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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I adore this first installment in the series. It has such instantly iconic moments, and I liked the main characters.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
every goddamn year i reread this and every goddamn year i'm like "why did they start out the series like this. like did they have to start it Like That."
Stuff I liked:
- Kate. She knows her craft. She also knows (more or less) when to back away and get some sleep. She has muscles and clothes that facilitate actual fighting. She doesn't get a fucking cinderella makeover. She's comfortable with her sexuality without her appearance necessarily facilitating it. And foremost: she's not an asshole, despite being pretty well pegged as the brooding heroine.
- The whole post-apocalyptic schtick. The worldbuilding is solid. Perfect amount of technobabble which keeps it all relatively believable.
- The near clinical description of gore. No long winded metaphors, no silly similes. Loved it!
- Nick the Crusader! I won't spoil too much, but this guy didn't get half as much chapter time as he should have. Instantly ship-able!
Stuff I liked... less:
- Though the gore and horror was smoothly described, there was a lot of sporadic, flowery language popping up here and there. Like the authors began walking down prose-lane, regretting the choice halfway.
- The manbeast were-creatures. I'm sorry, but they made me laugh. In a bad way. Every time a supposedly menacing HALF RAT/LYNX/GORILLA - HALF MAN showed up I giggled, because the descriptions are ridiculous. It might as well have been Al Gore describing them.
Give me full animal transformation, give me bi-ped lions, FINE. But the whole EYES OF A CAT - MOUTH OF A CONVENIENCE STORE CASHIER-thing was just... silly.
- Ok. This book is set in Georgia. A lot of it in Atlanta. One of the states with the biggest African American demographics of the US. And yet, finding a main character of color in this book is like looking for Waldo. With the exception of Nataraja and Ghastek (who are waaaay to exotified to count) all of the PoC are reduced to set dressing.
- The unbelievable lack of well described sexual tension. I mean, I get it, there's a long arc-romance coming, so no one's getting any action yet, but there was really not an ounce of the stuff in this book. Which was SO DISAPPOINTING.
- Kate. She knows her craft. She also knows (more or less) when to back away and get some sleep. She has muscles and clothes that facilitate actual fighting. She doesn't get a fucking cinderella makeover. She's comfortable with her sexuality without her appearance necessarily facilitating it. And foremost: she's not an asshole, despite being pretty well pegged as the brooding heroine.
- The whole post-apocalyptic schtick. The worldbuilding is solid. Perfect amount of technobabble which keeps it all relatively believable.
- The near clinical description of gore. No long winded metaphors, no silly similes. Loved it!
- Nick the Crusader! I won't spoil too much, but this guy didn't get half as much chapter time as he should have. Instantly ship-able!
Stuff I liked... less:
- Though the gore and horror was smoothly described, there was a lot of sporadic, flowery language popping up here and there. Like the authors began walking down prose-lane, regretting the choice halfway.
- The manbeast were-creatures. I'm sorry, but they made me laugh. In a bad way. Every time a supposedly menacing HALF RAT/LYNX/GORILLA - HALF MAN showed up I giggled, because the descriptions are ridiculous. It might as well have been Al Gore describing them.
Give me full animal transformation, give me bi-ped lions, FINE. But the whole EYES OF A CAT - MOUTH OF A CONVENIENCE STORE CASHIER-thing was just... silly.
- Ok. This book is set in Georgia. A lot of it in Atlanta. One of the states with the biggest African American demographics of the US. And yet, finding a main character of color in this book is like looking for Waldo. With the exception of Nataraja and Ghastek (who are waaaay to exotified to count) all of the PoC are reduced to set dressing.
- The unbelievable lack of well described sexual tension. I mean, I get it, there's a long arc-romance coming, so no one's getting any action yet, but there was really not an ounce of the stuff in this book. Which was SO DISAPPOINTING.
Got hooked towards the end. The beginning was slow and took me a while to really get into the story. Really enjoyed it towards the end and very interested in continuing the series and see how exactly the romance is developed
Decided to re-visit & do a re-read of this series after a loooooong time. First read it back in 2017 when i was coming off a Throne Of Glass hang over & needed something to quench my thirst for badass female characters. It hit the spot back then & it definitely hit the spot again.
Man did I miss a good thrilling urban fantasy. It’s quite a short book, only being 10 chapters & about 200 pages on my e-reader but it sooooo packs a punch. As the first book in the series it’s damn potent with dynamic world building & character descriptions but honestly sets an incredible scene for what I know is to come. I’m glad I don’t remember much of the details in plot & stuff cause it really feels like i’m reading a book i’ve never read before, even though i’m semi-familiar with the characters and the world.
Kate Daniel’s is an absolutely unforgiving, sarcastic, badass mercenary & I’m so in love with her.
Can’t wait to absolutely binge the other 9 books, should keep me busy for at least a week or two! :D
Man did I miss a good thrilling urban fantasy. It’s quite a short book, only being 10 chapters & about 200 pages on my e-reader but it sooooo packs a punch. As the first book in the series it’s damn potent with dynamic world building & character descriptions but honestly sets an incredible scene for what I know is to come. I’m glad I don’t remember much of the details in plot & stuff cause it really feels like i’m reading a book i’ve never read before, even though i’m semi-familiar with the characters and the world.
Kate Daniel’s is an absolutely unforgiving, sarcastic, badass mercenary & I’m so in love with her.
Can’t wait to absolutely binge the other 9 books, should keep me busy for at least a week or two! :D
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Another Graphic Audio book that slaps. I am fully on an Ilona Andrews kick rn, and having a great time. They always write fun characters: badass women, sexy dudes, and all manner of delightful/weird sidekicks. This series has 10 books and I couldn’t be happier about the prospect.
Read this book for the first time by listening to the GraphicAudio adaptation, which I gotta say is FANTASTIC. Kate, oh god, she's like my ideas MFC. I love how much of a smart ass she is, and she is so witty with her comebacks. I love Curran too. People say the romance really isn't till later, and I don't know what they're talking about, I can already see it building up in this book, and I can only imagine what happens in the next one.
Very likable main character. Amusing dialogue. Plot that kept moving. Nothing that made me hold my breath but kept turning pages.