One Good Book Deserves Another

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
Series: Kate Daniels, Book 5.5
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 448 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle




Andrea Nash has lived through horrors that would have killed lesser women. Her childhood was a nightmare that left her emotionally scarred, living in the human world doing everything she could to distance herself from her shapeshifter lineage. For good reason. She was a Knight of the Order of Merciful Aid, highly decorated and deadly, but the Order doesn't have any room for shifters, let alone beastkin like Andrea.

The Order found out she's a shapeshifter when a recent battle with a big nasty put her in the hospital, thus ending her career, but not before she'd already sacrificed her relationship with Raphael, beloved son of the bouda clan's alpha, and snubbed the whole shapeshifter population of Atlanta.

Hey, when your life explodes around you, it may as well be completely obliterated.

Now Andrea is just trying to get settled into a life without the Order, working with her best friend Kate at their new investigation agency. Not that work has been all that busy lately. But that sort of thing really is a mixed blessing, because when things pick up and Jim, the Pack's chief of security, calls Andrea with a problem, being bored out of her mind starts to sound pretty good in comparison.

Four shifters have been killed and Jim wants Andrea to investigate. And the victims were on a job, working for Raphael's reclamation company when they were killed.

Now Angela has to investigate the deaths of the employees of her ex. Fabulous. Because life wasn't nearly painful, complicated, or uncomfortable enough. At this point the only thing missing is some Big Bad threatening world-ending destruction.

Oh...wait...


I've been a fan of the Kate Daniels series since its inception, but because I'm weird (or dumb...your pick), I was hesitant to try Andrea's story when it came out. I bought it because I love the world and the characters, but I didn't read it...for exactly the same reason. See, spin-off books in beloved series tend not to go so well for me, and it took me a long, long time to finally work up the nerve to give Andrea's book a chance.

Of course I'm glad I did and of course I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. Of course. It's Ilona Andrews, after all.

I've always liked Andrea's character and appreciated her contributions in Kate's books, and I'm happy to say I think she acquitted herself nicely as a main character in her own. My biggest worry was that she would come off a little like Carbon Copy Kate, but that was certainly not the case. She was the gun-toting, arrow-shooting, bad-ass Andrea I know and like. Maybe a little older, darker, and more serious than the vibe I got from her in Kate's books, but still Andrea.

And man, her backstory definitely gave Kate's childhood a run for the money on level of horror and damage inflicted. Andrea's personality and life choices make so much more sense now. Andrews did a great job bringing that all together and weaving it into a compelling, sympathetic personal history of a character with whom readers were already familiar.

I have to admit, I was expecting more of a paranormal romance feel to the story than I got. Like the Kate Daniels books, this one read more like an urban fantasy with a strong thread of romance secondary to the main plot of the book. It's a more robustly traditional romance thread than that of the Kate and Curran saga, and I think it worked as it was supposed to, but it wasn't the focus of the narrative.

Andrea's investigation into the murders and the subsequent revelations about the crime, the concerned parties, and the potential for badness was a meaty, solid story that kept me engaged throughout. I don't know that it was as intrinsically intense as any of the books in Kate's series, and it lacked a bit of the personal connection that's so prevalent between Kate and her investigations/catastrophes du jour, but it was well-developed, layered, and provided a broad array of danger and life-threatening situations for Andrea and her friends.

I loved spending more time with Roman, who was introduced in Magic Slays, the book preceding this one. I'm still not completely sure how such a nice, decent-seeming guy such as Roman can be an evil Volhv and a source of darkness, but hey, the contradictions in his character make him interesting. I just like the guy.

Raphael, on the other hand, was a surprisingly big douche bag throughout a good portion of this book, and was responsible for one of my biggest sources of disappointment in the story. When he had the unmitigated gall to show up in Andrea's office with that human bimbo and was so hideous to Andrea during her interrogation, I wanted to kill him. And I was shocked Andrea didn't ever really nail him on it.

I will say the whole scene served as a nice catalyst to get Andrea to embrace her inner beast and let her fur flag fly, providing the impetuous for some much-appreciated character evolution, but the whole messed up situation was begging for a more visceral confrontation before resolution and there just wasn't anything beyond a tepid (well, seemed tepid to me) apology on Raphael's part. I wasn't nearly satisfied considering the insult he paid Andrea by doing what he did. Not. Enough. Groveling.

The other elements of their relationship evolution provided a nice level of heat and some humor to the read, but didn't quite wow me in the same way that Kate and Curran's evolving relationship has. I liked it well enough, but it never really captivated me. Personally, I was more moved by Andrea's long-awaited decision about joining the bouda clan and the scene in which she took control of her destiny in that regard. I kinda loved that.

In part because the Kate Daniels series has provided such a rich tapestry of world building, story, and character, and in part because the writing duo that is Ilona Andrews is all sorts of awesome, this book really shouldn't be missed if you're a fan of the series. It may not have been quite as fun for me as the Kate and Curran show, but it was was a solidly entertaining, fantastic visit into a world I've come to love and admire and it provided a bit of a different perspective on characters who have been around since the beginning. I liked it a lot.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Kate Daniels Series, Book 5
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 320 Pages, 5825 Locations
Formats: Paperback, Kindle



Adjusting to life as the Beast Lord's mate and starting up her own investigator's business has kept Kate Daniels more than a little occupied in the two months since she kicked the ass of her plague-wielding auntie Erra. She held off all challengers to her position as the alpha's mate, stayed by a comatose Curran's side when the other alphas wanted her gone, and since Curran woke, has been serving with him and learning the intricacies of Pack politics.

Unfortunately, she hasn't actually had a single client since she opened her business thanks to a hell of a slander job by the head of the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid. She parted ways with them on, shall we say, acrimonious terms just before the fight with Erra got really out of control. Now she's going a little stir crazy as she sits on her butt in her new office and waits for the bills to pile up and listens to the phone not ring. She's fully aware that her very existence and the magic in the blood in her veins has set her up for a collision with the world's biggest bad guy, so it's hard to be bored, but until a client walks in the door and she can start supporting herself she's going to feel like Curran's kept woman, and that is not exactly who Kate is. Pack politics aside, Kate is a fighter. A killer. A solver of the sorts of problems that require bloodshed to solve. And she's very good at it.

What Kate is best at, however, is finding catastrophe-sized impending disasters and tripping right into the middle of them, so it is hardly a surprise when her phone does ring or her first client finally strides boldly through the door. Now Kate, along with her newly hired staff of Cutting Edge Investigations, Inc. (fond and familiar faces, both), have to find a missing object that does who-knows-what, track down a kidnapped magic theorist taken by who-knows-who, and prevent the city from blowing to you-know-where.

Just another beautiful day in Kate Daniels' deadly neighborhood, boys and girls!

For the uninitiated or uninformed, Magic Slays is the fifth action-packed book in the Kate Daniels series, a complex and dangerous world full of intricate and original mythos featuring fierce and fearsome characters. Of the active series I'm currently reading - and they are legion - the husband and wife writing team known as Ilona Andrews pens two of my top five: The Edge, a paranormal romance series, and this one. I highly recommend both for fans of either genre, and I strongly suggest both series be started at the beginning, though truly, more so for this one than the other.

Throughout this series, happy readers have seen Kate grow into a far less secluded, closed off mercenary. She's still got the big fight with Roland to look forward to, but in the mean time she's finally taking a chance to live a little with the mate she loves, the kid she saved, the friends she trusts, and of course, the attack poodle with the digestive track from hell. One of the things I love most about this series in general and this book in particular is the rich and thorough glimpse we get into Kate's day-to-day issues above and beyond all the potential world-ending catastrophes. Andrews peppers her readers with these tasty gems - squabbles between new mates, best friend gossip, stupid kid antics, pet problems, etc. - and mixes it all up with the catastrophic life-ending stuff to present a stunningly realistic (relatively speaking) whole that is recognizable as life...to the extreme.

The storyline of Magic Slays is one of my favorite in the series for the very development and maturity that is in evidence with Kate, and the heartwarming but realistic relationship she has with Curran. The series arc development had some major plot points fleshed out here, but more subtly than in the last book, and some startling family history came to light for Kate that provided some interesting insight. For the book arc, the danger was probably the most threatening and potentially devastating I've seen so far in the series, and I really enjoyed how all the pieces were so meticulously fit together.

I just flat out love how Andrews spins a story.

Of course, there were still the ubiquitous mythos info dumps that have been scattered through the series in various degrees of abundance. I've always admired Andrews for the way exposition concerning series history is handled in every book, reminding readers of what's come before or catching up new readers in as thorough but concise a manner as possible. Other instances of info dumps, however, have caused some problems for me.

This series is full of a diverse stable of creatures with various cultural histories and religions which necessitate a ton of explanation, not to mention the necessary definition of story-centric magical and technical mythos that defines the world building. More than occasionally all that detail comes out in large descriptive sections full of very technical, historical, or magical information and it does, on occasion, make my hair hurt when I come across them. Fortunately, there was only one that really made my eyes glaze over in Magic Slays, where readers are afforded an exceptionally complex Lyc-V dissertation, including but not limited to a breakdown of all the nasty stuff that leads to going Loup. The rest of it was handled in smaller, easier to digest chunks that didn't bog the story down or slow the pace too much.

I wasn't totally thrilled with a couple of the plot developments in this book, in particular one between Kate and Julie, the details of which will remain undisclosed to prevent spoilers. Also - and for the first time in the series, I was less than thrilled with the conclusion, which felt a little rushed and under-written considering the depth and detail preceding it in the narrative. I wish the epilogue had been developed into a couple of full chapters, instead, as there was too much important stuff that got crammed in and cut off.

None of those issues took too much from my enjoyment of the book, though, and it's still one of my favorites in the entire series. And maybe it's the romance lover in me, but there's a scene in this book between Kate and Curran that I swear was worth every single second I've spent reading every single word in this series prior to it and more than worth every single dime spent on each and every book. I love them together. I just do.

It's not a romance series, per se, but the thread of their developing relationship has been stitched into the fabric of the series to fantastic result. Yes, Curran is a secondary character; always has been. This really is Kate's show. That being said, I can't help but thoroughly and completely enjoy seeing them together as a realistic couple, not just some romantic HEA fairy tale (and believe me, normally a big fan of the HEA fairy tale). It was...surprisingly heartening to see them cope with each other in what felt like a very true-to-character, organic fashion. It is a trend I hope continues because the Beast Lord and his deadly consort are so very, very perfect for each other.

Kate Daniels Series:


  

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Kate Daniels, Book 4
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle

5 Stars
Fear Kate's Twitching Pinkie

Prior to reading this forth book in the Kate Daniels series, I took the time to go back to the beginning and refresh my memory of Kate and Curran and the world they inhabit. I'm so glad I did, because after finishing Magic Bleeds it occurred to me what sets this urban fantasy series apart from the legion of others in the genre. For all that they could be read as stand alone novels, with enough exposition to get a new reader up to speed, when read together these books are more like an intimate tapestry of exquisite continuity that transcends the plot conflicts with the various nasties encapsulated in each book, becoming a word-woven masterpiece of the rich, robust, treacherous, and sometimes terrifying world of Kate Daniels and her friends.

Eight weeks after surviving the Rakshasas in the Midnight Games in Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, Book 3), Kate cooked a very important meal for Curran, the Beast Lord. She cooked it exactly to the specifications he'd left her the last time he'd broken into her apartment. She dressed up, wore make up, and even bought condoms for the event, knowing full well what cooking for him would mean. Then he stood her up. For three weeks after that her heart felt heavy in her chest as she worked her way through her cases with Curran never far from her thoughts. But he doesn't call.

One day, as Kate was making her way home after a grueling shift, Maxine, the secretary for the knight-protector at the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aide and a strong mental telepath, taps into Kate's head to ask her to answer to a call of a murder during a fight at a bar on the outskirts of Atlanta. All hell breaks loose when she reaches the bar and assesses the victim, and Kate has to scramble to contain a virulent epidemic with almost sentient malevolence. Something big and very bad has come to Atlanta.

Issues of blood raised in the previous books start to come to horrifying fruition here, leaving little doubt that Kate's next family reunion may destroy everything she holds dear. And Kate is no longer the solitary, friendless woman we met at the beginning of the series. She has her friends, people she loves...and of course, His Furriness himself, Curran. He broke her heart when he stood her up, and Kate's not big on second chances. But can she live without the man who has come to be the only port in the storm of her existence? Finding out who's going around causing fights and pandemics to break out in all the major cities in the south while keeping the citizens of Atlanta and all her friends safe may just be the final straw on the back of Kate's camel, leaving her forever broken. Or dead.

Whether I look at the series overall or focus on just this book, my opinion is the same. Well written and complex plotting, intricate pacing, original and unique world building, fantastic mythos, and strong, vibrant, independent characters make this a must read. For me, the added conflict between Curran and Kate set this particular book even higher in my estimation. I don't have the ability to adequately express my enthusiasm for it and for Kate Daniels as the heroine. My hat is off to Ilona Andrews for the ability to reach out and gut a reader with a few words, taking command of their minds and the rate of their heartbeats with a sheer force of literary genius that the People would give scholarships for.

While reading the first two books (Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1) and Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2), I had minor issues with the complexity of the plots, which I felt sometimes pushed more towards convoluted. Along with the propensity of Andrews to over-describe a scene, those flaws were slight detriments to those first two efforts. The previous book was not similarly hampered, but the complexity of the plot suffered a little, being far more streamlined and less heavy on the descriptive narratives but also with a little less meat on its bones. Forth time's the charm, apparently, because Magic Bleeds achieves a nearly perfect middle ground. There is a fantastic juxtaposition of complexity in the mystery and mythos of the Plaguebringer and her posse, descriptive narrative that enhances rather than burdens the flow of the story, and an emotional wallop with the developing relationship between Curran and Kate and all that entails, along with issues with the Pack, with friends, and even with her attack poodle. This juxtaposition provided a virtually flawless, exciting read, chock full of the danger and humor and sexually charged atmosphere that has made this series such a favorite of mine.

I swear, waiting on the next book is akin to cruel and unusual punishment. Excellent book. Enjoy!

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Kate Daniels, Book 3
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle

5 Stars
Kate and the Fools Rock the Urban Fantasy Genre

Hands down, Magic Strikes is my favorite of the first three books in the Kate Daniels series. While maintaining a level of excellence in both originality and execution of the plot, a standard for this series, this story is sleeker and more streamlined than the first two, to positive effects. Where the first two books had complexity almost to the point of convolution, the plot of Magic Strikes is cleaner, perhaps a bit simpler, but definitely far more personal to Kate and her friends. As a result, the connection between the plot and characters achieves a level of cogency previously unrealized.

A few months after the events of Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2), Kate is still working the liaison job between the Merc Guild and the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aide when a phone call from Saiman drops her into a mess that's a bit outside her pay grade. Derek, the boy wonder shapeshifter and Kate's erstwhile protector, had tried to break into Saiman's condo to steal two tickets to an underground fighting bout that Pack are supposed to be banned from. For Derek to do so, to risk Pack law and the Beast Lord's wrath, something very serious is going on, but despite helping Derek out of the cage Saiman stuck him in by bargaining with the sex-focused body changer, Derek remains mum about his issues, and only asks that Kate, when accompanying Saiman to the fights as part of their deal, slip a note to one of the females on one of the fighting teams. Much like the shot heard round the world, that one note sets off a sequence of cataclysmic events that throw Kate into direct opposition of Curran's laws with Derek's life hanging precariously in the balance.

Magic Strikes is a totally kick ass book from start to finish, and the overly-described scenes that tended to bog down the pace of the first two books to varying degrees are blessedly absent in this one. I love the solid continuity of even the minutest detail (blue panties with a bow, for example) that Ilona Andrews brings to this entire series, and the way that these characters develop and their lives intertwine as the stories unfold is fantastic and very satisfying for me as a reader. It builds a solid foundation of belief in these characters and the world they inhabit. In Magic Strikes, the conflict is very personal for Kate, and it shows in the increased intensity of her aggressions and her willingness to put everything on the line. Combine all of that with the fact that I've also always been a huge fan of Derek's and every facet of this book really worked for me.

I'm totally enamored with the slow, yet steady, methodical progression that's being made with issues and relationships over the series arc. What little mystery that is left of Kate's issue with her blood is addressed, though there was little surprise left by the time of the big reveal. The consequences of it, however, and the doors those consequences open for future development were shocking and the scenes surrounding it ultimately satisfying. Kate's growing cadre of friends, however reluctant she is to amass them, continues to ground her and humanize her, and along with her own mordant sense of humor, provide quite a bit of comic relief in this dark, cruel world (the scene with Jim after the first fight was funny enough to make me laugh out loud).

Now, let me pause for a moment and reflect on the ubergoodness that is the Kate/Curran relationship. Oh. My. God. I swear, I could eat them up with a spoon. The tension and slow (water-torture slow) development between those two is going to make me chew my nails down to the quick, but I love every single damn minute of it. It's quite possibly the most frustrating and most amazing relationship I've read in fiction recently, and I have nothing but respect for Andrews (husband-and-wife writing duo Ilona and Gordon) for addressing...in sometimes gut clenching ways...the complexities and pathos of two such individuals reaching for something that could be amazing, despite the risks inherent. Sometimes I want to drop a house on Kate and get her to wake up a little, but in truth, I sympathize with this solitary, tragic woman who has lived a life with burdens no normal human...or even the King of Beasts...could truly comprehend.

Kate is still one of, if not the top female heroine in any of the many, many UF and paranormal romance series I read. The steel spine, deadly habits, and dedication to honesty and honor surrounding that tiny grain of woman who desperately wants to be loved is a supremely appealing combination and I can not wait to see what she gets thrown into...or what gets thrown at her...next. Absolutely fabulous book, and series, that I highly recommend.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Kate Daniels, Book 2
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle

4.5 Stars
Dark, Gritty, and Detailed

Kate Daniels is back. Four months ago, she found out who killed her guardian Greg and she made him pay in Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1). Now, as Atlanta shimmers under faster and more unstable fluctuation between tech and magic, Kate is working as a liaison between the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aide and the Merc Guild, taking gigs on the side to supplement the small but steady income. Her solitary life had fallen into something resembling normalcy. Then Jim calls with an offer to share a bounty. And Curran's ex-lover shows up in her office to beg Kate to speak to Curran about releasing the woman from the Pack so she can marry Kate's ex-could-have-been boyfriend Crest. And Derek shows up on behalf of the Pack to secure Kate's assistance in solving a sensitive matter of thievery. Soon Kate realizes that nothing in her life is ever simple, and normalcy is as fickle as the waves of tech and magic that buffet her world. At the height of a magic flare, the path to catch a thief leads to a shocking and horrific battle between two gods in an endless struggle for rebirth that will level what is left of Atlanta, leaving it dead and decimated. Kate races to find answers, but what she carries and the information she seeks could save them...or doom them all.

So many times in a series the second book suffers a sophomore slump, but Ilona Andrews, the nom de plume of the husband-and-wife writing team, doesn't collapse under that weighty Sword of Damocles. Instead, Magic Burns is even more accomplished than Magic Bites, and the world of Kate and acquaintances continues to be fleshed out with odes to lyrical decay. The plot of Magic Burns is again convoluted and complex - in all the best ways - and meanders its way through the book, gathering the flotsam and jetsam of character development and widening mythos as it goes.

Kate really starts to become human in this book, and where the first book seemed to keep me as a reader on more of a superficial level of acquaintance with her, this one allowed for much more of her depth and dimension to shine. She's still a total smart ass. She's still more likely to poke the big, snarling, shapeshifter King with a stick than pat his head, even when she's sure he'll rip her face off. She's still got a deep, dark secret that she can't tell anyone about - though by now, readers can guess what it is, if not given enough information to glean the scope and import of the matter. In Magic Burns, though, the affection for a child and the dedication to friendships made humanize Kate to satisfying levels and truly elevates her character to another, far more palatable level...even when she's being obtuse to frustrating degrees.

Curran and the Pack are back, as is Ghastek and Saiman, and new faces are mixed in with ones to whom we've previously been introduced. The connections between Kate and these characters continue to ground her in this dark, cruel world and continue to provide a bit of humor and a touch of hope to a woman who is quite possibly the most lonesome, fearsome heroine I've ever read. I was both impressed and oddly touched by a handful of profound scenes that brought forth with blinding clarity just how utterly and almost hopelessly yet willfully alone Kate is in the world. It's been her greatest strength. Her most relied upon safety. And, if Curran has what I think may be his way, her most transitory personality trait (loved the soup and coffee scenes!!).

I still have a few issues with the overabundance of description in this book and in the series. There is a fine line between painting a picture with words and filling a page with so much that the result is akin to a sort of mental static raging with white noise that blinds the reader to the fluidity of a scene. There was a lot of that in Magic Bites, partly because this richly detailed, decimated, confusing world was just being defined. There's less of it in Magic Burns, but unfortunately there is still enough to sort of fuzz out and bog down several scenes and muck up the timing of the pacing a bit. That's the only major problem I had with this book, and while there were a few other minor issues that nudged my willing suspension of disbelief, like the ease in which the child Red got into the supposedly impenetrable Order holding area to snatch Julie, that's really the only significant issue that kept this book just shy of a 5 star review for me. I'm a very visual reader - words paint pictures for me - and if the cacophony of a scene overwhelms me to the point that I can no longer picture it, pushing me to skim through descriptions to get to action and dialogue, there's a problem. I was pleased it was less of a problem in this book than the last and have high hopes for Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, Book 3). Still, overall, this is a fantastic read and Kate Daniels is one of my favorite heroines in urban fantasy books today.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Kate Daniels, Book 1
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle

4 Stars
Dark and Edgy Urban Fantasy Series Opener

Some time in the future...or someplace just on the other side of the mirror...an alternate Atlanta is slowly decaying as magic and tech war against one another in widening waves of ever increasing hostility. Magic is winning.

Kate Daniels, a mercenary for the Guild, is the magical equivalent of the average handyman/pest control person. She's hired to solve other people's problems that crop up when magic or magical beings start creating havoc. Sometimes rude, always vigilant to keep her abilities hidden, and having a major a problem with authority, Kate doesn't play well with others. She's very alone in this dark, urban jungle, and never more so than when she finds out her guardian Greg has been brutally slaughtered. Old loyalties and fierce emotion force her hand and Kate steps forward to find out who and what is responsible for his death. For once, her only investigatory ability - poking her nose into things better left alone until the persons responsible try to kill her - may come in very handy. If she survives.

With an almost disparate blend of lyrical descriptions and rampant brutality, the world of Kate Daniels comes into reluctant focus, though some of the edges remain a bit muddy and confusing. There's not much light in Kate's world, metaphorically speaking, and she seems rather friendless and solitary as she limps through the case of Greg's murder. The big picture and widening danger start to clarify, almost despite Kate's best intentions, and a war brews between the People, necromancers who rule the dead and crave money and power, and the Pack, the free weres of the city, both faction believing the other responsible for deaths of its members. The plot continues to branch off into darker and more dangerous currants and Kate struggles at times to keep her head above water.

At times, so does Magic Bites.

Ilona Andrews, pseudonym for the husband and wife writing team Ilona and Gordon, has created an incredibly complex world with the Kate Daniels series and I'm at times in awe of the thought and attention to detail given to the backdrop of the city of Atlanta affected by magic. While I think the pacing of the plot is a little slow at the beginning as the world is fleshed out for readers, it was a solid start for a series.

One issue that kept me from being totally wowed with it: I was left feeling Magic Bites is a bit too focused on plot and world building and because of that, it falls a little short on character depth and definition. Kate is a relatively stereotypical UF heroine, all kick-ass smart mouth and surface aggression. There just isn't quite enough development or originality in her personality.  There are a few mentions of a secret she's keeping and the struggle she's had to keep the truth of her blood hidden, and while that provides some interesting potential in further development, it also serves to keep the reader at a superficial level with Kate as a person throughout the book. The secondary characters, even Curran, never seemed fully individualized and real for me...except, maybe, for Mahon - for some reason I loved the Kodiak of Atlanta, pack executioner. As for the rest, they would have benefited from a bit more attention to their personalities beyond surface feelings and reactions.

Despite the character issues, Kate's interaction with the Beast Lord Curran provides some nice teasers for future development (not to mention some much needed humor) and their scenes were among my favorite in the book, as opposed to the time waster of any scene with Crest, whom I found far more tedious than Kate apparently did.

Overall I really liked Magic Bites, and for a first book in a series, I found it well done, though perhaps not a total success for me because of the lingering issues I have with the characters.  The plot was definitely intricate enough and the world detailed to an extent that I remained entertained throughout, but my preferences lean towards character driven stories so I'm hoping the next book delves a little deeper into the characters of Kate, Curran, and the rest.