Magic Slays (Kate Daniels Series #5)

This is a superb urban fantasy

Still reeling from her deadly insane Aunt Erra's destruction that included her Atlanta apartment, Kate Daniels left the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid. She has become the Mate (some say lady or Alpha) of Curran the Beast Lord. . Now the Mate of the Beast Lord Curran, she opens up Cutting Edge Investigations.

However, clients are few as the Order spreads nasty commentary about her and many fear hiring her as they do not want to alienate her mate. Ghastek the Master of the Dead navigator, who works for the People cult-corporation, asks for help as he hunts down a loose vampire; she chains the deadly predator, but all hell breaks loose with the Atlanta Police Department PAD unit firing at everyone. Kate's BFF Andrea Nash the Beaskin Order of Knights comes to her rescue and joins the firm. Soon after that debacle, The Red Guard asks her to find missing engineer Adam Kamen, a brilliant applied magic theorist, and the device he was working on. They promise Rene of the Guard it will be done subtly, but nothing goes right especially when they learn the capability of Kamen's gizmo.

This is a superb urban fantasy that grips the reader from the moment all hell breaks loose on the street outside of and in Kate's office, and never slows down as her BFF joins her with the missing person's search and much more. Kate is terrific and the return of Andrea will be appreciated by fans of the magical series. This fresh entry is also a nice place for newcomers to take the dive.

Harriet Klausner

14 out of 16 people found this review helpful.

Awesome!

The Kate Daniels series just keeps getting better & better. I finished it in one night and wished there was another one out to read already. These books do not slack off and get boring. Love them. Have already gone back and reread them from book 1.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Really 4.75 Rating

I strongly recommend you read the previous books in the series (Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes and Magic Bleeds) prior to reading this installment. This has been one of my anticipated, if not THE most, anticipated release for 2011 and I was not disappointed. Usually the thrill of the chase between characters is what keeps a series alive and exciting; once those characters get together, things usually start to dull and become stagnate. However, Kate and "Your Furriness" are just as interesting together, as they are apart. The authors did a wonderful job of keeping things mysterious and fresh. I had to subtract a quarter-star simply because, there seem to be too much information when it came to the logistics of planning the battle at the end and the battle scene itself seem to go on and on forever. Other than the small issues listed above, I totally loved this book. I loved the dark humor throughout the story and the situation with Julie. I especially loved experiencing Kate and Curran as a power-duo and the unfurling mystery of Kate's maternal bloodline. I highly recommend this book fellow dark urban fantasy fans and I can't wait for book 6 due out in 2012.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Still loving this series

The fifth book in the Kate Daniels' series has hit streets and readers want to know: Can Kate adjust to her new life as female alpha of the pack and mate to the Beast Lord (a werelion) of Atlanta? And after fighting gods, rabid werewolves and family, where can Andrews take readers now?
In Magic Slays Kate, trying to establish her own merch/PI business after quitting the Order of the Merciful Aid when she found out about their anti-supernatural stance, takes a case to find a lost inventor and a lost machine from the Red Guard (and elite group of ex-military and ex-cop merchs) instead Kate finds out disturbing details about her own past that make her question her relationship with Curran, when she's not too busy trying to find out why vampires and werecritters are going rogue, wards to keep bridge trolls from rampaging are vanishing, and why no one knows what the missing invention did.
Despite Kate finally jumping into real personal connections Andrews keeps true to both the action-packed reputation of the series, and Kate's combination of total combat prowess, but completely scarred emotions. Readers will be pleased to find that love doesn't magically make either Curran or Kate completely open and trusting people and their lives without self-induced complications. Andrews' prose sizzles and her plots keeps readers glued to the pages. Highly recommended for public collections as a representation of some of the best writing modern UF has to offer.

Contains: sex, violence, language

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Magic+slays%2C+Andrews+rules%21

Every+book+is+a+stay-up-too-late%2C+can%27t-put-it-down+read%2C+and+%22Magic+Slays%22+was+no+exception.+It%27s+always+too+long+until+the+next+book.+Adrews+has+been+an+auto-buy+for+me+since+the+first+book%2C+and+they+never+disappoint.%0A

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended

There's not much to say, these books are just great. It wasn't necessarily my favorite in the series, but all the high points were still there.

Kate has a great mix of toughness while still being reasonable and being able to have a loving, non-drama filled relationship with Curran.

There was definite progression in the overall story arc, as well as an interesting plot for this books itself. I am interested to see how things will work out with many of the other characters in the future. Can't wait!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Read! Many balls flying through the air w/none falling flat, more for us to learn!

It's been two months since Kate's Aunt attack on the city. Before the crack of dawn Kate receives a phone call from Julie's school. She's run away, again, and now they agree since she doesn't want to be there they won't take her back, for her own safety. Curran believes Julie will be safe staying with them and with three hundred shafters ready to protect her, Kate has agreed but teaches Julie a little lesson in the way she comes home. Kate has opened Cutting Edge Investigations, only a month ago and no ones called to hire her thanks to The Order has been bad mouthed her name, just bills piling up. Even through the Pack is paying the bills, for a short time, she wants to stand on her own two feet. Her first call, Ghastek with a lose vampire heading her direction, the journeyman had fainted while navigating. Finally when the vampire is under control and Ghastek shows, he passes out himself, of all people to lose control. Something is up. Kate's second call, is Rene from the Red Guard, she was the woman at the guard of Midnight Games, wants to hire her to find her charge and his magical device that was taken from her protection. Even though no useful information is available to find this man, the twenty grand and an endorsement for Cutting Edge Investigation from the Red Guard convinces Kate to take the job. This man and his device could end up being very dangerous to Kate, all her friends and family, and even the whole magical city.

Even though this is two months later, I feel as we are right where we left off from Magic Bleeds. This book makes me smile on the first page, and so happy to see the fun jabs between Curran and Kate are not lost with the love they share.

Kate's family heritage is growing. She learns more of her mother through others here. I found it interesting what Kate learns from the witches.

Andrea is ever present in this book as well, and with her own personal issues. Andrea had left with Grendel, Kate's attack poodle which was in Andrea's care, after the fight with Kate's Aunt. But she's back, and been through a mess with The Order. Saiman is present for a scene as well. We get to see him in his true form, again, and learn of what Curran inflicted upon him after what happened in Magic Bleeds. Oh I am really enjoying Saiman, and his true form. Oh Julie...I love this girl. Kate is raising her to be one strong woman, and had taught her to fight. We get to see Julie and enjoy her humor for a few before we worry greatly for her.

This book didn't hit me as hard as Magic Bleeds. Magic Bleeds was one that hit me all at once with a high point that ran full throttle to the end, and I couldn't stop. Magic Slays was one that kept going. There was so many great scenes and so many different people being affected. Each scene was non-stop. This book was the high hit all the way through. No low. I eat up the action, the happenings, and worries like crazy. All from Andrea to Julie to Kate and Curran, the magic, death, the pack, family, and so many more!

This book has so many balls flying through the air and none are falling flat. One amazing read from the start to the finish.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Series!

Move over Anita Blake & Racheal Morgan, there ia a new sheriff in town

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I love the entire Kate Daniels series and can't wait for the nex

I love the entire Kate Daniels series and can't wait for the next book to come out. I also love the Curran's POV books that give you a look into what the Beast Lord is thinking while he and Kate are saving the world.

CHARMS CLASS

.

:)

I love this series! It's well written and the world is interesting. The characters pull you in, I say give it a try. You wont be dissapointed.

Love both series by these authors!! The Edge series and Kate Dan

Love both series by these authors!! The Edge series and Kate Daniels series!!

Des

Im Desiree (Des= dez). im a flexible 14 year old whos father was killed by vamps when she was two. Im an expert assassain and master of disguise. I look like the black widow from the avengers but can use a bow like hawk eye. I wear the black widows full body suit because....she was my mother.... and disappeared a year after my father died. She left me with hawk eye and he treated me as his own. I have my mothers short wavy red hair and my father big murky greenish brown eyes. May i join you

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I like the way the authors write. The series has action, romanc

I like the way the authors write. The series has action, romance and suspenseI really enjoy this series, eveything I enjoy in a series. I have all in of this series including Gunmetal Magic. I can't wait until the next one.

Love this series

This series is so much fun. Highly recommend

Amazing series

Another great addition

Kate kicks butt

This series is one of my favorites.

Absolutely hooked on this series.

Absolutely hooked on this series.

Love it

Love it

Curran...ugh Review brought to you by Verushka The husband and

Curran...ugh

Review brought to you by Verushka

The husband and wife team that make up Ilona Andrews deliver another fast-paced, tightly written novel in the Kate Daniels series. While there is much to commend about their world-building, and their handling of the characters they have populated their world with, in this, the second book after Curran and Kate have become more permanent in their relationship, is not without serious flaws that ultimately detract from the book, and worse still, Kate.

First the good – this particular novel is a worthy addition to the series. It finds Kate living at the Pack Keep, trying to deal with: (not understanding) the importance of Pack politics, as Curran’s “wife”; worried about Cutting Edge, which hasn’t had business for a while and worrying about Julie and Andrea. As always, the authors give Kate a distinct, strong voice that is unique in urban fantasy and she is unapologetic in who she is. The case in this book is frightening for every species the authors have populated their world with – someone has built a bomb that destroys magic so shapeshifters, vampires, anything with any sort of magic is in danger of being destroyed. Kate is hired by the Red Guard, last seen in the previous book to find said inventor and instrument, and this part of the book is a fabulous adventure, taking Kate on a trip into her mother’s past, and testing her like she hasn’t been before – through Julie. There is the emergence of something interesting and frightening at the end of the book for Kate that bodes well for future books in the series.

But where things do not sit well with me is Curran. When Kate is with Curran, everything else about her – her cases, her concerns for anyone else other than Curran (and in this case, Julie, who as her ward warrants constant worry) take an obvious backseat. For instance, the book begins with Andrea’s return after an absence that has worried Kate and beyond a couple of mentions in the beginning of the book, she is shifted offstage investigating leads of their case. In her stead, we get instead Kate waxing lyrical about Curran, bantering with Curran as he goes off in search of a renegade pack member, relaxing with Curran, and before the big battle playing dress-up with Curran as some sort of last-chance-before-we-could-possibly-die evening of wearing eveningwear. Yup, Kate dresses up, whoop-di-doo. Had Kate decided to deal with the danger of what was coming just being with Curran, with the Pack I would have understood it better than what comes off as an indulgent, long scene and a sharp jerk out of the tenseness of the overall case they are on.

Will the real Kate Daniels please stand up?

Curran is still a cliche in this book; the physical and character-antithesis to every other male character in the book, by necessity in order to stand out, I would guess. The issue is that every other male character? Is sharply written, lethal in their own way without needing to be as large than life as Curran. He takes over the book when he appears, and worse still he makes Kate a badly written Harelquin romance character (don’t get me started on the bad photoshop in the cover that screams “trashy romance novel”), which, yes, it’s an urban fantasy romance, but for me, and I suppose this is my fault and my own expectations, Kate was always more than that in the earlier books.

For the FULL review and more visit openbooksociety dot com

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.