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A review by gillianw
Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews
3.0
3.5ish stars
I'm really having a hard time rating this because, let's face it, nothing could possibly live up to the amazingness of Kate Daniels. One of the things I always appreciated about the KD series is that the focus is always on Kate's ability to kick ass. I have no idea if she's got killer breasts or shapely legs. I know she has hair, but I'm not sure if it's *good* hair (and in books it can generally only be good if it's long, preferably straight and have natural highlights). The focus has only ever been on her physical strength, wit and smarts (both street smarts and book smarts).
This book isn't like that.
The physical attributes of both MCs (and of pretty much every woman named in this book) are established from the start. Look, if I want two perfect people then I'll read a straight-up romance. But I want my UF heroines to be strong, smart and capable. Perfectly shaped breasts don't factor into it. So, when the female MC is introduced as wearing a long dress that covers her body, except for the *important* parts which are somehow on display despite the outfit, it kind of makes my eye twitch.
The KD series is entirely from Kate's POV, so maybe that's why her looks aren't the main focus. In Iron and Magic, there is a dual POV which (for me anyway) distracts from the book. I really only wanted to read it for Hugh. He's an unrepentant asshole and I wanted to know more about him and his relationship with Roland. I wanted to know what motivated him and how, if possible, he could make me like him. And, yeah, I did get that to a certain degree but Elara's POV kept interrupting it!
I honestly couldn't care less about Elara. She's perfect and beautiful and...boring. Okay, so she's got some magic and is apparently hiding a pretty big secret regarding her real identity but even that wasn't enough to keep me interested.
There were good things in this book too, but Elara wasn't one of them. I hope she grows on me. I hope there will be less focus on her perfect boobs. I hope the next book gives me more Hugh! I hope I don't need to wait too long to read it :)
I'm really having a hard time rating this because, let's face it, nothing could possibly live up to the amazingness of Kate Daniels. One of the things I always appreciated about the KD series is that the focus is always on Kate's ability to kick ass. I have no idea if she's got killer breasts or shapely legs. I know she has hair, but I'm not sure if it's *good* hair (and in books it can generally only be good if it's long, preferably straight and have natural highlights). The focus has only ever been on her physical strength, wit and smarts (both street smarts and book smarts).
This book isn't like that.
The physical attributes of both MCs (and of pretty much every woman named in this book) are established from the start. Look, if I want two perfect people then I'll read a straight-up romance. But I want my UF heroines to be strong, smart and capable. Perfectly shaped breasts don't factor into it. So, when the female MC is introduced as wearing a long dress that covers her body, except for the *important* parts which are somehow on display despite the outfit, it kind of makes my eye twitch.
The KD series is entirely from Kate's POV, so maybe that's why her looks aren't the main focus. In Iron and Magic, there is a dual POV which (for me anyway) distracts from the book. I really only wanted to read it for Hugh. He's an unrepentant asshole and I wanted to know more about him and his relationship with Roland. I wanted to know what motivated him and how, if possible, he could make me like him. And, yeah, I did get that to a certain degree but Elara's POV kept interrupting it!
I honestly couldn't care less about Elara. She's perfect and beautiful and...boring. Okay, so she's got some magic and is apparently hiding a pretty big secret regarding her real identity but even that wasn't enough to keep me interested.
There were good things in this book too, but Elara wasn't one of them. I hope she grows on me. I hope there will be less focus on her perfect boobs. I hope the next book gives me more Hugh! I hope I don't need to wait too long to read it :)