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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
I was hesitant to read this book, as I could tell Kate Daniels would be the type of heroine to have authority issues and mouth off to everyone, and I usually don't like that type of character. Much to my surprise, the more I read, the more I came to love Kate. Yes, she's brash and sharp tongued, but she's also quite intelligent. I'm looking forward to picking up the next book in the series, especially if Curran and Derek return. I love them both.
In the search for a fun series to listen to audiobook-wise, this doesn't seem to be it. Surprisingly unimaginative, characters that were very flat, and a stilted writing style.
The Red Herring was so weird and artificial, her investigation was really haphazard, and the big bad (as person rather than as just a threat) wasn't set up well. There were moments when I enjoyed the story, but then something annoying happened to take me out of the narrative (mostly having to do with the Red Herring, actually).
Nice, it was crude sometimes with the subjects explored ( for the villain, I was uncomfortable with his... actions with women ), and the "magic eating at the city" world could have been more explained, but the pacing is good, with a sort of murder investigation going on, and I liked the MC^^
"I finally got my knight in shining armor. Too bad he was a teenage werewolf."
Kate's just a mercenary.
She dropped out of school, and is living her own life, relying on odd jobs to make her ends meet. At the beginning of the story, she only has about $1500 to her name, but that's okay. Why? Because she's good at her job even if she's a little cheeky, and things always work out in the end.
When her mentor is killed, Kate is brought in to investigate the case by one of the three magical law enforcement factions. Her search leads her to the underbelly of the city, where she meets and befriends the beast lord, and is led in a million wrong directions. Will she ever discover the true killer?
I have no feelings about Kate.
Kate Daniels is not a bad character. I've met her before - in supernatural thrillers, in D&D-style fantasies, in adult vampire books. Nothing about her really stands out. She's a little like Anita Blake, but less snarky and driven. A little like Calaena Sardothien, but not with half the charm. She's a completely forgettable character, but she serves her purpose.
I really can't pinpoint anything that makes Magic Bites stand out as exceptional or must-be-avoided. It's another magical realism book set in the American South with tones of Sookie Stackhouse, although with a strange twist on vampires that you have to read about because I'm not quite sure where that version of Nosferatu came form.
Overall, the writing was okay.
Seeing a theme here? This was definitely a middle-of-the-line type of book for me. Nothing about the writing really stood out as beautiful or engaging. Things just sort of chugged along, like a loyal freight train, moving forward at a steady, reliable pace. There were a few moments where I had to smack my forehead and ask, "Seriously? Did I just read that?" - including a comment from the female protagonist about how a man could beat her and honestly the fact that there are so many uncomfortable sexual comments that I was cringing. I can deal with a bit of heat in my books, but this was just AWKWARD.
You get that general feeling of lost-ness from Kate as well as you follow her story. She talks to a contact, goes on a date, talks to a contact, goes on another date... and nothing really seems to tie together. This bothers her too, as near the end of the book she's digging for a better solution and feeling strongly that the killer is still out there.
And the bit with her sitting on her lawn guzzling wine and using herself as bait is just all sort of cheesy?
I don't know, guys.
This book will appeal to fans of paperback fantasy thrillers.
I definitely had my time where I was obsessed with Anita Blake... and I still have some of those books on my shelves. But if I'm being really honest, there's only so much time in the world for mediocre books and I don't really want to dive into another supernatural series that I'm really not invested in. That's what I feel about Kate Daniels, although honestly? I think that she'd really appeal to others.
The magical world here has potential, but needs to be expanded, and it felt a little like the authors were uncomfortable in this skin (Ilona Andrews is actually Ilona and her husband, or so Goodreads tell me?). I hear as the series progresses, the books get better, so if you're into monster-hunting mercenaries in Atlanta, stick with it!
For myself, I'll stopping here.
Blog | Twitter | Tumblr
She dropped out of school, and is living her own life, relying on odd jobs to make her ends meet. At the beginning of the story, she only has about $1500 to her name, but that's okay. Why? Because she's good at her job even if she's a little cheeky, and things always work out in the end.
When her mentor is killed, Kate is brought in to investigate the case by one of the three magical law enforcement factions. Her search leads her to the underbelly of the city, where she meets and befriends the beast lord, and is led in a million wrong directions. Will she ever discover the true killer?
I have no feelings about Kate.
Kate Daniels is not a bad character. I've met her before - in supernatural thrillers, in D&D-style fantasies, in adult vampire books. Nothing about her really stands out. She's a little like Anita Blake, but less snarky and driven. A little like Calaena Sardothien, but not with half the charm. She's a completely forgettable character, but she serves her purpose.
I really can't pinpoint anything that makes Magic Bites stand out as exceptional or must-be-avoided. It's another magical realism book set in the American South with tones of Sookie Stackhouse, although with a strange twist on vampires that you have to read about because I'm not quite sure where that version of Nosferatu came form.
Overall, the writing was okay.
Seeing a theme here? This was definitely a middle-of-the-line type of book for me. Nothing about the writing really stood out as beautiful or engaging. Things just sort of chugged along, like a loyal freight train, moving forward at a steady, reliable pace. There were a few moments where I had to smack my forehead and ask, "Seriously? Did I just read that?" - including a comment from the female protagonist about how a man could beat her and honestly the fact that there are so many uncomfortable sexual comments that I was cringing. I can deal with a bit of heat in my books, but this was just AWKWARD.
You get that general feeling of lost-ness from Kate as well as you follow her story. She talks to a contact, goes on a date, talks to a contact, goes on another date... and nothing really seems to tie together. This bothers her too, as near the end of the book she's digging for a better solution and feeling strongly that the killer is still out there.
And the bit with her sitting on her lawn guzzling wine and using herself as bait is just all sort of cheesy?
I don't know, guys.
This book will appeal to fans of paperback fantasy thrillers.
I definitely had my time where I was obsessed with Anita Blake... and I still have some of those books on my shelves. But if I'm being really honest, there's only so much time in the world for mediocre books and I don't really want to dive into another supernatural series that I'm really not invested in. That's what I feel about Kate Daniels, although honestly? I think that she'd really appeal to others.
The magical world here has potential, but needs to be expanded, and it felt a little like the authors were uncomfortable in this skin (Ilona Andrews is actually Ilona and her husband, or so Goodreads tell me?). I hear as the series progresses, the books get better, so if you're into monster-hunting mercenaries in Atlanta, stick with it!
For myself, I'll stopping here.
Blog | Twitter | Tumblr
3.5 stars
Weird, dark, gory, and dystopic are key descriptions that often promise a good read to me. And weird, dark, gory, and dystopic in urban fantasy is a guilty pleasure. Throw in ancient dark magic, hostile otherworldly creatures, and lots of urban decay and I'm hooked. What Ilona Andrews has done with Magic Bites is tailored it to my unique taste in urban fantasy.
So then why so few stars? Because there are things about the magical hierarchy and factions of the city in this book I still don't understand. For once, a little info-dump would've been helpful.
So. Some time in the distant future, Atlanta has been (will be?) turned into a decaying playground for various creatures of the night that no longer need to lurk at night. They're all out in the open now, living somewhat casually among city dwellers. The authorities are aware of them and work with them or, in most cases, work around them.
The city of Atlanta and surrounding areas sometimes experience these magical surges, not unlike electrical power surges, that affect anything dependent on magic. So of course the creatures are affected, but technology is also affected. When there's a magical surge, tech is useless. Magic is as much a part of everyday life as electricity because it generates electricity, I think. (Not much is said about what causes these surges or what really goes on during them. Not much is said about the authority or whatever ruling body or bodies overseeing Atlanta either--this is what's still bothering me.)
Then in comes Kate Daniels, she of the mysterious powers and lineage, to save the day. By day, she's a mercenary who works odd jobs around the city to get by, and by night, she gets called to deal with weird magical things running amok. Instead of joining a law enforcement group like any respectable skilled practitioner should, she goes mercenary and takes on other people's magical problems for very little pay. Not much is said about why she does what she does; only passing hints and excuses are dropped. I expect more will be revealed in later books.
At the start of the book, Kate finds out her mentor has been killed investigating a weird magical thing. So she reluctantly agrees to work on the case for the Guild (equivalent of a police department), hoping to solve the case he was working on, as well as his murder. She accomplishes both goals at the end, but they take her right into the heart of an otherworldly power struggle between shapeshifters and vampires.
But the story is not over yet. Due to her unique blood, Kate finds herself a target of an ancient abomination. Things aren't always so dark though. There are a few funny moments throughout the book, like Kate "befriending" the leader of the Pack. I had a good chuckle when the lion was introduced since I had initially expected it to be some kind of sidekick or house pet.
It’s been awhile since I last came across satisfying urban fantasy. For every series I like, I've bumped into at least 5 that I hated for whatever reason (mostly because they’re terribly written), and after awhile I just gave up on the genre. Too much work wading through mediocre writing for too little payoff. My time was better spent exploring other genres that had higher odds of hitting a satisfying read. But then [a:Ben Aaronovitch|363130|Ben Aaronovitch|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1308855588p2/363130.jpg] came onto the scene and shortly after that I found [a:Liz Williams|34828|Liz Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1287950679p2/34828.jpg] and [a:Kate Griffin|613805|Kate Griffin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1372142497p2/613805.jpg]. They all restored my faith in UF, but I still thread carefully around any book with the UF label.
I’m glad I’d finished Magic Bites though, in spite of its awkward pacing and uneven world building. It’s a surprisingly satisfying read, and I hope it continues to be satisfying, but more importantly, I hope it doesn’t become another PNR series. There are already too many of those floating around.
One last thing, the Atlanta in the setting doesn’t seem characteristic of the city itself. Sure, there’s been major changes like magical surges and shapeshifters running about, but underneath it all, a famous city in any fictional setting has to at least retain some of its real characteristic traits. Other than showing familiar landmarks and street names, the Atlanta in the book doesn’t seem very much like Atlanta. Instead it reads like present-day Detroit in mid-summer. I know both city almost by heart, and I think it's the Atlanta/Detroit thing that bothers me most about this book–it feels like it’s set in the wrong city. Anyway, that’s just a minor detail that can be easily overlooked.
* * * * *
Cross-posted at http://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/review-magic-bites-kate-daniels-1/
* * * * *
UPDATE September 2014
For the life of me, I cannot remember these books by title, except for this one because it's the first one. So I'm just gonna put a little spoiler note to remind myself who the big bad of each book is.
The One withBono in a kilt and the Bone Dragon
* * * * *
UPDATE April 2019
I wanted to quickly reread books 1 to 8, by way of audiobooks, to refresh my memory so I can get started on books 9 and 10 and thereby finish the series, but unfortunately, the narrator Renee Raudman is just too damn distracting.
There's a right way and a wrong way to pronounce "werewolf." And she pronounces it "werewuff."
werewolf
"werewuff"
Weird, dark, gory, and dystopic are key descriptions that often promise a good read to me. And weird, dark, gory, and dystopic in urban fantasy is a guilty pleasure. Throw in ancient dark magic, hostile otherworldly creatures, and lots of urban decay and I'm hooked. What Ilona Andrews has done with Magic Bites is tailored it to my unique taste in urban fantasy.
So then why so few stars? Because there are things about the magical hierarchy and factions of the city in this book I still don't understand. For once, a little info-dump would've been helpful.
So. Some time in the distant future, Atlanta has been (will be?) turned into a decaying playground for various creatures of the night that no longer need to lurk at night. They're all out in the open now, living somewhat casually among city dwellers. The authorities are aware of them and work with them or, in most cases, work around them.
The city of Atlanta and surrounding areas sometimes experience these magical surges, not unlike electrical power surges, that affect anything dependent on magic. So of course the creatures are affected, but technology is also affected. When there's a magical surge, tech is useless. Magic is as much a part of everyday life as electricity because it generates electricity, I think. (Not much is said about what causes these surges or what really goes on during them. Not much is said about the authority or whatever ruling body or bodies overseeing Atlanta either--this is what's still bothering me.)
Then in comes Kate Daniels, she of the mysterious powers and lineage, to save the day. By day, she's a mercenary who works odd jobs around the city to get by, and by night, she gets called to deal with weird magical things running amok. Instead of joining a law enforcement group like any respectable skilled practitioner should, she goes mercenary and takes on other people's magical problems for very little pay. Not much is said about why she does what she does; only passing hints and excuses are dropped. I expect more will be revealed in later books.
At the start of the book, Kate finds out her mentor has been killed investigating a weird magical thing. So she reluctantly agrees to work on the case for the Guild (equivalent of a police department), hoping to solve the case he was working on, as well as his murder. She accomplishes both goals at the end, but they take her right into the heart of an otherworldly power struggle between shapeshifters and vampires.
But the story is not over yet. Due to her unique blood, Kate finds herself a target of an ancient abomination. Things aren't always so dark though. There are a few funny moments throughout the book, like Kate "befriending" the leader of the Pack. I had a good chuckle when the lion was introduced since I had initially expected it to be some kind of sidekick or house pet.
It’s been awhile since I last came across satisfying urban fantasy. For every series I like, I've bumped into at least 5 that I hated for whatever reason (mostly because they’re terribly written), and after awhile I just gave up on the genre. Too much work wading through mediocre writing for too little payoff. My time was better spent exploring other genres that had higher odds of hitting a satisfying read. But then [a:Ben Aaronovitch|363130|Ben Aaronovitch|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1308855588p2/363130.jpg] came onto the scene and shortly after that I found [a:Liz Williams|34828|Liz Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1287950679p2/34828.jpg] and [a:Kate Griffin|613805|Kate Griffin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1372142497p2/613805.jpg]. They all restored my faith in UF, but I still thread carefully around any book with the UF label.
I’m glad I’d finished Magic Bites though, in spite of its awkward pacing and uneven world building. It’s a surprisingly satisfying read, and I hope it continues to be satisfying, but more importantly, I hope it doesn’t become another PNR series. There are already too many of those floating around.
One last thing, the Atlanta in the setting doesn’t seem characteristic of the city itself. Sure, there’s been major changes like magical surges and shapeshifters running about, but underneath it all, a famous city in any fictional setting has to at least retain some of its real characteristic traits. Other than showing familiar landmarks and street names, the Atlanta in the book doesn’t seem very much like Atlanta. Instead it reads like present-day Detroit in mid-summer. I know both city almost by heart, and I think it's the Atlanta/Detroit thing that bothers me most about this book–it feels like it’s set in the wrong city. Anyway, that’s just a minor detail that can be easily overlooked.
* * * * *
Cross-posted at http://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/review-magic-bites-kate-daniels-1/
* * * * *
UPDATE September 2014
For the life of me, I cannot remember these books by title, except for this one because it's the first one. So I'm just gonna put a little spoiler note to remind myself who the big bad of each book is.
The One with
* * * * *
UPDATE April 2019
I wanted to quickly reread books 1 to 8, by way of audiobooks, to refresh my memory so I can get started on books 9 and 10 and thereby finish the series, but unfortunately, the narrator Renee Raudman is just too damn distracting.
There's a right way and a wrong way to pronounce "werewolf." And she pronounces it "werewuff."
werewolf
"werewuff"