Yeah, I don't even remember where I first heard of this series but definitely not because of the covers. I've seen the Kate 4 cover which is more eye-catching if not necessarily faithful to previous cover versions of Kate (in mood if nothing else
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I'm very glad to know that I'm not alone in my opinion of Kate and Curran's relationship. Oh, have you caught any of her snippets of the non-published 'Alpha Menz'?
I also agree with the comment below about the Crest-suspicion-blame Kate bit wasn't an accident. Curran was being an ass, because we all know an Alpha is NOT allowed to indicate that he was wrong in any circumstance because that would show weakness. Which can't happen. Ever.
But I do like the world she created, the concepts of magic ebbing and flowing are interesting to read. The vampires work because I was getting a bit sick of the Euro-trash vampire so many others use.
I can buy Curran being an ass, but Kate didn't even remotely defend herself against the accusation, not even in her head, which is why it reads like a mistake to me rather than Curran being an ass and not wanting to look wrong in front of the Pack. The least she could've done was say, "Hey, the Pack thought it was Crest, not me!" But since she's not that subtle, she would've yelled, "My hunch? YOU were the one who blamed him!"
first, regarding the pen name: what the person at amazon wrote, is right. gordon is really the last name, the pen name is a combination of both first names, but that's not something they advertise.
and curran placing the blame on kate, after the crest-fiasko was not an editorial mistake. it's the beast lord in all his pissed off unfairness.
I'm curious on what you will say about book 2.
I have learned not to judge a book by it's cover at all. quite often cover artists don't seem to know anything about the books and implement things that have nothing to do with the story. in this case, I have to say that I really like all the KD covers. A matter of personal taste I'd say. I'm not terribly fond of covers with half-naked men on them, while others swoon over these.
I wonder why they keep the facade? I guess it's a layer of privacy so that when people look up Gordon Andrews in the phone book or something, they're out of luck
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Hi, lass. You didn't ask for my opinion, but I'm leaving it anyway ;-)
I'm one of the few paranormal readers who don't fangirl over this series. Have read the first two books; would rate them both three stars, though Magic Burns is a higher three. Maybe a 3.5.
The world-building is interesting, and the authors have intriguing ideas. But the characters, or the execution, or I-don't-know-what, just don't work for me. Clearly I'm not the target audience (I never am ;-) ), but still...
And I am so OVER alpha love interests. They're usually douchebags, and they totally get away with that, because apparently douchebags are worth loving. Or worth shagging, anyhoo. Curran BROKEN INTO HER HOUSE, but I don't think Kate chucked a wobbly about it. She should have. I certainly would've. Invasion of privacy, trespassing, and all that stuff...it's all forgiven if you're an alpha man, apparently...
(Please excuse my rambling. It's circa 1AM, and I shouldn't be on the Internet when my mind's like this...)
Honey, the very act of me posting a review is essentially me asking EVERYONE who reads it to give me their two cents. :) You're good, and I'm glad you commented! I don't see you comment near enough!
I'm interested to see how I like this series as I read forward. Right now, it's on the fence in terms of whether or not I'd keep it, so that's not a good sign, but there's room for improvement. I see your point about alpha love interests though. Sometimes it's just too much, you know? I prefer my heroes to be a little more true to humanity in terms of attitude, and in life, alphas turn me the hell off. And in this case, you're right about Kate not getting mad when she should in regards to Curran. I'd be mad about the roof, that's for sure. I mean, hey, he was fixing it at the end of the book, but she didn't know that was coming, did she?
The Ilona Andrews team clearly have an alpha-male fetish. It's definitely one I don't share. I enjoy the books despite this, but it was much harder in the PR book (On the Edge) for some reason. Maybe the quicker switch between "he's a dangerous asshat" and "SWOON, I want to have your dangerous asshat BABIES." Of course, I am left cold by the vast majority of romance plotlines.
Well, that's because in the UF book, at least Kate gets her moment to shine and romance is more incidental. In the PR book, the point of the book is the romance. *sigh*
I gave Magic Bites a flat three. I loved the worldbuilding and the critters, but I thought Kate came across as the cliché UF heroine with more balls than brains, and I kept felt like I was missing things. I like a fast-paced story with plenty of action, but this went by SO fast I kept doubling back to see if I'd skipped a page. I was offered the second book, and liked it much better (the rating rose up to a four).
That's what I'm hearing from a lot of people, that the second book is just much better. I plan on getting it, but I'm putting it on the Christmas list first. :)
You're in good shape with Vaughn's and Armstrong's books, but I suspect you know that. Have you read Kim Harrison's series, or Charlaine Harris's? I'll have to think on this some more, but that's a start. :)
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I also agree with the comment below about the Crest-suspicion-blame Kate bit wasn't an accident. Curran was being an ass, because we all know an Alpha is NOT allowed to indicate that he was wrong in any circumstance because that would show weakness. Which can't happen. Ever.
But I do like the world she created, the concepts of magic ebbing and flowing are interesting to read. The vampires work because I was getting a bit sick of the Euro-trash vampire so many others use.
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That's my take. :)
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just read your review and would like to comment.
first, regarding the pen name: what the person at amazon wrote, is right. gordon is really the last name, the pen name is a combination of both first names, but that's not something they advertise.
and curran placing the blame on kate, after the crest-fiasko was not an editorial mistake. it's the beast lord in all his pissed off unfairness.
I'm curious on what you will say about book 2.
I have learned not to judge a book by it's cover at all. quite often cover artists don't seem to know anything about the books and implement things that have nothing to do with the story.
in this case, I have to say that I really like all the KD covers. A matter of personal taste I'd say. I'm not terribly fond of covers with half-naked men on them, while others swoon over these.
hope to read the review on book 2 soon ;)
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I'm one of the few paranormal readers who don't fangirl over this series. Have read the first two books; would rate them both three stars, though Magic Burns is a higher three. Maybe a 3.5.
The world-building is interesting, and the authors have intriguing ideas. But the characters, or the execution, or I-don't-know-what, just don't work for me. Clearly I'm not the target audience (I never am ;-) ), but still...
And I am so OVER alpha love interests. They're usually douchebags, and they totally get away with that, because apparently douchebags are worth loving. Or worth shagging, anyhoo. Curran BROKEN INTO HER HOUSE, but I don't think Kate chucked a wobbly about it. She should have. I certainly would've. Invasion of privacy, trespassing, and all that stuff...it's all forgiven if you're an alpha man, apparently...
(Please excuse my rambling. It's circa 1AM, and I shouldn't be on the Internet when my mind's like this...)
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I'm interested to see how I like this series as I read forward. Right now, it's on the fence in terms of whether or not I'd keep it, so that's not a good sign, but there's room for improvement. I see your point about alpha love interests though. Sometimes it's just too much, you know? I prefer my heroes to be a little more true to humanity in terms of attitude, and in life, alphas turn me the hell off. And in this case, you're right about Kate not getting mad when she should in regards to Curran. I'd be mad about the roof, that's for sure. I mean, hey, he was fixing it at the end of the book, but she didn't know that was coming, did she?
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Well, that's because in the UF book, at least Kate gets her moment to shine and romance is more incidental. In the PR book, the point of the book is the romance. *sigh*
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Heroine with more balls than brains. I like it!
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