Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews published by Ace Mar 2007. CDN $8.99 Kindle edition.
When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.
Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.
The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way. (Goodreads excerpt)
I had a difficult time getting into this book. Mostly I think because there was a lot of information that left me having to pause and reflect and go “oh yeah ok I remember that now”. Once I got about 20% in (I have a kindle so I read in % rather than pages) the story picked up and I was able to continue without going back to remember things like who characters were.
Once I got into the story I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. I love the attention to detail that makes the story so believable. It was very consistent when the magic/technology was up and everything was explained. I loved the main character Kate, her kick ass no nonsense attitude kept me cheering her on. She kicked butt, got hurt in return, fixed herself up and continued on. I loved the vulnerable side she showed on rare occasions showing she is human and not just a machine. Love this character.
The world building was fantastic, even though it slowed it down in the beginning it is what made the story so believable. All of the characters were unique and engaging, even the bad ones. I got a kick out of the vampires in this story and how they were not portrayed as typical gorgeous swoon worthy creatures that every girls falls for. I won’t describe them to avoid any spoilers. Suffice it to say it was different!
I am usually a sucker for romance in my novels, but the lack of love scenes/swoon worthiness actually made this story better. It seems like the author is saving it for the next book in the series as she set up the tension between the two main characters in this one. (Just an observation). I am looking forward to reading the next book.
4 1/2 stars for me.
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Cynthia Stacey 