Reviews

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

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xoaditi's review against another edition

2.0

i enjoyed this book, as it was easy to read. however, i had trouble following certain plot points/characters (for example - i had to go back and find earlier pages to remember who certain characters were). kate is super funny, and i did like the dialogue between her and curran.

trin's review against another edition

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3.0

As others correctly assessed: unusually well written urban fantasy. The world building is genuinely intriguing, Kate feels like a person, and at one point there are some lines about loneliness that I found genuinely beautiful and profound.

However: other than Kate, there are no well-rounded women in this book (other than Kate, there are almost no women in this book who are not dead bodies). Instead, there are a zillion nigh-interchangeable men, all of a posturing alpha type that doesn't remotely interest me. Also, the villain's

Spoiler

name is Bono

, which I found immensely distracting. So while much better than all the UF I read in high school, sadly, I think this remains Not My Genre.

kandlf's review

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adventurous funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

gabbyo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Suffers from having such a terrible cover. World building was really immersive, no info dumping without being too opaque. Characters felt real, Kate also felt smart - no dramatic irony, if we catch the implication so does she.

veraann's review against another edition

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5.0

Kate Daniels #1
Adult Urban Fantasy
My reread of this series is just as, if not more, enjoyable as the first. Are there flaws? Yes. Do I care? No. Because it's fun, sarcastic, great characters.
Ilona Andrews are in my top 5 favorite authors and this series is amazing. There are some gruesome parts and creatures out of horror stories but it has some lightheartedness and heroes with the goal to defeat these monsters.

A good series start. I absolutely loved the characters. They were fun, sarcastic and interesting to read about. They are written in a way that I can really picture them and their attitudes. Some good twists thrown in to keep me guessing. Kate, a strong willed female. Curran, has the alpha thing down.
Now the world build. I felt thrown right in and a bit disoriented at first. In fact, I had to double check that I was reading book 1. The further along I got and the more I understood the world, the better I felt about that.
It sometimes felt like an old western with magical beings to me, which was kind of fun. I'd start to picture a modern world and then they go and ride around on horses. Hilarious.

haffadevours's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

snoopydoo77's review against another edition

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5.0

I heard about these books a lot and thought it sounded rather interesting so I finally got to one and OMG this book was amazing. Everything I like , Urban fantasy , humor , action, some gore and guts and some romance ( more or less in this book).

You can find my full review here:
http://snoopydoosbookreviews.com/magic-bites-kate-daniels-1-ilona-andrews/

hirvimaki's review against another edition

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3.0

A fun urban fantasy akin to the Hollows series by Kim Harrison.

bree_h_reads's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

While this book is very much a product of its time in some aspects, it was still very enjoyable.

To start, I listened to the Graphic Audio version. I was super unsure about this version going into it, but in the end it was my favourite aspect. I listen to a lot of audiodramas, so it was a lot like them just with narration. I really enjoyed the cast and their performances. Overall I thought it really added to the experience. This version ALSO had some of the extra content for the series of the prequel novella and Currin’s two POVs of events in the book. Having these are part of the book was really nice. I was in the middle of trying to sort out how to get and read them when the audiobook started reading one of them out.

Outside of the performance, I really enjoyed Kate as a character. I liked her sense of humour and it was a nice change to have a more loner FMC as opposed to a loner MMC. I didn’t find that aspect of her character annoying either. I think it also helped that she had several allies that DESPITE the loner attitude still liked her/put faith in her.

The mystery of the book was also really enjoyable. I had a pretty easy time following most of the trains of thought for what was really going on. When the twist was finally revealed it felt like such an “oh obviously moment.”

I also LOVED the world building. While sometimes it could get a bit info dumpy, I appreciated that the reader was just thrown into the world. I had a pretty easy tome following the world and its functions, even if it wasn’t fully explained. And as more was revealed it felt well thought out and made sense.

Despite how much I enjoyed the book, it did have its flaws. Which again, are mostly a consequence of the time. So while I do understand that, it still rubbed me the wrong way.

To start, there was a level of casual sexism in the book that really threw me. Especially from Currin and his POV chapters. It just gave me the ick. I don’t think it happened often, but it happened enough that I had a few comments on it.

The other is Currin’s whole deal. Especially in his POV he felt like a classic “super tough guy who only feels horny and angry”. There is MORE to his character than that, which is appreciate. It’s just that that aspect tends to bleed through more. So while I DO ship him and Kate it’s more of a “if I close my eyes I don’t see the red flags” thing.

Overall it was a super enjoyable book! I’ll be continuing the series and I think it still mostly works today.

Content Warnings

earlgaytea711's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

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