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bree_h_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Fatphobia, Infertility, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
readinginfl's review
3.75
Minor: Self harm and Pregnancy
naturally's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
to say it plainly: kate daniels in a bad b*tch! i love her narration, her perspective and especially her one-liners. she's intelligent but still has her blind spots, and her mouth gets her into a lot of trouble. the side characters are just as vivid as our bada$$ heroine. curran is an a$$hole, yet i can't wait to see how he becomes a worthy partner for kate. i love slow burns; i'm already invested in this one. my only other point of criticism is that like many other female-led fantasy novels, kate appears to be lacking in female friendships other than her few correspondences with anna.
the world of kate daniels series in over 10 books long, so i don't doubt there will be ample opportunity for said relationships to develop. this is me, preparing for the long and entertaining ride ahead!
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Infertility, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Incest, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Stalking, and War
booksthatburn's review
- 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 is a loner by necessity who finds herself getting more entangled than she intended when she investigates her mentor's murder. She has a sword that's excellent at killing undead and needs to be fed if it doesn't get the opportunity often enough.
I wish we had a bit more of her dynamic with Jim, though maybe that's me thinking they were closer than they actually are when this starts out. If the point is that she's kept even her most frequent battle partner at a distance, this conveys that pretty well by treating him as an afterthought except when necessary. Her dynamic with Curran, Jim, and the Pack lays the foundation for many things later on in the series, but, focusing on this book specifically, I like how both she and Curran are so wrapped up in violence as a language that their every interaction is tense and has the possibility of blood, even things that ought to be innocuous.
When starting out a series that seems to be mostly the contemplation of violence, actual violence, and then some romance, it's still a bracing start to kick things off with cannibalism, necrophilia, bestiality, and a murder dungeon. These are balanced with less stressful elements in the narrative, with the most upsetting topics tending to get the barest descriptions, but in combination they make it clear that this city isn't kind to its residents, and Kate will have plenty of things to stab even when this particular murder spree is (hopefully) halted.
MAGIC BITES is a book I've read and re-read for years; it's the start of one of my favorite urban fantasy series, and I enjoy it tremendously. Reading it for this review, I'm impressed with how it holds up for me, but it was never my favorite book in the series. Every time I read it I intensely dislike what happens with Crest. It mostly fits the plot, it enables a truly fantastic related plot beat, but the moment where Kate shows up at his apartment always devastates me because I just wish she'd put other things together earlier. I don't think it breaks the book or anything, it's just a very stressful scene that serves to change who Crest is and can be in the series to make room for someone else.
I love the twist itself, and I appreciate how the groundwork is laid from the very start of the book. The plot works well (even that one scene I don't like has a pretty important purpose), and this sets up a lot for the series to draw upon as it gets going.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Self harm, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, and Suicide
thoughtsontomes's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death