Ilona Andrews at Mysterious Galaxy Recap

Hi, guys! As you may recall, a couple of weeks ago a friend and I decided on a somewhat last minute trip to San Diego for the Ilona Andrews signing. We were both a bit on the fence because, even though we love Ilona Andrews, San Diego is a good 2-3 hour drive and we were both there only a couple of weeks before for Comic-Con. However, I made an executive decision that we should go and we planned to meet up early the next day to make our way down there.

Luckily the signing was on a Saturday so no work was missed. The event was at 2pm, but you never know what's going to happen with LA traffic and I wanted to be double sure we made it in time. We ended up leaving a little before 9am and getting there around 1130am. I am so glad we left early, too, since we heard later that there were some closures on the 5. 

After a quick lunch at Chipotle (guacamole!) we wandered over to Mysterious Galaxy. This was my first time at the store since they moved to this location. I think they moved a while ago but I haven't had a chance to go since then. The store isn't large but it's well stocked and organized and there was plenty of parking.

This awesome display greeted us when we got there. We were about an hour early but there were people already seated and waiting for the signing. We hung out and bought books while chatting with everyone. About a half hour before 2 we spotted Ilona and Gordon who were whisked away to a back room to wait until showtime. By the time the signing started, the store was packed. 

Apologies in advance for the bad pics. They were backlit the whole time and it was really hard to get a decent picture. I also have awkward photo taking powers so these may not be the most flattering pics. Ilona and Gordon are both lovely and attractive in person.

The event started right off with Q&A from the audience. I wasn't sure what to expect from the duo, having never seen them before. They were animated and forthright (sometimes too much so) and had a great rapport with all of their fans. It sort of felt like we were all in the same club together and liked all of the same things. They understood us and we understood them.

Review: Magic Rises

Magic Rises (Kate Daniels #6) 
by Ilona Andrews

Publication date: 30 July 2013 by Ace

ISBN 10/13: 1937007588 | 9781937007584
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Indiebound

Category: Adult Urban Fantasy
Keywords: Urban fantasy, weres, magic
Format: Mass market paperback, eBook
Source: Purchased

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost.

Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.

Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap.

Review:

The Kate Daniels series has quickly become one of my favorite urban fantasy series of all time. I can't believe that only a few short months ago, I hadn't read any of these books. A series can often get stale the longer it goes on, but that's not the case with this series. I always feel like there are new things to learn about the characters and Andrews always manages to keep things interesting.

In Magic Rises, Curran and Kate are called away to a remote European island to be impartial parties in a precarious situation that has them guarding a pregnant shapeshifter. It is most likely a trap, but Kate and Curran must go because their prize is panacea, a magical substance that will ensure that the rate of loupism in their young dramatically decreases. Navigating through the political waters of three shifter packs hoping that they fail is hard enough when an unexpected new threat reveals itself.

Magic Rises has everything you'd expect from a Kate Daniels novel - action, mystery, suspense, drama, sexy times, and Kate putting her foot in her mouth more than once.  There is a lot of political intrigue in this one as well as more insight into Kate's past. Magic Rises is also a bit of a departure for the series in that it has a lot of emotional angst in it. This might annoy some readers but I was really drawn into it and I got pretty emotional reading this book. Kate and Curran are both very strong personalities and a relationship between the two is bound to have its ups and downs. In the end though, I think they are stronger for all of their struggles.

Besides Kate and Curran, a lot of other series favorites appear in this book. We get Andrea and Raphael as well as Aunt B, Mahon, Doolittle, Derek and even Saiman. This story focuses a lot on the meaning of family and what it means to be Pack. One of the things that I also love about this series is that the characters are very real. They make mistakes and have doubts and insecurities, just like anyone else.

Magic Rises is another fantastic addition to the Kate Daniels series. It's smart, funny, emotionally intense and full of fantastic action. I don't think fans of this series will be disappointed. It feels like things are coming to a head with Kate's father as well and I can't wait to see where Andrews takes us next.

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Visit the author online at www.ilona-andrews.com and follow on Twitter @ilona_andrews and Facebook.


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Magic Bites - Review

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels #1) 

by Ilona Andrews

Publication date: 01 April 2007 by Ace

ISBN 10/13: 0441014895 | 9780441014897
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Indiebound

Category: Adult Urban Fantasy
Keywords: Urban fantasy, weres, shifters, vampires, mercenaries, magic
Format: Mass market paperback, eBook
Source: Purchased

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.

Review:

I've had this book on my shelf for a couple of years now. It's been patiently waiting for me while I flitted about with other books, all the while biding its time. I have no valid excuse for why it took me this long to finally read it except for the fact that perhaps my unconscious brain knew how much I would like it and the obsession that would ensue and was allowing me time to fully prepare. Once I started, I simply could not stop and I read my way through five books in the series as well as one spin-off book in a little over a week.

Magic Bites drops us right into the middle of a future Atlanta where magic and technology fight for dominance and magic is winning. It's a world in which vampires and shapeshifters exist but where horses are a favored mode of transport. While there is a lot of information to process and it took me a while to remember all of it, I liked that Andrews is content to let the reader figure it out themselves. There's no obvious info-dumping and the world and its rules are revealed in a very natural way. I also liked her unique take on vampires. Instead of the glamorous, sexy creatures we're used to, they are horrible, grotesque creatures that are the stuff of nightmares.

Kate Daniels is one of my favorite urban fantasy heroines to date. If you looked up "badass" in the dictionary, you would probably find a picture of her. Kate is the first person to run into a fight, swinging her sword and smack-talking the whole way. The upbringing that honed her into a fierce fighter has left her with some emotional scars and she's not always the friendliest person. But there's more to Kate than meets they eye and she is extremely loyal and kind. She is also hiding a BIG SECRET which I am sure we will learn more about as the series goes on.

Now we get to Curran, aka the Beast Lord. He is arrogant but he has reason to be. Alpha of all of the shapeshifters, he is very powerful and protective of his people. He also annoys the hell out of Kate and she, in turn, is a thorn in his side. I don't know about you guys but insta-love is not my thing. I am all about the insta-hate, as my friends call it. I love it when two characters can't stand each other. If the level of dislike is any indication of how much chemistry two characters have, then Curran and Kate are combustible. Though there's no real romance in Magic Bites, you can feel it brewing and the fighting between Curran and Kate is just foreplay.

I really enjoyed immersing myself in this new world. The mystery was unexpected and smart, with lots of twists and turns along the way. If you like fantastic world building and kickass characters, then you need to read this series! I can't wait to see what trouble Kate gets into in the next book.

 

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Visit the author online at www.ilona-andrews.com and follow on Twitter @ilona_andrews and Facebook.


Please note that this post contains affiliate links. For more details, please see our full disclosure policy here.