Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews - 5 stars

First off.....AWESOME. Not really what I was expecting. Actually I didn't really have expectations. I knew this would be different and a game changer. Yes, it was definitely a game changer. I know some people won't like the ending. It wasn't what I was expecting. It came out of no where but I like it. Oh boy. The next book should be interesting. When is the next book coming out? Can it be out now? Can I just know what happens?

Anyways, now for my review.

Previous Kate Daniels Reviews

Magic Bites | Magic Burns | Magic Strikes | Magic Bleeds

 Magic Slays | Magic Rises

Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews
5 stars (more like 10 stars)

In the previous book, Kate's lineage basically came out to the world. Really, only the important people know but it's only a matter of time before the rest of the world finds out and Kate can no longer hide. Also, Curran proposed at the end of the book and gave Kate part of the Wolf Diamond. According to the authors, Curran is showing Kate that he trusts her completely because the Wolf Diamond can basically kill him. That's pretty powerful and I'm glad they explained that in the interview. (The interview is great. It's about 50 minutes long and you can watch it here).

Now that they're back in Atlanta, they're preparing for war. It's going to come. Hugh d'Ambray knows who Kate is and now he desperately wants her. He also wants to sleep with her and fight with her and stuff. It's pretty gross actually. He is extremely powerful and has an amazing gift for healing. He can basically pull people back from the brink of death (spoilers)*.

Curran goes out of town to deal with a shapeshifter who wants to talk about the panacea that the Pack now holds a monopoly on. This leaves Kate to attend the Conclave by herself. It's a complete trap. We know this from the summary. Hugh enters and everything goes crazy. "You have until noon to turn over the murder!" It's basically a Catch 22 and it seems like war is unavoidable.

The Pack is at a disadvantage as at least half are out hunting, something the shapeshifters do in the winter months, and Curran has taken some of his good people with him. Jim, who's already paranoid is just going crazy. They know that war is not going to be a good thing but figuring out a way around it is difficult.

In the end they do find the murderer. She's an odd shapeshifter. When Hugh shows up with his army of vampires, Kate works around him. He's not too happy and he teleports her away along with Ghastek into a prison (spoilers)**. It's the prison cell from hell because they're in water and it's cold and they're starving. We do learn some interesting things about Ghastek and his back story. I liked it.

Kate gets rescued by Curran of course. Curran would tear apart the world looking for her. True love in all it's glory. Curran isn't alone. He brought along Jim, Andrea, Christopher (the man they rescued from Hugh in Magic Rises), Thomas, Robert, and a medmage, Nasrin. Thomas and Robert are the alphas of Clan Rat. The escape from the prison tower is difficult and full of surprises (spoilers).*** My heart broke at one point. I wanted to scream at the authors because how could they do that?! (spoilers)****

We meet Roland in the end. I so badly wanted to know his real name but everyone calls him Lord Roland or Sharrum (king). I was surprised by this confrontation. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting. But I think they wrote it perfectly. Roland is such a powerful character and how could they possibly end it all in one book? They couldn't and what they did was ten times better.

You'd think Kate coming face to face with Roland would be the craziest thing ever. But really, there is so much more. So much happens at the end of the book that you feel drained. A lot of things are explained in this book that we were wondering about: Nick, Naeemah, the words on Kate when she took the power word in Magic Bleeds, Kate's true power, and more. If I had been reading in the hardcover format versus the ebook, I would have paper cuts from how fast I was turning those pages. I enjoyed the ending however. I felt that it did so much for Kate and Curran's relationship and that this book has brought them even closer together. Roland is not completely dealt with but man, it's going to be great.

My absolute favorite part is Desandra using pork sword. This has been a thing for almost a year and a half going on between Ilona and Jeaniene Frost. I had to stop reading for a moment so I could stop laughing. Oh my goodness.

This review is pretty long so I'm wrapping it up. Basically, read the book. Enjoy it. Love it. It's amazing. I can't wait for the next Kate and Curran adventure.

Here are the tweets that started the whole "pork sword" thing.

Magic Breaks is out!!

This book is already intense. I've barely started and by the end of chapter 3 all hell has broken loose. It's so awesome. So very very awesome. I've been looking forward to it for so long.

UPDATE: I finished. This book. Omg this book. It's fantastic. It's wonderful. It's surprising.  I loved it. Seriously. Read. It.

Here's the summary:

No matter how much paranormal politics of Atlanta change, one thing always remains the same: if there's trouble, Kate Daniels will be in the middle of it...

As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate's connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe - especially those closest to Kate. 

As Roland's long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she'll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear...


Talk about craziness. Omg. I love it. It's absolutely awesome.

Here is the link to the Magic Break's page that includes chapter one

Blood of the Demon by Diana Rowland - 4 stars

Book 2 in Kara Gillian

Previous Kara Gillian Review

Mark of the Demon (#1)

Blood of the Demon (#2) by Diana Rowland
4 stars

Let me start off by saying that I love this series. It's fantastic. I love the world and the characters and everything else. Rowland is very talented and she's able to get all the true aspects of the life of detective seeing as she used to be a detective herself.

This book was just as good as the first. I like the how the detective work is mixed in with the arcane. We have secrets that need to be discovered. Rowland creates these little secrets and hints to progress through the series, creating a little story arch. It's interesting and frustrating at the same time. You feel Kara's frustration at the lack of knowledge. The fact that you can feel this shows how much the reader sinks into the character. Kara is strong willed but isn't afraid to admit some of her weaknesses. She knows what she wants and she's very determined to get the answers, no matter how hard she has to work to get them.

In the previous book, Kara faced the Symbol Man, died in the demon realm, and returned to Earth. Now she's back to her regular life. Unfortunately, her aunt's essence was stripped for the Symbol Man's ritual and was lost. Kara has to find a way of getting her aunt's essence returned before her body dies. She enlists the help of Lord Rhyzkahl, the demon lord she accidently summoned in the first book and the one who saved her life in the end. The end of that book had me on the edge of my seat.

The current murders involve some pretty high ranking people in society. This causes definite problems for a a puny little detective like Kara. The two murders seem completely separate at first glance but with the othersight, Kara's gift of seeing the arcane, Kara can see that the victims' essences have been ripped out and eaten. This can cause problems in the greater scale of things but it's also very disturbing. Kara had never heard of a being that can eat essences other than a demon. Talk about intriguing.

Besides her crazy cases, Kara has to deal with Agent Ryan and his partner Agent Zack. She is definitely attracted to Ryan but he's also a bit crazy with certain things, especially with her relationship with Rhyzkahl which he thoroughly disapproves of. She also learns that Ryan's connections to the arcane is a little more than just being able to sense it. Her relationship with Ryan is a rocky one. They certainly know how to get under each other's skin but they also care about her other. I'm not sure how I feel about this certain relationship.

Then we have Rhyzkahl. He now wants Kara to be his official summoner. They would make a deal and she would summon his regularly. This is extremely problematic. Kara knows it's a bad idea but she also enjoys the sex she's having with him. He grants her a certain number of questions each time she summons him, one question involves getting Tessa's essence back. Rhyzkahl explains which ritual to perform to create a sort of beacon for Tessa's essence to follow in the void. Through this ritual, Kara discovers more secrets to the arcane that is extremely helpful (spoilers)*.

I like that we Kara's powers growing. I like character who seem normal but have more power than they realize. I like to see them grow into that power. In Kate Daniels we know Kate is super powerful but as the series progresses we see her power grow. Kara doesn't realize her potential and I like it.

Like I said, this is a great series that I will continue and I am looking forward to seeing where Kara goes next.

Previous Reviews

• Mark of the Demon (#1) by Diana Rowland
• The Curse Breakers (#2) by Denise Grover Swank
• The Curse Keepers (#1) by Denise Grover Swank

Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland - 4.5 stars

Book 1 in Kara Gillian

Mark of the Demon (#1) by Diana Rowland
4.5 stars

I've been meaning to read this book for the longest time. I bought it ages ago and then forgot about it. But I finally got to it and read it in about a day. It's so interesting and something I've not really read about before so I found myself enjoying the uniqueness. It was the perfect combination of a police procedure and urban fantasy.

This book is written in first person, from the view of Kara Gillian. Kara is finally a homicide detective and she gets her first case, the Symbol Man. 3 years previously, the Symbol Man killed 13 people and left their bodies covered in arcane symbols. The killer only chose victims who wouldn't be missed; drug addicts, prostitutes, etc. Kara had only been a street cop when Symbol Man was working but she did get a glimpse of something arcane on one of the bodies while she was guarding the crime scene.

Kara is a summoner. She summons demons from another sphere into this world. There are 12 different levels of demons and then you have the Demon Lords. Kara has finally graduated because she was able to summon a 12th level demon. Her Aunt Tessa is her mentor and taught her all about the arcane. Kara's parents died when she was really young and Tessa became her guardian. Kara has a tragic past that we learn about gradually. I think we will learn more.

That night, the Symbol Man hit again. Kara is given the lead on the case. While she examined the first body, she saw arcane symbols and runes hovering over the body with her othersight. The Symbol Man is definitely someone who knows the arcane.

Kara was trying to summon an 8th level demon when all of a sudden a gorgeous man lands in her circle. He's obviously a powerful demon because he easily brushes away all of her protections. He could have killed her but instead he seduces her and she has a super hot one night stand with him. We later learn that he is a Demon Lord and she is lucky to be alive.

Kara gets a little task team to work on the case. The Symbol Man is working up to something and his kills are becoming more frequent. Enter Agent Ryan Kristoff. He's from the FBI and he likes to work the weird cases. He's kind of the love interest in this story but not quite. It's obvious that he is attracted to Kara but since Kara lives such a crazy life, having boyfriends is not an easy thing. I like Ryan. Kara eventually tells him about her being a summoner and we learn that he has some of the othersight but not enough to be a summoner. I like Ryan. He's a great addition and provides some comic relief.

The ending part of the book was insanity. Seriously, there were so many twists that I was getting whiplash. I was thinking it was one thing and it turns out to be something different. It was a brilliant mystery and I love the surprises Rowland threw in there. The last chapter is pretty crazy and I can't wait to see what's coming in the next book.

Diana Rowland's website has a kind of glossary about the demons in her book to help with pronunciation if you want to check it out. The names can get pretty complicated.

Previous Reviews:

• The Curse Breakers (#2) by Denise Grover Swank - 4.5 stars
• The Curse Keepers (#1) by Denise Grover Swank - 4.5 stars
• The Girl and The Raven by Pauline Gruber - 4 stars

The Curse Breakers by Denise Grover Swank - 4.5 stars

Book 2 in The Curse Keepers

Previous Curse Keeper Review

The Curse Keepers (#1)

The Curse Breakers (#2) by Denise Grover Swank

4.5 stars

Oy vey. This book was just as good as the first one. But it's also very different than the first one. However, the difference is not a bad thing. The writing is just as good and the plot is great. In Curse Keepers we are first introduced into the world and in Curse Breakers, we know about the world and we are seeing the consequences of the opening of the gate.

Claire and Collin are not in this book as much as the first one. I found myself missing Collin even though he's still an asshole who keeps trying to manipulate Ellie. What I love about Ellie is she has a backbone and will stand up for herself. She's doesn't let anyone push her around. She's a strong female character and I really like that.

We have a new threat in this book. Ukinim is angry at Okeus for taking his humanity. He is forced to live as a giant badger and can only appear above ground once a year. Since Okeus wants Ellie so badly, Ukinim now wants to kill Ellie and take her Manitou as revenge. About 2/3 of the way through the book, we learn why Okeus wants Ellie so badly (spoiler)*. It's such a plot twist and so freaking good. I was so shocked.

One of the main plot points is finding Ahone's mark so Ellie can claim herself. Ahone told her at the end of the last book that she could bear his mark but kindly didn't tell her what it was. The jerk. So now she has to go on a little quest to discover it. That's where we meet the new character, Dr. David Preston. David is an expert in Native Americans. He's also British. I love the English accent and you can tell he is British because of the words he uses. David and a team of other archaeologists are exploring the reappearance of the Lost Colony. I like David. He's a great guy who really cares about Ellie. He's a new love interest. I'm not sure how I feel about Ellie's relationship with him. I like David but I also like Collin. And it doesn't help that Collin's and Ellie's souls are bound together.

We also have the other threat from Marino. The creep is still after her and it's a sticky situation. It's about the Ricardo Estate and Collin refuses to tell Ellie anything. It's supposedly for her own safety. Well her safety is in jeopardy anyways so just tell her!

Tom, a cop and an old friend is really freaking annoying in this book. He has linked Ellie to all the weird things happening and she has to lie her way out of a lot of things. She ends up telling Tom about Marino and his guys that are after her but I got really annoyed with his constant appearances. Basically I want him to go away. I find his repeated inclusion a little too much. It's partly why I gave this 4.5 stars.

This book was great. I like the continuation of the plot but I also love the character development. We shall see what we have in store for the next book, The Curse Defiers.

I REALLY WANT THE NOOK BOOK. But it was published by Amazon and apparently they can't give it to Barnes and Noble. I guess I'll end up with the paperback. This is not a bad thing.

Recent Reviews

• The Curse Keepers (#1) by Denise Grover Swank - 4.5 stars
• The Girl and the Raven (#1) by Pauline Gruber - 4 stars
• Beautiful Darkness (#2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - 3.5 stars

The Curse Keepers by Denise Grover Swank - 4.5 stars

Book 1 in The Curse Keepers 

The Curse Keepers by Denise Grover Swank
4.5 stars

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

This is one of those books that gave me a physical reaction around the end. The only reason I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 is because of how slowly it started off. I was annoyed with Ellie and Collin at first. Ellie's blatant refusal to believe in the curse was annoying at first but I grew to accept it.

Okay, I love this book. It's definitely gone on my favorites shelf. What I love about it is the absolute uniqueness of it. I've never read anything like it. It's urban fantasy, one of my favorite genres, but it's a completely different take on the urban fantasy/paranormal world. This story focuses on the Lost Colony of Roanoke. As many people know, the colony literally disappeared off the face of the earth. I've only read one other series, Blue Bloods, that worked with the mystery. This was ten times better.

In this version, the colony and the evil spirits were locked away behind a gate. It's basically what we would consider Hell. The Croatoan Native American, Manteo, locked the spirits and gods away with the help of Ananias Dare. The colony also gets sent behind the gates. It was a huge sacrifice and it is the reason that the colony disappeared. It's said that when the two Curse Keepers meet, the gates will open and they will have seven days to close it again.

Ellie is the current Dare Curse Keeper. She used to believe but when her mother died, she forgot everything and refused to relearn the everything she needed to know about being a Curse Keeper. Her mother didn't believe and she basically locked away her memories. It broke her father's heart because he was the Curse Keeper before her and she needed to know everything he knew. When all hell literally breaks loose, she can no longer go to him for answers because he has Alzheimer's. In the end, she does get her memories back and in a fantastic way. I love her character and her power.

Then we have Collin. He is the Manteo Curse Keeper. He's the typical smokin'
hot guy who is also a womanizer. He doesn't really care about anyone except himself. He's really an asshole in the beginning of the book and I seriously just wanted to punch him most of the time. But he is the Curse Keeper who knows the ceremony to close the gates and they need each other to close them. He's super secretive and he untrustworthy. Stupid gorgeous asshole. I love him and I hate him.

What's also great about this book is the multiple mysteries and plot lines. They aren't confusing and they add to the story. It's like Swank throws in real life with the fantasy. We get normal characters and real world problems. Ellie is broke and the family is is almost in foreclosure. Ellie also has a great best friend, Claire, and she adds to the story as well. I think it's a great little departure from the usual urban fantasies. I'll say it again, it's unique.

The ending. Oh my goodness the ending. I saw it coming but still. It was so intense and so heartbreaking and just, ah. I won't spoil it but it's just so hard to read. I seriously wanted to scream at Ellie and Collin. It was a really good ending and it set up a great story arc for the next book.

So far this seems to be a trilogy with three short stories. I'm definitely going to read the short story and I'm jumping into the The Curse Breakers as soon as I can. This is a definite recommend. Read it!!

If you want to read more about the series visit Denise Grover Swank's website and the Curse Keepers website.

Recent Reviews

• The Girl and the Raven (#1) by Pauline Gruber - 4 stars
• Beautiful Darkness (#2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - 3.5 stars
• Beautiful Creatures (#1) by Kami Garcia and Margarent Stohl - 5 stars

Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews Cover Reveal!

Ah! They've finally showed us the cover for Burn for Me. Ilona mentioned weeks ago that she saw the cover and she said she couldn't reveal it until the manuscript had been revealed. It's a fantastic cover and it looks like it's going to be a great series. Here is the post from her blog.

Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy, Book 1
Release date: October 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0062289230

#1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews launches a brand new Hidden Legacy series, in which one woman must place her trust in a seductive, dangerous man who sets off an even more dangerous desire...

Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career - a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn't sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she's kidnapped by Connor "Mad" Rogan - a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan's after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she's getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be a perilous as death, especially in the magic world.

______________________________________

Ilona explained how they have had this story building slowly in the back of their minds every since they wrote a short story called Of Swine and Roses. It also built from their world of Kinsmen. Those two worlds helped them write this new novel.

I'm so excited. I can't wait to read it. Ilona Andrews is one of my favorite authors and the concept is just so unique and great. She's talked about it on her blog and over twitter. I can't wait to plunge back into duo's writing. Ilona and Gordon are very talented.

This Hidden Legacy series is going to be a trilogy and it's going to focus on the couple. It will be more like Kate Daniels in that fashion and not like The Edge. All of her fans exploded on twitter and on her blog. It's so exciting. And it's going to be a Happily Ever After series. Thank God! I'm just soooooooo excited!

What's also amazing is the price!
$5.99 for Paperback
$4.99 for e-book

Yes, I will own both.

Available from Indiebound | Powell's | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

______________________________________

This is what Ilona said about the cover:

"It's such a gorgeous, distinctive cover, melding together unique paranormal aspect of the world and the sizzle of the relationship between Mad Rogan and Nevada. It's rare when the cover captures a scene from the book exactly the way the author had imagined it. You learn to resign yourself to it. Covers aren't meant to be a literal representation of the narrative, but Burn for Me is. It actually shows a pivotal scene, especially when combined with the aerial view splashback. If you read the book, you'll know exactly what I mean. When I got the cover file, I sent it to a friend. She emailed back in minutes. The email said, "Who did you sacrifice to Cover Gods to get this?""

Erika Tsang, Ilona Andrews' Editor said:

"Burn for me is a slight departure from Ilona Andrews' other bestselling urban fantasy series. There's still the trademark snappy dialogue/narrative and action-packed scenes, but there's a stronger romance thread here that we wanted to get across right away with this cover. Our hero Rogan is not just hot and sexy, but he's powerful. Like kill-you-with-a-stare powerful. And Nevada is just as strong, only she doesn't realize her full potential yet. So I wanted to show off our couple, have that intimacy between them and not lose any kickass-ness (I know, not a real word, sorry). The background with the exploding buildings around them, the idea was Ilona's and the execution is just exquisite."

Tweets from Ilona:

And a short snippet about Mad Rogan via Twitter









Recent Reviews:

• The Girl and The Raven by Pauline Gruber - 4 stars
• Beautiful Darkness (#2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - 3.5 stars
• Beautiful Creatures (#1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - 5 stars