Scan barcode
mikahmae's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
meredith96's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
kzimm2024's review against another edition
5.0
Re-read Feb 2024, same and even more fun after a re-read of the entire series in order (no skipping!).
I will add just a few more highlights since the 1st review stands :)
Kate and Curran, still wonderful:
“Hey,” I told him.
“What’s going on?”
“Paul’s nephew has been kidnapped by a local gang. About 50 people. I’m going to get him back.”
Curran grinned at me. “Will you be home in time for dinner?”
-----------
“Red Horn kills people,” Thomas said behind my back. “Your wife…”
“Will enjoy the exercise,” my husband said. “You know what they say. Happy wife, happy life.”
And there is no more commitment to a home than paint!:
“Of all the human filth, I hate human traffickers the most. Wilmington is too small for both of us. It’s either Red Horn or me, and I just finished painting my second living room.
I’m not leaving."
I love her new relationship with Hugh:
“Thanks for the pep talk.”
“Whatever you do, don’t feed it to Curran.”
“Ha-ha.”
“Call me if you need help. Gods know you could use it.”
“If I did call you, what would you do? You’ve gone soft in your country lord life, in your keep, with your wife baking delicious desserts for you and your gang of children.”
---------
Ah, a man and his moat:
We did visit, eight months ago. Which was why Paul had had to work extra hard to convince Curran that there was absolutely no way to put a moat around our new residence.
He still wanted it and swore he’d find a way somehow.
And this nugget of truth:
There was no better leash than saving the life of someone you loved. It made people do terrible things.
Original read Jan 2023, 5 stars and review: What fun! We get to visit Kate as she goes on a quest to save a kidnapped and trafficked boy and while she is busy, we get new characters for the People, cameo by Hugh, Curran with Conlan. And tributes to the Beast Lord :)
The only thing I wish for is more kids for them, but that’s just me being greedy. More fun for us but more work for IA.
I will add just a few more highlights since the 1st review stands :)
Kate and Curran, still wonderful:
“Hey,” I told him.
“What’s going on?”
“Paul’s nephew has been kidnapped by a local gang. About 50 people. I’m going to get him back.”
Curran grinned at me. “Will you be home in time for dinner?”
-----------
“Red Horn kills people,” Thomas said behind my back. “Your wife…”
“Will enjoy the exercise,” my husband said. “You know what they say. Happy wife, happy life.”
And there is no more commitment to a home than paint!:
“Of all the human filth, I hate human traffickers the most. Wilmington is too small for both of us. It’s either Red Horn or me, and I just finished painting my second living room.
I’m not leaving."
I love her new relationship with Hugh:
“Thanks for the pep talk.”
“Whatever you do, don’t feed it to Curran.”
“Ha-ha.”
“Call me if you need help. Gods know you could use it.”
“If I did call you, what would you do? You’ve gone soft in your country lord life, in your keep, with your wife baking delicious desserts for you and your gang of children.”
---------
Ah, a man and his moat:
We did visit, eight months ago. Which was why Paul had had to work extra hard to convince Curran that there was absolutely no way to put a moat around our new residence.
He still wanted it and swore he’d find a way somehow.
And this nugget of truth:
There was no better leash than saving the life of someone you loved. It made people do terrible things.
Original read Jan 2023, 5 stars and review: What fun! We get to visit Kate as she goes on a quest to save a kidnapped and trafficked boy and while she is busy, we get new characters for the People, cameo by Hugh, Curran with Conlan. And tributes to the Beast Lord :)
The only thing I wish for is more kids for them, but that’s just me being greedy. More fun for us but more work for IA.
trixx_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I was really looking forward to reading this book because it takes place a few years after the Kate Daniels series. I loved this story, it just really could have been twice as long...
I just couldn't put this book down, but I spread it over 2 days to make the experience last a little longer. I really liked the alternating perspectives of reading this short story. Just when I was used to Kate and Curran's chapters alternating, I could suddenly follow the events of a small battle from Conlan's POV. At first I was intimidated because he's only an 8-year-old boy, but he quickly proved that he totally is like his parents when it comes to fighting.
Kate and Curran were determined to live a peaceful and low-key life for the sake of their son's childhood happiness. However, circumstances once again prevent a grand retreat as Kate must rescue a teenage boy kidnapped by a local gang. While rescuing Darin seems like a simple mission, Wilmington is a town full of monsters and evil creatures. Meanwhile, Curran watches over Darin's family members, who are being hunted by surviving gang members.
I was delighted to read about many old favourites alongside the main characters. Hugh and Kate's phone conversations always make me laugh. I was the proudest of Conlan for his skill in protecting his family and new friends. Kate and Curran still make a fantastic couple, I love the dynamic between the two of them.
I just couldn't put this book down, but I spread it over 2 days to make the experience last a little longer. I really liked the alternating perspectives of reading this short story. Just when I was used to Kate and Curran's chapters alternating, I could suddenly follow the events of a small battle from Conlan's POV. At first I was intimidated because he's only an 8-year-old boy, but he quickly proved that he totally is like his parents when it comes to fighting.
Kate and Curran were determined to live a peaceful and low-key life for the sake of their son's childhood happiness. However, circumstances once again prevent a grand retreat as Kate must rescue a teenage boy kidnapped by a local gang. While rescuing Darin seems like a simple mission, Wilmington is a town full of monsters and evil creatures. Meanwhile, Curran watches over Darin's family members, who are being hunted by surviving gang members.
I was delighted to read about many old favourites alongside the main characters. Hugh and Kate's phone conversations always make me laugh. I was the proudest of Conlan for his skill in protecting his family and new friends. Kate and Curran still make a fantastic couple, I love the dynamic between the two of them.
katyanaish's review against another edition
4.0
I was so excited to hear a new novella was dropping in the Kate Daniels series, one of my long-time favorites.
I wasn't sure what I expected it to be. The author said it was a slice of life look at their HEA, and so I was thinking a kind of extended epilogue, sort of what Hailey Edwards did with TBGTN (which I also loved).
This was kind of like that, but also not. They're in a new home, away from everyone we spent 10 books getting to know. I missed some of them (but not others, fuck the Pack and Jim especially), and was kind of sad that at the end of it all, Kate and Curran gave up everything and everyone they know.
But also not sad. It didn't feel like an ending, but rather a new beginning. They were no longer being chased by problems and responsibilities, so this was about choosing their life together. Getting away from burdens they couldn't entirely shake (looking at you again, Jim, you shithead). Figuring out what they want from life when they actually are free to choose. I loved that.
It was also an interesting read because in some ways, it felt like those #0.5 books that some authors do to tease / set up a new series. They put the past behind them, in a way that felt pretty firm. But with who they are - with their drive to help and protect - the low profile plan was just never going to last, haha. And to that end, they picked up new threads that were very interesting. Veeeeeeeerrrry interesting. I'm excited to see what happens next.
Lastly, I want to engage in some speculation about the Pack. I've re-read the series more than a few times, and had concluded that the Pack would likely not survive long term. I don't mean die, I mean fracture. In early books, we're told that a large Pack that crosses species is supremely unusual, and likely was only possible because of Curran. Aunt B puts it to his personality - he's an incredible, inspirational, charismatic leader - but others (who know what it means) think it's because he's a First.
Jim doesn't have that. He doesn't have the charisma, he doesn't inspire the loyalty, and at the end of the day he doesn't have the plain brute force Curran does. The different alphas are very back-bitey, and Jim/Dali make some spectacularly shitty decisions (but don't take ownership of ANY disasters that result)... I just don't see it holding together. Maybe changing into something more like a shapeshifter council made up of the alphas of each clan, rather than a Beast Lord that rules them all, but that's optimistic on my part. In reality, without Curran, I don't expect them to continue to consent to be ruled.
This book only made me more sure of that. Jim is still making dumb decisions, and still seems to be led by his ego (Curran's POV about Jim wanting him to go made me hurt for Curran...after everything he's done, to be treated like a pariah is gross and Jim deserves the shitshow that seems to inevitably be coming their way). What I never understood, in the last few books of the original KD series, is how some Pack alphas (including Jim) acted like Curran and Kate capriciously abandoned them when they stepped down. That is just willful stupidity, frankly - they didn't leave because they were like "oh tra-la-la, this isn't fun anymore, let's abandon ship!" ... they left because Roland said "step down or I'll wipe them all out" and Kate was in no position to face him yet. They had no choice, and stepping down was an act of sacrifice TO PROTECT THE PACK. Not that they deserved protecting, after the marathon of challenges they threw at Kate, but even then Kate and Curran bent over backwards for those ungrateful assholes. The way they were then treated as, like, deadbeat parents by Jim, Mahon, etc., was goddamn infuriating. Even Andrea and Raphael were HUGELY disappointing to me. My mantra for like the back half of the KD series was Fuck the Pack ... and it still is.
Anyway, now that Kate and Curran's location has been discovered, I expect some folks (i.e., the non-idiots, which basically means non-leadership) are going to defect. The question is whether Curran will make it official, or just treat it like a community. We'll see!
I wasn't sure what I expected it to be. The author said it was a slice of life look at their HEA, and so I was thinking a kind of extended epilogue, sort of what Hailey Edwards did with TBGTN (which I also loved).
This was kind of like that, but also not. They're in a new home, away from everyone we spent 10 books getting to know. I missed some of them (but not others, fuck the Pack and Jim especially), and was kind of sad that at the end of it all, Kate and Curran gave up everything and everyone they know.
But also not sad. It didn't feel like an ending, but rather a new beginning. They were no longer being chased by problems and responsibilities, so this was about choosing their life together. Getting away from burdens they couldn't entirely shake (looking at you again, Jim, you shithead). Figuring out what they want from life when they actually are free to choose. I loved that.
It was also an interesting read because in some ways, it felt like those #0.5 books that some authors do to tease / set up a new series. They put the past behind them, in a way that felt pretty firm. But with who they are - with their drive to help and protect - the low profile plan was just never going to last, haha. And to that end, they picked up new threads that were very interesting. Veeeeeeeerrrry interesting. I'm excited to see what happens next.
Lastly, I want to engage in some speculation about the Pack. I've re-read the series more than a few times, and had concluded that the Pack would likely not survive long term. I don't mean die, I mean fracture. In early books, we're told that a large Pack that crosses species is supremely unusual, and likely was only possible because of Curran. Aunt B puts it to his personality - he's an incredible, inspirational, charismatic leader - but others (who know what it means) think it's because he's a First.
Jim doesn't have that. He doesn't have the charisma, he doesn't inspire the loyalty, and at the end of the day he doesn't have the plain brute force Curran does. The different alphas are very back-bitey, and Jim/Dali make some spectacularly shitty decisions (but don't take ownership of ANY disasters that result)... I just don't see it holding together. Maybe changing into something more like a shapeshifter council made up of the alphas of each clan, rather than a Beast Lord that rules them all, but that's optimistic on my part. In reality, without Curran, I don't expect them to continue to consent to be ruled.
This book only made me more sure of that. Jim is still making dumb decisions, and still seems to be led by his ego (Curran's POV about Jim wanting him to go made me hurt for Curran...after everything he's done, to be treated like a pariah is gross and Jim deserves the shitshow that seems to inevitably be coming their way). What I never understood, in the last few books of the original KD series, is how some Pack alphas (including Jim) acted like Curran and Kate capriciously abandoned them when they stepped down. That is just willful stupidity, frankly - they didn't leave because they were like "oh tra-la-la, this isn't fun anymore, let's abandon ship!" ... they left because Roland said "step down or I'll wipe them all out" and Kate was in no position to face him yet. They had no choice, and stepping down was an act of sacrifice TO PROTECT THE PACK. Not that they deserved protecting, after the marathon of challenges they threw at Kate, but even then Kate and Curran bent over backwards for those ungrateful assholes. The way they were then treated as, like, deadbeat parents by Jim, Mahon, etc., was goddamn infuriating. Even Andrea and Raphael were HUGELY disappointing to me. My mantra for like the back half of the KD series was Fuck the Pack ... and it still is.
Anyway, now that Kate and Curran's location has been discovered, I expect some folks (i.e., the non-idiots, which basically means non-leadership) are going to defect. The question is whether Curran will make it official, or just treat it like a community. We'll see!
thinkingbookishthoughts's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
veranthia's review against another edition
3.0
While I was very excited to be back and I loved the action, the family dynamic didn't convince me. I'm hoping it'll be a little better in Magic Claims but so far Conlan is kind of an unbelievable kid.
There were a few parts that felt disjointed as well, which was disappointing. Things happened without preface and were then just explained afterwards. (And Troy and Helen, from Greece. Really?)
There were a few parts that felt disjointed as well, which was disappointing. Things happened without preface and were then just explained afterwards. (And Troy and Helen, from Greece. Really?)