Review: Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews

Item: Magic Binds (Kate Daniels, #9)
Rating: 4.5
Author: Kate

Posted October 15, 2020 by Kate

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Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Also by this author: Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)
Series: Kate Daniels #9
Publisher: Ace
Source: My shelves

Mercenary Kate Daniels knows all too well that magic in post-Shift Atlanta is a dangerous business. But nothing she’s faced could have prepared her for this…
Kate and the former Beast Lord Curran Lennart are finally making their relationship official. But there are some steep obstacles standing in the way of their walk to the altar…
Kate’s father, Roland, has kidnapped the demigod Saiman and is slowly bleeding him dry in his never-ending bid for power. A Witch Oracle has predicted that if Kate marries the man she loves, Atlanta will burn and she will lose him forever. And the only person Kate can ask for help is long dead.
The odds are impossible. The future is grim. But Kate Daniels has never been one to play by the rules…

*Disclaimer: As this is the ninth book in the series, I am not going into super deep detail in explaining things. If you feel confused, please navigate to the other reviews at the bottom of this post (they’re listed in order from one to three). You can click these links provided here (or at the bottom of this review): Magic Bites (book one), or see all Kate Daniels reviews here. This review will include lights spoilers for the book.

My heart ? I’m… so not ready for this series to be over. Especially after this one! HOllllllly shit. So much happened in this one! I… am quite literally speechless. I want to read it again, immediately ??

In this one, we finally get a definitive answer to Roland. I actually really appreciate their connection! They’re super chill, and casually appreciate each other, but have also grimly accepted the other has to die. He’s taunting her, and Kate’s doing her best to keep her head and sword in check, but all bets are off once he starts kidnapping people.

“I’ll be here…I’ll fight for you. We’ll beat this. We’ve beaten everything else.”

This story starts off running, moving at a break-neck speed towards the conclusion, and I was equal parts totally excited and totally horrified at the nearness of the upcoming showdown. It was action-packed to the nth degree (and my heart BROKE for Julie and Curran in that one scene!!! I was quite literally sobbing. Used 10 tissues. Was a complete mess).

In this one, Kate must find a way to defeat her father, once and for all. She’s also getting married (LOL the wedding planning was hysterical) and takes a close look at all those bonds and relationships she’s developed in her time in Atlanta. Remember back when she was raised for the sole purpose of survival, practically like a starving wolf? It’s wonderful to see her with friends, allies, family, and Curran ?

That said, Kate is rapidly growing in power, due to her claiming Atlanta in the last book, and she’s doing her best to fight off the changes that come with it. Kate fights her dark side this whole book, and the division it causes with some of the characters was heart-breaking at first. She’s always felt like an outsider, a loner, different, but in this one, it was never shoved more clearly in her face.

“The magic is changing me and I’m not even always aware of it.”

The good news is, I need a Christopher and Barabas spinoff. They are SO CUTE together!! And we finally get a reveal on who Christopher is, thank goodness. But the intricacy and deviousness Ilona Andrews has with how they weaved this story! GAH! Everything has a purpose, even things from so many books previously. They are masters at storytelling, and they never let you forget it.

But as always, what really sold this to me, was Kate and Curran. I love how much their relationship evolves and grows stronger as the series progresses, and freaking CHEERED when Kate got her revenge back from ~that thing~ he did in Magic Rises. LOL. But they have so much depth and love for each other, I absolutely adore seeing their domesticity and witty banter. I will forever miss them when this series is over (although, of course, I’ll be rereading soon)

Also, now I’m even more ecstatic for Derek and Julie!! This isn’t a spoiler, either, they have their own spinoff series slated for release in January 2021!! ??? GAH. No more word. Must… read… Magic Triumphs.