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Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I took two extra days off from vacay, and I used today's downtime to finish reading Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews. It's the second in the "Kate Daniels" spinoff, "Wilmington Years". The story is mainly in Kate's first-person pov, with some passages devoted to Curran's pov.

Having established a home base in Wilmington, Kate and Curran are attempting to maintain a low profile while raising their son, Conlan. Since plans often go awry, their peace is interrupted by a man who comes to beseech them for help. An entire town nearby is being held hostage to an ancient magic that demands human sacrifices. To sweeten the pot, the man offers a vast amount of acreage right in the midst of the trouble area. Kate and Curran agree to help, not so much for the land as to save innocent lives. What they encounter when they travel to Penderton is nothing like anyone has seen before. Massive, Ice Age shapeshifters combined with a dark, unknown magic have them stumped. Kate, however, has magic in spades, and she reaches the decision to embrace it and unleash the full power of a Shinar Queen on the enemy.

Fantastic story! I love the continued world-building as well as snippets of what's been happening in Atlanta since Kate and Curran abdicated their positions in the Pack. Characters were fully realized, including the villains. Fight scenes were exciting, bloody, and brutal. The story was also laced with romance and humor.

Favorite lines:
♦ The world was filled with fools, and I was clearly the dumbest of them all.
♦ "When you find freaky shit in the scary woods, you don't poke it with a stick."
♦ "I trust you with my life, not with yours."
♦ "After you killed the skull mage, you turned to me and you were smiling. A big, bright smile. Old Kate smile." // "Old Kate?" // "Dangerous Kate. Stabby Kate. My Kate."
♦ "I didn't do a thing. I talked to them a bit and then their negotiator self-destructed. Not voluntarily." // "I've negotiated with you before. That tracks." // "Ha. Ha."
♦ If I claimed the land and then faceplanted to my death on the street, I'd never live it down.
♦ It felt almost cheerful: a cozy little picnic, just us and some friends, eating by the scary woods, across from a mass grave and a burning pit filled with corrupted, toxic ashes.
♦ I wasn't close enough to see her face, but her body language was clear enough. It was the Ice Age version of WTF.

Magnificent, engrossing, and satisfying. I only wish it had been longer. Five stars.


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Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Late last night, I finished the book Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews. It's the tenth and final book in the authors' "Kate Daniels" urban fantasy series. Story is in first person pov, as narrated by main character Kate Lennart, fka Kate Daniels.

After the birth of her son, Kate is waiting for the other shoe to drop with her father. Roland has made no secret of the fact that he covets Kate's magic-fueled child, intending to mold Conlan into an image of himself. Kate has more pressing things to worry about, however, when an entire village of people disappears, and a mysterious box is deposited on her doorstep. It seems an ancient, magical enemy has tired of biding his time between worlds and wishes to return to conquer the Earth, with Kate as his queen. To that end, Nieg has amassed an army, much larger than the forces that Kate and Curran can muster from their allies in Atlanta. With nowhere else to turn, Kate must reach out to her father to form an alliance, and hope that he doesn't betray her.

I read the ninth book in this series about three years ago. It took me this long to read the final book, because I kept waiting for it to be released in mass market paperback. You know, the same size as EVERY OTHER BOOK on my shelf in this series. Instead, I finally had to wrestle my OCD into submission and buy this larger copy. Still bitter about that. But, I digress. The book was fast-paced, exciting, and tense. There were some sweet, sexy times between Kate and Curran, along with plenty of humor, to provide some relief from what was otherwise constant battles: physical battles, verbal battles, battles of will. Kate has come a long way from a solo merc, trying to keep her head down and not let anyone know her heritage, to the In-Shinar, Daughter of Roland, Queen of Atlanta, and all-around bad-ass with a sword and blood armor. She is now comfortable wielding not just weapons, but her magic and the power words she had to fight to claim as her own. Her battles in this book were glorious. The ending was surprising but satisfying, although I'm bummed about some of the characters that didn't survive the final battle.

Favorite lines:
♦ "She tried to enroll her boys in gymnastics class in the city, and one of the other parents threw a giant fit, so they asked her to leave. She's been rolling in glow-in-the-dark powder and menacing that woman's house for the last three nights." // "Did you explain to her that intimidation isn't in the Pack's best interests?" // "I did. She told me that she would have gotten away with it if it weren't for me, a meddling kid."
♦ Teddy Jo grimaced. "It's not a corpse bus. It's a Multiple Recently Deceased Efficient Removal vehicle." // "You do realize that spells MURDER?" Derek asked. // Teddy Jo gave him a look. "Yes, I do. That's the point." // Angel of death humor, what would we do without it?
♦ "You will take the best care of him, right?" // "No, I'll drop him into the nearest sewer and throw dirt on his head."
♦ "If you can't trust an ice giant driving a creeper van with a dead body inside, who can you trust?"
♦ "It may or may not be part of the Illuminati cipher. I'm reasonably sure it's not a hobo sign." // I sighed. We had people being murdered and ancient abominations running through the streets, but yay, at least the hobos weren't about to invade.
♦ "Be careful," I told her. // "I was planning on blundering straight into danger without any preparation, but now that you told me, I will totally be careful."
♦ All of the Masters of the Dead dressed as if they anticipated being ambushed with a surprise board meeting.
♦ Six vampires came scuttling over the roof, in assorted colors of sunblock, like someone spilled a bag of Skittles. Taste the undead rainbow.
♦ The world was going crazy. Nothing left to do but hold on and yell, "Whee!" at strategic moments.
♦ "That's my boy." I made my voice happy and light. // Conlan hugged my neck. "Bad." // Razer was screaming because Curran had pulled his left arm off. "Yes, bad. Look at Daddy ripping the bad man to pieces. Go Daddy!" // Conlan clapped his hands. Curran snapped Razer's spine with a loud crack, then twisted off the fae's head. // "Look, Daddy killed him dead. All dead." // Conlan giggled. Dali was staring at me with a look of pure horror. // "I don't want him to have nightmares that the bad man is going to get him," I told her. "This way he knows his daddy killed him."

Amazing story, amazing series. I am sorry to see it end, although the authors have branched out with other books in the same verse. I will certainly check them out. Five stars.


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Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Over the weekend, I read Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews. The book is set in the authors' "Kate Daniels" series, but it features Andrea Nash as the main character. Andrea is a former member of the Order, a beastkin hyena, and Kate's best friend.

When four members of the Pack are murdered, Andrea is tasked with investigating. To do so, she'll have to face Raphael, her mate, whom she's on shaky ground with. Andrea isn't sure where their relationship is going, or if they even still have a relationship. Nevertheless, she is a professional above all, and she is determined to do her job. Raphael complicates matters when he shows up to Andrea's office, with a blond bimbo in tow. Now, not only does she have four murders to solve, she must also deal with jealousy and feelings of inadequacy. Lucky for Andrea, she has to fight her way through her investigation.

Andrea has bigger problems than her love life, however. One of her suspects turns out to be an actual god. He claims to need her help to defeat a cult that is trying to resurrect their own god--the god of Chaos. If they succeed, humankind will cease to exist. Andrea isn't without resources. Her allies include Ascanio, a teenage, full-of-himself hyena shapeshifter, Roman, a priest of a god of darkness, and Raphael. If she and Raphael can manage not to kill one another, they may just have a chance.

Excellent story! I thoroughly enjoyed reading something from Andrea's point of view, especially when Kate flitted through the narrative. It was refreshing to see her from someone else's perspective. Andrea's interactions with Ascancio were hilarious, and her encounters with Roman were, as well. As for Raphael, their bickering was amusing, but it was also heart-breaking to see how much they still loved one another but were too proud to admit it. The action rocketed along, fight scenes were gritty and gory, and everything came together nicely at the end.

Favorite lines:
♦ I should probably rethink running around in beastkin shape, especially if I kept getting bloody. All my witnesses seemed to be disturbed by it.
♦ "If I was dead, and the ferryman needed a coin to take me across the river to the afterlife, and you had the only quarter in existence, I'd tell you to stick it up your ass."
♦ When I went off the rails, I didn't do it halfway. No, I flipped a few times, caught a lot of air, and then exploded in a fiery crash.
♦ "No. I promised you a cup of tea; we will drink that tea, God damn it."
♦ We stared at each other. The level of politeness had risen to dangerous levels.
♦ "Does Strawberry Shortcake know you stole her horse? She will be berry, berry angry with you."

It takes talent to keep up that line of jocularity among all of the blood and gore!

Loved it, and I hope to read more of Andrea's adventures. Five stars!

*****

Since I didn't have to work today, I stayed up late to finish reading Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews. It's part of the authors' "Kate Daniels" urban fantasy series.

When Kate and her fiance, former Beast Lord Curran, learn that their friend Eduardo is missing, they launch an investigation into his disappearance. Visiting the scene of Eduardo's latest assignment finds them battling a magical creature, which morphs into something else after they kill it. Now they must find out who has been sending creatures to attack a seemingly innocuous neighborhood in the suburbs.

In addition, Kate and Curran, who are trying to formally separate from the Pack, keep getting drawn into Pack drama and politics, and at the same time, they learn the Guild, which employs mercenaries to keep Atlanta safe, is falling to hell. To top it off, Kate's father, an amoral demigod who may or may not want to kill her, has invited her to dinner.

Fabulous story! Plenty of exciting battle scenes, great characterizations, sub-plots that weave together, trauma and angst, and just enough levity to keep it from being completely dark.

Favorite lines:
♦ Not my circus, not my undead monkeys.
♦ "Kate, get in the car." // "Maybe you should growl dramatically. I don't think I'm intimidated enough." // "I will put you in the car." // "No, you won't." I love how they bicker!
♦ "Does everybody think I'm an asshole?" Curran asked. // "Only people who know you or have met you."
♦ "So you sneaked up behind him, startled him by speaking, and when he turned around and saw a six-hundred-pound talking lion, you showed him your teeth?" // "I don't think that's what happened," Curran said. // "That's exactly what happened, Your Furriness."
♦ Curran and horses didn't get along. He thought they were unpredictable and untrustworthy, and they thought he was a werelion.

Another awesome installment to this series--five stars!

*****


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