Title: Magic Rises
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #6
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: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: He tossed the limp body aside.

Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost.

Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.

Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap…

Kate and Curran are truly tested in Magic Rises. This is the most heart-stopping and gut-wrenching tale of the Kate Daniels series so far. At least for me, I cried at multiple points throughout the tale, and just couldn’t put it down until I had read it from cover to cover. Part of that was also the very frustrating relationship between the two primaries – a few times I was even torn between throwing the book across the room after Curran and Kate’s pigheadedness, and ripping through to the next page to hope that they would fix up their many blunders.

Magic Rises leads to the first big conflict between Kate and her Father’s people – it’s a conflict that has been a long time coming, but still, it was a serious surprise. The gradual increasing of the potency of Kate’s enemies is subtly and intricately done. Likewise, the stakes in Kate’s life continue to increase, she’s slowly carving out a family and a life for herself, away from her past and parentage. Although, this tale does help to reveal even more insights into her more-than-slightly obscure upbringing and father-figure.

Children are always a great driver for a storyline – they are the innocents that everyone (well, almost) will battle to protect, regardless of their political and social affiliations. It’s no different for The Pack. From their writing, you can tell that Daniels understands the love for a child and the potential pain of loss. This, in combination with a supernatural flavour helps to indicate the extent to which people will go to save their young, both current and future.

Image source: Fantasy Book Clinic

Title: An Ill-Advised Rescue
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #5.8
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dystopia, Paranormal fantasy, Shapeshifters
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Ace fantasy
Year: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: Empty.

An Ill Advised Rescue is the Kate Daniels short story, set a few weeks before the events of Magic Rises.
The story begins when Kate receives a phone call from the Guild informing that Saiman has been kidnapped…

I love that Saiman lands himself in some very serious trouble and needs to be rescued. He is an interesting character, and his continual presence in the Kate Daniels series is a good point of literary humour in the writing. Plus, the fact that the big, bad, whatever he is needs rescuing is such an appealing little side story.

An Ill-Advised Rescue perfectly explains and sets up many of the activities in Magic Rises. Saiman’s presence within the tale is key, and this short story perfectly explains it. It’s not necessary to understand what is happening, but it does make more sense in Magic Rises.

I also love Kate’s solo missions and her preclusion to take on daring tasks because it is the right thing to do. Luckily, Derek and Grendel reappear in this story as her faithful and cunning sidekicks. It’s a tough call which one is my favourite, but I think that the idea of attack poodle might just shift the scales into Grendel’s favour.

Image source: Fantasy Book Clinic

Title: Gunmetal Magic
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #5.5
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: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: A loud hyena cackle rang through the clearing.

After eviction from the Knights of Merciful Aid, Andrea is a wreck. She starts work for best pal PI Kate Daniels. Shapeshifters under Raphael Medrano — Clan Bouda male alpha, Andrea’s ex-lover — die suddenly at a dig site. With Raphael, she seeks killer in deep dark Atlanta. Her feelings for him may take a back seat to saving the world…

The Raphael-Andrea relationship takes centre point in this story as they both try to negotiate their changes in their lives. It was actually one of the most frustrating, and difficult things that I have read in a while. I became so invested in their relationship throughout the previous Kate Daniels books, and watching two characters that I am so emotionally invested in argue and fumble around in their lives was quite painful. Although, it was so easy to understand both aspects of their argument and frustration – neither Andrea nor Raphael are completely innocent, but both too proud and guilty in their past acts.

In this story, Andrews jumps from Russian folklore to tales of Egyptian mythology. I loved the representation of the god-like characters in the story. The sheer range of religions and mythologies that are alluded to in this series continues to stun and amaze me. Probably part of the reason why I love it so much.

This is well and truly the story of Andrea. She is forced to face up to her past, both the immediate past and her childhood. Undergoing a complete metamorphosis in this story, she not only faces up to her dismissal from the order, but also her place within the Pack hierarchy. I love that this whole process leads to Andrea finally accepting herself, everything that she is and can be.

Image source: Ilona Andrews

Title: Magic Gifts
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #5.4
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dystopia, Paranormal fantasy, Shapeshifters
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Ace fantasy
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: “Why the secrecy?”

Dinner date after a hard workday should be heavenly. Of course, dates between the Beast Lord and Kate Daniels don’t always go as planned. Undead run amok, heads are chopped off, lawyers are deployed with extreme prejudice, and drunk vikings call people out.

Magic Gifts is a cute little aside that occurs while Andrea is running around town in Gunmetal Magic. It also helps to fill in some of the gaps to the interactions between Andrea and Kate. I love the way that Andrews is able to fill in the backstory to Håkon and why Curran was so terrified of Kate’s return.

Kate and Curran’s attempts at functioning like any other couple is kind of adorable. They are too volatile and prone to attracting danger in any shape or form. It is so sweet that they try though. Magic Gifts also highlights the love between the two characters – they both try to protect and care for each other, regardless of the outcome. But they also will do anything to protect those that are weaker and innocent, such as children.

Curran has a more than slightly insane protective streak. Sure, it comes from a nice place, but it’s kind of patronising. Kate, however, completely ignores this and does what she wants anyway. The ability to take into account someone else’s feelings, but act of your own accord is something that I greatly admire.

Image source: Ilona Andrews