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chiaroscuro 's review for:
Gunmetal Magic
by Ilona Andrews
So I've been picking up the crumbs that have been dropped about Raphael and Andrea in the regular Kate-narrated books, and oh man was [b:Gunmetal Magic|12288282|Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels, #5.5)|Ilona Andrews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331230049l/12288282._SY75_.jpg|17264774] a feast for the senses. I've finally figured out why I'm so into Andrea/Raphael, despite Kate/Curran being the far more central ship of the series. Kate and Curran have excellent chemistry and consistently priceless banter, but Andrea and Raphael is a ship built on drawn-out longing, stubbornness, unresolved feelings. All three of those things are my catnip.
And Raphael is just so boldly, unashamedly, proudly devoted to her. He shows up and sits by her side whenever she needs him, every time, even when she wants him to leave to save her pride. He's always there because he wants to be with her and help her; like it's the most important thing in the world to him that she has him. Andrea gets severely injured a hell of a lot, and I swear Raphael is there every time. I read a lot of romance novels so I'm used to male professions of devotion (not that I'm still not partial to a good one), but actually showing Raphael consistently being there, holding Andrea's hand, teasing and commanding and soothing quantum sufficit, is very different from what you get in most romance novels: one grand gesture at the end. Probably if we analysed this further I'd discover something uncomfortable about myself, so I won't, but I will say this: the fact that Andrea doesn't ask for it definitely makes it more meaningful.
Anyway because this takes place several angsty weeks (months?) aftertheir breakup it had multiple opportunities to punch to the gut, which it merrily did. A personal fave underrated moment was when Andrea began her rant with, "Raphael, you are adored. You have everything," to which he said, "Not everything," and then the conversation moved on because Andrea didn't care and was launching into her speech, but WE knew what Raphael was saying.
Plus this was full of plot gems too — like when they had to go to a fancy party together, thus rocketing up the tension from ice-cold to fiery-hot. Or when hebroke into her house and moved all his stuff in and made it look like he'd been living there for years, and signed off her furious phone call with, "Love you, babe." Or when she, in retaliation, vandalised every item of his house with a truckload supply of the ugliest purple shag carpet, and the long, almost pedantic, hilarious descriptions of everything in the house being wrapped in the stuff, and then the lovable trio Raphael, Kate and Curran standing in the kitchen staring at the atrocity that is the decor and Kate saying, straight-faced: "Wow. I had no idea you liked carpet so much, Raphael." There was a pretty cool magic plot going on too, but mostly I was in this for the hijinks.
I need to end it here but one last thing I have to quote:
Anyway it's Raphael x Andrea forever, and also what an ending. Truly, Doolittle is the perfect romantic foil.
And Raphael is just so boldly, unashamedly, proudly devoted to her. He shows up and sits by her side whenever she needs him, every time, even when she wants him to leave to save her pride. He's always there because he wants to be with her and help her; like it's the most important thing in the world to him that she has him. Andrea gets severely injured a hell of a lot, and I swear Raphael is there every time. I read a lot of romance novels so I'm used to male professions of devotion (not that I'm still not partial to a good one), but actually showing Raphael consistently being there, holding Andrea's hand, teasing and commanding and soothing quantum sufficit, is very different from what you get in most romance novels: one grand gesture at the end. Probably if we analysed this further I'd discover something uncomfortable about myself, so I won't, but I will say this: the fact that Andrea doesn't ask for it definitely makes it more meaningful.
Anyway because this takes place several angsty weeks (months?) after
Plus this was full of plot gems too — like when they had to go to a fancy party together, thus rocketing up the tension from ice-cold to fiery-hot. Or when he
I need to end it here but one last thing I have to quote:
"You can use a day off. You look like hell."(NB I am quite a Jim/Dali fan though I could do without the emotional weight of Dali's cripplingly low self-esteem, and I really enjoy the contrast and common ground between them.)
"You'll spend your life a bachelor, Jim."
Anyway it's Raphael x Andrea forever, and also what an ending. Truly, Doolittle is the perfect romantic foil.