Magic Slays (Kate Daniels, #5) by Ilona Andrews

• Title: Magic Slays (Kate Daniels, Book 5)
• Classification: Adult Fiction
• Genre: Urban Fantasy
• Format: Paperback, 320 pages
• Publisher: Ace (May 31, 2011)
• ISBN-10: 0441020429
• ISBN-13: 978-0441020423
• Author's Website:  http://www.ilona-andrews.com/

     "Kate...Are you happy? With Curran I mean."
     "When I can get my own way."
     She glanced at me, " And the rest of the time?"
     "The rest of the time I'm in a state of silent panic. I'm afraid it will end. I'll lose him. Lose Julie. Lose everyone."

Kate Daniel's life has been anything but easy. She's lost many people she's loved over the years. Now that Kate and Curran (aka Beast Lord) are officially mated, she's still afraid death will make another call and steal someone else she loves away. People around her tend to die. She realizes she can't let fear rule her, but it's always on the back burner of her mind.

Kate has moved in with Curran and the Pack is financing her new business which she has named Cutting Edge. Kate had hoped to use the skills and the connections she had acquired from working for the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid and the Mercenary Guild in her new position as owner of her own detective agency. The business has been opened for a month, but despite her reputation no one has attempted to hire her. That is until now. The Red Guard has hired her to help find a "misplaced" item they were hired to guard. Descriptions of what the "misplaced" item is are sketchy at best, but if she can pull it off, her business is pretty much guaranteed to take off. The only clue she really has is that when the mysterious object disappeared so did Adam Kaman, "a brilliant engineer, genius applied magic theorist." He also invented whatever it is the Red Guard was supposed to guard.

One of the possible leads as to who could have stolen (You didn't really believe it was misplaced did you?) the missing item comes from Andrea whom Kate hires to help her--"The Order suspects the existence of a secret society called the Lighthouse Keepers. They're well organized and really well hidden."..."They hate magic, they hate magic users, they hate magic creatures, and they would love to exterminate the lot of us with extreme prejudice."


Kate will have to face her fears head on and what she does to protect her own, I fear, may have repercussions in the future she may never have suspected or foreseen...

Usually after the two main love interests in a series get together things get well, boring. That is so not the case with this book. Ilona Andrews succeeds where many have failed and made my book crush even bigger as I find myself falling more and more for Curran. *sigh* The bantering that goes on between the two makes me chuckle, and I live vicariously through Kate.

The drama which unfolds is quick paced and keeps your attention. I didn't want to put the book down. At one point, Kate has to make a heart wrenching decision which adds tension to Kate and Curran's relationship. Plus, Julie once again runs away from the safe haven Kate has tried to create for her. Kate will learn  a lot about herself and her family in this one and some of the discoveries are quite shocking.

Some of my favorite quotes:
- “Help me, I can’t breathe, your ego is pushing all the air out of the room.”
- "If I fought for them and was crippled, they would all say nice things, and then they would replace me and forget I was ever there. You would stay with me. You would take care of me, because you love me. I love you too, Kate. If you ever became hurt, I would not leave you. I’ll be there. Wherever you want ‘there’ to be. "

This one will have a lot of shocks, twists, drama, and OMG moments. I think this is my favorite of the series and, as I love this series, that says a lot. I gave this one 5 out of 5 roses and eagerly await the next book. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gets a STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed.

Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels Series #4) by Ilona Andrews

• Title: Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, Book 4) 
• Classification: Adult Fiction
• Genre: Urban Fantasy
  
• Format: Paperback, 384 pages
• Publisher: Ace (May 25, 2010) 
• ISBN-10: 0441018521
• ISBN-13: 978-0441018529

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Saving you from whatever mess you got yourself into this time."
Why me?  "There is no mess! It's a professional arrangement."
"He's paying you?" Curran snarled.
"No. I'm paying him."
He roared. His mouth was human, but the blast of sound that shot out of it was like thunder.
"Ran out of words, Your Majesty?"
"Why Him?" he growled. "Of all the men you could have, why would you hire him for that?"
"Because he has the best equipment in the city and he knows how to use it!"

Kate is once again trying to figure out what is going on in Atlanta. Someone is going around killing people and leaving deadly viruses in their wake. She'll have to collaborate with the Weres to solve this one. Not a comfortable thing to do when the Beast Lord's stood you up for a naked (well not totally) homemade dinner.  We'll also get to meet more of Kate's family - they're such a fun group to hang out with (NOT).

 Once again the chemistry between Curran and Kate is magic. I just love it when an alpha male gets jealous. Truth be told, I'd probably run the other way if I met one in real life, but I adore them in the novels I read. Kate meets her aunt and she is not the kind of aunt I'd want. Once again Magic, Monsters, and Mayhem rule in this book, and love is in the air. *sigh* I gave this one 5 out of 5 roses. It is jam-packed with action and I truly believe Ms. Andrews wrote this series with me in mind. She just forgot to tell me about it. LOL (Truly she didn't, but if anyone asks I'm sticking with my story.)

Order Series should be read:




























1. Magic Bites
2. Magic Burns
3. Magic Strikes
4. Magic Bleeds
5. Magic Slays

Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, #3) by Ilona Andrews

• Title: Magic Strikes
• Classification: Adult Fiction 
• Genre: Urban Fantasy
  
• Format: Paperback, 310 pages
• Publisher: Ace; Original edition (March 31, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0441017029
• ISBN-13: 978-0441017027
• Notes: Language used that some may find offensive.

"On a scale from one to ten, the Pack was eleven and everything else a one." (Magic Burns)

Kate thought she knew where she stood when it came to Jim, her occasional partner for the Mercenary Guild. That was before she got herself into her current situation. She always knew pack came first, but truly you'd think by now some trust would have formed. Sometimes, however, you need to set those you care about straight and get tough....

I had had just about enough.  "Fine. You won't tell me why your crew worked me over. You won't let me see Derek. That's your prerogative. We'll do it your way, James Damael Shrapshire, in your capacity as the Pack's chief security officer, you have permitted Pack members under you command to deliberately injure an employee of the Order. At least three individuals involved in the assault wore the shapeshifter warrior form. Under the Georgia Code, a Shapeshifter in a warrior form is equivalent to being armed with a deadly weapon. Therefore, your actions fall under O.C.G.A. Section 16-5-21(c), aggravated assault on a peace officer engaged in the performance of her duties, which is punishable by mandatory imprisonment of no less than five and no more than twenty years. A formal complaint will be filed with the Order within twenty-four hours. I advise you to seek the assistance of counsel."  (Magic Strikes)

It started with a call from Saiman letting her know he'd found her favorite sidekick werewolf, Derek, breaking into his place. From there things just got more and more interesting as Kate got blackmailed into attending the Midnight Games, an invitation-only preternatural tournament, with Saiman. The team that was annihilating the competition had passed as human, but seemed to be anything but. Saiman wanted Kate's opinion on the group. Where does Jim fit into the picture? He's trying to figure out who's getting weres into the games so he can put a stop to it. Derek, working under Jim's direction, was attempting to lift an invitation into the games. Jim is operating, however, behind the Beast Lord's back and has to go into hiding to complete his task.

In this book, we learn who Kate's father is, the real shape of Saiman, and someone (yeah, you know who) declares his intentions for Kate. *swoon* Plus Kate, with her big mouth, throws down a challenge to The Beast Lord:

"I tell you what, if you find us before those three days run out, I'll cook you a damn dinner and serve it to you naked."

This one was about as good as they come. I gave it a 5 out of 5 roses. Gasp! I've been seduced by a series. (smirk) I HIGHLY recommend this one. 

Mythology Note:
"Aesir, Old Norse Æsir, singular Áss, in Scandinavian mythology, either of two main groups of deities, four of whom were common to the Germanic nations: Odin, chief of the Aesir; Frigg, Odin’s wife; Tyr, god of war; and Thor, whose name was the Teutonic word for thunder. Some of the other important Aesir were Balder, Jörd, Heimdall, and Loki." (Found in the Encyclopedia Britannica - online version: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7441/Aesir ) 

Order of Series:





























1. Magic Bites
2. Magic Burns
3. Magic Strikes
4. Magic Bleeds
5. Magic Slays

Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, #2) by Ilona Andrews

• Title: Magic Burns 
• Classification: Adult Fiction
• Genre: Urban Fantasy
• Format: Paperback, 272 pages
• Publisher: Ace (April 1, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 9780441015832
• ISBN-13: 978-0441015832
• ASIN: 0441015832  
• Notes: Language used that some individuals may find offensive.

“Theory said that magic and tech used to coexist in a balance. Like the pendulum of a grandfather clock that barely moved, if at all. But then came the age of Man, and men are made of progress. They over developed magic, pushing the pendulum further and further to one side until it came crashing down and started swinging back and forth, bringing with it tech waves. 

And then in its turn, the technology over saturated the world, helped once again by pesky Man, and the pendulum swung again, into the side of magic this time. The previous Shift from magic to tech took place somewhere around the start of the Iron age. The current Shift officially dawned almost thirty years ago. It began with a flare, and with each subsequent flare, more of our world succumbed to magic.”  (From Magic Bites)

"Flares" come only every seven years or so. During the "flares" magic fluctuates. At times reducing or boosting the power of spells. It also allows some beings to cross over to our realm.....

Kate Daniels is now the official liaison between the Mercenary Guild and the Order of Merciful Aid (aka Order). She is also the official go between for Weres and The Order. In this book, someone has stolen maps from the weres and killed a person Jim and Kate had just apprehended for the bounty on his head. The link to the events are the bolts that were used to kill victims. Without much to go on, Kate returns to the scene where her bounty had been murdered. While looking for clues, Kate stumbles upon the daughter of a witch who claims her mother and her entire coven of witches has disappeared. While searching the area where the coven was last seen another bolt is found. The other common element to the crimes is a mysterious man that seems to be able to instantly appear and disappear in and out of places. This one will boil down to a power struggle between two ancient mythological beings, and if the wrong one gets control, it could be the end of mankind.  

I am really enjoying this series so far. The magical world Kate lives in is fun and exciting. One of my favorite things that an author can do is to incorporate some mythology into a story. Ms. Andrews does this while taking some creative license with the mythological beings of Morrigan and Morfran. 

I'm also loving the relationship that seems to be developing between Kate and Curran. It's nice when every once in a while a series takes it's time to bring two individuals into a full blown romance. The relationship of Curran and Kate is fun to watch, and I can't help but think it will grow into something special. Loving the bantering that is going on between the two. Here is a little excerpt from two of my favorite conversations between Kate and Curran. I took the liberty of removing some sentences and keeping the ones I felt were most important:

"If I let her go, I'll need a replacement. Want to volunteer for the job?"(said by Curran)

"And be girlfriend number twenty-three soon to be dumped in favor of girlfriend number twenty-four who has slightly bigger boobs? I don't think so."(said by Kate)

"If  we were the last two people on Earth, "I'd find myself a moving island so I could get the hell away from you." (said by Kate; pages 106-107)

Curran's response later in the book. Obviously he didn't like her previous declaration.*grin*:

"Not only will you sleep with me, but you will say 'please.'" 

I stared at him, shocked.
 

The smile widened.  "You will say 'please' before and 'thank you' after." 

Nervous laughter bubbled up. "You've gone insane. All that peroxide in your hair finally did your brain in, Goldilocks."  (page 184)

I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses.

Mythological Notes: 

Morrigan, a figure from Irish mythology, is a goddess of battle, strife, and fertility. "She sometimes appears in the form of a crow, flying above the warriors, and in the Ulster cycle she also takes the form of an eel, a wolf and a cow. She is generally considered a war deity comparable with the Germanic Valkyries, although her association with cattle also suggests a role connected with fertility, wealth, and the land." 

The above information gotten from Wikipedia. To learn more check out this link to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Morr%C3%ADgan

Morfran is a figure in Welsh mythology. "Usually portrayed as a warrior under King Arthur, he is noted for the darkness of his skin and his hideousness. He appears in the narratives about the bard Taliesin and in the Welsh Triads." 

The above information was gotten from Wikipedia. To learn more check out this link to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morfran


Order of Series:





























1. Magic Bites
2. Magic Burns
3. Magic Strikes
4. Magic Bleeds
5. Magic Slays

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1) by Ilona Andrews

• Title: Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1) 
• Classification: Adult Fiction 
• Genre: Urban Fantasy
• Format: Paperback, 272 pages
• Publisher: Ace (March 27, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 9780441014897
• ISBN-13: 978-0441014897
• ASIN: 0441014895

 

"When people had trouble of a magic kind, the kind that cops couldn't handle, they called the Mercenary Guild. If the job happened to fall into my territory, the guild then called me." 

Kate Daniels is a mercenary who can wield magic. Her guardian, Greg, whom was the last person she considered family, has just been murdered. She's out to find out who killed him and why, then she'll kill them. The world she lives in is filled with parnormal beings and magic. To make things more difficult, Greg was a knight-diviner, a member of a group called the Order of Merciful Aid. Knight-diviners are nearly impossible to kill because they're powerful and well trained.    

"The Order of Merciful Aid offered just what its name suggested: merciful aid to anyone who asked. If you could pay, they would charge you; and if you couldn't, they would kill shit on your behalf pro bono. Officially their mission statement was to protect humanity against all harm, by magic or by weapon."  

Just weeks before he was killed, Greg tried to persuade Kate to rejoin the Order. She had declined. Now she must see what case Greg was working on when he was murdered, and try to track down his killer. Hopefully, she'll be able to avoid the fate of her guardian.

Besides the murder mystery involving Greg, there is also the mystery as to whom Kate's real father was. Make no mistake she knows, we (the readers) have no clue. Throughout the book Kate must make sure not to leave any DNA blood trace. She'll actually burn her blood with gasoline if it's spilled on the ground, and burn any clothes that her blood has her blood on it. Whoever he is or was, he must have been powerful if she's willing to go to such extremes to hide it.

I really loved this story. Yes, there are a lot of paranormal books out there, but this one seemed to get back to the basics with a little darker, a little creepier version of some of the paranormal beings involved. You have vampires that crawl on ceilings like spiders and weres that are huge and about as fierce and scary as they come. No vegan vampires in this one. Be prepared to enter an alternate dimension when you pick up this series. 

I gave this one 5 out of 5 roses.

Order of Series:





























1. Magic Bites
2. Magic Burns
3. Magic Strikes
4. Magic Bleeds
5. Magic Slays