Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

2 reviews

onthesamepage's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-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

The first time Kate and Hugh sparred in the Kate Daniels series, I had a moment where I was sad that they were on opposite sides. There was something about Hugh that tickled a soft spot I have for antiheroes, because there were moments where he didn't act like the clear villain he's supposed to be. Of course, there were many more moments where he was an absolute bastard, so I gave up on the fanciful notion of him and Kate ever being on the same side.

Cue this book.

His voice was a low snarl. “Sometimes when I lay awake in the middle of the night, I think of you.” 
“Don’t…” 
“Sometimes there is nothing left and all that’s anchoring me here is knowing you’ll pick a fight with me in the morning.” 
“Hugh...” 
“What do you want more than anything? Tell me what it is, and I’ll rip the world apart to bring it to you.” 

Overall, while the pacing is a bit slow, I still really enjoyed this book. Hugh and Elara are well-matched as a couple, and their banter made me snicker more than once. But most of all, I appreciated the redemption arc that Hugh got, and how he faced up to his past and the things he has done. He isn't suddenly a good person, but you can see hints of it in how protective he is of his people, and how he's trying to make amends for past mistakes. 

I do recommend reading this before finishing off Kate Daniels with Magic Triumphs, because it will add context to some of the discussions and events there.

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wordsareworlds's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Whether people buy the redemption of Hugh will definitely depend on the reader, but I liked the framing and felt Andrews did an excellent job making him feel redeemable without excusing what he did. He's still an a**hole, but he's one I can and do root for. 

Whether or not you care for Hugh, the story is worth it for Elara. Mysterious, just as dangerous and in some ways just as monstrous, she has a great heart and sharp wit that make her instantly loveable. The book focuses much more on the first part of Hugh's evolution into a hero, by necessity, but has enough clues into Elara's backstory to leave me eager to read the next book. 

While I'm not sure these two will ever completely leave behind the enemies part of enemies-to-lovers, they do reach an equilibrium of sorts by the end of the book and we have a HFN that feels like it could lead to a HEA in further books. Honestly, their back and forth battles are my favorite parts of the book, especially as they both realize how much they enjoy verbally sparring with each other and there are unspoken lines they don't cross. 

The plot moves very quickly, and things come to a head in a very intense battle sequence. There is gore and death without pulling punches, but it doesn't veer into glorifying torture either. 

Andrews pulls in aspects of many mythologies into the Daniels world, and this book is no exception. While not completely stripped of context, it still feels awkward to experience them second-hand only through the white, western characters. That aside, none of this feels like they were added for "exotic" flavor, which I appreciate. 

The authors have put this particular series on hold for the moment, but I hope they're able to come back to it sooner rather than later. 

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