Helpful Score: 4
I love this series! I just finished the book and DANG it is over!!! For me the sign of an excellent book is when you keep thinking about the story and you are sorry it came to an end. This is book 6 and Kate's adventure goes overseas. Sometimes I wonder WHY are you doing that, but the story takes interesting turns, uncovers more characters and happily moves this magical story forward. The only thing I HATE is the wait for the next book.
Helpful Score: 1
Another excellent entry in this series. I particularly like all the different members of the Pack and their beast form, in this book and all the rest. I also appreciate the fact that this book, like the others, isn't heavy on the sex and romance. There is a little, but only a little. Story and action takes precedence. I appreciate that. There is a short story at the end of the book and I would recommend reading that first. There are no spoilers and it offers up some background for the book. Be forewarned - there is some sadness.
Helpful Score: 1
Disappointed! I have followed and enjoyed this series but I begin to think that the authors are running out of plot ideas. In addition, the character of Kate Daniels seems to changing. Her emotional state seems to be erratic and self-serving. I found her so often feeling sorry for herself. What happened to the tough independent young woman of the earlier novels? I don't think this is a form of maturing.
Yes, I did enjoy this read but not as much as the earlier novels in the series and it could have used some stronger editing. I found myself saying, get along with it already. This one does best when Kate and the pack get about their business, defending each other and working to achieve their goals. I will miss one of the key characters that I had grown to love. She was such a strong character that I wonder how she can be replaced. I guess we will have to wait and see.
Yes, I did enjoy this read but not as much as the earlier novels in the series and it could have used some stronger editing. I found myself saying, get along with it already. This one does best when Kate and the pack get about their business, defending each other and working to achieve their goals. I will miss one of the key characters that I had grown to love. She was such a strong character that I wonder how she can be replaced. I guess we will have to wait and see.
This is the 6th book in the Kate Daniel series. It opens with Curran being offered a chance to secure almost a year's supply of the special herbal compound from Europe that helps young shifters avoid going loup. Given that the only person who'd ever been able to smuggle it to the Atlanta pack was found dead several months before this, it's the chance of a lifetime for them. And also probably a trap.
Kate, Curran and many of the other mainstays of the series head off to Europe, the change to get that much panacea outweighing whatever trap is being set. But from the moment they arrive things wind up being even worse than they imagined.
I liked this book. I had a hard time setting it down once I started reading. I liked the development's in Kate's slow progress towards a show down with her father. I also thought Kate and Curran's relationship problems were interesting - they once again confirmed to each other that they're never going to approach problems rationally when the other one's safety is concerned, which means they'll take the path most likely to keep the other one alive, even if the other one winds up hating their guts. And it was the kind of relationship drama that I love to read about (a true guilty pleasure of mine).
Overall, a great addition to the series.
Kate, Curran and many of the other mainstays of the series head off to Europe, the change to get that much panacea outweighing whatever trap is being set. But from the moment they arrive things wind up being even worse than they imagined.
I liked this book. I had a hard time setting it down once I started reading. I liked the development's in Kate's slow progress towards a show down with her father. I also thought Kate and Curran's relationship problems were interesting - they once again confirmed to each other that they're never going to approach problems rationally when the other one's safety is concerned, which means they'll take the path most likely to keep the other one alive, even if the other one winds up hating their guts. And it was the kind of relationship drama that I love to read about (a true guilty pleasure of mine).
Overall, a great addition to the series.
I love this series! Each book gets better, always has an exciting plot, even the subplots lead to the main plot. Can't wait for the next one.
This is the sixth book in the Kate Daniels series. It feels like its been awhile between books and I was very excited to get back to reading about this world and about Kate and Curran. This was an absolutely wonderful read.
Kate and Curran are sick of dealing with the increasing death of shapeshifter children who are going Loup. The problem really hits home when Julies best friend goes loup and Kate wants to do something about it. There is a medicine that helps those who start to go loup and reverses the process, but it is only available from the European shapeshifters and is hard to come by. Then the perfect (too perfect) opportunity arises, the European Shapeshifters want Curran to arbitrate a dispute among them and in payment they will give him the highly sought after medicine.
This was a wonderful read and had a couple delightful surprises that totally broadsided me and left me with my mouth hanging open and then yelling OMG! All our favorites are in the story Andrea, Rafael, Curran, Kate, and others. Jim is left at home to mind the pack, which its rumored the next book will be about Jim, so I am guessing thats why he was left behind. Julie is also left behind at the Keep.
Kate continues to develop as a character. In this book she struggles a lot with the fact that she is human (mostly) and everyone around her is a shapeshifter. She kind of has a pity party about all of the things she cant do as a human that they can do. I was a bit peeved at her lack of faith in Curran, but really they were both at fault for a lack of communication.
We get to meet a new and disturbing kind of shapeshifter in this book. I enjoyed watching both Curran and Kate travel out of their element and meeting completely new shapeshifters in a new region. It was fun to have a change of setting and it was all very well done.
Unfortunately because of the twists and turns mentioned above there are a whole series of characters and plot points I cant discuss without spoilers. Lets just say Kates past comes to haunt her in a big way.
The action scenes were incredibly well done and breathtaking. I loved how there was the main storyline of Kate and Curran getting a cure for the kids going loup and that this was nicely resolved. However the storyline involving Kate and her past also made a lot of progress in this book and I am dying to see where that goes in the next book.
This whole series has been very well written and is such a pleasure to read. The world is wonderful and absolutely intriguing. The characters are easy to engage with and interesting. I love that there is both a contained story and a story that continues from book to book.
Overall a spectacular addition to this series. I loved it! Highly recommended to all fantasy and urban fantasy lovers out there.
Kate and Curran are sick of dealing with the increasing death of shapeshifter children who are going Loup. The problem really hits home when Julies best friend goes loup and Kate wants to do something about it. There is a medicine that helps those who start to go loup and reverses the process, but it is only available from the European shapeshifters and is hard to come by. Then the perfect (too perfect) opportunity arises, the European Shapeshifters want Curran to arbitrate a dispute among them and in payment they will give him the highly sought after medicine.
This was a wonderful read and had a couple delightful surprises that totally broadsided me and left me with my mouth hanging open and then yelling OMG! All our favorites are in the story Andrea, Rafael, Curran, Kate, and others. Jim is left at home to mind the pack, which its rumored the next book will be about Jim, so I am guessing thats why he was left behind. Julie is also left behind at the Keep.
Kate continues to develop as a character. In this book she struggles a lot with the fact that she is human (mostly) and everyone around her is a shapeshifter. She kind of has a pity party about all of the things she cant do as a human that they can do. I was a bit peeved at her lack of faith in Curran, but really they were both at fault for a lack of communication.
We get to meet a new and disturbing kind of shapeshifter in this book. I enjoyed watching both Curran and Kate travel out of their element and meeting completely new shapeshifters in a new region. It was fun to have a change of setting and it was all very well done.
Unfortunately because of the twists and turns mentioned above there are a whole series of characters and plot points I cant discuss without spoilers. Lets just say Kates past comes to haunt her in a big way.
The action scenes were incredibly well done and breathtaking. I loved how there was the main storyline of Kate and Curran getting a cure for the kids going loup and that this was nicely resolved. However the storyline involving Kate and her past also made a lot of progress in this book and I am dying to see where that goes in the next book.
This whole series has been very well written and is such a pleasure to read. The world is wonderful and absolutely intriguing. The characters are easy to engage with and interesting. I love that there is both a contained story and a story that continues from book to book.
Overall a spectacular addition to this series. I loved it! Highly recommended to all fantasy and urban fantasy lovers out there.
What to say without giving anything away? This held my attention from the beginning to to end. There are plenty of light-hearted, fun moments where the reader smiles and maybe laughs. There are also multiple moments where it is tough to not cry. And cry I did. The ending is both sad remembering who was lost, but also a beginning (of a sort).
Kate is an awesome character. Strong yes, but also compassionate (her rescue of Christopher). Curran and Kate face some challenges with their relationship. Not only are the main couple fascinating and fun, but the secondary characters all have personalities that come out and shine. I will say this (and we will see if I *keep* saying it), each book gets better.
Kate is an awesome character. Strong yes, but also compassionate (her rescue of Christopher). Curran and Kate face some challenges with their relationship. Not only are the main couple fascinating and fun, but the secondary characters all have personalities that come out and shine. I will say this (and we will see if I *keep* saying it), each book gets better.
Full disclosure, Ilona Andrews is one of my top faves. And Kate Daniels is without a doubt my favorite character. She is strong, sarcastic and no one to mess with. Badass sword wielder, quick with a quip or an attack; the only person you need at your back. Very few authors can put you so completely into a story the way Gordon and Ilona can. They have an amazing gift for description; letting you see the action without drowning you with details and their fight scenes are riveting.
If you aren't already reading the series don't start here. Well you can; the stories are so well crafted you can start with any of them and understand the dynamics. But you will miss so much and after reading Magic Rises you are going to want to read them all anyway; so why not just start at the beginning?
Instead of fending off an outside attack Kate, Curran and a handful of trusted shifters travel overseas to (hopefully) obtain medicine to keep the pack's children from going loup. Europe has a monopoly on the medicine and the offer has been extended to Curran to arbitrate a prickly situation in exchange for a year's worth of the miracle medicine. No-one expects the Europeans to actually cough up the medicine. Of course it's a trap; the overseas shifters are more likely to drop their bleeding corpses down a deep dark ravine than help in any way. But with the stakes so high a little thing like impending doom won't stop them.
Magic Rises was a very fun read. It wasn't my favorite. The story took a different direction. I think it's a transition into a different story arc, and some of the movements felt awkward. But any story written by Ilona Andrews is worth reading. Because they are just so much fun to read.
Kate and Curran's relationship is tested in ways I never saw coming (no spoilers here- just go get the bloody book) and if I'm completely honest fell just a little short of feeling genuine. It's the Andrews fault, they have made these characters so solid they feel like people I know. When they don't behave true to form it grates. But that part of the story-line results in my all-time favorite Kate/Curran scene so all is forgiven.
The big surprise with Magic Rises was Hugh. We know who he is and what he does, but until now we haven't actually seen much of him. In Magic Rises we get to see a little of the man beneath the villain, and let me tell you if he wasn't Roland's right hand I'd be a little smitten.
If you aren't already reading the series don't start here. Well you can; the stories are so well crafted you can start with any of them and understand the dynamics. But you will miss so much and after reading Magic Rises you are going to want to read them all anyway; so why not just start at the beginning?
Instead of fending off an outside attack Kate, Curran and a handful of trusted shifters travel overseas to (hopefully) obtain medicine to keep the pack's children from going loup. Europe has a monopoly on the medicine and the offer has been extended to Curran to arbitrate a prickly situation in exchange for a year's worth of the miracle medicine. No-one expects the Europeans to actually cough up the medicine. Of course it's a trap; the overseas shifters are more likely to drop their bleeding corpses down a deep dark ravine than help in any way. But with the stakes so high a little thing like impending doom won't stop them.
Magic Rises was a very fun read. It wasn't my favorite. The story took a different direction. I think it's a transition into a different story arc, and some of the movements felt awkward. But any story written by Ilona Andrews is worth reading. Because they are just so much fun to read.
Kate and Curran's relationship is tested in ways I never saw coming (no spoilers here- just go get the bloody book) and if I'm completely honest fell just a little short of feeling genuine. It's the Andrews fault, they have made these characters so solid they feel like people I know. When they don't behave true to form it grates. But that part of the story-line results in my all-time favorite Kate/Curran scene so all is forgiven.
The big surprise with Magic Rises was Hugh. We know who he is and what he does, but until now we haven't actually seen much of him. In Magic Rises we get to see a little of the man beneath the villain, and let me tell you if he wasn't Roland's right hand I'd be a little smitten.
Pretty good, not as good as the one before it
