Retro Friday Reviews are hosted by Angieville. Basically you review an older book or unappreciated book on Fridays. It’s a cool feature/meme that I highly recommend you check out and participate in!
I had my first foray into adult urban fantasy and y’all, I quite liked it. Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews is the first of a series and actually was a great book to lose my urban fantasy v-card to. It’s got plenty of elements I really like from kick ass heroine to swears to fighting to the South ahhh and magic!
Magic Bites
For real, I am ALL for kick ass leading ladies and Kate Daniels brings it in spades. With a taste for Boone’s Farm alcohol and a trusty magical sword named Slayer, Kate lives in Atlanta, Georgia working as a mercenary. However, her Atlanta is not the same as current day ATL. You see, ATL alternates between periods when magic is up and technology doesn’t work and periods when technology is up and magic doesn’t work. An assortment of paranormal creatures such as vampires and shape shifters are out of the closet so to speak and coexist with humans.
When Kate’s guardian Greg, a mage, is brutally murdered it is is up to Kate to solve the case because she doesn’t totally trust The Order Of The Knights Of Merciful Aid to figure it out. When her investigation turns up murders of Pack members and murders of the People (shapeshifter and vampire respectively) – she draws the eye of both and stumbles upon something much larger than her case.
Friends, this book, Magic Bites, is totally bitchin’. There are epic fights all over the place. There are hints at a romance that I am pretty sure will be slow burning and actually developed logically. Kate, herself, has a total attitude that I love. She is very much the get it done and take no prisoners type.
Seriously, I could not ask for a better book to venture into a whole new genre with. I hardly felt like a fish out of water while reading Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. Plus, y’all it keeps me rejuvenated in my life as a voracious reader to switch it up every once in awhile. I highly recommend this book if you are looking to switch it up from your usual YA read.
Disclosure: Purchased copy.
Other reviews of Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews:
Bunbury In The Stacks – “The urban fantasy world created by Andrews is, for lack of a better term, awesome.”
One More Page – “This is a very solid debut from Ilona Andrews.”
A Jane Of All Reads – “THIS BOOK IS FANTABULOUSNESS! Yeah, buddy.”
The Allure Of Books – “Kate Daniels is a flippin’ awesome heroine.”
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Urban fantasy can be A LOT of fun and from the sounds of your review, this book is a good example of UF. I like the sound of Kate already, she sounds like a kick-ass lady and I want to read about her!
Kate is totally a legit woman and worth getting to know, I think.
That sounds great! I’d like to read some urban fantasy because I’m always a bit confused when trying to define the genre. I’ll check this one out. Thanks for sharing! 😀
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Liesel, I think venturing into UF is a great idea. It’s a lot of fun, I’m coming to find.
I absolutely adore this series and am so glad you started off with it! I have found as I explore urban fantasy and a lot of books don’t live up to my high expectations because I started with Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson (by Patricia Briggs, also a great series!!). They are two series/authors who I always have to order the next book of, no matter what else is going on in my life and I really recommend you keep going 😀
-Anya
Anya, I will totally keep going with the Kate Daniels books and because you talk so highly of Patricia Briggs, I am willing to check her out.
Thanks for commenting!
OMG THE FIST PUMPING THAT IS HAPPENING IN MY HOUSE RIGHT NOW. I am THAT excited that you tried this and liked it. This series has been a complete refresher for me this year that has kept me ticking when no other read will quite do. Kate and Curran is a slow burn to the max, and have already become one of my all-time favorite couples. The series really just gets better from Magic Bites, I hope you decide to pick up Magic Burns next time you’re looking for a change of pace.
Holla fist pumps all around.
Dude I can’t wait to pick up Magic Burns, you know I love a nice and slow burn always.
The Kate Daniels books are all awesome. The series just gets better.
(And I quite like the Edge series by Ilona Andrews as well.)
I like the sound of that, hearing that the series just gets better. 😀
I probably never would have thought to pick up this book on my own. Thanks for the rec!
Hope you like it!
*tacklehug*
You read it!! I’m wild with delight.
me too, me too!
*dances*
YAYYY!
*Kate Daniels high five*
SO GLAD you’re reading this series! It’s my favorite adult urban fantasy series, although that’s not saying much because I haven’t read a lot of books under than subgenre. It totally has a slow burn romance that I have a feeling you’ll love. Can’t wait to see what you think of the rest of the books. 😀
Oh man, I am so so so excited to read the rest of this series based on all that I have heard about it from people I trust. AND YAYYYYY SLOW BURNS.
I love this series! It just gets better and better.