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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
What can I say? I have a special place in my heart for Kate Daniels.
Finally.
Everybody knows how much I love Kate Daniels & company. So much that I can't even say for certain to how many people I have recommended these books to. So, naturally, I was very curious about this spin-off series - Kate Daniels World. The book features Andrea and Raphael's relationship and I've got say I was pretty excited to read about these two.
After reading Magic Slays, I wrote on my review that I wanted to smack Andrea with a newspaper. Poor little thing. I want to go back in time and erase/review that statement because she doesn't deserve that. I really felt sorry for her because I know how hard her decision to stand by the Order was (even if the Order didn't deserve her loyalty) and I understand her completely.
I regard her as a very courageous and independent woman who fights for what she wants and there's nothing wrong with that. Actually, I believe that I've come to like Andrea more with this book.
And Raphael... well, we all know that when male boudas usually go about courtship is with practical actions, pranks and a funny stanza to it. I've had a great laugh with the couple, really.
Summing it up, I loved it and I can't wait to read Jim's book. That man just kills me.
And Curran, Curran. Every time his name was mentioned in passing or when he actually made an appearance, my reactions would be something like this:
Okay, that's all I want to say.
Everybody knows how much I love Kate Daniels & company. So much that I can't even say for certain to how many people I have recommended these books to. So, naturally, I was very curious about this spin-off series - Kate Daniels World. The book features Andrea and Raphael's relationship and I've got say I was pretty excited to read about these two.
After reading Magic Slays, I wrote on my review that I wanted to smack Andrea with a newspaper. Poor little thing. I want to go back in time and erase/review that statement because she doesn't deserve that. I really felt sorry for her because I know how hard her decision to stand by the Order was (even if the Order didn't deserve her loyalty) and I understand her completely.
I regard her as a very courageous and independent woman who fights for what she wants and there's nothing wrong with that. Actually, I believe that I've come to like Andrea more with this book.
And Raphael... well, we all know that when male boudas usually go about courtship is with practical actions, pranks and a funny stanza to it. I've had a great laugh with the couple, really.
Summing it up, I loved it and I can't wait to read Jim's book. That man just kills me.
And Curran, Curran. Every time his name was mentioned in passing or when he actually made an appearance, my reactions would be something like this:
Okay, that's all I want to say.
Loved the characters, their snarky interactions and the Egyptian mythology.
I liked the storyline but the characters not so much. I got a bit tired of Andrea's new found self analysis about how much her bouda side wanted attention. I also certainly had my fill of sad childhoods! Even Raphael wasn't as much fun as expected. Still enjoyable all the same.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While this is sort of a stand-alone book, it fits into the larger framework of the Kate Daniels series, and as such, this book will be best enjoyed if you've read the previous 5 books in that series. Also, this review may and probably does contain spoilers for some of the developments in those books.
Andrea Nash lives in a post-apocalyptic version of Atlanta, where technology frequently is disabled when waves of magic sweep through the world, and it keeps things interesting, to say the least. Previously a valued member of the Knights of the Order of Merciful Aid, Andrea was retired when it came out that she is beast-kin, half human, half hyena (lower in status than a were-hyena). Shortly before she was kicked out of the Order, her romantic relationship fell apart, as her boyfriend didn't take it kindly when she picked the Knights rather than the shapeshifters in a city-wide crisis. So she doesn't have a whole lot left to lose, to say the least.
Now Andrea works with her best friend Kate (Consort to the Beast Lord, Alpha of all the shapeshifters in Atlanta and the surrounding areas, and generally a pretty scary lady) at Cutting Edge Investigations, trying to put her life back in order. She tends to wake up in the morning curled in the cupboard clutching some sort of weapon, plagued by nightmares about her really shitty past. When the head of Pack security asks Andrea to investigate mysterious deaths at a Pack construction site, she agrees, both because Cutting Edge needs all the business they can get, and because she needs to keep herself busy. The construction company with the dead shapeshifters is owned by Raphael Medrano, though, her ex-lover, and he appears to have moved on in a spectacular way, with a leggy, chesty, air-headed version of Andrea.
Shapeshifters are fiercely territorial and get crazy jealous, but Andrea has spent a lifetime trying to suppress her animal instincts and desperately trying to pass as a normal human. When she's forced to work closely with Raphael to solve the mysterious murders, however, it may be that she has no choice but to tap into her inner beast - both to solve the case, and win her lover back.
I love [a:Ilona Andrews|21748|Ilona Andrews|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219436898p2/21748.jpg]' books, pretty much without reservation. I was thrilled when I was actually in the US on release day for this book, and able to pick it up myself in a bookstore. While the book probably works fine for a new reader, to me, who's seen Andrea's development through the Kate Daniels books, I suspect that it's even more rewarding to get Andrea's full backstory and fight for her own HEA after getting to know her as a secondary character first.
There's been some talk on the internets of late about Strong Female Characters. The husband and wife team who are Ilona Andrews write PROPER strong female protagonists. They are capable, independent, fiercely protective and loyal to those they care about, not afraid to go out there and kick ass, but just as happy to stay at home and do girly things. Andrea has an exhaustive knowledge about weapons and firearms, and due to her incredibly awful time growing up, has taught herself to use said weapons expertly, so no one will ever mess with her again, and if they do, they're probably not going to live long enough to regret it. But she also loves dressing up, doing her hair and reading romance novels.
As I said, this book gives us a back story to Andrea that it would have been strange to include in the main series. As the books are first person narrated, it was fun to see the world in the Kate Daniels books through someone else's eyes. I especially got a kick out of Andrea's description of her best friend Kate (who obviously doesn't spend a lot of time describing herself in the main series) and her mate Curran, the Beast Lord of Atlanta (who Kate obviously has different views about than Andrea).
Like all Andrews books, this novel is action-packed, sometimes terrifically violent, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, has an amazing cast of supporting characters, as well as main characters you'd love to hang out with (and have on your side in a fight). I think it may be my second favourite book set in the Kate universe, which is very high praise indeed. If you like other books by [a:Ilona Andrews|21748|Ilona Andrews|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219436898p2/21748.jpg], don't miss this one.
Andrea Nash lives in a post-apocalyptic version of Atlanta, where technology frequently is disabled when waves of magic sweep through the world, and it keeps things interesting, to say the least. Previously a valued member of the Knights of the Order of Merciful Aid, Andrea was retired when it came out that she is beast-kin, half human, half hyena (lower in status than a were-hyena). Shortly before she was kicked out of the Order, her romantic relationship fell apart, as her boyfriend didn't take it kindly when she picked the Knights rather than the shapeshifters in a city-wide crisis. So she doesn't have a whole lot left to lose, to say the least.
Now Andrea works with her best friend Kate (Consort to the Beast Lord, Alpha of all the shapeshifters in Atlanta and the surrounding areas, and generally a pretty scary lady) at Cutting Edge Investigations, trying to put her life back in order. She tends to wake up in the morning curled in the cupboard clutching some sort of weapon, plagued by nightmares about her really shitty past. When the head of Pack security asks Andrea to investigate mysterious deaths at a Pack construction site, she agrees, both because Cutting Edge needs all the business they can get, and because she needs to keep herself busy. The construction company with the dead shapeshifters is owned by Raphael Medrano, though, her ex-lover, and he appears to have moved on in a spectacular way, with a leggy, chesty, air-headed version of Andrea.
Shapeshifters are fiercely territorial and get crazy jealous, but Andrea has spent a lifetime trying to suppress her animal instincts and desperately trying to pass as a normal human. When she's forced to work closely with Raphael to solve the mysterious murders, however, it may be that she has no choice but to tap into her inner beast - both to solve the case, and win her lover back.
I love [a:Ilona Andrews|21748|Ilona Andrews|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219436898p2/21748.jpg]' books, pretty much without reservation. I was thrilled when I was actually in the US on release day for this book, and able to pick it up myself in a bookstore. While the book probably works fine for a new reader, to me, who's seen Andrea's development through the Kate Daniels books, I suspect that it's even more rewarding to get Andrea's full backstory and fight for her own HEA after getting to know her as a secondary character first.
There's been some talk on the internets of late about Strong Female Characters. The husband and wife team who are Ilona Andrews write PROPER strong female protagonists. They are capable, independent, fiercely protective and loyal to those they care about, not afraid to go out there and kick ass, but just as happy to stay at home and do girly things. Andrea has an exhaustive knowledge about weapons and firearms, and due to her incredibly awful time growing up, has taught herself to use said weapons expertly, so no one will ever mess with her again, and if they do, they're probably not going to live long enough to regret it. But she also loves dressing up, doing her hair and reading romance novels.
As I said, this book gives us a back story to Andrea that it would have been strange to include in the main series. As the books are first person narrated, it was fun to see the world in the Kate Daniels books through someone else's eyes. I especially got a kick out of Andrea's description of her best friend Kate (who obviously doesn't spend a lot of time describing herself in the main series) and her mate Curran, the Beast Lord of Atlanta (who Kate obviously has different views about than Andrea).
Like all Andrews books, this novel is action-packed, sometimes terrifically violent, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, has an amazing cast of supporting characters, as well as main characters you'd love to hang out with (and have on your side in a fight). I think it may be my second favourite book set in the Kate universe, which is very high praise indeed. If you like other books by [a:Ilona Andrews|21748|Ilona Andrews|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219436898p2/21748.jpg], don't miss this one.
I really looked forward to reading Gunmetal Magic because Ilona Andrews is an author I have on my auto-buy list. I never really felt one way or another for the characters of Andrea or Raphael, but I figured I'd come to like them through this story. However, I walked away finding Andrea and Raphael's relationship to be a soap-opera and eye roll worthy.
Overall the story was boring. The very beginning was entertaining but then Andrea started pining after Raphael and the relationship drama because a pivotal point to the story, such as Andrea being in the middle of something and still complaining about Raphael. There were info dumps galore and the fighting scenes did nothing for me. Overall the story reminded me somewhat of book one of the Kate Daniels series in being less polished, but this particular book was less entertaining by far.
The only aspects of the story that were up to Andrews' level books were those that included Kate, Curran or the character of Roman. I really felt, however, that Roman would have made a better romantic lead than Raphael.
The turn around of Andrea was sudden as she decides to join the pack and fight for beta position for Clan Bouda, where the hell did that come from? She wants to be beta? Call me confused. Andrea just does not hold a story like Kate Daniels does, although in many ways their "voice" in the story is similar.
This was by far my least favorite Andrews' book to date and I feel as though it added little to nothing to the Kate Daniels world.
Overall the story was boring. The very beginning was entertaining but then Andrea started pining after Raphael and the relationship drama because a pivotal point to the story, such as Andrea being in the middle of something and still complaining about Raphael. There were info dumps galore and the fighting scenes did nothing for me. Overall the story reminded me somewhat of book one of the Kate Daniels series in being less polished, but this particular book was less entertaining by far.
The only aspects of the story that were up to Andrews' level books were those that included Kate, Curran or the character of Roman. I really felt, however, that Roman would have made a better romantic lead than Raphael.
The turn around of Andrea was sudden as she decides to join the pack and fight for beta position for Clan Bouda, where the hell did that come from? She wants to be beta? Call me confused. Andrea just does not hold a story like Kate Daniels does, although in many ways their "voice" in the story is similar.
This was by far my least favorite Andrews' book to date and I feel as though it added little to nothing to the Kate Daniels world.
Set in the world of Kate Daniels, in post-Shift Atlanta, Andrea Nash is partnered with Kate in their investigative business, Cutting Edge. Andrea used to belong to the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, but she is kicked out when it is discovered she is beastkin, able to shift into a hyena warrior form. It is devastating to her. She is also nursing a grudge about her break-up with Raphael Medrano, the head of Clan Bouda, along with his Aunt B. It is not until she embraces her true nature as a hyenawere that Andrea is able to move forward in her life. She and Kate must work together with Raphael and some other Pack investigators to discover why snakes are killing people around Atlanta. And, oh, by the way, someone is trying to resurrect two Egyptian gods. It's hard to live between the world of magic and the world of technology. I really enjoy this series and recommend it for anyone who enjoys urban fantasy.
I really wanted to give this 4.5 stars. It was just under amazing. I think I just miss Kate and her snarkiness. But Andrea did need to move forward and this book definitely does that. She settles all of her relationships, not just with Raphael, but with the Pack and Aunt B as well. I liked how Ascanio was kind of a cross between Julie and Derek for Andrea - kind of her sidekick, but definitely still a kid.
After four shapeshifters are murdered on one of Raphael's reclaimation sites, Andrea, Raphael and Roman, with occasional help from Ascanio and Kate take on a couple of gods.
Now that Andrea's life is firmly back in place, it's time to move on to the next Kate adventure. Can't wait!!!
After four shapeshifters are murdered on one of Raphael's reclaimation sites, Andrea, Raphael and Roman, with occasional help from Ascanio and Kate take on a couple of gods.
Now that Andrea's life is firmly back in place, it's time to move on to the next Kate adventure. Can't wait!!!