Saturday, September 23, 2017

Week 38 Reviews: Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, Magic Bleeds, Curran POV Collection, Magic Slays, Magic Tests, Retribution Clause, An Ill-Advised Rescue, Magic Rises, Magic Breaks, Magic Shifts, Magic Stars, Magic Binds














From Goodreads:
When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate's guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she's way out of her league—but she wouldn't have it any other way…

From Goodreads:
Down in Atlanta, tempers – and temperatures – are about to flare…

As a mercenary who cleans up after magic gone wrong, Kate Daniels has seen her share of occupational hazards. Normally, waves of paranormal energy ebb and flow across Atlanta like a tide. But once every seven years, a flare comes, a time when magic runs rampant. Now Kate's going to have to deal with problems on a much bigger scale: a divine one.

When Kate sets out to retrieve a set of stolen maps for the Pack, Atlanta's paramilitary clan of shapeshifters, she quickly realizes much more at stake. During a flare, gods and goddesses can manifest – and battle for power. The stolen maps are only the opening gambit in an epic tug-of-war between two gods hoping for rebirth. And if Kate can't stop the cataclysmic showdown, the city may not survive…

From Goodreads:
When magic strikes and Atlanta goes to pieces, it's a job for Kate Daniels… 

Drafted into working for the Order of Merciful Aid, mercenary Kate Daniels has more paranormal problems than she knows what to do with these days. And in Atlanta, where magic comes and goes like the tide, that's saying a lot.

But when Kate's werewolf friend Derek is discovered nearly dead, she must confront her greatest challenge yet. As her investigation leads her to the Midnight Games—an invitation only, no holds barred, ultimate preternatural fighting tournament—she and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, uncover a dark plot that may forever alter the face of Atlanta's shapeshifting community… 

From Goodreads:
Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren't for the magic. When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose.

Kate Daniels works for the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid, officially as a liaison with the mercenary guild. Unofficially, she cleans up the paranormal problems no one else wants to handle - especially if they involve Atlanta's shapeshifting community. When she's called in to investigate a fight at the Steel Horse, a bar on the border between the territories of the shapeshifters and the necromancers, Kate quickly discovers that there's a new player in town. One who's been around for thousands of years - and who rode to war at the side of Kate's father. This foe may be too much even for Kate and Curran, the Beast Lord, to handle. Because this time Kate will be taking on family. 

From Goodreads:
Collection of Curran POVs in chronological order.
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Not short story, novella, or standalone, but collection of scenes written by Gordon Andrews as a companion to our Kate Daniels series of books. These scenes illustrate the point of view of Curran, the Beast Lord of Atlanta and are provided in gratitude to our readers for all of their support.
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During Magic Bites, Curran sees Kate and Crest in Fernando's.
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During Magic Strikes, Curran and Kate spend a little time in a hot tub.
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This is the story Jim tells Curran about Kate's Daddy.
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This POV takes place between Magic Strikes and Magic Bleeds and explains why Curran missed the Naked Dinner with Kate.
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Infuriated by Kate's treatment at the hands of the Pack, the Beast Lord demands an explanation. When words fail, claws and fangs must do the talking.

From Goodreads:
In this fifth entry in Ilona Andrews's New York Times bestselling Kate Daniels series, Kate finds herself in the midst of a deadly war between magic and technology. Plagued by a war between magic and technology, Atlanta has never been so deadly. Good thing Kate Daniels is on the job. Kate Daniels may have quit the Order of Merciful Aid, but she's still knee-deep in paranormal problems. Or she would be if she could get someone to hire her. Starting her own business has been more challenging than she thought it would be now that the Order is disparaging her good name, and many potential clients are afraid of getting on the bad side of the Beast Lord, who just happens to be Kate's mate. So when Atlanta's premier Master of the Dead calls to ask for help with a vampire on the loose, Kate leaps at the chance of some paying work. Turns out this is not an isolated incident, and Kate needs to get to the bottom of it fast, or the city and everyone dear to her might pay the ultimate price.

From Goodreads:
Teenage Julie is sent to a school for exceptional children by her guardian, Kate Daniels.

The events of Magic Tests take place after Magic Slays. The story is told from Julie's point of view.

From Goodreads:
Saiman's cousin, Adam—a frost giant and also an insurance adjuster—and his enigmatic partner, Siroun, set out on an impossible mission to enforce a client’s Retribution Clause; that is, to kill the person who killed her. But is their target even guilty? Magic and mayhem and a little personal chemistry will reveal the truth! 

An Ill Advised Rescue is the Kate Daniels short story, set a few weeks before the events of Magic Rises.

The story begins when Kate receives a phone call from the Guild informing that Saiman has been kidnapped...


Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost.


Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack's shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.

Kate can't bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they'll pay him in medicine. With the young people's survival and the Pack's future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they're heading straight into a trap…

No matter how much the paranormal politics of Atlanta change, one thing always remains the same: if there's trouble, Kate Daniels will be in the middle of it…

As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate's connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe—especially those closest to Kate.

As Roland's long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she'll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear… 

From Goodreads:
In the latest Kate Daniels novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews, magic is coming and going in waves in post-Shift Atlanta—and each crest leaves danger in its wake…

After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they're thrilled to escape all the infighting, Kate and Curran know that separating from the Pack completely is a process that will take time. 

But when they learn that their friend Eduardo has gone missing, Kate and Curran shift their focus to investigate his disappearance. Eduardo was a fellow member of the Mercenary Guild, so Kate knows the best place to start looking is his most recent jobs. As Kate and Curran dig further into the merc's business, they discover that the Guild has gone to hell and that Eduardo's assignments are connected in the most sinister way…

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece. 


From Goodreads:
From award-winning author, Ilona Andrews, an original novella, set in the New York Times #1 bestselling Kate Daniels World and featuring fan-favorites, Derek, and Curran and Kate's very independent ward, Julie. 

Scarred, solitary Derek Gaunt has separated from his Pack, and is truly a lone wolf. With no family he answers to no one; but is fiercely loyal to a chosen few. So, when several of those close to him are murdered, he'll stop at nothing to hunt their killer through the magic-drenched streets of Atlanta. 

Never one to be left on the sidelines, equally determined—some might say stubborn—Julie Lennart-Olsen soon joins in his pursuit; and what began as revenge turns into a race to save the city. Their search pits them against powers they never imagined and magic so old, it predates history. It may cost Derek his life, but there are things for which even he would risk everything.

From Goodreads:
Mercenary Kate Daniels knows all too well that magic in post-Shift Atlanta is a dangerous business. But nothing she's faced could have prepared her for this…

Kate and the former Beast Lord Curran Lennart are finally making their relationship official. But there are some steep obstacles standing in the way of their walk to the altar…

Kate's father, Roland, has kidnapped the demigod Saiman and is slowly bleeding him dry in his never-ending bid for power. A Witch Oracle has predicted that if Kate marries the man she loves, Atlanta will burn and she will lose him forever. And the only person Kate can ask for help is long dead.

The odds are impossible. The future is grim. But Kate Daniels has never been one to play by the rules…

My first review of Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, Magic Bleeds, Curran POV Collection, Magic Slays, Magic Tests, An Ill-Advised Rescue, Magic Rises, Magic Breaks, Magic Shifts, Magic Stars, Magic Binds
My Review:
Man, it was just so great to reread this series! I'm on an Ilona Andrews kick, and this is their main series! As in, it's current, still being published, and it's the longest. I loved diving into this world of magic waves and shifters and Roland! So freaking great!

Seeing Kate and Curran fall in love, while going on various adventures, was so great. Kate went from being a lone merc to a well-connected, loved ruler, basically, since she claimed Atlanta, though she's not actually going to rule it. It was so amazing to watch them go on this journey again!

I kinda got the books plots out of order. For some reason, I thought that Magic Slays was going to have the plot of Magic Breaks, and I was reading Slays, thinking, wait, why aren't the things that I remember happening in this book? And that the issues they're dealing with, they'll be finished in another book, right? Man, I totally confused myself!

It's only been just over a year since Magic Binds came out. And I remembered a lot of the big things, like her aunt, and how things ended. But I forgot things like Christopher and his wings and who he was. So before I reread it, I was planning this review, thinking, this is what I would love to happen in the final book. Oops, it already happened! My memory is evil to me!

What I want to happen in the final book? I want to see Kate pregnant and how she dealt with that, and how Curran dealt with the birth. The snippets we've gotten are when Conlan is about 13 months old. So hopefully we'll see that. I also want Lorelai. What happened in Magic Rises, yeah, that was awful, but she wasn't really dealt with, you know? I want something to really put her in her place. After all, she totally messed up Kate and Curran's relationship for a bit, and her dad rules a pack in North America, so she could have reason to visit...yeah.

This was such an amazing series, and I can't wait for Iron and Magic, and Magic Triumphs! I also wouldn't mind another Grey Wolf book! 

Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.3, 5.6, 5.8, 6, 7, 8, 8.5, 9, Curran POV Collection #1-9, Grey Wolf #1
First Read: April 30th, 30th, May 1st, 2015, May 2nd, 2015, September 13th, 2015, May 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 2015, August 6th, 2015, March 4th, 2016, August 27th, 2016
Read: September 17th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 19th, 19th, 20th, 20th, 20th, 20th, 20th, 20th, 21st, 21st, 2017
Source: Own, Free
Reason Why: Rereading! And they're 2017 Dystopia Books and Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2017 Books!
Publisher: Ace, Ilona Andrews, Inc, NYLA
Published: April 1st 2007, April 2008, March 31st 2009, May 25th 2010, December 23rd 2013, April 25th 2011, September 4th 2012, June 5th 2012, January 2nd 2013, July 30th 2013, July 29th 2014, August 4th 2015, December 8th 2015, September 20th 2016

Magic Bites:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Magic Burns:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Magic Strikes:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Magic Bleeds:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Curran POV Collection:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Magic Slays:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Magic Tests:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars










Retribution Clause:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









An Ill-Advised Rescue:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Magic Rises:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Magic Breaks:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Magic Shifts:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Magic Stars:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Magic Binds:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

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