Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels #2
Published by Ace on 1 April 2008
Genres: Adult, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 272
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Purchase
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Down in Atlanta, tempers – and temperatures – are about to flare…
As a mercenary who cleans up after magic gone wrong, Kate Daniels has seen her share of occupational hazards. Normally, waves of paranormal energy ebb and flow across Atlanta like a tide. But once every seven years, a flare comes, a time when magic runs rampant. Now Kate’s going to have to deal with problems on a much bigger scale: a divine one.
When Kate sets out to retrieve a set of stolen maps for the Pack, Atlanta’s paramilitary clan of shapeshifters, she quickly realizes much more at stake. During a flare, gods and goddesses can manifest – and battle for power. The stolen maps are only the opening gambit in an epic tug-of-war between two gods hoping for rebirth. And if Kate can’t stop the cataclysmic showdown, the city may not survive…
Magic Burns is filled with mystery, mythology, fights and some very hot chemistry between Kate and Curran. And I’m definitely a fan of all of that 🙂
My Magic Burns review:
In Magic Burns, Kate grows as a character, while still staying true to herself as well. She realizes just how important pack-business is for the wolves, especially when Jim more or less abandons her at a crime-scene, leaving her both to take care of a dead guy, a magic salamander and a hidden crossbow-shooter. With her usual pragmatic reasoning, Kate does manage all of it, even to bring in the dead guy’s head so she can get her fee from the Mercenary Guild, who had wanted him dead or alive. The stakes are definitely high, especially as Kate realizes that she will have to fight against gods and goddesses in order to save Atlanta, and all of humanity as well. Magic Burns picks up not long after the end of the story in Magic Bites, and it’s just as fast-paced, filled with action and magic, and some mystery as the first book in the Kate Daniels series. And for some strange (or not so strange, as it may well be) reason, I am completely mesmerized by Curran. He’s definitely my kind of lion!
As the story moves forward, Magic Burns shows that there is a lot of mythology to be had in this fantastic world, and as long as someone worships a deity, that deity might very well be able to grow stronger. The magic also reacts to this, so Kate certainly has her work cut out for her in this story. What I really enjoyed, though is that Kate has a lot of friends she can count on! Andrea, Derek, even Jim and Curran were there to help her out when she most needed it.
I also really loved how Kate had to use both her detective skills, her fighting skills, her common sense, and a lot of cunning in order to make things go her way in Magic Burns! I think Kate is the kind of heroine I will love just as much as I love Rachel from The Hollows. She is crafty, strong, and has a little trouble with her magic sometimes. In some ways, she’s a lot more secure and confident, though, and I look forward to seeing her evolve in this series.
Magic Burns also showed a more emphatic side to Kate, as she helped a little girl search for her mom, a witch who had disappeared. Soon, Kate had to fight some very strange creatures in order to save Julie, and as soon as she got rid of them, there were more arriving. Little by little, the mystery was unraveled, and a huge showdown including gods and more creatures, as well as Kate’s friends from the pack followed.
Written in third person past tense, the omniscient narrator managed to show me just enough so that I felt like I understood everything, but there was still enough mystery left to keep me guessing anyway. I look forward to more adventures with Kate, because Magic Burns had all I look for in a great story, there is a little bit of romance, great humor, lots of fights, different shapeshifters, and quite scary vampires, as well as the mythology that is as varied as the creatures that are part of this series. Both the story and the plot-line were well done, and I truly enjoy the character development as well.
Some of my favorite Magic Burns quotes:
“That last fireball missed me by a mile. You shoot blanks with your other salamander, too, Jeremy?” “Eat shit and die!”
Pack business always took precedence. On a scale from one to ten, the Pack was eleven and everything else a one.
Somewhere far away, a wolf howled. I could always tell a wolf from a stray dog – the lupine howl sent shivers down my spine. I thought of Curran. The scary thing was, I was kind of curious about seeing him tomorrow.
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
oh my god I love this series, it’s soo good , the writing, the world, the characters and Curran. I love Curran <3
Oh I so agree, Lily, I adore Curran, too <3 I only have the latest installment to read, but I need to write all my reviews for the first books in the series first 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Oh yes! I love love this series so I’m glad it’s the same for you again! You also really need to try burn for me. It was really good too.
I hope the others will please you too. Can’t wait to see what you think of them. Great review!
Is Burn for Me in the new series? I just bought that one yesterday 😀 I tend to stick with authors whose books I enjoy 😀
Thanks for stopping by Melliane!
Yay! I am happy you enjoyed this, it is one of my favourite series.
I liked seeing the kinder side to Kate too. Julie is good for her. And the tension between Kate and Curran… love it *wink*
Now, it’s one of my favorite series, too, Naomi. It’s well written, and the characters are very compelling.
Curran *sighs*
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My workmate, here behind my back, is exclaiming : “Kate Daniels, such a great series, why haven’t you read it yet, you moron ?!” Well, give me your vacations and I’ll read it, duh ! Don’t worry, we love each other 😉
I’ll read it, promise – great review !
LOL it sounds like work is fun for you today, Iza 😉 And she’s right! Why haven’t you read Kate Daniels yet? (I don’t know you well enough yet to call you ‘moron’… 😛 )
You’ll love this series – it’s right up there with Cat and Bones, and The Hollows!
Thanks for stopping by.
I’ve never seen this one before, and honestly don’t love the cover all too much but it’s great to see that you loved it! Character development is precious, so glad that it had plenty of it.
Fabulous review, Lexxie! <33
LOL, the cover isn’t the most amazing UF / PNR cover I’ve ever seen either, Melanie. The story, though, is wonderful!
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Aah, yes! This is the installment in which Julie & Kate hook-up, definitely a good one, then again they all are. I can’t really think of any other paranormal lions off the top of my head, but Curran is my kind of feline as well (and I’m a dog person!). KD is the bomb!!
Yes, it is! And I loved how protective of Julie Kate was from the very start. There are jaguars and tigers in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series… can’t really remember if there are lions too, but those cats are hot.
LOL, you prefer your wolves, now, do you, Carmel?
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Twitter: Mlsimmons
I love this series. I always listen to it. They have an awesome narrator. The series just gets better and better. I’m so glad you’re enjoying.
I have gotten a couple as audio-books as well, Melanie. I’m a little weird when it comes to audiobooks… I prefer getting stories I’ve already read and loved.
Thanks for stopping by.
I’m so happy you’re loving this series, Lexxie. Yes, I think you will love Kate just as much as you love Rachel. I love the Andrews’ worldbuilding and the colorful characters they create. And I like what you said about Kate having so many friends she can count on…that’s kinda ironic considering how she was raised, no? And my dear, Curran is exactly my kind of lion, too! 😉
And guess what?!? I bet you get to meet the Andrews in about 6 months! 😉
I hope you slept last night…at least a little. I slept but that’s from the cold medicine. *haha* I’m still rather excited. I couldn’t wait to share the news with my kids! I’ll have to see if I can figure out a way to create a calendar to do a countdown! 🙂 Happy Thursday, my friend!! **BIG HUGS**
YAY, I saw that they are going to RT, and really, that’s so exciting! I have already read the first five or six books in this series, and I do love Kate just as much as Rachel. She really does grow over the span of these books, and Curran is just alpha-male hotness to a ‘t’!
I didn’t sleep all that much, and I can’t stop thinking about going to Dallas, room with you (yes, that’s actually even better than meeting all those authors!) and meeting some of my favorite authors.
Thanks for stopping by, my dear! *BIG HUGS
Aren’t these books just awesome?? I LOVED this one too, I think I loved them all..LOL You’re tempting me to do a re-listen!
Great review Lexxie 🙂