreaking.In all cases many things happen in this novel and I am very eager to read more. I can only recommend you to start this series if you have not already, it’s a great surprise!

4+This is one of the really excellent stories in this series, I think. I have to admit that I'm tired of Pierce, though.Also, I had forgotten just how often Rachel says "That's not fair!" as if fairness has anything at all to do with life.

*Re-read July 2015**First read 2010Phew, I feel like I just read three books, not one! Probably the most complex book in the series so far, and one of the best. Super action packed, emotional, character driven, suspenseful, emotional, funny when necessary, a major part in the overall story arc.Sooo much happened, it was almost overwhelming. The coven; Matalina (*sobs* whyyy?); Al (my favorite part - there wasn't one scene where he was involved and trouble and laughing out loud situations didn't follow. He's the bestest! ♥), the Trent headquarters shenanigans (LMFAO what I wouldn't have given to be a fly on the wall and see his face, the whole thing was priceless; I'm still grinning just thinking about it); Pierce (ughhhh, grow up already, Rachel!), the Fountain Square scene (*giggles*), Trent, the horse race... ♥To sum it up: Pierce and Nic-k in the same book. Bleah, my least favorite part of the book. I'm so over both of them! But we all know how smart *sarcasm* Rachel is when it comes to her men, so we'll move on, necessary evil and all that. Though I kind of felt bad for Pierce, he was trying; I just couldn't feel any connection with him. Something was missing. :( Despite all that, we can see a lot of character growth and development, which was a big plus. Trent and Al were awesome! We can see things moving a certain way, and I can't wait to read the next books! ___________________Trent still smiled, but the faint worry pinching his eyes tickled the back of my brain. Trent wasn't especially tall, but his bearing made people take notice, as if his baby-fine, nearly white hair, devilishly confident smile, and drool-worthy, athletic physique gained from riding his prize-winning horses wouldn't. All that I could ignore—mostly—but his voice... his beautiful voice, rich in variance and resonant... That was harder—and I hated that I loved it. ***"No, you just keep crashing my life. Look—" I said, and Al grunted. "Here it comes," the demon muttered. "Listen. Listen to this, runt. She's going to have a list."***[Pierce's] eyes were inches from mine. "You trust on the surface, but no deeper. You don't know how. For a clever woman, you took the short end of the stick when it comes to men." He pulled me closer, and I shifted to lay beside him, his arms twined around me. "I cannot stay," he lied for me, eyes averted. "I'm only going to be here for a time, then leave you." His gaze met mine. "And I will cry when I go, because I could love you forever."

Very enjoyable, but the ending seemed a bit too easy and poor.

Lots of action and excitement in this one. And forward momentum on relationships with foes and allies alike. The housemates were missing for much of the book and it wasn’t even noticeable until they reappeared on scene. The big changes with the pixies were well handled. And the writing is still great and non repetitive. Although Rachel’s insistence that every male in her vicinity is sooo hot gets old. I’m not fond of the pierce fellow. He’s just meh. Trent is slowly growing on me. Al was also a blast this book. Why do we like bad guys. Smh.