The seventh book in the Kate Daniels series (I can’t believe how quickly I’m getting through these, I’m gonna have to start trying to drag these out a bit), Magic Breaks takes us back to Atlanta, where Kate and Curran are on high alert, knowing that Kate’s big secret is now known to Hugh d’Ambray. And sure enough, we’ve hardly been back five minutes before Hugh makes his play – having first had Curran lured away for a diplomatic hunt – and lays siege to the Keep. And while Kate may have a thousand or so shapeshifters at her back, they’re no match for Hugh’s magic, which is how she finds herself at death’s door with Ghastek keeping her company.
Magic Breaks raises the stakes for Kate once more, with genuine world-ending events threatening to place and finally putting her in front of her father, the much talked about Roland, as he tries to claim Atlanta for his own. We get to see Kate much more vulnerable than we’ve ever seen her before and, even more importantly (for me) Curran is away for more than half a book, giving me a breather from actively rooting for his death and not bringing him back until he’s very definitely needed (I don’t care if Kate’s forgiven and forgotten, he’s still dead to me).
With the book’s climax ending with a very specific set of conditions, I’m interested to see how Kate’s new role (and the lack of her old one) will play out.
My copy of Magic Breaks also came with a bonus short story, Magic Tests, in which the irritating Julie gets set a test in order to join a new school – a test where she needs to find a missing girl (weird way of going about admitting students, but OK). Although I find Julie to be one of the least interesting characters in the series, given the high stakes at play in Magic Breaks, Magic Tests was a refreshing little bit of nothing served up as a palate cleanser. Definitely non-essential reading though.