Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
The world building could have been better, but people love this series so I am going to try the next one.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Kate Daniels has my heart. I am writing this review 5 books into the series, so I have done plenty investigating. This series has the perfect recipe for me. Strong FMC (obviously), magic (duh), a little scifi?? (fun), shapeshifters (necessary), vampires (no glittery skin here), and lots of action. Kate is a mercenary for the guild who just found out her mentor died. She is hell bent on finding his killer, no matter the stakes.
This book is a solid start to a fantastic series. There is A LOT going on in this world. The fluctuations between magic and tech, the types of magic, the types of creatures, the types of groups and organizations-- it can be totally overwhelming. At first I was frustrated with all the info being casually thrown at me, but by the second book I had a much better grasp. I really love this series and recommend it if you are a fan Sookie Stackhouse, the Hollows, Fever or any of the other paranormal action/romances of the 2000's.
What set this series and some of the others aside is the humor! I cannot take paranormal romance/ scifi/ urban paranormal without some laughs. You are not going to tell me about a beefy, intelligent, handsome shapeshifter without offering me some jokes too.
This book is a solid start to a fantastic series. There is A LOT going on in this world. The fluctuations between magic and tech, the types of magic, the types of creatures, the types of groups and organizations-- it can be totally overwhelming. At first I was frustrated with all the info being casually thrown at me, but by the second book I had a much better grasp. I really love this series and recommend it if you are a fan Sookie Stackhouse, the Hollows, Fever or any of the other paranormal action/romances of the 2000's.
What set this series and some of the others aside is the humor! I cannot take paranormal romance/ scifi/ urban paranormal without some laughs. You are not going to tell me about a beefy, intelligent, handsome shapeshifter without offering me some jokes too.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
🎧
This was a tough slog. Very descriptive writing but nothing felt important. The stakes never felt high and I didn't get invested into the story or feel any tension.
Very operational and procedural.
I hear the series improves a lot so I will keep going for a couple of books and see
This was a tough slog. Very descriptive writing but nothing felt important. The stakes never felt high and I didn't get invested into the story or feel any tension.
Very operational and procedural.
I hear the series improves a lot so I will keep going for a couple of books and see
adventurous
dark
funny
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
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really great urban fantasy novel!
Ilona Andrews has created an alternate universe; an Atlanta some time in the future where magic has begun to surge and change the landscape of the world as we know it. Now the world alternates between the magic and the tech. Kate is an independent mercenary working for the Guild, protecting people from nasty magical creatures. But she is hiding a power no one else can imagine.
When her former guardian is murdered, she goes to the city to try to solve the murder and exact revenge. She gets pulled into an apparent war between the Pack, a group of shapechangers, and the People, or "Masters of the Dead" who control the vampires (very creepy.)
The first half of the book is very bogged down in the details of the world Andrews has created. It is so different from our own that it takes awhile to really get a feel for it and understand. I had hard time focusing for the first 100 pages or so.
But once I sunk into the story, and started to really understand the world building, I no longer felt mired in the detail and suddenly was very engrossed in the mystery. Not only did I start to understand her world, I started to really enjoy it. It's creative and, well, magical.
The story itself is great. Andrews weaves a wonderful mystery full of twists and turns and surprises; a truly unpredictable novel.
The characters are just as good. Kate is a kick ass heroine, the kind who's brazen and tactless, confrontational and snarky. But unlike so many of her genre counterparts, you get to see that behind it all she's as scared as anyone would be in her shoes, and she can actually admit when she makes a mistake.
Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, is an alpha male, plus some. He was so different from any other alpha male I've read. He's not super broody, and he's not the "king with the heart of gold." (He may have a heart of gold; he's just not that "type.") He's ruthless and cavalier, and does what he has to do to protect his people. And he hates peas.
Full of wonderful details, gruesome fight scenes, fascinating characters and a truly magical world, Magic Bites is a near perfect urban fantasy novel. I knock it down a star for the slow start, but once it gets going you won't be able to put it down.
Ilona Andrews has created an alternate universe; an Atlanta some time in the future where magic has begun to surge and change the landscape of the world as we know it. Now the world alternates between the magic and the tech. Kate is an independent mercenary working for the Guild, protecting people from nasty magical creatures. But she is hiding a power no one else can imagine.
When her former guardian is murdered, she goes to the city to try to solve the murder and exact revenge. She gets pulled into an apparent war between the Pack, a group of shapechangers, and the People, or "Masters of the Dead" who control the vampires (very creepy.)
The first half of the book is very bogged down in the details of the world Andrews has created. It is so different from our own that it takes awhile to really get a feel for it and understand. I had hard time focusing for the first 100 pages or so.
But once I sunk into the story, and started to really understand the world building, I no longer felt mired in the detail and suddenly was very engrossed in the mystery. Not only did I start to understand her world, I started to really enjoy it. It's creative and, well, magical.
The story itself is great. Andrews weaves a wonderful mystery full of twists and turns and surprises; a truly unpredictable novel.
The characters are just as good. Kate is a kick ass heroine, the kind who's brazen and tactless, confrontational and snarky. But unlike so many of her genre counterparts, you get to see that behind it all she's as scared as anyone would be in her shoes, and she can actually admit when she makes a mistake.
Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, is an alpha male, plus some. He was so different from any other alpha male I've read. He's not super broody, and he's not the "king with the heart of gold." (He may have a heart of gold; he's just not that "type.") He's ruthless and cavalier, and does what he has to do to protect his people. And he hates peas.
Full of wonderful details, gruesome fight scenes, fascinating characters and a truly magical world, Magic Bites is a near perfect urban fantasy novel. I knock it down a star for the slow start, but once it gets going you won't be able to put it down.