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ohnoitskylie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Kate continues her journey in blood magic, we meet Roman (and Ascanio, who can be humorous), Andrea is back, Julie is back from boarding school, Evdokia and the witches be plotting.
And the threat of Hugh lingers.
Minor: Kidnapping, Medical content, Self harm, War, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Hate crime, Infertility, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gore, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Torture, and Violence
librarymouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved the cookbook scene.
Graphic: Stalking, Body horror, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Suicide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Animal death, Grief, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Genocide, and Violence
Moderate: Infertility and Pregnancy
relin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Murder, Hate crime, Gun violence, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Blood, Animal death, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Racism, Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, Sexual content, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Medical content, War, Grief, and Body horror
Moderate: Bullying, Slavery, Ableism, Cursing, and Genocide
Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, and Fatphobia
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Kate and Curran have put (and continue to put) a lot of work into their relationship, and it shows. There's a scene involving another character's failed attempt at seduction which forms a counterpoint to their dynamic, as well as showing what it looked like early on for minor characters who weren't witnesses to the actual events. Andrea and Raphael are on the outs at the moment because of events in MAGIC BLEEDS, some of which feels positioned for the spinoff book, GUNMETAL MAGIC, which stars Andrea and takes place immediately after MAGIC SLAYS.
This series excels at describing the post-Shift world as it is now, with details to anchor the reader while keeping the perspective fully that of a character who didn't experience the pre-Shift world. Kate knows about how things used to be in many cases because her every waking moment is surrounded by the detritus of the world which was, and when the tech is up she gets of glimpse of was (depending on income level) a world of modern convenience which many could enjoy. She has to pay bills, worry about city regulations on occasion, and decide what level of gore on her clothes necessitates getting cleaned up right now versus what can wait. There's a description towards the end where Kate explains the current state of what used to be the Atlanta airport. The whole description conveys how important it used to be, and how utterly the Shift destroyed it. Her tone is, if anything, similar to how she'd tell some currently relevant but ultimately unimportant piece of her backstory.
The shapeshifters are ableist, specifically but not exclusively around physical strength and prowess. It's embedded in their society in ways, small and large, which have been obvious from the very first book in the series. This has in-universe explanations related to the Keep being relatively recent and shapeshifters tending to live in small family groups with some degree of isolation from other society. Playing off of events at the end of MAGIC BLEEDS, MAGIC SLAYS calls this out and makes it explicit that at least some of the ableism was intended as part of the worldbuilding. Curran has some choice words regarding the string of challenges Kate had to fight while he was incapacitated in the previous book, and it's affected the way he approaches leading the Pack.
This series rarely closes off anything definitively, but this finally resolves the tension between Julie's desire to not be at boarding school and Kate's desire to keep her safe. There's a new storyline with the main problem for this book (Kate's first client at her new building) getting both introduced and resolved. It continues several things from the last book, including but not limited to Kate's new office, Andrea's tensions with the boudas, and Kate and Curran navigating their new mated life in the Keep. There are several things left for later, most of the interpersonal entanglements and relationships will clearly continue. Kate is still the narrator, and she's changed a lot in ways that make her narrative voice feel a bit different from the start of the series, but the changes have been gradual enough that it's a gentle progression and she still sounds like herself overall.
The first four books introduced at least one major magical faction per book, and in this one they're all needed for one big thing towards the end. While the main storyline is explained well enough that it could probably make sense on its own, the finale's "and now we call in the whole team" vibe means that if you don't know what happened in the other books it could feel like a deus ex machina with all these heavy hitters and it might not be satisfying. For anyone who did read the other books, it's more of a culmination of a lot of blood, sweat, and more blood that Kate has poured into her work thus far, with excellent payoff for the extended setup.
While MAGIC BLEEDS has a slightly flashier conflict, MAGIC SLAYS is more impactful because of the new understanding it establishes between the characters in and around the race to stop the city from being massacred. The stakes are higher and the emotional intensity demanded by those stakes feels appropriate. The earlier books tended to have an implicit threat to the rest of the city if they failed completely, but this time there's a different quality to the threat because it involves a device which is (once it warms up) capable of an insta-kill where the radius for the area of effect is measured in miles.
Graphic: Gun violence, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Torture, Genocide, Death, Blood, Sexual content, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Murder, Vomit, Suicide, Police brutality, and Animal death
Minor: Sexual assault, Self harm, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Mental illness
hanz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Blood, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping and Injury/Injury detail
shanaqui's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's not obvious that it's going to be that way from the first pages. Kate's newly created detective agency, Cutting Edge, is in trouble (totally classic for a private investigator) and she'd have trouble paying the bills if it weren't for the advance she got from the Pack. She does get a call where Ghastek needs a favour, and naturally ends up in deep shit, at which point Andrea shows up.
So far, so good; it's entertaining, but where are the big guns? Hold on, it's all building up to something -- and once it does, all hell breaks loose. As you'd expect from a book in this series, to be honest.
My favourite part about this book is actually not the epic stuff, though. It's the moments where Kate and Curran clash and spar, even though they're together now -- and then they talk and work things out and support each other. Kate thinks about running, but doesn't; Curran thinks about being the autocratic bastard he is to Kate, but doesn't. They're still figuring out how to fit together, but they both think it's worth it.
And then that epilogue. Oof!
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
franciscaviegas's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Gore, and Death