Thursday, January 7, 2016

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews
2010, Ace
Series: Book 4 of Kate Daniels

Synopsis: 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 arose.

Kate Daniels works for the Order of 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 on the border between the territories of the shapeshifters and the necromancers, Kate quickly discovers that there's a new player in town. One who's been around for thousands of years - and who rode to war at the side of Kate's father. This foe may be too much even for Kate and Curran, the Beast Lord, to handle. Because this time Kate will be taking on family.


The Good: Yay! We are finally digging deep into the mystery that is Kate's lineage. With details and repercussions. And a clear risk of being outed to the world. And she's not running away. I loved the mystery. The plague-like elements mixed with magic were amazing. I had no idea where things were headed. I can't express enough how much I love when Kate has to deal with Saiman. His pot stirring could keep me entertained forever. Magic Bleeds was action heavy and took the overall story places I hadn't even considered possibilities. Definitely a wild ride. The setup for the future may prove to be just the thing to build Kate into the strongest version of herself.

The Bad: The romance between Kate and Curran is infuriating most of the time. It's like watching a pair of never-been-told-no kids throw hissy fits over the stupidest things. Their reactions are mind-boggling. Readers know neither has actually had a happy, monogamous relationship with someone who could be considered their equal and, yes, that could explain away a majority of the absolute lunacy we see between Kate and Curran. That doesn't excuse them from learning from the first misstep and evolving into romantic partners that can actually relate to each other in some sort of adult manner.

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