Review: Magic Gifts by Ilona Andrews

Title: Magic Gifts
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels, #5.4
Publisher: none
Release Date: December 24, 2011
Pages: ebook edition, 94
Rating:

Available as FREE download from Ilona Andrews Website for 2 weeks from Christmas Day, this novella takes place at the same time as Andrea’s book, right after MAGIC SLAYS, and the two stories intersect.

A dinner date after a hard day at work sounds heavenly. Of course, when that date is between the Beast Lord and Kate Daniels, things don’t go as planned. Before you know it, undead are running amok, heads are being chopped off, lawyers are deployed and used with extereme prejudice, and drunk vikings are calling people out.

Read at your own risk.

MAGIC GIFTS will appear as a bonus in the back of GUNMETAL MAGIC, Andrea’s book.

“Enough," Curran said. An unmistakable command saturated his voice. Jim clicked his mouth shut. I crossed my arms. "I'm sorry, is this the part where I fall to my knees and shiver in fear, Your Furriness? Silly me, I didn't get the memo.”

MAGIC GIFTS  is my basically my Kate and Curran fix til the next full length Kate and Curran book comes back in 2013. This will be hard and much torture for me to wait that long. I don't know how I'll do it, but I was extremely happy to have  MAGIC GIFTS  for Christmas.

I am not too fond of novellas or short stories of any book series that well. First of all I feel that they are too short and normally are just focus on the plot of the story and not much of the characters, which proved to be true with MAGIC GIFTS . I wanted more of a focus on Kate and Curran and more cute scenes between the two of them, but we didn't really get any. It mostly focused on the plot of the novella.


“This is payback, isn't it?" Jim glared at me. "Don't be ridiculous," I told him. "As the Consort of the Pack, I'm far above petty revenge.”  

But we still get that snarky dialogue that we all absolutely live for in the Kate Daniels Series, which made me love it even more. One reason I love the Kate Daniels Series is for the dialogue. It is wonderfully written and I will never get enough of it.

All and all I would say that MAGIC GIFTS  was a good and enjoyable book, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I would have enjoyed a full length book. I did enjoy Kate, Curran and Jim quite a bit in this short novella and it definitely makes me wanna re-read the series.

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Review: Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

Title: Magic Bleeds
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels, #5
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: May 31, 2011
Pages: 371
Rating:

Plagued by a war between magic and technology, Atlanta has never been so deadly. Good thing Kate Daniels is on the job.

Kate Daniels may have quit the Order of Merciful Aid, but she’s still knee-deep in paranormal problems. Or she would be if she could get someone to hire her. Starting her own business has been more challenging than she thought it would be—now that the Order is disparaging her good name, and many potential clients are afraid of getting on the bad side of the Beast Lord, who just happens to be Kate’s mate.

So when Atlanta’s premier Master of the Dead calls to ask for help with a vampire on the loose, Kate leaps at the chance of some paying work. Turns out this is not an isolated incident, and Kate needs to get to the bottom of it—fast, or the city and everyone dear to her might pay the ultimate price . . .

The fifth book in the Kate Daniels Series, MAGIC SLAYS is just as AMAZING as all the rest. Ilona Andrews is one of my all-time favorite authors and I am so amazed at how with each book in the Kate Daniels series I grow closer and closer to these characters that I have so much emotion welled up in me. Yes. I cried like a big baby. That is how great and close you come to love these characters. You think of them as real and you adore each and everyone of them.

MAGIC SLAYS is the book! Yes, the book where we get to see how Kate and Curran are as a couple, not just as a couple, but as Beast Lord and Consort. Kate and Curran were just as wonderful in this book as they were in the others. And yes, for those who will be begging to know, there is more Kate and Curran in Magic Slays and all I have to say is after this book, I want to steal Curran for myself. He makes my heart beat like crazy.

"Laugh while you can. You have to sleep eventually, and then I'll take my revenge." "You're such a violent woman. Always with the threats. You should look into some meditation techniques..."

I had to stop myself from skimming through the book for all of the Kate and Curran scenes. I have a serious Kate and Curran addiction and I don't want help. Their scenes together were absolute perfection. And we really do see how much Curran cares about Kate. Aww...ummm..Kate do you mind if I steal him away from you? I love him.

"Jealous of the actors now, are we?"
"What, of some fancy boy on the screen? Inconceivable."
Oh, this was going to be good.

So Kate is Consort to the Beast Lord and I bet you are all wondering how she is doing at that. She is so bad ass. Even though Curran tells Kate what to do she won't take any of that shit. haha. Just the way I like Kate. I adored Kate in this book. There are some things that we get to learn about Kate's past that she didn't even know and it made me tear up a bit, but that's because I love her.

As Consort, Kate does have a little power and there's this one scene in MAGIC SLAYS where I am like "Best Kate Daniels Showdown EVER! You Go, Girl!" We do get some surprises along the way that I will not spill, but it made me go WHAT?! HUH?! and YEAH! A lot of crazy emotions all at once. Characters that I worried about, laughed and cried with and you will too.
MAGIC SLAYS does not disappoint. Look forward to having your butt glued to your seat(like Curran glued Kate's butt to her chair in Magic Bleeds LOL) all day while enjoying yet another astounding book in the Kate Daniels Series

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Review: Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

Title: Magic Bleeds
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels, #4
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: May 25, 2010
Pages: 349
Rating:

Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for the magic. 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 rose.

Kate Daniels works for the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, officially as a liaison with the mercenary guild. Unofficially, she cleans up the paranormal problems no one else wants to handle—especially if they involve Atlanta’s shapeshifting community.

When she’s called in to investigate a fight at the Steel Horse, a bar midway between the territories of the shapeshifters and the necromancers, Kate quickly discovers there’s a new player in town. One who’s been around for thousands of years—and rode to war at the side of Kate’s father.

This foe may be too much even for Kate and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, to handle. Because this time, Kate will be taking on family…

So I really liked this one but this one did not top Magic Strikes, but it was close. Magic Strikes and MAGIC BLEEDS = Best in the Series. In MAGIC BLEEDS, so much is happening we finally get some more info about Kate’s past and some family info also, Erra, is Kate’s aunt and also Roland’s older sister and I just loved the chapter where she comes to visit Kate at home and we have this conversation wit them and get to learn quite a few things, I really despise her aunt though, I wonder if we’ll finally meet Roland in Magic Slays, book 5. I would be so happy if we get to. I loved Kate’s and Erra’s fight.

And next order of business, I loved Curran and Kate in this book, they are funny as ever. First we have the whole misunderstanding wit that whole dinner, and than the mating dance which was funny as hell, OMFG. I think I’m still laughing…okay…I’ll give you a hint. it has something to do with Curran + chair + Kate = read and find out!!! (but it was so funny) Yup. I’m still laughing. I loved that. One of the best scenes in the book, so funny them messing wit each other. I loved the scene where Kate and Curran finally deal with this about the dinner and sort out all the misunderstandings and have such a wonderful moment together, I wanted MORE!!!!

And also where Kate finally talks to Curran about who she really is. Them talking about their past’s is something deep for being in a relationship. I loved that whole entire chapter and the next one. I just loved how the both talked to each other about their past’s about what happened to Curran and why he wants her in the keep with him(feel so bad for him, he really needs and derserves happiness with Kate) and Kate explaining all of her fears to him and why she would be a horrible mate for him….god, I could just read that chapter over and over again.

I loved how kate was there for Curran like how Curran was there for kate in magic strikes. I thought…awwwwww….and I was so mad when I got to the last page b/c I want to read the next book Magic Slays which isn’t even out yet! ugh….hurry the hell up, march! I did feel like we didn’t get much of the other characters in the pack I like so much and also Julie, I wish we had more of Derek also, but I think this book was just mainly about Curran/Kate sorting out everything about their relationship and her confrontation with her family, but I do hope we get some more Julie and Derek in the next book. I really did enjoy this book. I have so many favorite scenes. A great read.

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Review: Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

Title: Magic Strikes
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels, #3
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Pages: 310
Rating:

Drafted into working for the Order of Merciful Aid, mercenary Kate Daniels has more paranormal problems than she knows what to do with these days. And in Atlanta, where magic comes and goes like the tide, that's saying a lot.

But when Kate's werewolf friend Derek is discovered nearly dead, she must confront her greatest challenge yet. As her investigation leads her to the Midnight Games—an invitation only, no holds barred, ultimate preternatural fighting tournament—she and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, uncover a dark plot that may forever alter the face of Atlanta's shapeshifting community…

“I ripped my left arm out of his hand and slammed my elbow into his solar plexus. He exhaled in a gasp. I lunged for the dagger and sat on top of him, my knees pinning his arms, my dagger on his throat. 

He lay still. “I give up,” he said and smiled. “Your move.” 
Er. I was sitting atop the Beast Lord in my underwear, holding a knife to his throat. What the hell was my next move?” 

My thought at this very moment: OMFG. It was amazing! 10X better than the first 2 books in the series. I couldn’t stop reading it, basically I read it in 2 days, if not for work I would’ve read it in 1 day. The book grabbed me from start to finish and everything was just like wow. One thing I was so happy to get in this book is a couple of the characters pasts, like Kate’s past. I was so interested to know a little bit more about her, and now after reading this one, I wanna know way more about her. She is definitely one my top 5 heroines. I want to know about her father more and exited for Roland and Kate’s showdown.

Poor derek. I loved derek and i was so sad in this book. I was like noooooo! I loved that we get to find out a little about Derek, how Jim and Curran met Derek. And I thought part of the story was cute that Derek is like a son or a brother to Curran.

“He scooped me up and suddenly I was pressed against his chest. “Were you worried about me?” "No, I’m ranting for fun, because I’m a disagreeable bitch!” 

Kate and Curran! I love their sexual tension. I just loved every single scene between these two, and the dinner promise, so funny, which leads to a cliffhanger at the end and I’m like ugh. Gotta go grab the next book. Kate and Curran with their funny lines in the book together, like the one where she says “I'm up late in the night worrying about your feelings, you majesty.” I love the dialogue in this books, hilarious and this book definitely derserves more than a 5 star rating. cant wait to get onto the next book, Magic Bleeds.

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