Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

This thread is open to discuss Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews.



Synopsis
No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she's trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.

Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?

As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.”

Hugh and Elara may do both.

      ~ Buddy Style Reads ~
    Three Ways to Enjoy a Book!

At NRBC we use three styles of buddy reads. These will be indicated in the thread title as “Buddy Read”, “Relaxed Buddy Read” or “Informal Buddy Read”.

A “Buddy Read” has a discussion leader and a reading date is set to start the book. A reading schedule is posted prior to the start date and discussion questions are posted each day regarding that section of the book. More information about these types of reads is below. An example is here, showing a reading schedule here.

A “Relaxed Buddy Read” is similar to our usual “buddy reads” except there are less questions and break points. For example, a book may be split into three sections and those reading the book should pause at the end of the section to answer some discussion questions, make comments, or ask their own questions to other readers. An example is here.

An “Informal Buddy Read” doesn’t have a discussion leader and participants are asked to consider some generic questions when making comments about the book. An example is here.

A “Read and Watch Buddy Read” may be set up as any of the above, but we will also watch the movie or T.V. series - or even go to a play! - and make comparisons, discussing what has been left out or changed as well as the actors and actresses. There is a long debate of what one should do first: read the books or watch the movie? We usually read first, but it isn’t essential. Also, if you would like to join in, but don’t want to watch the movie, show, or play, but only read the books, that is fine, too. An example is here.


MORE UNDER SPOILER
(view spoiler)[

“Buddy Reads” (“BRs”) include:

• A reading schedule which can range from 50, 75, to 100 or so pages a day.

• Discussion questions posted daily by moderators and occasionally group members
   who help one of us out. If you want to be a Discussion Leader, let us know.

• If the book is really long, we'll plan a break day.

• Members do NOT have to answer every question, they are meant to stimulate
   conversations about the books AND allow us to glance back upon them when the
   sequels come out. This helps us to remember what exactly happened in the previous
   book.

• We find the buddy style of reading to be more fun than just posting one or two
   sentences about a book. We feel this is what distinguishes us as being a ‘book club’
   rather than just another GoodReads ‘group.’

• If you can NOT start the book on time, feel free to join in at a later date. They are
   set up to make it easy to do so.

• Moderators are people too, so occasionally we get sick, have to work late at our real
   jobs, or have something that keeps us from writing the questions. Please forgive us;
   we're only human and we don't get any compensation for what we do--not even
   free books!

• Discussions and questions are set up to make you think, analyze, and see things you,
   or even we, may have missed. Feel free to add your own thoughts at any time, if you
   think we've missed something.

• If you've read the book, feel free to let us know what you thought about the book.
   You can do so at the end of the buddy read, or, if you can't wait, add spoiler tags
   before you comment like:

   **************BEWARE! SPOILER FOR THE END OF THE BOOK**************

   Or insert a (view spoiler)[spoiler (hide spoiler)]. If you do NOT know how to do so, just check out our
   GoodReads 101 explanation on how to Insert a Spoiler.

• If you are looking for a reading buddy, post an inquiry in our Buddy read requests thread. Use that thread, if you want to have a repeat read of a BOM
    or buddy read, too.

• Have fun! We always do when more than one person joins in. And we look less silly
   if someone else discusses a book with us. (hide spoiler)]

res

I've got this pre-ordered so I'm in.

Hugh has been a bad, bad, boy... even some may say evil BUT I've still got a bit of a soft spot for him. Glad he's getting his own book and a chance to be redeemed... but hopefully not too much, LOL.

Checking in!

I'm just looking forward to more on this world.

I binge read the entire series except gunmetal magic and some novellas this month.

And absolutely loved it.

Team Draco Malfoy! I’m so excited for this. Just finished my reread of Magic Shifts, one to go and I’ll be ready!

Team Sprout. I'm iffy about Hugh being redeemed, but if anyone could do it, Ilona Andrews can.

Almost done with re-read of Gunmetal Magic (and about to start re-reading book 9) and I forgot how much I like Roman. If they need another character to focus a book on, I totally vote for him.

I'm curious to see what they do with Hugh as well.

@Diane - hm, I think I'll need to reread Gunmetal Magic too :)

I’m in, but probably a few days late.

Just pre-ordered. Love the series and am curious about this one. Crossing fingers.

I'm in from Team Newt Scamander. I have it on pre-order. Really looking forward to seeing the conversion of Hugh from bad guy to hero.

I'm starting.

Karishma wrote: "I'm starting."

LOL I understand the excitement, trust me. The authors make these so addicting.

Natalie wrote: ""

Hey, he is a "good" "bad guy"....errr, it just means we like this one lol

I'm really liking Elara and very curious to know the extent of her powers and what she is.

It will be very interesting to see how Hugh and her fall for each other.

Chapter 3
(view spoiler)[ She straight up swallowed the vampire's magic? Umm okay??

I liked her idea of putting them next to the kitchens to remind them that they were running out of food. (hide spoiler)]

And the meet-cute finally happens :PPP

Chapter 8

(view spoiler)[ It was hinted in the last book that they will be going to meet the white warlock right?

Will Hugh betray the pack or not? And Ascanio is here. It's actually a good reminder in this story of how horrible Hugh was!

The whole sequence in the order was horrible :/

Edit: Oh Damn! Something entirely different happened!

(hide spoiler)]

Finished.

I really liked the book and am less conflicted about Hugh now. But sheesh Elara is super super scary.

(view spoiler)[ I mean when she was crawling towards Hugh and the way it was described with the hair flying etc it sounded really creepy and I could totally imagine a monstrous thing there.

Wasn't expecting to see Roland here. Or him being so scared of her. Looks like we will be seeing a lot of her in the next Kate Daniels book.

(hide spoiler)]

What I didn't like about it was (view spoiler)[ that the elder creature who summoned the mrogs and the soldiers wasn't mentioned and the situation wasn't fully resolved which I think means that it may continue on to the next Iron Covenant Book *sigh the waiting :(*

And I want to know about Elara's powers in detail. (hide spoiler)]

Small Pet Peeve : The Elephant's name is Airavat not Erawan.

ch 1 -2

(view spoiler)[I want to say poor Hugh, but I still think of him as a villain. I wonder how long before that perspective changes? I am interested in his new horse, Bucky, since he was glowing.
(hide spoiler)]

I'm 16th in line on 1 copy so it may be Thanksgiving by the time I get a copy.

I hope to join this, but it'll be after Quidditch - which isn't TOO much longer!

ch 3
(view spoiler)[I like Elara, although her magic is a bit freaky and I hope they explain it soon. The one-upmanship between Elara and Hugh was great. Now if only he didn't have all this baggage of horrible stuff he did to Kate to overcome.
(hide spoiler)]

Suzanne, I plan to treat myself to this one once Quidditch is over, too!

Ha what I think is funny is that we are reading like mad for Quidditch, so how will we reward ourselves? With more reading! =)

Yes!

ch 4 - 6

(view spoiler)[I really want to know what Elara is and the story of the remainers and departers.

Nothing like a beast attack to liven up a wedding reception.

I love how Hugh dealt with the Senator.

The about face Hugh had on shapeshifters was jarring. It seems odd he would have said so much to Kate about it and really feel differently.

(hide spoiler)]

ch 7

(view spoiler)[Oooh, Hugh is throwing a temper tantrum! No Pack allowed.

I'm glad Elara probably talked sense into him. At least now he is thinking and realizing consequences of actions instead of just reacting because he hates Curran.

I like that he is honest and admits he doesn't know what he would do if Roland wanted him back. Since he is supposed to be a "good" guy now, I'll assume he will choose not to go.

(hide spoiler)]

Ch 1-2

Good background for those who haven't read all of the backstory on Hugh

(view spoiler)[ I like that Hugh is beginning to question things he did without question for Roland, ie deserted towns he vowed to protect. Now he is the one with the bad reputation, not Roland. I'm sure this is the beginnings of a new moral compass. Yeah!

Looking forward to seeing how Sam is going to figure into the trilogy; maybe like Julie, Derek and Ascanio to Kate and Curran. And then there's the glowing Bucky! (hide spoiler)]

I've only just started... (view spoiler)[ I did like the prologue, it no doubt was trying to paint a picture why Hugh was so loyal to Roland not as an excuse for what he did but as an explanation.

One of Hugh's strengths going forward will be his loyalty redirected in a more positive way I feel. (hide spoiler)]

Up to chapter 6.

(view spoiler)[ Now, that was hell of a wedding! Really enjoying the banter between Hugh and Elara. That was one of Hugh's saving graces with Kate and why I always enjoyed his scenes. He's a bastard... but a clever, witty one! And Elara seems to be more than a match for him. There's a lot more to her than meets the eye. (hide spoiler)]

Ch 3-5

Diane ~Firefly~ (view spoiler)[Elara's hidden magic is so intriguing. Really want to know the story about the Departed and The Remaining.

I've been waiting for the monsters. They give everyone a chance to show their skills. Happening at the reception and Hugh finding out that Elara's group expected it by having the second cake ready was hilarious.

The killing of the mercenary was a necessary show of power but not until later when Elara has the hologram image of Hugh and mentions his look of bleakness during the killing did we see any effect it had on him. He doesn't internalize it at all right after the event. (hide spoiler)]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) - prologue was a great way to get info to people who haven't read the Kate Daniels books

ch 8 -9

(view spoiler)[Hugh totally surprised me. I was sure he was going to attack Ascanio and group. Also Acanio!!! But no, he used them as bait for the vampires instead.

The dream thing Elara did was interesting. We still need to understand her magic.

I'm glad Hugh could save Alex (he prayed to Elara, so some of her people think of her like a god then. Wasn't there something earlier where she was going out of her way to keep that from happening?). It was an interesting fight. It almost seemed like the soldiers knew magic would disappear when it did.

Yay Cedric! Hugh has both an awesome horse and dog!
(hide spoiler)]

Loyalty (min of ch 2) (view spoiler)[I'm surprised Roland let Hugh be loyal to the Iron Dogs. He is such a drama queen, I would have expected him to force Hugh to betray them in some ways over the years. Because as far as Roland believes, there is loyalty to him and nothing else matters. (hide spoiler)]

Just finished it and really enjoyed it.

They gave just enough possible explanations for Hugh's past behaviour and actions (view spoiler)[ Roland's hold over him both emotionally and through magic (hide spoiler)] without lessening him as a tough, battle hard leader and yes sometimes as an (view spoiler)[ absolute bastard!! (hide spoiler)]

Elara was a great match for him, the Andrews writing team are really clever with that sort of witty bantering.

And Karishma.. loved that Elephant. I'd never heard of that mythical creature, is that a legend from your part of the world?

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "Loyalty (min of ch 2) [spoilers removed]"

I agree (view spoiler)[but not just with Hugh's loyalty to the Dogs but the fact that the Dogs were only loyal to Hugh and not to Roland. Seems like Roland should have built in some loyalty to himself that would have avoided having to eliminate that huge group of trained soldiers. (hide spoiler)]

ch 6-9

Diane ~Firefly~ -agree with your comments on these chapters (view spoiler)[I didn't think he was actually going to attack Ascanio (he's got to be our hero, right), but I figured it would be a show of strength or scare tactic.

Elara is still a scary mystery and maybe not so pretty under the skin. And you're right, she did say earlier that she was trying to get her people not to worship her.

I loved that after the battle, neither wanted to admit that they did something wrong. LOL funny. Great repartee! "Use your words" (hide spoiler)]

I just finished chapter 5

I have always liked Hugh, even with all the horrible things he has done. I love his loyalty to his Iron Dogs and even to Roland. he says a lot of his character.
(view spoiler)[ Vanessa needs to go. I think Elara should have listened to Savannha with dealing her. I think she is going to cause problems for their community.
I love the bantering between Hugh and Elara. I wish she would just give in. She really should just release excess power into Hugh. I think it would be beneficial for both of them.
I really loved how Hugh took care of the mercenaries in front of the senator. It was gruesome however he definitely made his point. (hide spoiler)]

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "Loyalty (min of ch 2) [spoilers removed]"

What a great point - (view spoiler)[ I'm surprised too, now that you mentioned it. Testing that loyalty would have been typical of Roland. (hide spoiler)]

Ora wrote: "I just finished chapter 5

I have always liked Hugh, even with all the horrible things he has done. I love his loyalty to his Iron Dogs and even to Roland. he says a lot of his character. ..."

(view spoiler)[I agree with you that Vanessa is probably going to cause trouble at some point. (hide spoiler)]

I got like 4% into this on Tuesday before going on Quidditch duty. Then had a few days of rest and needed to save this for another challenge. Finally got back today.

Through Chapter 6
(view spoiler)[
Arranged marriage is one of my favorite romance tropes so I was happy when I heard that was part of the plot. I wasn't sure which route they would go, love or hate at first sight. Hate is more fun for me to read and I am having so much fun so far.

One thing I really like is both Hugh and Elara are capable leaders. I love their fights because I agree with both of them for the most part. It's not one of those cases where one party is just being unreasonable. They definitely antagonize each other more than necessary, but the reason for their decisions makes sense.

My favorite quote so far is:
“You two will get along. He’s like you.” “How’s that?” “A big, mean sonovabitch that nobody wants.” Ryan realized what he’d blurted out. His face went white.

and

“You’re handsome, a big, imposing figure of a man, and um…” Lamar scrounged for some words. “And they’re desperate.”

Both parties are desperate and that's why it works.

Another part I found interesting is that Hugh keeps referring to Kate as Daniels. I don't remember him doing that during the main series, so it's interesting to get his inner dialogue and see that. (hide spoiler)]

ch 10 -13

(view spoiler)[It was interesting that Raphael and Andrea came for a visit. I love how quickly Hugh summed up Jim's weaknesses. He really shouldn't be alpha as he doesn't think about what is best for the pack always.

Nez offering Elara a bargain, makes you wonder how desperate he is.

I sure hope carving the Commander into 3 pieces is enough to finally kill him.

(hide spoiler)]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Just finished it and really enjoyed it.

They gave just enough possible explanations for Hugh's past behaviour and actions [spoilers removed] without lessening him as a tough, battle hard leader a..."

Yes! It is the mount of the king of the devas - Indra who is the opposite of and always at war with the (view spoiler)[ rakshasas (hide spoiler)] of Magic Strikes.

Although after that message I have discovered that in Thailand Airavat is also called Erawan. So my bad for that.

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "ch 10 -13
."

I completely agree with the (view spoiler)[ Jim being the alpha part. While reading the main book also I was thinking that how could Jim and (forgot her name) possibly be Curran and Kate's successors. Have skipped all of their novellas. (hide spoiler)]

Natalie wrote: "I got like 4% into this on Tuesday before going on Quidditch duty. Then had a few days of rest and needed to save this for another challenge. Finally got back today.

Through Chapter 6..."

(view spoiler)[Yes, they are both very good leaders, but they also enjoy pulling each other's chains, so they tend to make a decision and not share why it was necessary with each other. I hope they get over that behavior soon, as they need to become united leaders of one group instead of individual leaders of two groups. (hide spoiler)]

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "Natalie wrote: "I got like 4% into this on Tuesday before going on Quidditch duty. Then had a few days of rest and needed to save this for another challenge. Finally got back today.

Through Chapt..."

(view spoiler)[I’m hoping/assuming the pettiness doesn’t last the whole book. It’s fun to read for now, but I’m guessing later in the book they’ll get to trust each other more. Like with the septic system. Hugh would have agreed with Elara to do it, but she didn’t tell him and had him waste time getting upset and tracking down the crew to question them.

But I also loved her ribbon cutting ceremony. (hide spoiler)]

ch 14 - end

(view spoiler)[Preparing for war against Nez and the vampires was interesting. And we finally found out a bit more of the groups magic (still don't completely understand Elara's - but sounds like maybe a goddess has taken up residence in her?). Johanna's was awesome - The Black Banshee!

And the Elephant Goddess Erawan, I'm so glad Elara convinced Hugh not to kill her.

I'm glad Hugh was given the choice to go back to Roland or not, otherwise he might have always wondered.

I'm intrigued to see where this will go with other books (and I assume Hugh will show up in the last Kate Daniels since he threw his lot in with her).

(hide spoiler)]

Karishma wrote: "Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Just finished it and really enjoyed it.

They gave just enough possible explanations for Hugh's past behaviour and actions [spoilers removed] without lessening him as ..."

Thanks for that. Love learning new things through Goodreads.

Finished

(view spoiler)[
Overall loved it, as I guessed I would. I just love their writing and Hugh too much to give it anything other than a 5. I'm not sure when we are getting the next book, but I'm looking forward to it.

My favorite part was hearing his point of view of how it went between him and Kate. Him coming at her as a brother would have been an interesting development. I wonder if she would have taken his offer.

I did feel a bit of the book was too retconning, that is that they rewrote what happened to make him a better/easier to redeem person. For example with Ascanio, where now he wasn't healing/hurting him, he was healing and had to rebreak parts so he made it look like he was hurting him to get Kate to go with him.

I'm mixed on the he was just under Roland's control the whole time, because on one hand, the Kate Daniels series has shown that Roland does have a fatherly affect on people, and Hugh would have been subject to that his whole life. On the other I feel it's too easy to just say that he was just following orders.

I don't think he's completely redeemed, but I do think he's on that path. The scenes with Ascanio and then Raphael and Andrea seemed more to set up Hugh helping Kate and them in the next book than actually matter to the overall plot of this book.

I also loved the elephant and how Hugh solved that. I was reminded of the cat god thing that Curran ate in Magic Binds. I'm guessing that was another of Roland's magic creatures and I'm wondering what if any effect that will have on Curran.

I'm so curious about Elara and what she is/did to get this power. And the chanting at the wall. So intrigued.

I was a bit let down by the Commander with his creatures. I feel there should have been more there. Maybe future books? (hide spoiler)]

Magic Triumphs/IC2 thoughts
(view spoiler)[
So they posted that the entire Iron Covenant trilogy will take place before Magic Triumphs. But, obviously Magic Triumphs comes out next month (!) and the series is written to be read as KD9, IC1, KD10, IC2, IC3 with

"You don’t need to wait for Hugh’s entire story to be out to continue with Magic Triumphs. If you do, it won’t be as fun, because there are some revelations in Iron Covenant 2 that are best discovered after Magic Triumphs."

As I said above, the Ascanio, Raphael, Andrea part seemed to me to be more for a set up of Hugh and Elara helping Kate in the next book. Like, if Hugh just showed up without having these talks, Raphael/Kate/Curran would likely try to kill him on sight.

So what role will he play in the book? How will he act with Elara as its taking place later in their relationship. Although I did see the page for IC2 lists it as the story of Elara Harper. So maybe it takes places before IC1 and we learn the background for her group and powers? Then IC3 jumps back to after IC1 and wraps up their story? Anyway, for now I'm intrigued. (hide spoiler)]

Up to chapter 14
I am really trying not to look at spoilers for parts of the book I haven't read yet.

Hugh (view spoiler)[ It must have been wonderful to have Roland ease his mind with the things he did for him. I do like that he is able to find a way to live with the things he does now because he sees it as the right thing to do.
I am curious why Roland wanted Hugh when he was a child. I get that he wanted to mold him into what he wanted/needed, however there has to be more since Hugh is able to use power words and blood magic in Aberdine. At first I thought maybe he's Roland's son, but wouldn't he have welcomed him with opened arms and claim him? I think Hugh is related to Roland in some way just not sure how. Maybe I 'm thinking too much of it. (hide spoiler)]

Rafael (view spoiler)[ Not really surprising he showed up after Ascanio got back with the shifters. I was surprised that Hugh didn't fight as hard as he could have and how candid Hugh was with him about what they need to do to protect the Pack. Curious if Rafael will talk to Kate and Curran about it in Magic Triumphs. (hide spoiler)]

Elara (view spoiler)[I'm not quite sure what I think about her. There are times that I really do like her and how she can get under Hugh's skin. She really does care about her people and even the ones that fear her. I guess I have a problem with her pettiness. I really don't know if she will stop it now or be worse since she doesn't want her feelings known to Hugh. I am glad she didn't hide the letter from Hugh and their alliance is strong in regards of doing what is best for their people. (hide spoiler)]

Natalie wrote: "Finished


Overall loved it, as I guessed I would. I just love their writing and Hugh too much to give it anything other than a 5. I'm not sure when we are getting the next book, but I'm looking fo..."

Magic Triumphs/IC2 thoughts
(view spoiler)[Interesting, I hadn't read anything about the timelines of the books. It does seem weird that all of IC will take place before Magic Triumphs, but most will be published after. (hide spoiler)]