Monday, February 2, 2015

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels #1) by Ilona Andrews (4 stars)

About Magic Bites
Kate Daniels #1
(from Goodreads)

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up paranormal problems. Atlanta has two factions struggling for power. Masters of the Dead are necromancers who control vampires. The Pack are a paramilitary clan of shapechangers. When Kate's guardian is killed, she is caught between.

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Review

My high school daughter handed me this book -- she's read the entire series twice now -- and begged me to read it. She knows I like this genre. Even more, I like connecting with her about books.

My first thought... this is not a young adult series. There were some very adult words (the F word is used numerous times) and situations. However, overall the content was not too mature and there were no sex scenes, only innuendos. I only say that because my daughter is in high school, but I wouldn't have wanted her to read it any younger. Of course, that's a personal choice... just thought I'd mention it.

Kate Daniels is a great character; she's tough, gifted, and determined. In addition to facing terrifying enemies, she has to make alliances with a pretty sorted lot of creatures. It's intense, especially because the major creepy bad guy is pretty disgusting. There's nothing paranormal light -- think glowing, non-human-eating vampires -- about this series. It's raw and in your face. Not a bad thing!

As a book one, I did feel a little thrown into the story. It felt more like a book two, where the reader is comfortable with the characters and the background of these various creatures. It was a lot to take in. Still, I look forward to continuing the series. Not that my daughter would allow me to quit now anyway.

Rating: 4 stars

About the Author
(from Goodreads)

Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. author2sm“Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)

Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Oregon with their two children, three dogs and a cat. They have co-authored two series, the bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels and romantic urban fantasy of The Edge.

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