TEST
If you haven’t been reading the Kate Daniels series what on earth is wrong with you? Err, I mean to say, you won’t want to start with this book. You will have a much better understanding of how the players all fit together, how the story world works, and what the individual histories are if you begin with Magic Bites. Since this is book four, anything I say from here on out may be a spoiler for books one thru three.
<!– var browName = navigator.appName; var SiteID = 1; var ZoneID = 4; var browDateTime = (new Date()).getTime(); if (browName=='Netscape') { document.write('Kate Daniels is not your typical girl, but she does share one thing in common with her less kick butt sisters – she hates being stood up. So when Curran fails to show for their long planned date and then has a third party advise her he is not taking her calls, she trashes the dinner she cooked him. Then she goes back to her life in Atlanta, sparing only a few minutes every hour to loathe him with all her heart. The only thing that makes her feel better are chocolate covered donuts. She’d go for a whole bar of chocolate, but that would be crazy expensive for a gal in her pay range. The days have not been easy for her, but then someone who works for The Order isn’t looking for easy days; just ones they survive.
Today she is riding back to the office to return a few reptiles to their cages at the Atlanta Center for Mythological Research, carrying a living dust bunny in a cage and sporting jeans gunked up with lizard saliva. It is then she receives a telepathic call from Maxine asking her to handle an emergency. Something is cornered at the Steel Horse, the border bar that sits on the invisible line separating Pack (shapeshifter territory) from the zone controlled by the People (necromancers). Technically, Kate’s off duty but Maxine’s offer of two chocolate chip cookies in exchange for dealing with this disaster overrides her better judgment, and she and her trusty mule Marigold head off to see what’s in the basement. When they get there what’s in the cellar is the least of Kate’s worries. A Pack member has been gruesomely murdered. Worse, someone infected him with some sort of magical disease that is now attempting to spread without its host. Using strong magic to contain it, Kate is able to keep Atlanta from becoming quarantined but her research into just who caused this little disaster leads her to an enemy thousands of years old. And someone who is unfortunately close to her father, which is bad news for Kate – and the rest of humanity. As if that wasn’t bad enough a shape shifter being attacked means she will have to deal with the Beast Lord. And Curran may be king of all things furry, but he is certainly not enthroned in her heart at the moment.
There’s a good blend of action and thought here that has been consistent throughout the series and which I totally enjoy. Kate doesn’t just immediately know what is going on and how to fix it but a lot of her time is spent doing research, tracking clues and interviewing witnesses. I like it when authors mix fantasy, action and mystery; it’s like getting three books for the price of one.
One of the great pleasures of this series is the writing style of the husband and wife team who make up Ilona Andrews. I love, love, love the way they can string together a sentence to have me laughing in the midst of chaos. Narrator Kate has a dry, acerbic wit she utilizes constantly and it makes it a delight to accompany her on her adventures. And I am endlessly impressed with the world they have created. The magic waves idea is utilized perfectly here to create a unique and very nearly believable urban fantasy.
Kate is one of the few really, really kick butt heroines out there. Picture Mercy Thompson from Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series and then combine her with Zsadist from J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood and you start to get the idea. She is a tough, well trained fighter but she has begun to slowly allow a handful of people in. She has good reason not to trust (given her family few people would) and a good enough heart not to want to bring others into the mix when the inevitable war between her and her dad takes place. I get why she is a loner, but I like that she has been slowly allowing herself some human (in loose definition of the word) connections. There is a lot of character here and I love the way it is being slowly but thoroughly explored.
Curran is an awesome hero. He is your typical alpha control freak but he is also so much more. He is a rich, uber-powerful man who has turned the Pack into a nation within a nation. A consummate politician, he’s also a hands on leader who never asks his people to fight in a war he doesn’t charge into himself. He respects Kate and her skills enough to both utilize her services and give her the space she needs to be who she is.
So with all the love, why not an A? The situation between Kate and Curran was a complete, unnecessary step backward. It took time to resolve that could have been better spent developing the relationship, not covering ground we had already covered in books one through three.
That said, I would still strongly recommend this book to fans of the series and urge those who haven’t tried it and enjoy urban fantasy to pick up book one. I know I will certainly be following the series into book five and beyond.
Grade: B+
Book Type: Urban Fantasy
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 26/05/10
Publication Date: 2010/06
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.