Check out on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Also by this author: Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)
Series: Kate Daniels #8
Publisher: Ace
Source: My shelves
In the latest Kate Daniels novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews, magic is coming and going in waves in post-Shift Atlanta—and each crest leaves danger in its wake…
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…
You’re about to read a review of book 8 in the amazing, incredible, astounding, one-of-a-kind Kate Daniels series!! This means that there will be series spoilers and things that I’m not going to fully explain, because I have seven other reviews to do that for me ???! I’d recommend checking out my review of book one here :) It’s a good time, I promise! The following will be mostly reactionary, so I seriously would recommend checking out book one’s review if you want to understand what I’m saying/don’t want to be spoiled ?
First of all, yes the cliffhanger from Magic Rises (book seven)!!! I was SO nervous about what was going to happen after Curran and Kate left the Pack ?? I actually have never read Magic Shifts and always stop my rereads on Magic Rises, just because I didn’t want to find out their life post-Pack! Turns out, I had literally 0 reasons to worry. In fact, I feel that I owe Ilona Andrews a formal apology for not trusting them more.
Silly me to think that the gang would be left behind ?? Of course they wouldn’t! I love that Curran and Kate are essentially forming their own mini-Pack!! Barabas, Derek, Christopher, and the others would of course be joining them on their little neighborhood street-Pack! I feel so much better about continuing just because of this.
“Consort,” I said. “You honor us.”
“Fuck you,” Dali said. “Fuck your shit. I quit.”
And the fact that old Pack members kept showing up at their house was cracking me up ?? They clearly have no clue what to do after Curran. And you know what’s really funny??? Jim as Beast Lord!! Oh my god, I’m giggling right now at that. Eeep, poor Jim ? It just doesn’t fit in my mind LOL
Can we also acknowledge the fact that I completely b r o k e with Curran in this book?! When Kate had her stroke, I was literally hyperventilating in place. I had to stop reading (THE HORROR) on six!!! different occasions to get tissues. Why I didn’t just take them with me is a question that’s just now occurring to me, actually. Sad Kate (me, not Daniels) is not a smart Kate apparently ? But holy shit this was so emotional! ??
“I will always be there. I will walk across the whole planet if I have to.”
I closed my eyes and whispered, “I’ll meet you halfway.”
That brings me to my next set of accolades (because this is a 99% positive review), and that is the continued evolution of Kate and Curran’s relationship! My only fear with urban fantasy is the fine line they walk with the romance aspect of the PNR. A slow burn is important (of course), and it often goes hand-in-hand with an enemies/hate-to-love start, but then they get thrown together on dangerous missions/excursions. These are givens for the genre (with few exceptions). But then there’s that fine line of not waiting too long for the romance to actually reach that level and giving it too early to have it flatten in the remaining books.
Kate and Curren cemented their relationship in Magic Rises, to the point where the reader knows there will be no angsty/drama for them. They’re essentially married, bound for life, mated, yadayadayada. But with three books to go after Magic Rises, IA did something very smart. They didn’t give them an HEA, but TEA (together ever after). I saw another reviewer (and I apologize, but I can’t remember who!!) use this phrase, and it fits so well.
Their relationship is still evolving, but they are constant. This is something that (hopefully) naturally occurs in life, but is exceptionally hard to capture in a story. Their relationship no longer has to be tested through asinine plot points (not that IA has ever written a stupid plot point – and I stand firm on this!! ?), which is honestly a relief. Instead, Kate gets to basically almost die and Curran gets to stress about it! Yayy ✨
“Does everybody think I am an asshole?” Curran asked.
“Only people who know you or have met you.”
Once again, too, IA shows their skill with research. Kate (and therefore IA) is a fountain of information about alchemy, distant legends, and mythology. Somehow, IA is able to take that creature, legend, story, or myth that has roots in another part of the world and make it their own, while still staying true to the base elements. The mysteries in each book are always intricately woven, and honestly, I could never tire of them.
Also – Roland continues to be super cool!! I’m really enjoying getting to know him. But I do want more Derek, he kinda faded into the background of this one – understandable, as Kate and Curran were distancing themselves from the Pack, but I need my Boy Wonder in my life ? Onto book nine! ✨
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