Release Date: August 4th, 2015
Publisher: Ace
Pgs: 342, hardcover, purchased
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis:
After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Curran misses the constant challenges of leading the shapeshifters. So when the Pack offers him its stake in the Mercenary Guild, Curran seizes the opportunity—too bad the Guild wants nothing to do with him and Kate. Luckily, as a veteran merc, Kate can take over any of the Guild’s unfinished jobs in order to bring in money and build their reputation. But what Kate and Curran don’t realize is that the odd jobs they’ve been working are all connected. An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece…
Review:
One would think that after a while in the same story-verse, it would start to get a little boring, a tad formulaic and unsatisfying. That's SO NOT the case with Kate Daniels.
Ilona Andrews offers an interesting mythology with creative story-telling that provides action, suspense, and great character exchange. It always impresses me how real-world mythology can take on new meaning in a story. For instance, in Magic Shifts Kate has a ghoul problem. That morphs into a djinn problem. How are the two related? Read the book and find out! I always feel like I'm learning something new with each book. Kate's knowledge always lends to the reader an insightful glance at what it's like to live in a magic-addled world.
I always find Kate's interactions amusing. It's not just how she sees others, it's how they see her. It may be told from her POV, but you can always tell what someone thinks of her. I'm also a fan of good guy/bad guy exchanges that are seemingly ordinary but have an underlying air of threat to them. Like Kate, Curran, and Julie dining with her powerfully scary daddy, who may or may not kill her, at an Applebee's. It's electric. I also enjoyed Curran's antics with the Mercenary Guild. Somehow I always knew he and Kate would end up there. It just made sense.
Jim has taken over the role of Beast Lord, which is driving him nuts. And Dali, his mate, is the Consort. Which is driving her nuts. It was, without a doubt, a great thing to witness. Andrea and Rafael are expecting a baby, which I squealed about. I don't know if we found out about her being pregnant in the previous book or not. It was new to me when I read this one and was a pleasant surprise. I love these four; they are a great supporting cast.
There are moments in every Kate Daniels book where I worry that Kate is pushing herself too far. I know Curran agrees with me. But I'm torn because I know that she's stronger than her father, and I want to see her achieve that... But I know it's going to come at a great cost. I just don't want that cost to tear away my love for this series. One day it will end and I'll reevaluate then. For now, it's one of my favorites. A must read and you must read it. Like now.
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