Reviews tagging 'Death'

Brûlure magique by Ilona Andrews

13 reviews

alysereadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Another fun fantasy novel. I preferred the first book, but I am enjoying the series and excited to read more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gore

Moderate: Death of parent and Death

rorikae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

‘Magic Burns’ by Ilona Andrews is the second installment in the Kate Daniels series. 

This installment further delves into the world first introduced in Magic Bites. Kate discovers a young girl who has lost her mother. While attempting to help her locate her mother, Kate discovers that a flare is imminent and that gods are gearing up to take advantage of the flare to manifest and wage war. 

In this second installment, I feel that the world of Kate Daniels is really coming into focus. We get to spend more time with Kate and the rest of the cast of characters that were first introduced in the initial installment. Their characters are coming into better focus as well as the world. I can already tell that this series is likely going to thrive in its worldbuilding and the character growth that happens over multiple books. The first book made me interested, but I can definitely feel my investment in the series and the characters growing in this second installment. I’m excited to continue to book three. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, War, and Death

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

And so I continue my re-read of the series.

It's surprising how much a long series can blend into itself and warp when you think things happen.  This is furthered by the offshoots and novellas for different POVs.  This time around I'm going to try reading everything in chronological order rather than publication order.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Medical content, Murder, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Grief, and Kidnapping

kristen1994's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Blood

Minor: Grief, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, and Animal death

naturally's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

like it's predecessor, magic burns is a fantastic introduction to the world of kate of daniels. what makes this second instalment a little better is the fact that we're provided with a detailed explanation about how/why there is a tech-magic tug of war. additionally, ilona andrews masterfully weaves a plotline rich in Celtic mythology.

we meet an array of great supporting characters in magic burns. it seems that my previous wish - for kate have friendships with other female characters - has been granted twofold. kates scenes with julie were VERY adorable, and kate has a strong ally in andrea. everyone's character development was top-notch - even bran's. i hated him at the beginning and tbh throughout, but his arc was well done.

i like that we peeled back kate's layers a little bit, and more details about her heritage were hinted at but not spelt outright. she's a tough cookie to crack. so is curran. their last scene together singlehandedly cured my depression, ended a drought, made my crops grow, improved my grades, cleared my skin, and made my lifespan lengthen considerably <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, War, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Death, and Death of parent

relin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I love this series and the world, I've reread this so many times over the years. Always a joy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Murder, Gore, Sexual harassment, Death, Blood, Racism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Animal death

Moderate: Outing, Cursing, and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Sexism, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, and Alcoholism

Racism is fantasy racism where a new group of people are being discriminated against, just in case that helps. Animal deaths - one off screen but discussed, one on screen but magical animal.

beccaand's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Body horror, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape, Death of parent, and Child abuse

rbash2391's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Liking this series more as I go. I am interested in the overarcing character development that I'm sure we will see as the series progresses. I'm heavily invested in the multi-book, slow burn romance, despite my usual aversion to this trope. I also hardly enjoy procedurals, but this being a shapeshifter, vampire, magical beings, urban fantasy makes the cop/mercenary stuff fine for me. Some of the plot stuff can be confusing, especially the Celtic lore in this book in particular. I try not to dwell on those details too much and am just along for the ride with the extremely sarcastic, badass FMC slicing dudes apart with her magic sword.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Death, Gore, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol and Abandonment

Minor: Gun violence, Cannibalism, and Rape

space_bandit's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Grief and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content

booksthatburn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Kate starts watching over Julie, a young girl whose mom has vanished while worshipping in a coven who can't keep their crows straight (a dangerous thing in a world alternatingly drenched in magic and tech). Julie is one of my favorite characters in the series and her first appearance here sets the tone of their relationship for the next few books. This also is the first book to feature Andrea, an excellent markswoman who loves the Order and guns. The dynamic between Kate and Curran is emotionally charged in a way that currently is tilting towards mutually consensual violence but Curran seems to be making subtle (and not-so-subtle) moves in a more sexual direction that Kate hasn't yet reciprocated. 

This picks up on the last known status of a bunch of plot threads but isn't trying to wrap them up, really (except for Crest). It continues Kate's entanglements with the Pack and the People, and shows her involvement with the Mercenary Guild and the Order but isn't focusing on them as much this time around. There's a new storyline featuring some new characters (a few who won't continue past here and some who will be series regulars), but even that has a connection to a minor character who appeared in MAGIC BITES. That storyline has a major thing that is both introduced and resolved in this book. There are several things explicitly left for later which involve changes to the status quo. The main character is still Kate, her voice is consistent with the previous book. It might make sense to start here because this is laying so much groundwork of its own, but the dynamic between Kate and the Pack (specifically but not only Curran) definitely benefits from being read after the first book, since otherwise Curran's strong personality can be a bit off-putting when it lacks the context of Kate's opening salvo to their interactions in MAGIC BITES.

This book begins with a map theft and stays pretty focused on the characters important to that initial incident, while building out the world in specific ways. This introduces the witch covens as an important power in the city, shows some factions within the Pack, and deals with a different set of gods that are upsettingly more relevant during the Flare. Bran, Andrea, and Julie provide three completely different sets of problems and opportunities, keeping this from feeling like just a stepping stone to later books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, and Animal death

Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, Ableism, Cursing, Excrement, Murder, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Cancer, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Sexual content