MOBI ð Magic Shifts ☆ Ilona Andrews
In the latest Kate Daniels novel from New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews magic is coming and going in waves in post Shift Atlanta and each crest leaves danger in its wake After breaking from life with the Pack mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate former Beast Lord Curran Lennart are adjusting to a very different pace While they’r 45 starsMy love for Ilona Andrews is not something I attempt to keep hidden I can in fact be rather obnoxious about it #sorrynotsorryTheir books are typically so far ahead of their peers so much better in all the major areas character development world building interesting and original plot lines AND they're hilarious to boot I feel like this warrants a certain level of fangirlingThat being said I was disappointed by one of their books for the first time when Kate #7 came out last year Don't get me wrong it was still a decent book but I've been conditioned to expect of the Andrews By itself it wouldn't have been a huge deal but before that while still really enjoying Kate #6 I had a handful of issues weredolphins various KateCurran situations that I ultimately understood but did not like And while being a minority I know that I am not alone in my feelings in either of those cases which makes me happier than I could ever adeuately communicate to inform youTHEY'RE BACKOne of my favorite things about the Andrews is that in every installment they take a myth a creature of legend a campfire story specific to one location or with roots across the globe and while remaining true to the base elements they somehow manage to make it wholly their ownVampires Check Necromancers Double check Shifters Check x100To name a few In MAGIC SHIFTS we meet their version of the ghoul shudders Ghouls usually fall on the low end of my Interesting Supernatural Creatures list bc 1 I don't like dead things and 2 They eat dead people Kind of a double whammyBUTThese ghouls are sentient ish Also they're not deadI've encountered ghouls that were cowards and mindless scavengers and I've encountered ghouls that were basically humans with unfortunate dietary reuirements but never ghouls that fell somewhere in between Ghouls too driven by their hunger for dead flesh to ualify as human but wily and just capable enough of rational thought not to be disregarded as animals There are levels some ghouls retaining of their humanity than others but the majority of those we meet oOIt may not sound like much of a distinction but I found this version significantly sinister than either of its counterparts a smart monster who would like nothing than to violently end your life for the express purpose of letting your carcass decay before eating itconvulses with shuddersSO The Andrews put their own uniue spin on even the most tired supernatural creatures But that's merely the tip of the Andrews' iceberg of awesomeOne of the easiest pitfalls for an UF series to fall into is the Post Get Together Doldrums Even if you think you have no idea what I'm talking about I promise you do It's when the heroine and her main love interest finally get their shit together and begin their HEA and you're suddenly bored Oh if they hadn't finally gotten together you'd be furious maybe even furious enough to rage uit the series we readers are terribly hard on authors aren't we but now Turns out there's a reason all the fairytales end with and they lived happily ever after Happily ever after is boring It's enough to know that's what they're doing we don't need to know the specifics Not so KATE DANIELS In part this is due to a slight modification of HEA What Kate and Curran have is TEA together ever after bc KATE DANIELS is the most action packed series I've ever had the pleasure of reading With the focus on the what is happening to the characters bc plot vs what is happening to the characters bc character development we no longer need the focus to be on development they're awesome and we love them already the Andrews don't have to come up with asinine scenarios in which their love is repeatedly tested blah friggin' blah Instead Kate and Curran work together not only letting each other exist simply as they are but loving each other for it and knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses so well that they help each other be their most deadly and efficient selves It's eual parts refreshing gripping and hilariousBut they aren't mother birds pushing each other out of the nest no they are not They have each other's backs Always When something threatens Kate The insect pointed a leg at me “Die” Curran’s eyes went gold His clothes tore falling in shreds to the street as the massive meld of human and lion spilled out “Let’s see you try that shit on me” And in return Curran stood in the middle of the street his hands still locked on the insect’s front pair of legs The spider scorpion was lunging at him again and again trying to grip him with its pincers If those mandibles closed on Curran they’d slice his arms off Oh no you don’t I charged the spiderBut even greater than the Andrews' ability to take a known uantity and make it new and interesting or to keep a steady committed relationship from becoming meh is the way they weave threads throughout their story drawing a multitude of different factors people and events into a cohesive wholeI say this a lot bc it's an element of one of my book peeves but with MAGIC SHIFTS it is especially true the sum is greater than the parts No one NO ONE does this better than Ilona and Gordon Andrews I'm not going to tell you what the Big Bad is You'll find out in the book Eventually I will tell you that I was utterly sick of this creature I may have even groaned a little bit when I figured out what it was BUT Andrews The end Read it and see what I'm talking about HIGHLY recommendedFinal thoughtsview spoiler1 I always knew Saiman was a shit2 Watching Kate stress over one of her loved ones is rough Watching Curran in agony bc Kate is hurt infinitely worse3 I friggin' hate Mahon I don't care if he came around in the end I don't think it was bc he saw the error of his ways I think it was bc he felt like it bc reasons and who the hell knows what those reasons are and ultimately he'll keep being just as big of an ass as he always has been 4 If you haven't already heard me say it half a dozen times I friggin' LOVE Luther He's hilarious And useful And scary if you invade his territory GAH LOVE5 I don't think Roland is going to do the thing I think the djinn was manipulating Kate bc didn't want to be trapped in a box made of his enemy's skull Maybe that's just wishful HA thinking but DAMMIT I like Roland kicks aluminum can hide spoiler
Ilona Andrews ☆ Magic Shifts DOC
Magic ShiftsTo start looking is his most recent jobs As Kate and Curran dig further into the merc’s business they discover that the Guild has gone to hell and that Eduardo’s assignments are connected in the most sinister way An ancient enemy has arisen and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it before it takes their city apart piece by piec I'm not sure I'm even capable of giving a Kate Daniels book less than 5 stars any so take my opinion of this book with a grain of salt Some of my friends were disappointed with this one because it was maybe a transition sort of book You know what with Kate Curran having left the Pack in the last book So yeah this book is sorta setting up how they're going to live what they're going to do etc Didn't matter I could Kate Daniels' grocery list and probably fangirl over itTo me this was gold and I loved every minute of it sighAlso and some of you may think I'm a total traitor for this but Roland is uickly becoming my favorite character in the series I can't get enough of him Anyone else kinda loving him a little bitThis time around we're learning about genies ghouls which I thought was a pretty cool change of pace from the shifters vampires And no I'm not going to spoil any of the detailsso don't worry Just know that team Andrews manages to put their special spin on these characters and makes it all very uniue to the KD world I thought end bit about the ghouls was pretty coolOk there are already way too many awesome reviews for this one out there so I'm not going to go into depth with this one However I feel the need to mention one thingBottom line if you're a Kate Daniels fanatic you definitely don't want to miss this one Also reviewed for