Reviews - Magia explosiva | The StoryGraph

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2.5k reviews for:

Magia explosiva

Ilona Andrews

4.19 AVERAGE

laurenraithel's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous mysterious tense 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

unhingedandunbound's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

tabmeister's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

xaniya's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

charlote_1347's review against another edition

4.0

It's difficult not to love an Ilona Andrews book and this one was no exception. The world-building didn't immediately draw me in but Nevada picked up the pace with her vulnerable hard-arse personality. I liked that she wasn't introduced as some all-powerful being but rather as a strong, capable woman in her twenties who has a fan girl thing going for a lawyer and who just wants to be there for her family and keep the family business running and honest. Fast forward a few pages and my impression of the story shot even higher. Military mechanic grandma was introduced, along with Nevada's equally hard arse but vulnerable mother. The characterisation for Penelope and Grandma was spot-on, although it wasn't quite right for the younger family members. I can't remember the two younger sisters' names and while Leon was dropped into the narrative a couple of times, he failed to make an impact. Bern fared better but until the final showdown, when he volunteered to give Nevada something personal to fight for, I didn't get much of a sense of his character. I can't help but think characterisation was done better in Ilona Andrew's other series, the Kate Daniels one (although I am biased). None of that was enough to stop me continuing however. The story was established well and my interest was aroused. Then, bang! Enter Mad Rogan. I did get a little excited when I read the synopsis and saw that he kidnapped Nevada during the course of the story but I wasn't expecting the context it happened in. To be completely honest, I was disappointed by their first meeting. Don't get me wrong - Nevada telling him to go screw himself was satisfying and it effectively set the parameters for their relationship but I wanted...more. Andrews offered more as Nevada and Rogan pursued further interactions. The scene with the carnations was cute and perfectly reflected Rogan's viewpoint and I admired Nevada's determination throughout that while she was attracted to Mad Rogan, his lack of empathy and conscience prevented him from being a viable partner. I look forward to seeing their relationship grow as Nevada has a further effect on Rogan. Book two is going to be interesting in that respect. General writing style, pace, point of view - all of writing's generic features were as good as always. Reading Ilona Andrews is always a pleasure, if for no other reason than her characters don't persist in stupid reasoning and illogical decisions. Things progress organically and revelations are not withheld for the sake of timing or plot progression. Never in the novel do Nevada or Rogan think a stupid thought or act in a way that is not conductive to their character. In short, Andrews creates her world, her characters and the skeleton outline of her plot and lets them loose on the page without imposing her will and it's impossible not to appreciate that in a novel.