Author Bio:
Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)
Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Oregon with their two children, three dogs and a cat. They have co-authored two series, the bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels and romantic urban fantasy of The Edge.
Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Oregon with their two children, three dogs and a cat. They have co-authored two series, the bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels and romantic urban fantasy of The Edge.
Synopsis:
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…
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…
Review:
Magic Bites, by Ilona Andrews is the electrifying first book in the Kate Daniels series. No doubt, this book deserves five stars. I could not put it down. I finished it in just over a day, and devoured the rest of the series within a week. I am now waiting extremely impatiently for Magic Breaks, which is due to be released July 19.
Magic Bites stars Kate Daniels, mercenary for hire. A snarky heroine armed with a bad attitude and a sword that eats undead flesh (gruesome, but cool.) Andrews brings the book to life by imbuing it with witty banter, a cast of relatable, well developed characters, and extremely detailed descriptions, maybe a little too detailed, because at times the book becomes a little morbid, often bordering on gruesome.
I loooooove the way the vampires are written! It is completely original! Instead of being your ordinary, run of the mill, sparkly, fanged freaks, vampires in Kate’s world are basically non-rotting zombies controlled by highly-trained necromancers, also known as Masters of the Dead.
My only complaint with Magic Bites is that the concept of magic/tech shifts and residual magic is a little confusing, and isn’t really explained at all. I also had a couple questions that were never answered, stuff that is not important to the plot, but kinda bugs me. Like, how does an M-scan work? Why did Olathe call Curran a half-breed? And how did the vampire that attacked them suddenly grow shoulder spikes?
I love the fact that Magic Bites was not all about the guy. There no insta-love whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong, Andrews definitely sets up a love interest, and if you squint you can see a second one, but the earth doesn’t revolve around it like in many books.
As a recap, I am absolutely, positively, hooked on both the Kate Daniels series and its author Ilona Andrews. As soon as I finished this series I went out and read as many of her books as I could find. The only reason you would want to skip this book is if you have no soul.
Magic Bites stars Kate Daniels, mercenary for hire. A snarky heroine armed with a bad attitude and a sword that eats undead flesh (gruesome, but cool.) Andrews brings the book to life by imbuing it with witty banter, a cast of relatable, well developed characters, and extremely detailed descriptions, maybe a little too detailed, because at times the book becomes a little morbid, often bordering on gruesome.
I loooooove the way the vampires are written! It is completely original! Instead of being your ordinary, run of the mill, sparkly, fanged freaks, vampires in Kate’s world are basically non-rotting zombies controlled by highly-trained necromancers, also known as Masters of the Dead.
My only complaint with Magic Bites is that the concept of magic/tech shifts and residual magic is a little confusing, and isn’t really explained at all. I also had a couple questions that were never answered, stuff that is not important to the plot, but kinda bugs me. Like, how does an M-scan work? Why did Olathe call Curran a half-breed? And how did the vampire that attacked them suddenly grow shoulder spikes?
I love the fact that Magic Bites was not all about the guy. There no insta-love whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong, Andrews definitely sets up a love interest, and if you squint you can see a second one, but the earth doesn’t revolve around it like in many books.
As a recap, I am absolutely, positively, hooked on both the Kate Daniels series and its author Ilona Andrews. As soon as I finished this series I went out and read as many of her books as I could find. The only reason you would want to skip this book is if you have no soul.
Excerpt:
The moonlight spilled onto the ruins. Thick, inky darkness pooled in the alcoves and burrows and stretched forth, mingling with light, spawning half-shadows, and blurring the lines between real and illusory. The eerie landscape appeared false, as if the ruined buildings had vanished, leaving behind treacherous shadows of their former selves. Ahead in the depths of Unicorn Lane something howled, giving voice to a tortured soul. My heart skipped a beat.
Someone or something watched me from the darkness. I felt their stare press upon me like a physical burden. Moments dragged by, with minutes in tow. After a while I glanced at my watch. It had stopped.
Somewhere in the darkness the Beast Lord prowled. I didn't know what he looked like. I didn't know the species of his beast. Few people outside of the Pack claimed to have met him and nobody seemed willing to discuss the experience. The only thing certain about him was power. By the latest count, he commanded a force of three hundred and thirty-seven shapechangers in Atlanta alone. He wasn't in charge because he was the smartest or the most popular; he ruled because of those three hundred and thirty-seven he was unquestionably the strongest. He was in charge by the right of might; that is, he had yet to meet anyone who could kick his ass.
Someone or something watched me from the darkness. I felt their stare press upon me like a physical burden. Moments dragged by, with minutes in tow. After a while I glanced at my watch. It had stopped.
Somewhere in the darkness the Beast Lord prowled. I didn't know what he looked like. I didn't know the species of his beast. Few people outside of the Pack claimed to have met him and nobody seemed willing to discuss the experience. The only thing certain about him was power. By the latest count, he commanded a force of three hundred and thirty-seven shapechangers in Atlanta alone. He wasn't in charge because he was the smartest or the most popular; he ruled because of those three hundred and thirty-seven he was unquestionably the strongest. He was in charge by the right of might; that is, he had yet to meet anyone who could kick his ass.