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A review by paperbackstash
Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews
5.0
After the stunner that was part three, my favorite of the series, I couldn't wait to dig into this one. The series is heavy on the shifter scene, even more so than the magic one, and everytime the pack seems in some sort of jeopardy. Not a coincidence, but a make sense kind of thing since they have grown in power and are attracting the even-more powerful wanting to bring them down before they can rise further.
The villain in this one is super bad-ass, being Kate's aunt and look-alike Erra, Babylon's god of chaos and terror. Each book in this series delves deeply into mythology, this one even further than others. Erra brings with her seven warriors to fight: Deluge (flood water), Tremor (earth quake), Gale (hurricane wind), Torch (fire inferno), Venom (disease poison), Beast (animal monster), and Darkness (overpowering dread). Seems each villain and fight is even bigger and badder than the last book. The various showdowns between Kate and Erra as incredible, especially the big bang to wrap up that ending. It digs further into how powerful Kate can really be or become, and makes me itch to see more.
Again my heart throbbed for Kate and Curran, as their relationship further developed in a big way. Unfortunately there are contrived coincidences injected into this book. The apartment excuse to wrap that objection up in the right timing was too convenient. This sudden increased hostility with the order right when it wasn't convenient with the developing Curran relationship also didn't ring true. It was too contrived - worked out for the plot but too apparently made for the plot.
The scenes with Saiman, Curran, and Kate notched up the tension, Derek is busy coping with his darker changes and the darkness of that, and the introduction of the shaggy poodle dog to Kate is hilarious. Andrea was an important addition this time again, as she is even more Kate's ally than before. She has her own subplot issues to deal with. There were some heartbreaking scenes where Kate was forced to do what she didn't want to, and the writing of the Daniels pair made this shine, even if hard to stomach.
You can't complain about the uniqueness of the story, the characters, the action sequences, the romantic element, the violence (there's plenty of it again), or the greatness that is the Kate Daniels series. This one did hold a little less humor than the third, but still excellent and will forever stay on my bookshelf. The end leaves me curious on what's going to happen next and I'm assuming it shall last, otherwise there may be pitchforks and mobs with burning torches on the streets. If you're an Urban Fantasy fan, you're REALLY missing out if you don't read this series.
The villain in this one is super bad-ass, being Kate's aunt and look-alike Erra, Babylon's god of chaos and terror. Each book in this series delves deeply into mythology, this one even further than others. Erra brings with her seven warriors to fight: Deluge (flood water), Tremor (earth quake), Gale (hurricane wind), Torch (fire inferno), Venom (disease poison), Beast (animal monster), and Darkness (overpowering dread). Seems each villain and fight is even bigger and badder than the last book. The various showdowns between Kate and Erra as incredible, especially the big bang to wrap up that ending. It digs further into how powerful Kate can really be or become, and makes me itch to see more.
Again my heart throbbed for Kate and Curran, as their relationship further developed in a big way. Unfortunately there are contrived coincidences injected into this book. The apartment excuse to wrap that objection up in the right timing was too convenient. This sudden increased hostility with the order right when it wasn't convenient with the developing Curran relationship also didn't ring true. It was too contrived - worked out for the plot but too apparently made for the plot.
The scenes with Saiman, Curran, and Kate notched up the tension, Derek is busy coping with his darker changes and the darkness of that, and the introduction of the shaggy poodle dog to Kate is hilarious. Andrea was an important addition this time again, as she is even more Kate's ally than before. She has her own subplot issues to deal with. There were some heartbreaking scenes where Kate was forced to do what she didn't want to, and the writing of the Daniels pair made this shine, even if hard to stomach.
You can't complain about the uniqueness of the story, the characters, the action sequences, the romantic element, the violence (there's plenty of it again), or the greatness that is the Kate Daniels series. This one did hold a little less humor than the third, but still excellent and will forever stay on my bookshelf. The end leaves me curious on what's going to happen next and I'm assuming it shall last, otherwise there may be pitchforks and mobs with burning torches on the streets. If you're an Urban Fantasy fan, you're REALLY missing out if you don't read this series.