Squee for Ilona Andrews
Dear Musashi,
Subject pretty much says it all, really. This is going to be a squee on Ilona Andrews. Because I have now decided I love the Kate Daniels series so hard.
(There is still a Rizzoli and Isles post on the horizon, but that one's had a lot thought put into it, and I might actually have to type it out before hand, just because there's logic and order and analysis into it. This is just pure squee.)
See, I was trying so hard to be cool about it. I was all, "Oh, it's good, you know, for an urban fantasy book," while secretly rereading my favorite scenes from the first two books and counting down the days I could go to Borders and buy the next two.
But no, those days of being cool are over. I love this series. I want to marry this series and have its babies. I had to wikipedia the series just so I knew the next one isn't the last one. (It's not! There's three looming on the horizon! At least!)
I think what prompts this post is how much I died over the third book, Magic Strikes. It was frickin' hilarious. And the thing was, I wasn't expecting much from it. I was pretty much, "I'm buying it so I can buy the next one." This was for two reasons. 1)Since the fourth book is thicker, I am fairly certain Major Shit Goes Down in that one. And 2)I have this weird largely subconscious thing about third books that I didn't realize I had until now.
Mostly, I don't expect much from third books. (Except in trilogies, trilogies don't count. Third books in quartets or series). I blame Mirador and the bitter disappointment that was, but I've looked back on it and decided usually the third book in the series is just not that interesting. It's either That Book that comes before the Super Awesome Conclusion or just That Book that happened before all the other Cool Ideas started. So, filler. (Harry Potter is not included in this. That third book rocked.)
So, subconsciously, I'd written off Strikes as filler and did not expect much from it.
But I was so, so wrong!
First, I am going to talk about why I love these books.
I love these books for the plots. They are very interesting plots that I always get wrapped up in. I want to know what's happening, I want the mystery solved, I can't put it down until I know how it all turns out.
I love these books for the characters. God, I love these books for the characters. Hands down, it has some of the more interesting side characters I've encountered in novels. I get so attached to them, and then they come back just to make me happy! Like in the first book, it was Derek. I loved Derek! Who could not love Kate's Teenage Werewolf Sidekick? (Her words!)So for the second book, I was all, "Man, I hope Derek is still around."
And he was!
And then in the second book, I was all "Oh, Andrea. Andrea, you're so awesome. And Julie! I love you Julie! I hope you both come back for the next book!"
And they do!
And now in the third book I discover I love Raphael so hard (he was introduced in the second book, but minor role, so I can be excused from not loving him so much then.) And then there's Dali! I love Dali! I hope she comes back in the next book too!
I don't know if she does yet, but if the trend follows, she will!
And the thing is, I still love Derek and Andrea and Julie and want to see them in the next books too. So, fun times.
So the other reason I like these books is because it's so different from the mold of Urban Fantasy that Anita Blake created. The slow paced romance is refreshing for one thing. The fact that there's no love triangle is AWESOME. There's no, "Oh, who will Kate hook up with? She better who up with Curran!" It's "No, Kate's going to hook up with Curran, eventually."
But as a list as to what makes these books different from other paranomal romance/urban fantasy books:
1. There are men in these novels who are allowed to have a relationship with the protagonist that's based on other things than lust and the need to get into her pants! There's Derek, obviously, Teenage Werewolf Sidekick, and Jim, who's like a business partner.
2. There are other women in this novel who are allowed to kick ass! Always refreshing! (Yay Andrea! And Dali! And Auntie B, for that matter.)
3. There are men in this novel who are allowed to hopelessly pine after women other than the protagonist! (Oh Raphael, you are such a sexy beast! Some day Andrea will see that!)
(No, seriously, the scene where Jim's telling Kate to take back up and she's all, "I'll take Raphael," and he's like, "Why do you think he'll help you?" And she's like, "Pft. He wants to get into my best friend's pants. He'll help." Was WIN.)
Also, the fact that it's not just werewolves and vampires is, frankly, to run the risk of repeating myself, really refreshing. In fact, vampires are not cool at all, and are barely an issue. And it's not even about werewolves, only Derek is a cool werewolf. There's a cool werelion, many cool werehyenas, one cool werejaguar, and one super awesome werebadger.
Ok, so Strikes. I loved this novel for many reasons, mostly because it made me laugh hysterically at several moments. But that moments Kate arranges for Julie is absolutely beautiful. One, I was really glad to see Julie again. Because apparently I'm a huge sucker for kidfic, and the fact that Kate is sorta more or less keeping her around, and has decided to be Crazy Aunt Kate, is really nice. Because you don't see a lot of kids in UF. After that moment, you have to admit, she might not be Mom material, but she does Crazy Aunt Kate really really well.
I was going to type in some favorite scenes, especially that one battle, but it's kinda long. So I'll stick with this one with Kate and Raphael, because it was hilarious.
Oh, some backstory, earlier on in the book, Kate tells Raphael that Andrea loves these trashy romance novels by this one author and she's missing two of her books in exchange for information on the case. (I love that Kate is willing to sell out her friend for the Greater Good.)
"Can you explain something to me?"
Oh boy. "I can try."
He tapped on the leather-covered kneww. "The pirate actually holds this chick's brother for ransom, so she'll sleep with him. These men, they aren't real men. They're pseudo-bad guys just waiting for the love of a 'good' woman."
"You actually read the books?"
He gave me a chiding glance. "Of course I read the books. It's all pirates and the women they steal, apparently so they can enjoy lots of sex and have somebody to run their lives."
Wow. He must've had to hide under his blanket with a flashlight so nobody would question his manliness. Either he really was in love with Andrea or he had a terminal case of lust.
"These guys, they're all aggressive as shit, and everybody wets themselves when they walk by, and then they meet some girl and suddenly they're not uber-alphas; they are just misunderstood little boys who want to talk about their feelings."
"Is there a point to this dissertation?"
He faced me. "I can't be that. If that's what she wants, then I shouldn't even bother."
I sighed. "Do you have a costume kink? French maid, nurse..."
"Catholic school girl."
Bingo. "You wouldn't mind Andrea wearing a Catholic school uniform, would you?"
"No, I wouldn't." His eyes glazed over and he slipped off to some faraway place.
I snapped my fingers. "Raphael! Focus!"
He blinked at me.
"I'm guessing-- and this is just a wild stab in the dark-- that Andrea might not mind if once in a while you dressed up as a pirate. But I wouldn't advise holding her relatives for ransom nookie. She might shoot you in the head. Several times. With silver bullets."
An understanding crept into Raphael's eyes. "I see."
Oh, and I also loved this:
As [Raphael] passed me, he leaned to Curran and handed him a paper fan folded from some sort of flyer.
Curran looked at the fan. "What?"
"An emergency precaution, Your Majesty. In case the lady faints."
Curran just stared at him.
Raphael strode toward the Pit, turned, flexed a bit, and winked at me.
"Give me that," I told Curran. "I need to fan myself."
"No, you don't."
So yes. I love this series. I am torn between reading the fourth book right the damn now and holding off until Friday, when I am done grading papers, when I know I will have *earned* it.
-Phoeiros
Bonus Squee:
I finally watched No Ordinary Family and it definitely has a lot of promise! It's like a liveaction Incredibles! I will be watching.
My favorite part is in the beginning, when the plane is starting to crash and the Mom looks at the daughter and says "Who are you texting now?!?!"
And the daughter answers half terrified, "God!"
Subject pretty much says it all, really. This is going to be a squee on Ilona Andrews. Because I have now decided I love the Kate Daniels series so hard.
(There is still a Rizzoli and Isles post on the horizon, but that one's had a lot thought put into it, and I might actually have to type it out before hand, just because there's logic and order and analysis into it. This is just pure squee.)
See, I was trying so hard to be cool about it. I was all, "Oh, it's good, you know, for an urban fantasy book," while secretly rereading my favorite scenes from the first two books and counting down the days I could go to Borders and buy the next two.
But no, those days of being cool are over. I love this series. I want to marry this series and have its babies. I had to wikipedia the series just so I knew the next one isn't the last one. (It's not! There's three looming on the horizon! At least!)
I think what prompts this post is how much I died over the third book, Magic Strikes. It was frickin' hilarious. And the thing was, I wasn't expecting much from it. I was pretty much, "I'm buying it so I can buy the next one." This was for two reasons. 1)Since the fourth book is thicker, I am fairly certain Major Shit Goes Down in that one. And 2)I have this weird largely subconscious thing about third books that I didn't realize I had until now.
Mostly, I don't expect much from third books. (Except in trilogies, trilogies don't count. Third books in quartets or series). I blame Mirador and the bitter disappointment that was, but I've looked back on it and decided usually the third book in the series is just not that interesting. It's either That Book that comes before the Super Awesome Conclusion or just That Book that happened before all the other Cool Ideas started. So, filler. (Harry Potter is not included in this. That third book rocked.)
So, subconsciously, I'd written off Strikes as filler and did not expect much from it.
But I was so, so wrong!
First, I am going to talk about why I love these books.
I love these books for the plots. They are very interesting plots that I always get wrapped up in. I want to know what's happening, I want the mystery solved, I can't put it down until I know how it all turns out.
I love these books for the characters. God, I love these books for the characters. Hands down, it has some of the more interesting side characters I've encountered in novels. I get so attached to them, and then they come back just to make me happy! Like in the first book, it was Derek. I loved Derek! Who could not love Kate's Teenage Werewolf Sidekick? (Her words!)So for the second book, I was all, "Man, I hope Derek is still around."
And he was!
And then in the second book, I was all "Oh, Andrea. Andrea, you're so awesome. And Julie! I love you Julie! I hope you both come back for the next book!"
And they do!
And now in the third book I discover I love Raphael so hard (he was introduced in the second book, but minor role, so I can be excused from not loving him so much then.) And then there's Dali! I love Dali! I hope she comes back in the next book too!
I don't know if she does yet, but if the trend follows, she will!
And the thing is, I still love Derek and Andrea and Julie and want to see them in the next books too. So, fun times.
So the other reason I like these books is because it's so different from the mold of Urban Fantasy that Anita Blake created. The slow paced romance is refreshing for one thing. The fact that there's no love triangle is AWESOME. There's no, "Oh, who will Kate hook up with? She better who up with Curran!" It's "No, Kate's going to hook up with Curran, eventually."
But as a list as to what makes these books different from other paranomal romance/urban fantasy books:
1. There are men in these novels who are allowed to have a relationship with the protagonist that's based on other things than lust and the need to get into her pants! There's Derek, obviously, Teenage Werewolf Sidekick, and Jim, who's like a business partner.
2. There are other women in this novel who are allowed to kick ass! Always refreshing! (Yay Andrea! And Dali! And Auntie B, for that matter.)
3. There are men in this novel who are allowed to hopelessly pine after women other than the protagonist! (Oh Raphael, you are such a sexy beast! Some day Andrea will see that!)
(No, seriously, the scene where Jim's telling Kate to take back up and she's all, "I'll take Raphael," and he's like, "Why do you think he'll help you?" And she's like, "Pft. He wants to get into my best friend's pants. He'll help." Was WIN.)
Also, the fact that it's not just werewolves and vampires is, frankly, to run the risk of repeating myself, really refreshing. In fact, vampires are not cool at all, and are barely an issue. And it's not even about werewolves, only Derek is a cool werewolf. There's a cool werelion, many cool werehyenas, one cool werejaguar, and one super awesome werebadger.
Ok, so Strikes. I loved this novel for many reasons, mostly because it made me laugh hysterically at several moments. But that moments Kate arranges for Julie is absolutely beautiful. One, I was really glad to see Julie again. Because apparently I'm a huge sucker for kidfic, and the fact that Kate is sorta more or less keeping her around, and has decided to be Crazy Aunt Kate, is really nice. Because you don't see a lot of kids in UF. After that moment, you have to admit, she might not be Mom material, but she does Crazy Aunt Kate really really well.
I was going to type in some favorite scenes, especially that one battle, but it's kinda long. So I'll stick with this one with Kate and Raphael, because it was hilarious.
Oh, some backstory, earlier on in the book, Kate tells Raphael that Andrea loves these trashy romance novels by this one author and she's missing two of her books in exchange for information on the case. (I love that Kate is willing to sell out her friend for the Greater Good.)
"Can you explain something to me?"
Oh boy. "I can try."
He tapped on the leather-covered kneww. "The pirate actually holds this chick's brother for ransom, so she'll sleep with him. These men, they aren't real men. They're pseudo-bad guys just waiting for the love of a 'good' woman."
"You actually read the books?"
He gave me a chiding glance. "Of course I read the books. It's all pirates and the women they steal, apparently so they can enjoy lots of sex and have somebody to run their lives."
Wow. He must've had to hide under his blanket with a flashlight so nobody would question his manliness. Either he really was in love with Andrea or he had a terminal case of lust.
"These guys, they're all aggressive as shit, and everybody wets themselves when they walk by, and then they meet some girl and suddenly they're not uber-alphas; they are just misunderstood little boys who want to talk about their feelings."
"Is there a point to this dissertation?"
He faced me. "I can't be that. If that's what she wants, then I shouldn't even bother."
I sighed. "Do you have a costume kink? French maid, nurse..."
"Catholic school girl."
Bingo. "You wouldn't mind Andrea wearing a Catholic school uniform, would you?"
"No, I wouldn't." His eyes glazed over and he slipped off to some faraway place.
I snapped my fingers. "Raphael! Focus!"
He blinked at me.
"I'm guessing-- and this is just a wild stab in the dark-- that Andrea might not mind if once in a while you dressed up as a pirate. But I wouldn't advise holding her relatives for ransom nookie. She might shoot you in the head. Several times. With silver bullets."
An understanding crept into Raphael's eyes. "I see."
Oh, and I also loved this:
As [Raphael] passed me, he leaned to Curran and handed him a paper fan folded from some sort of flyer.
Curran looked at the fan. "What?"
"An emergency precaution, Your Majesty. In case the lady faints."
Curran just stared at him.
Raphael strode toward the Pit, turned, flexed a bit, and winked at me.
"Give me that," I told Curran. "I need to fan myself."
"No, you don't."
So yes. I love this series. I am torn between reading the fourth book right the damn now and holding off until Friday, when I am done grading papers, when I know I will have *earned* it.
-Phoeiros
Bonus Squee:
I finally watched No Ordinary Family and it definitely has a lot of promise! It's like a liveaction Incredibles! I will be watching.
My favorite part is in the beginning, when the plane is starting to crash and the Mom looks at the daughter and says "Who are you texting now?!?!"
And the daughter answers half terrified, "God!"