Title: Magic Shifts
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #8
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dystopia, Paranormal fantasy, Shapeshifters
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ace fantasy
Year: 2015
5th sentence, 74th page: My fingers came out bloody.

After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Curran misses the constant challenges of leading the shapeshifters.

So when the Pack offers him its stake in the Mercenary Guild, Curran seizes the opportunity—too bad the Guild wants nothing to do with him and Kate. Luckily, as a veteran merc, Kate can take over any of the Guild’s unfinished jobs in order to bring in money and build their reputation. But what Kate and Curran don’t realize is that the odd jobs they’ve been working are all connected.

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece…

Curran and Kate start a new life and a new era is ushered in with the beginning of Magic Shifts. Their new life embraces their love and small family – which you quickly realise is much bigger than just the three of them. Having a family away from The Pack was an incredibly new dynamic and one that just feels so right within their lives.

Most children would love for their father’s to be a part of their lives, which helps to make Kate’s reluctance to have hers a part of her life all the more entertaining. His involvement in her life is tenuous and incredibly risky – it is difficult to tell which way he will turn and how this is going to affect Kate’s life. I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series – Kate and Roland’s relationship balances on a knife edge and it is impossible to see which way it will slide.

The message that absolute power can, and often does, corrupt absolutely is poignant throughout this book. Roland has been a reminder of this throughout the series, but there are others. Mahon’s pigheaded ideals cause a huge rift within the tale, and his inability to see beyond his own ideals and grasps of reality had potential disastrous consequences. Contrastingly, when most of the characters are vying for power and control, Kate and Curran find their peace and happiness in the lack of power. Although they are still incredibly formidable in their own rights, the lack of power over others and that responsibility is refreshing and leads to pure happiness in their lives.

Image source: Ilona Andrews

Title: Magic Breaks
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #7
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dystopia, Paranormal fantasy, Shapeshifters
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ace fantasy
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: I don’t know if he bribed them, blackmailed them, or what, but he’s done something.

No matter how much the paranormal politics of Atlanta change, one thing always remains the same: if there’s trouble, Kate Daniels will be in the middle of it…

As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate’s connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe—especially those closest to Kate.

As Roland’s long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she’ll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear…

This isn’t the last book in the series; luckily. However, it acts as a bit of a midway point, a mid-end to the series. It ties up some character arcs and storylines and answers so many questions that it is actually a really safe place to pause reading the series in. Not that I would recommend pausing this series, but regardless, it is a great way to neatly tie up some lose ends. Andrews also managed to seriously surprise me with the way in which they did this – the conclusion was startling and took a turn which I never expected.

There were a number of conclusions to plot lines throughout the piece – Andrea takes her place in The Pack; Kate is forced to face her father and past; and their issues with the order are bought to a head.

There isn’t as much of Curran throughout this tale – he is elsewhere, and Kate is left fighting her battles alone. It’s kind of nice though, so many stories, once the couple couples up, there is always an us and a we, but the fact that Kate reverts back to being independent and kicking butt on her own is exactly what I wanted. Strong independent women are great when they’re coupled, but they’re even better when they are able to stand independently of their partner.

Image source: Ilona Andrews