Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels #7) Cover Reveal! Ilona Andrews is Breaking into Hardcover Territory!
I was a bit shocked to see the hardcover ready and raring to go this early (it’s not due out until August 5th of 2014), but you’ll hear no complaints from me! I’m super excited to see a cover, but I’m even MORE excited that the series is now in hardcover! What a wonderful achievement for the Ilona Andrews team! I’m getting much more used to this new model now.
Magic Rises (Kate Daniels #6) by Ilona Andrews - This series rises!
Synopsis: 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…
Review: Oh boy, what a ride! While this book wasn’t as quotable with the usual hilarious quips that make me love this series so much, it is definitely one of my favorite books of the series, if not my favorite. I usually love books when the characters go on road trips or end up out of their usual element. It usually gives a series a fresh perspective, revealing new aspects about my favorite characters and ultimately showing what they are made of when the going gets tough. Ilona Andrews really brought their A-game from start to finish. Kate and Curran, how can you not love them? As solid as they are, or at least as solid as we assume they are, their relationship and feelings for one another are put to the ultimate test.
I must say that bringing just about every essential character along for the quest set off my alarm bells early that nothing was going to be the same from here on out. I feared that not everybody would make it back or make it back in one piece. And they do take a hell of a beating in that department I’m sad to say. But I believe everything that happened happened for the sake of pushing the story forward to the best conclusion possible.
There were definitely frustrating moments making me feel for both characters as individuals as well. I will always be a Kate and Curran girl, but I thought they handled the chemistry between Kate and Hugh D’Ambry (her father’s right hand) surprisingly well. I was genuinely looking forward to their scenes together and the outcomes weren’t always predictable. I was really engrossed in the back story involving Kate’s heritage and felt satisfied with what was revealed. It felt integral to the story and to what we can expect of the series here on out. So often I run into series where the overarching plot is merely peppered throughout the book instead of being the meat of it, making it very obvious that the author plans to drag the story out as much as possible. I am so happy that wasn’t the case here, though I honestly haven’t read a disappointing Kate Daniels book.
If we thought things were complicated before, this book proved to me that we haven’t seen anything yet. I heard the series was going to end at 7, but then they decided to extend it to 10. At this point I think 10 books is definitely the sweet spot.
If you want a true page turner, this is one of the best you are going to find this year, guaranteed.
Poll: Release Day! Magic Rises (Kate Daniels #6) Are you reading it?
Hi everyone! In case you didn’t know, the new Kate Daniels novel is out! I can’t believe it’s been almost two years since the last one, though I thoroughly enjoyed Gunmetal Magic. Unfortunately I can’t crack it open right away like I want to. I have a couple more titles that I’ve agreed to read and review first, but the book is firmly #3 in my TBR pile. Hopefully I will be able to read it by next week! Though I’m not reading it yet, what about you guys? Have you started it?
Loading ...COVER REVEAL! Magic Rises (Kate Daniels #6)
It’s okay, but I’m not crazy about it. The cover models are constantly changing so it’s hard for me to get a read on how Kate is supposed to look. This model looks like a teenager. I almost thought this was the cover for some new YA series until i saw the title.
http://www.ilona-andrews.com/news/publishing-news/cover-reveal-magic-rises
Giveaway Winner Announced - Gunmetal Magic
Hi everyone! As usual, I want to thank all of you for participating, but now we have a winner. If you posted in the comment section of the announcement thread, you were entered for a chance (or multiple chances for those following the blog multiple ways) to win. And the winner is:
Crystal Watson-Andresakis
Please check your email, Crystal! Hope you enjoy! Thank you everyone for the continued support and I look forward to the next giveaway, which I plan to announce…TOMORROW! Yes, I’m in a very giving mood. Stay tuned!
Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels World #1) - All About Awesome Andrea
No Kate Daniels review of mine is complete without a quote, so let’s kick it off with my favorite:
“We’re engaged to be engaged,” Rebecca said. “We’re waiting until the end of the physical year to officially announce.”
“You mean fiscal year?” Dear God, she was a moron.
“Yes, that’s what I meant.”
The Andrews clan has yet to let me down. I really enjoyed Andrea’s short story, Magic Mourns, in the Must Love Hellhounds anthology. So I was really looking forward to her solo novel. As an added bonus, they even throw in the final version of the Magic Gifts novella. This book was a gift that kept on giving.
Andrea is down and out after being ousted by her old job. To make matters worse she goes through a nasty breakup with Raphael, and just for good measure she’s still being pressured to join the Bouda clan. This threatens her lone hyena status which she likes just fine. She’s trying to keep herself occupied by running her and Kate’s start up investigation firm, Cutting Edge. Keeping her distance to avoid Raphael and his new main squeeze was initially going well, but unfortunately (or is it?) that becomes impossible as a string of murders ties his business into the thick of things. No, he’s not the culprit, but the two must work together to solve the grisly crime. And sparks will fly…
This book offers everything you want in a Kate Daniels read. I laughed quite a bit, I cringed at some of the action and crime scenes, and I even found myself frustrated at times with the complicated relationship of Andrea and Raphael. Their banter is extremely entertaining, but I definitely found myself wanting to smack sense into both of them. So many of their issues could be solved easily through real communication, but hard heads make for soft bottoms.
I liked the addition of Ascanio, though it may have been a little formulaic. He felt like Andrea’s Julie or Derek, but I like how the youth are incorporated and have interesting story lines. I find that I genuinely care about these characters because they are forced to grow up really fast, but they still possess threads of innocence and naivete.
The villains have interesting powers, but I wasn’t quite as enthralled with the characters themselves. I was more interested in the lasting effects their powers could potentially have throughout the rest of the series. This felt more contained, but do hope it carries over to other novels.
Overall I thought it was a necessary novel to explore Andrea’s character and her journey of self-acceptance while she puts her life on the line for the ones she loves. Though frustrating, Andrea is a fantastically layered character which can sometimes be a challenge for writers (which is why the most interesting characters are side characters), but the Andrews handled giving her the spotlight very well.
If you love Kate Daniels novels, I can’t imagine you’ll want to miss this. Kate and Curran do make cameo appearances here and there as well. It is worth the read.
*Copy provided by publisher
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