Urban Fantasy Noir - Illona Andrews
The best thing about having money again is getting to catch up on my huge backlog of books I meant to buy. So it's been great the last couple months pretty much reading new stuff non-stop in my spare time. For some reason though, most of what I've been in the mood for has all been in the same "sub-genre"; what I call Urban Fantasy Noir. Think Laurel K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series and her ilk (though I would rather have bees sting my eyes than actually read another one of her books)
Anyway, I was in the mood to share some write ups. Hope someone enjoys them =)
Author: Illona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels (since so many of these series are titled by character, I'll label which is which :p)
Book 1: Magic Burns - Kate Daniels is a small time mercenary in Atlanta working for the Guild, specializing in jobs where both blade and magic are needed. When her mentor, a knight of the far more prestigious Order, is murdered, she gets herself involved in the investigation, but quickly finds that she's way out of her usual depth. She's smack in the middle of a power struggle between the People (necromancers/vampires) and the Pack (shapeshifters) and the wrong word can have dire consequences. But Kate's has been playing at small time for a reason, and it has nothing to do with lack of power; she has a few tricks up her sleeve to even the odds.
The first book has it's share of painful facepalm moments. By her own admission, Kate is way out of her usual thing here, and she's no investigator either. But she makes allies of the right people along the way, namely Curran, the Beast Lord, head of the Pack; and Nick, a bad ass Crusader who does solo work for the Order. I really really like the writing in the series, especially in characterization. The slow reveal that Kate is a heck of a lot more than she seems was handled nicely, too.
Grade: B+
Book 2: Magic Bites - Atlanta has been hit by a magic flare, and things are going crazy. Still adjusting to her new, semi-official positions in the Order and the Pack, Kate gets involved in another heavy case that may have deity-level complications.
Weaker than the first book overall, but this one has some nice scenes. Kate gets a new friend and a new ward, and the tension with Curran gets ratcheted up a few notches. The final battle scene is really cool too.
Grade: B
Book 3: Magic Strikes - The Midnight Games: illegal bloodsport, with huge amounts of money on the line, and now Kate is caught in the middle of them. And the stakes are way higher than just money.
This is the book that really sold me on this series. The characterization is brilliant, especially between Kate and Curran, and the addition of Raphael to the cast works well. It was nice to see them against opponents that were much closer to equal this time as well; both of the previous bad guys had the whole "invulnerable until you find my weakness" thing going on, and it was good to see opponents who were both mortal, yet much more skilled than the last batch. And it was awesome seeing Curran in real action this time. There are also moments of genuine poignancy and emotion; there's a scene between Kate and Jim where they talk about their fathers that really touches me for some reason. Oh, and the return of Nick from the first book was a nice touch, and good foreshadowing for what's ahead.
I think there are a few people that will read this that will also really enjoy the vegetarian white tiger shifter^^
Grade: A
Book 4: Magic Bleeds - Kate and Curran's courtship gets de-railed a bit just as Kate has to start dealing with the fallout of using her powers "openly". And there seems to be a new badass monster in town that's leaving a trail of bodies behind it.
Not my favorite, but it's a book that needs to be there, I guess. I do think the Kate and Curran drama was way over the top. If either one of them had taken 30 seconds to actually think things through instead of being complete morons... sigh, I understand that neither of them is good at getting their pride hurt, but still. Kate's the one that tells the reader how rare it is for a non-Pack member to marry in, and this is the freaking Pack Lord ffs. How she didn't think about potential bad feelings and sabotage is beyond me. The Raphael/Andrea drama was also stupid.
Still, the ending is cool, and the overall story is going in an interesting direction. Certainly Roland is turning out to be a worthy end boss^^ The best part though, is that Kate is finally stepping up to take control of her own life. In other words, while book four is not very good by itself, it did make me really look forward to seeing the rest of the series.
Grade: B
Next up: Simon Green
Anyway, I was in the mood to share some write ups. Hope someone enjoys them =)
Author: Illona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels (since so many of these series are titled by character, I'll label which is which :p)
Book 1: Magic Burns - Kate Daniels is a small time mercenary in Atlanta working for the Guild, specializing in jobs where both blade and magic are needed. When her mentor, a knight of the far more prestigious Order, is murdered, she gets herself involved in the investigation, but quickly finds that she's way out of her usual depth. She's smack in the middle of a power struggle between the People (necromancers/vampires) and the Pack (shapeshifters) and the wrong word can have dire consequences. But Kate's has been playing at small time for a reason, and it has nothing to do with lack of power; she has a few tricks up her sleeve to even the odds.
The first book has it's share of painful facepalm moments. By her own admission, Kate is way out of her usual thing here, and she's no investigator either. But she makes allies of the right people along the way, namely Curran, the Beast Lord, head of the Pack; and Nick, a bad ass Crusader who does solo work for the Order. I really really like the writing in the series, especially in characterization. The slow reveal that Kate is a heck of a lot more than she seems was handled nicely, too.
Grade: B+
Book 2: Magic Bites - Atlanta has been hit by a magic flare, and things are going crazy. Still adjusting to her new, semi-official positions in the Order and the Pack, Kate gets involved in another heavy case that may have deity-level complications.
Weaker than the first book overall, but this one has some nice scenes. Kate gets a new friend and a new ward, and the tension with Curran gets ratcheted up a few notches. The final battle scene is really cool too.
Grade: B
Book 3: Magic Strikes - The Midnight Games: illegal bloodsport, with huge amounts of money on the line, and now Kate is caught in the middle of them. And the stakes are way higher than just money.
This is the book that really sold me on this series. The characterization is brilliant, especially between Kate and Curran, and the addition of Raphael to the cast works well. It was nice to see them against opponents that were much closer to equal this time as well; both of the previous bad guys had the whole "invulnerable until you find my weakness" thing going on, and it was good to see opponents who were both mortal, yet much more skilled than the last batch. And it was awesome seeing Curran in real action this time. There are also moments of genuine poignancy and emotion; there's a scene between Kate and Jim where they talk about their fathers that really touches me for some reason. Oh, and the return of Nick from the first book was a nice touch, and good foreshadowing for what's ahead.
I think there are a few people that will read this that will also really enjoy the vegetarian white tiger shifter^^
Grade: A
Book 4: Magic Bleeds - Kate and Curran's courtship gets de-railed a bit just as Kate has to start dealing with the fallout of using her powers "openly". And there seems to be a new badass monster in town that's leaving a trail of bodies behind it.
Not my favorite, but it's a book that needs to be there, I guess. I do think the Kate and Curran drama was way over the top. If either one of them had taken 30 seconds to actually think things through instead of being complete morons... sigh, I understand that neither of them is good at getting their pride hurt, but still. Kate's the one that tells the reader how rare it is for a non-Pack member to marry in, and this is the freaking Pack Lord ffs. How she didn't think about potential bad feelings and sabotage is beyond me. The Raphael/Andrea drama was also stupid.
Still, the ending is cool, and the overall story is going in an interesting direction. Certainly Roland is turning out to be a worthy end boss^^ The best part though, is that Kate is finally stepping up to take control of her own life. In other words, while book four is not very good by itself, it did make me really look forward to seeing the rest of the series.
Grade: B
Next up: Simon Green