Finished A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison. This is the fourth book in her Rachel Morgan/Hollows urban fantasy series.

In this one, witch/bounty hunter Rachel Morgan has to leave the comfort of her Cincinnati home behind to journey up to Michigan to bail her ex-boyfriend Nick out of trouble. Nick is hiding an artifact from several groups of werewolves, and they’re determined to get it back no matter what. Along for the ride are Rachel’s partners, the pixy Jenks and her vampire roommate Ivy. Magic and chaos ensue.

When I first started reading urban fantasy, Harrison was one of the first authors I discovered, and I’ve enjoyed this series a lot. (And I absolutely love the titles.) It’s always interesting when an author takes their character out of their hometown/city/comfort zone and stages an adventure elsewhere, and this book is no exception. I thought the Michigan setting worked really well and let Harrison do some different things in terms of action scenes (I particularly liked the big finale on the bridge).

It was also nice to see Rachel get some closure regarding her relationship with Nick — and even better to see her outwit him in the end. I never really liked the Nick character, preferring Kisten, who is just more fun. And, as always, Jenks was one of the highlights of the book for me. I always enjoy his character. 😎

But the one thing I didn’t really get was the relationship between Rachel and Ivy. It’s been a while since I read the third book, and I’m a little fuzzy on how the world works, especially when it comes to the vampires. Anyway, in this one, Rachel gets Ivy to bite her, and Ivy almost kills Rachel before Jenks can get her to stop.

I have to say that I’ve never really liked the Rachel/Ivy storyline. If I were Rachel, always having to watch what I say/do/wear around Ivy would really annoy me. Why can’t Ivy just learn to control herself better? And I’d like to see some sort of resolution to the story. Rachel and Ivy learning how to live together or Ivy learning how to control her feelings for Rachel better. But it’s not my world/characters.  

I also missed seeing Trent and his minions in this one (Trent is Rachel’s archnemesis and deliciously evil).

But overall, another solid entry in this series. I’ll be reading the next one. Thumbs up.

Up next: The Moneypenny Diaries by Kate Westbrook.

Books in my TBR pile: About 10.

Finished Texas Rain by Jodi Thomas. This is the first book in her Whispering Mountain trilogy about three brothers who run a Texas ranch.

This one is about Texas Ranger Travis McMurray, who finds himself attracted to Rainey Adams — despite the fact she steals his horse. Rainey is fleeing an arranged marriage that her cruel father set up and is afraid of taking a chance on love with Travis. But she might not even get the chance to love Travis, since some outlaws are gunning for the Texas Ranger …

This is a historical romance set in the American west. It seems like most of the historicals are set in Regency England these days, and it was nice to read something different. Besides, I love a good western. 😎

In some ways, this is a very sweet romance (despite a couple of steamy scenes). Travis and Rainey get to know each other through letters that they send back and forth. I thought it was a cool plot device as it moves the stories of both characters forward even though they aren’t even in the same town at that point.

Thomas also gives her characters a real love of the land, and the McMurray brothers have an unusual backstory — their father died and they had to defend their ranch from outsiders until the oldest brother turned 18 and they could claim the land for themselves. Really, I thought that could have made a whole book in and of itself.

There are some secondary characters who add humor to the mix, and there’s a couple of nice action scenes at the end.

Overall, this one is comfort food for western romance fans. I’ll probably be reading the other two books. Thumbs up.

Up next: A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison.

Books in my TBR pile: About 12.