Ilona Andrews Fans discussion

Cover reveal:

Ahh Man!!! I love it.

Amazing!!

I wonder why Atlanta has all that snow lol

Zeenat wrote: "I wonder why Atlanta has all that snow lol"

probably something to do with a magic wave...or something.

Beautiful and so different from the othes. What building is in the background? Roland's tower?

That looks like a broken down Atlanta building.

Looks awesome, can't wait to read it .-.

So, who else has read the two first chapters available on Ilona's website?
So exciting! Can't wait for the book to be out ^_^

Ohhhh I have not yet... Time to go find them...

Best cover so far!!

Danielle wrote: "Best cover so far!!"

Totally agree

Do we meet Roland in this one?

According to Ilona's website we do. the link below is to a post on 1/14 if you want to read it.

http://www.ilona-andrews.com/writing/...

Dawn wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Best cover so far!!"

Totally agree

Do we meet Roland in this one?"

We will meet Roland. I read, I think it was a blogpost, that a lot of things will clear in this book and we will finally meet Roland.

Does anyone know what happend to the werecorcodile from book 4 which was set to guard Kate by Hugh?

Maybe we will meet the Knight crusader Nick - strangely absent in book 6...

Well this book will be the final book of this arc before the ending trilogy. July can't come fast enough ;)

That is true, a year is such a torture! Totally need a time machine!:p
I suppose Nicky was not there because most of the story did not happen in Atlanta. ^_^

Isabella wrote: "Dawn wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Best cover so far!!"

Totally agree

Do we meet Roland in this one?"

We will meet Roland. I read, I think it was a blogpost, that a lot of things will clear in this b..."

Didn't Kate send the crocodile after Hugh because he was technically a threat to her too.

I think she just asked Naeemah if Hugh had excluded himself from his request. I can't recall Kate asking her to go after him.
Also it seems that the old lady is more of a "reacting" body guard. She would stop any incoming attack, but not intervene unless Kate's life was in direct danger.

I really like the books but sometimes I feel they are a little short (magic bleeds is the exception) and some of the background (side characters, details and events) are missing.Yes, it is Kate that is telling the story but still... On the other hand the plot should be cohesive. I have a feeling the crocodile and Nicky will be return.

I just have to share how excited I am that my copy of Magic Breaks arrived today. Starting on it tonight! :)

Isabella wrote: "I really like the books but sometimes I feel they are a little short (magic bleeds is the exception) and some of the background (side characters, details and events) are missing.Yes, it is Kate tha..."

Totally agree with you.. Especially in this one, I do feel like a huge chunk of the story is missing. Hopefully we'll get something from Curran POV to recover the missing pieces. Anyhow, still an amazing book as always! And the ending... I was like o_O I need the next book RIGHT NOW!!

Haha, this sounds so good!
I really want to read it, but I'll have to wait a bit as I don't want the hardback edition (it would not match the previous ones and I'm funny like that ^_^ ).

Loved this book. Another slam dunk for Kate Daniels! I agree that there felt there were wholes that could have been filled. Hoping for some Curran POV too. Gotta say I loved there descriptive imaginings of the psychidellic magic growths. It always gets me how they bring in all the myth through the ages. Can't wait for the next!

I thought the book was incredible from beginning to end. I have come to expect information holes from single POV books. Although I can appreciate the authors commitment to Kate's viewpoint throughout the series, I've found myself wishing there were multiple viewpoints at times.

I loved it too. The blood magic parts were great.

(view spoiler)[My only complaint is, believe it or not, the CurranxKate scenes. ok, I KNOW I KNOW he is awesome but I felt like the plot was so much more engaging and dangerous when Kate was by herself, and her dialogues with the others characters where somehow more 'revealing' and driven when she was alone with them, like the one she had with Ghastek about his past, with Hugh and I have the strong impression that if the last meeting in the book with her father was private, he would have said and done a LOT more.

Not that I don't adore Curran or anything, so hold your bricks lol (hide spoiler)]

I just finished the book today and debating if I'll re-read again now or at a later date. I was reading some of the reviews but I gather the majority loved this book which I did too and I'm so excited to see/read what happens next.

I want to address one comment that I read about how did Kate become so needy. I guess Kate was very emotional when she worried about Curran and had not heard from him. Even though she is a badass, her feelings started when she took on the care of Julie in book two, Andrea became a best friend more likely because of the working relationship and Curran started making decision from book 2 about actively going after Kate and through these folks she gathered more friends. It's hard to maintain a hardcore I don't care for anyone when you let people in. Her whole life was preparing herself to meet and kill her father but in between that she always found/worked towards helping others so she's always had feelings she had just distanced herself. So all that to say now that she's in love and wants to spend her life with Curran yes, she is concern so when she does not hear from especially if she thinks that his life might be in danger and she's not there to help or was not able to tell him how much she loved him. While to me this series started out with action and adventure it sort of over books got more romantic and I loved it. Kate and Curran's relationship is one of the main reasons I continue to read this series. If they were together I do know if I would continue reading because what would be the point all this action and no relationships built or family/down time for her. I can't think of many series where there isn't a leading a lady and leading man to get together with a physical attraction towards one another.

Anyways, I can't wait for the next book which will be I guess another year to wait for.

I'm very clear that this is an Urban Fantasy series and that violence should bear consequences. That said,

(view spoiler)[ The senseless death of Mauro hist me hard. I liked his character from the get go. I got a sick feeling when he first appeared in this novel and kept hoping til the end that somehow he would survive Ted's madness. Nick didn't kick Ted nearly enough! (hide spoiler)]

I'll start will a disclaimer as this post withh be spoilery and maybe slightly rant-y. I believe everybody should have a right to an opinion and I'm just expressing mine.

I absolutely loved this book. I haven't still gathered my thoguts enough to right an indepth review of it but I've read other people's view and it seems people are either unhappy with how the Roland issue was handles, and Kate and Curran were depicted.

I won't go into the Roland arc of the story was it's debatable but I'll surely say that people should really forgive Curran for what he did it Magic Rises. He had his reasons and both him and Kate are new to this, so of course they are stumbling and falling but slowly finding a way to keep going. The author duo wrote satisfying explanation for this and I advise people to read it. Kate forgive Curran and by default so did I.
I've had people complain that there was Anti Kate behaviour, when (view spoiler)[ she was trapped with Ghastek and was waiting for Curran to rescue her. But reader forget that Kate has come a long way since she was a merc. The fact that she is waiting and has so much trust in Curran shows how much character development has happened over the course of 7 books. Kate and Curran are a team and they now work as a team. Instead of thinking she is by herself, she has learnt to rely on others just like she expected Curran to rely on her in Magic Rises. (hide spoiler)]

Phew, I feel so much better now, that it's off my chest. I don't want to be trolling people and defending my favourite authors and book series, in the whole wide world. But a girl needs to express herself. Right?

I hear what you are all saying re; Curran/Kate. Even before Magic Rises I felt that Kate no longer had an identity outside of being a Consort. Erra was used to wipe out everything she possessed except for the house in Savanna which is never mentioned again.

I feel Kate is suffocated by the Pack and have slowly come to resent the relationship with Curran.

I don't expect her to be stagnant character wise but saying that she never loved before the series began is simply wrong. She loved her two adoptive fathers and had friends before Nash. One is called Jim.

The way they are portrayed, you'd think she and Curran have been together for more than the year they've actually been together. Within that time, she's made him and his the center of her world.

It is too much, too soon.

When she felt rightfully betrayed by him in Magic Rises, I wanted her to think of how she'll handle separating herself from him temporarily if she wanted to. Would she stay at her new BFF's, spend the night in the offices owned by the Pack or commute to Savanna? They are no married, yet Kate have willingly forgo all the things that made her independent. That she forgave after one talk with him is just an example of how much of herself Kate have given up for this relationship.

Having a whole new life wouldn't be so bad if I didn't feel like everything she was before have been systematically dismantled for the Pack to take over.

I understand the duo writing the series are married and happily so, but it takes years to build the kind of bond that would make one so comfortable they'll allow themselves to be that dependent on another human person. Even more so when that person was a Vrom raised Kate.

I think the beauty of Magic Breaks is Curran and Kate's relationship came full circle. Kate truly did sacrifice herself to be with Curran. She loves Curran, but had to take the Beast Lord too to be with him. She was an excellant Alpha and for all the problems she became a better person for being part of the pack. In Magic Breaks, Curran was able to return the favor. In order to have Kate, he had to accept being with Roland's daughter and all that comes with it.

This book, above all others, shows me how far they've come as individuals and as a couple. I never understood the Magic Rises backlash. But, to me, that book is part 1 to Curran's depth of love for Kate and what they will sacrifice for each other to be with each other. Magic Breaks is the icing on the Curran love cake.

Another thing I liked about Magic Breaks is how Kate and Curran are setting the parameters of their relationship. In Magic Rises, Curran arbitrarily took action to "protect" Kate and caused her pain. By the end of that book they had agreed tentatively not to exclude each other from important decisions. Now in Magic Breaks this is put into effect (view spoiler)[ when Kate TALKS to Curran before going off to meet Roland instead of sneaking off. (hide spoiler)] I call that progress within a relationship that has so many pressures attacking it, it's a wonder it works at all.

I agree with you Bungluna,

It's an evolving story and relationship.

People seem to be complaining that the 'magic' has waned down between Kate and Curran but this is Book 7 pf a series which was meant to end with book this one but has been extend to 10 books. Thing are bound to get stale now and as always, all fantasy series are at their pinnacle at book 3 or 4.

I truly did love this and have enjoyed are your thoughts. I've put my long ramblings below.

(view spoiler)[

Roland.

Since Magic Bleeds we've been getting hints that Roland is not as inheritantly evil as Kate has thought. Erra states he’s morose when thinking about her. He is the only one who could have possibly helped her in Magic slays with Julie’s cleansing. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a nice guy. He has a bloody history and has no problem killing Kate before he meets her. His way of dealing with the possibility, just the possibility, that Kate might be crazy like her mother is to kill Kate before she’s born, not taking her and giving her to others to raise. I believe he gives Kate a pass because she interests him and isn’t pursuing power of overthrowing him. He’s lived for eons and has yet to encounter a child like Kate. But he’ll cut her down without thought if he wants to.

Roland was set up and handled perfectly. A big showdown would have been stupid and as Kate says, she doesn’t know him. She only knows what Voron told her and Voron was brainwashed by her mother. If the information on her mother and Voron was wrong, why wouldn’t the info she’d been given on Roland be suspect too?

Kate and Curran.

I like when Kate is separate from Curran. I like her thought processes and her interaction with others. Did she moon over Curran too much? Yeah, a little, but it was done quickly and could be skipped if needed. I was very pissed with Curran in Magic Rises by how he manipulated Kate. I understood it, it fit his personality, but it pissed me off. It was supposed to. Curran’s not perfect. He’s still trying to feel his way too with a mate just as Kate is and will make mistakes. I’m glad that issue wasn’t rehashed in this story. Obviously the discussed it off page and Kate say they won’t lie to each other anymore and she tells Curran everything. Perfect. I had no problem with her waiting to be rescued. There are times when you can’t do things alone. She was in her father’s tower and getting out should be hard. After all they have been through, I can only imagine Curran’s pride in Kate as she blows up vampire heads (love that visual), can make blood armor, etc. The stronger she is the safer she is and he has to like that. She finally has control of her blood magic. Yeah!!!

Ghastek.

I’ve always like him. Arrogant, cold, dry. He makes me laugh and I loved their “bonding” in the tower. I will never think of him as Matthew. His shock and frustration over not knowing Kate was Roland’s daughter cracked me up. He’s so cute when’s he’s huffy. So one has to wonder the next time Kate calls the casino and requests something, will he continue to blow off Roland’s daughter? I hope we see more of him in future books.

The Rats.

It was nice to have Robert a part of this book. We don’t see much of the rats, though we hear about them and it’s not enough. Am I the only one who is freaked out by the thought of a 6 foot rat? Anyway, the rats are in a self perpetuating circle. They feel marginalized but contribute to that treatment by voting against everything. It was interesting what they did having Robert tell her sacrificing friends is necessary for the good of the pack then seeing him sacrifice himself. It showed they do believe what they say and I would suspect contributes to the difficulty in dealing with them.

Hugh.

Wow. This guy is something else. He could sell water to a mermaid. And everything he says makes so much sense. He’s the scares villain for me in this series. I do wish he’d kicked it in this one, but maybe Kate will have her chance later.

The Pack.

This was a long time coming too. If you read the hot tub scene in Magic Strikes from Curran’s POV, he’s frustrated the pack members won’t give him as much as ten minutes alone. In Magic Bleeds he feels betrayed by the continual challenges to Kate while he’s out. In Magic Slays he tells Kate they can cut and run. Also in that book after Kate tells him she doing the cleansing ritual and he forbids her to do it he tells himself that she’ll eventually leave him if he keeps saying no and that’s one of his first realizations I think that he’ll need to make sacrifices to make the relationship work.

In Magic Rises he faces again the possibility of losing her. One by her walking away because he can’t get his controlling behavior under control, and the other by her dying because he was playing pack politics instead of being there to help protect her. I think the latter weighs very heavily on him and contributes to his already high paranoia when she is away from him too long. Roland walking right into the Keep was the final straw and the final push he needed, no wanted, to leave the pack that he feels betrayed him so thoroughly by wanting Kate dead. And the fact the Pack won’t accept his mate has to make him wonder if they’ll accept their children.

The pack has fairly new jackal alphas, from Magic Bleeds, a new Bouda alpha, new Wolf alpha, and will have a new Cat alpha once Jim becomes Beast Lord or whatever he calls himself, so it’s the right time for change at the top. Now Curran can be there everyday with Kate helping keep her safe.

Pregnancy.

Andrea's pregnant! I love it, Raphael needs some little boudas to drive him nuts. I too wish we could see his face when he finds out. Wonder which parent they will shift like.

Makes me wonder about Kate and Curran's kids. Kate's blood is immune to Lyc-V so what would the kids be? I hope Andrews gives us an idea, I'm dying to know.

The arc from book 1 to book 7 is perfect. How they dribble in the details and keep them straight continues to amaze me. So that is my rambling. (hide spoiler)]

I really enjoy how Roland is being revealed. He's an old, old being from a long distant past that we cannot even imagine. He's immensely powerful. He can't be black of white; there's got to be so much more to him than that.

I still wish that Erra could have been kept around for longer. She was a great character.

As for Hugh, I can't wait for his demise. I hope Curran gets to mince him into bitty pieces.

I don't know...I'm kind of hoping for him to die of indignation and frustration as Kate continues to not want him and all his enemies succeed where he fails. His impotent rage could grow and grow until his head actually does explode. That's how I want him to go.

Samina ~ Escapism~ wrote: "I'll start will a disclaimer as this post withh be spoilery and maybe slightly rant-y. I believe everybody should have a right to an opinion and I'm just expressing mine.

I absolutely loved this ..."

I just finished this book. WOW, I loved it! This is a great thread, I loved reading your defense of both Kate and Curren in Magic Rises and Magic Breaks.

I am completely satisfied with the way the book ended, but (view spoiler)[ is anyone kind of sad that we might not see as much of the pack with the upcoming books? I love so many of them and now things will be different. I am on tenterhooks to see how Ilona Andrews comes through with the change! (hide spoiler)]