#and on the other side kate & hugh & roland of the kate daniels series

[tanoraqui]

Thinking again about the absolute feast of rotating fairy tale character motifs in 2012-13 cyberpunk show Motorcity… In Kane’s ideal world he’s the king and Julie is the princess and Mike is the knight (and adopted heir); and in Kane’s lived world he’s the king and Julie is the princess and Mike is the knight treacherously turned dragon; and in Motorcity Mike is something between a lordless knight errant and the king of a round table and Julie is one of his knights (playing the part of princess in the tower as necessary) (except she really is still trapped in the tower, because she loves her father even as she works against him) and Kane is the dragon; and as a sidebar the Duke has actual dragon aesthetics (GOLD + larger than life, ego) and more importantly there’s the LARP where Chuck (normally a common knight of the round table) is the king and Mike is a dragon who is a knight, or maybe a knight who is a dragon… The greatest tragedy of its cancellation is we’ll never find out what Julie would’ve been in Raymanthia (the LARP). My heart says queen.

[bookloveravenue]

A Kate Daniels novel (book 10): Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews

Mercenary Kate Daniels must risk all to protect everything she holds dear in this epic, can't-miss entry in the thrilling #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series.

Kate has come a long way from her origins as a loner taking care of paranormal problems in post-Shift Atlanta. She's made friends and enemies. She's found love and started a family with Curran Lennart, the former Beast Lord. But her magic is too strong for the power players of the world to let her be. Kate and her father, Roland, currently have an uneasy truce, but when he starts testing her defenses again, she knows that sooner or later, a confrontation is inevitable. The Witch Oracle has begun seeing visions of blood, fire, and human bones. And when a mysterious box is delivered to Kate's doorstep, a threat of war from the ancient enemy who nearly destroyed her family, she knows their time is up.

Kate Daniels sees no other choice but to combine forces with the unlikeliest of allies. She knows betrayal is inevitable. She knows she may not survive the coming battle. But she has to try.

For her child. For Atlanta. For the world.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333180-magic-triumphs

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August 29, 2018

My Review: 5/5 Stars

A fantastic ending to an amazing series. Seriously, what a way to end the series. After 10 long books and a few novellas, the Kate Daniels series has come to an end. And what an ending it was! I laughed and I cried and I probably had ten more emotions as I was reading the book. Demanding to know why certain things happened, but being relieved to see the answers. To laughing my butt off thanks to Kate and Curran's banter, and Hugh's for that matter as well. Smiling at moments you have waited patiently for. It was just such a satisfying book knowing it was the end for our main characters Kate and Curran. 

Kate has fought her family, her friends, the love of her life, and their baby son. She fought to make a life for herself after believing for so long that she wasn't going to get one. She knows that with the birth of her son, her father will be there ready to take him away from her and Curran. A war is coming and she is ready to fight for everyone she loves, even if it means her own death. The book starts with the birth of Kate and Curran's son, Conlan. Then it jumps to thirteen months later. They've adjusted to a life with a child and though Conlan has turned their life upside down, Atlanta is still causing trouble and they are still protecting it. When a surprising (and horrifying) incident occurs, everything changes. And the cause isn't Kate's father, Roland. No. It is something that is a lot worse. A new threat has come and now it will take everyone in Atlanta to fight it. Everyone. As Kate and her friends figure out how to defeat this new enemy, they are also preparing for the moment when Roland will come for them. Battles on all sides. Familiar and surprising faces return.

Plot twists on plot twists occurred throughout this book and I loved every moment of it. I couldn't guess what was coming. I kept turning page after page, demanding to know how everything will be resolved. And it was. That's what I really loved. And though the ending left things with the hope of new stories for others and of course, wanting more of Hugh and Elara (2 more books with them! yay!), I was still happy and content with the ending. If you love this series and you have stuck with it to the very end, you will love this final book. I know I did. 

[mydreamcatcherblogme]

Review: Magic Slays [Kate Daniels #5]

Title: Magic SlaysAuthor: Ilona AndrewsGenre: Urban Fantasy/ Romance/ AdventurePublication date: 2011 Summary: Kate Daniels may have quit the Order of Merciful Aid, but she’s still knee-deep in paranormal problems. Or she would be if she could get someone to hire her. Starting her own business has been more challenging than she thought it would be—now that the Order is disparaging her good name. Plus, many potential clients are afraid of getting on the bad side of the Beast Lord, who just happens to be Kate’s mate.  So when Atlanta’s premier Master of the Dead calls to ask for help with a vampire on the loose, Kate leaps at the chance of some paying work. But it turns out that this is not an isolated incident. Kate needs to get to the bottom of it—and fast, or the city and everyone dear to her might pay the ultimate price…      I hated it. I hated everything. Said no one ever when they read Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews :D No, seriously, there is literally nothing to hate here. In the other books I found things I hate or things I dislike, here it was action after action, humor after fight, sweet after scary. I didn't get the chance, I was so into the story.     The plot follows Kate after she quits/gets fired from the Order and gets mated to the Beast Lord. She has her own business now and no clients. None. Nada. Luck finally smiles at her, kind of, when a vampire gets loose from its navigator and Ghastek calls

her to ask for assistance. She helps, alright, and he gets hold of the vampire's mind only to drop it a few minutes later. Something almost impossible for a navigator of Ghastek's caliber.      More and more strange things begin to happen - people are sacrificed for their magic, spells fail, magic boundaries disintegrate without a trace. Kate's investigation revolves around Adam Kamen, an inventor who might have built the next atomic bomb with the purpose of destroying anything that has a drop of magic. Humans included.     There are so many things happening in this book - secret society have infiltrated every institution, even magical; all of Atlanta's magical societies are finally finding common ground; Julie is dying; Kate finds something about her past that threatens to shatter her completely; Curran is being himself - strong, primal, sexy and loving. I honestly couldn't put the book down.      I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but with fantasy books it is really hard to keep the realism on the page when there are impossible things happening. With Ilona Andrews that's not an issue, especially when it comes to relationships between the characters. Most of them act so naturally, so instinctively that just reading about them makes you tell if their feelings (love, hate, fear, jealousy, etc) are real or not. It's a great talent in my opinion.     The other thing that really sold me was the increasing amount of background we get about Roland and his past, Kate's past, and what she is capable of. The ritual she performed was WoW and I have the  nagging feeling that the voice she 'heard' is none other but

daddy dearest's. I don't know, it's a hunch. I can't imagine anyone else that could be but it scared the shit out of me and gave me an anxiety about what this means. Can he control her? Can she keep at bay the bloodlust? She was not herself then and I realized I was holding my breath as I read.    And the ending, the cliffhanger. Now that was uncalled for :D It's a good thing that I started reading the series late and I don't have to wait for the next book because heads would have rolled :D Not a pretty picture.    There are a lot of things I am looking forward to seeing more of - I want to see a meeting between Andrea and Rafael :D (this would be explosive); I want to see Kate learn to use her magic as a weapon; I kind of want to see more Curran & Kate moments. And I want to see Hugh come back and face her. I am so curious about him. I kind of think he is not entirely bad guy (I don't know why) but we all know he is bound to Roland so he has little choice in the matter. So I am really looking forward to reading the next book and then the next and next until I am out of books, crying in the corner and cursing profoundly.    Anyway, I would give Magic Slays a 5/5 rating as it was indeed an action-packed, undeniably amazing book that stole my sleep and made me want to jump with joy and cry with sorrow because I have to go stop reading and go to work. Life, bleh.    What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on Magic Slays? Read the full article