Title: Magic Burns
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #2
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Dystopia, Paranormal fantasy, Shapeshifters
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ace fantasy
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: She kicked the blankets off and wrapped herself in the afghan, like a little mouse nesting.

Down in Atlanta, tempers – and temperatures – are about to flare…

As a mercenary who cleans up after magic gone wrong, Kate Daniels has seen her share of occupational hazards. Normally, waves of paranormal energy ebb and flow across Atlanta like a tide. But once every seven years, a flare comes, a time when magic runs rampant. Now Kate’s going to have to deal with problems on a much bigger scale: a divine one.

When Kate sets out to retrieve a set of stolen maps for the Pack, Atlanta’s paramilitary clan of shapeshifters, she quickly realizes much more at stake. During a flare, gods and goddesses can manifest – and battle for power. The stolen maps are only the opening gambit in an epic tug-of-war between two gods hoping for rebirth. And if Kate can’t stop the cataclysmic showdown, the city may not survive…

I loved Magic Bites, but Magic Burns was even better. Not only were the stakes increased, but Kate Daniels’ secret is closer to the surface and the challenges are WAY bigger. From the first moment, I felt thrust into the action. With Kate’s unique voice and independence, Andrews took us on a ride of pure enjoyment and enthralling fun.

Again, I loved the refreshing fact that although there were potential love interests in the book, and people who definitely wanted to sleep with the main character, it wasn’t even remotely an important part of the storyline. Kind of a by-line that served to remind me of the fact that many men are confused and challenged by women who refuse to sleep with them – not attracted to. Although I’m sure that eventually Kate and Curran will end up together, it really won’t matter, both to the storyline and to the overall character arches if they don’t. There is potential, which keeps us excited, but it doesn’t matter if they don’t.

Magic Burns further explains the amazing world that was so beautifully created in Magic Bites. With the flares of magic, more of the principles and rules that govern Kate Daniels’ world are revealed and slowly you begin to understand more and more of the story. The more you learn, the more immersed you become in her reality. This is no femme fatale that simpers and begs for pity – she is the kick ass heroine that we all wish we could be.

<- Magic Bites

Magic Strikes ->

Image source: Ilona Andrews

Title: Magic Bites
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Dystopia, Paranormal fantasy, Shapeshifters
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ace fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: The morning after a night of hunting was the time for serene contemplation, as sacred to the shapeshifter as meditation to a Shaolin monk.

Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for the magic…

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way…

“jeans loose enough to kick a man in the throat” – quite possibly the best clothing description I have ever read. And this quote alone really sets the book’s tone and shows you how tough the heroine truly is. And what a smart ass she tends to be, a fact that I truly appreciate. Most heroines in books are gorgeous and they’re cheeky, but still respectfully so. Kate Daniels is not a stunner, she’s adequately alright looking, and she is so damn cheeky that throughout the book I constantly expect her to have her head chopped off (literally). I love the departure from traditional heroine, and this is definitely what drew me in.

Throughout the story, Kate’s mysterious powers are alluded to, and, this being probably my least favourite part of the book, not actually shown or stated. It has something to do with blood, and that’s all I really picked up on. Maybe if I read through the book again, I’d pick up on more information. I had expected this information to be revealed at the end of the book, but, even though more clues were dropped, I still have no idea why Kate is so damn special. Andrews did a great job with this – I picked up the next book straight away and I am eagerly devouring it, not only for the great storyline, but also because I want to know! (Can you tell how frustrated I am?) But, all in all, it’s a fantastic by-line within the story.

Andrews really twisted the modern paranormal fantasy genre on its head. Not only through the use of a dystopian future, but in the fact that whilst Kate has romantic interests, it is a very minor point throughout the story. And then there is the battle between the vampires and werewolves, a tale as old as time, but Andrews put a completely different spin on it! Werewolves are part of a shapeshifting clan that includes rats, cats and any other animal you can possibly think of. Meanwhile, vampires are far more terrifying than anything I had imagined before.

All in all, this is a great beginning to a new (to me) series. If you like paranormal fantasy books, I would recommend reading this and being thrown into an entirely new, and very unique world.

<- A Questionable Client

Magic Burns ->

Image source: Goodreads