Get ready for a 3-pack of Ilona Andrews reviews, folks! #81 Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews Okay, finally made it back to the beginning of the series, and it’s great. Kate meets Curran the Beast Lord, and all the right sparks fly. Kate also meets Derek before his “christening by fire” later in the series, and he is a young smart-alecky teenaged werewolf with a quick wit, sharp insights and an appealing personality. Kate is still a mercenary and a loner, who nonetheless builds the […]
Magic mixes with Hindu mythology in another Kate Daniels adventure
This is the third in the series, still in 2040 Atlanta where magic and tech surges alternate and wreak havoc, and humanity shares the planet with strange creatures of all sorts. The first half of Magic Strikes is classic, but heartbreaking. Heroine Kate Daniels races against time to save her– and my–favorite teen werewolf Derek from a gang of death fighters he has angered by encouraging a beautiful young would-be defector from their ranks, but she arrives too late. Derek’s body is discovered shattered and […]
Kate Daniels’ world just keeps getting bigger and badder
Okay, so I’ve been reading this “urban fantasy” series the wrong way, I’ll admit. Picking up what’s available, in whatever order I can find them, and then moving on. But it’s not like this series is Game of Thrones or something, with story lines too dense and complicated to follow if you miss one. While it would be nice to read the Magic series from start to finish, I think I’ve managed to fill in the gaps as I read along. The plots are clever, […]
Myth, magic and monsters — what can be bad?
This was my first foray into Ilona Andrew’s popular “urban fantasy” series, and it was a fun ride—like Jim Butcher’s Dresden files with a little more sex and a lot more kapow, if possible! Gunmetal Magic is apparently a spin-off from the main series, and is centered on the story of Andrea Nash, best friend of the serie’s main character and all-around badass Kate Daniels. Andrea is definitely no slouch, and has an interesting backstory that calls to us from the very first pages. Andrea and […]
In which I remember what good urban fantasy feels like
While impatiently waiting for the newest Kate Daniels book to come off hold at the library, I remembered that Ilona Andrews doesn’t have just one urban fantasy series, and that The Edge series in particular was recommended to me. So, I dove in. Goodreads summary: “Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between the world of the Broken (where people drive cars, shop at Wal-Mart, and magic is a fairy tale) and the Weird (where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic […]
“If your family had a quilt, it would be made out of chimera skin and stuffed with feathers from dead angels.”
WARNING! This review will contain spoilers for some stuff in the earlier Kate Daniels books because it’s pretty much impossible to write a review for the SEVENTH book in a series without revealing any of what’s gone before. If you’ve not read this series before, this book is not where you want to start (even though the authors kindly included a handy guide to all the major players in the book and a very concise and informative guide to the fictional universe this series is set in). The […]