Review: Magic Bites (Kate Daniels #1) by Ilona Andrews

Publisher: March 27, 2007 Ace
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal
Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary
One moment magic dominates, and cars stall and guns fail. The next, technology takes over and the defensive spells no longer protect your house from monsters. Here skyscrapers topple under onslaught of magic; werebears and werehyenas prowl through the ruined streets; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst of knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds.

In this world lives Kate Daniels. Kate likes her sword a little too much and has a hard time controlling her mouth. The magic in her blood makes her a target, and she spent most of her life hiding in plain sight. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, she must choose to do nothing and remain safe or to pursue his preternatural killer. Hiding is easy, but the right choice is rarely easy… 

Late to one of the best games ever

I realize that I am a little late to the game on this one. I love Urban Fantasies...this is a great Urban Fantasy series...why haven't I read it yet? I can't really say for sure. Maybe I just never looked that far past the covers, which didn't make sense to me. It's a girl with a sword, a lion, and the title says 'Magic'. I don't know why, but in my head I don't think the three went together. I was fantastically wrong.

So when I did a couple of interviews with some blogger friends and so many people responded to their favorites that they picked in this series (thank you Jennifer and Melissa), I knew that I really had to give this one a shot.

The Good

Love, love, love these characters. Kate is capable, stands up for others, fluent in sarcasm, and exceptionally hard-headed...all qualities I look for in a heroine. What I really enjoyed that is pretty random about Kate is that Andrews often describes the type of smile she is wearing and that it is never having the desired effect.

Before I met Curran, Jim calls him "the man" and Kate asks what she has done to warrant his attention. He is the ultimate alpha male, raises Kate's hackles, gets things done, and knows just when to back off. He is absolutely delicious. I believe I enjoyed reading the pages with him on it more than any other pages. Some of the best dialogue I have read is in this book.

Then there is the world within which is something new and different and fun to read about. From the start of the first chapter, I was shown glimpses of what it meant to live within Kate's world. As she investigates the loss of someone close to her, from stop to stop, I learned more about the different creatures in her world and the magic it includes. There are a lot of different types of supernaturals from vampires and shifters to some I haven't even heard of before. Andrews gives the information in a way that didn't drown me and just let me flow along with Kate's investigation, learning new things as I went.

Also, I was wrong about who the bad guy was and I LOVE surprises.

The Bad

Unfortunately, Kate has a thought about Texans that is less than complimentary. I won't hold her prejudice against her though ;) It was a pretty funny joke.

The Romance

The romance is actually fantastic, and there isn't much in it. Kate has a couple of guys I feel like that are attracted to her, but she is her own person and does her own thing. There is little more than a date and some tension, but it is more than enough in this book. I love the fact that she doesn't fall to her knees at the sight of an attractive man (even in her thoughts), and have a feeling that the romance in this series will more likely be a slow burn instead of a flash fire.

Conclusion

Andrews has made the list of my favorite authors. I enjoyed hearing her voice, her characters, her world. I was told that this one wasn't even the gem in the series, and I'm giving it 5 stars. So I am very sad that I have too many books on my shelf that I have to read before I can dive into the rest of the series. I want to know what happens next...NOW.

Excerpts

“Gotta be tough or dumb to go down into the sewers these days. So, which one are you?"
     "I'm not dumb, but if I tell you I'm tough, you'll peg me for a bravo, so I'm going to smile cryptically." I gave him my best cryptic smile. He did not fall down to his feet, kiss my shoes, and promise me the world. I must be getting rusty.

Diplomacy was never my strong suit and my patience had run dry. I crouched and called out, "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty."

He leaned forward a little, puzzling over me as if I were an odd-looking insect. "Why would a knight-protector hire a no-name merc to investigate the death of his diviner?"
     I gave him my best cryptic smile.
He grimaced. "What have you found out?" he asked.

I probably should have said something formal and flowery, but Demerol kept tangling my thoughts. I patted his big hand and mumbled, "Thanks."

Curran was too dangerous to know. Too powerful, too unpredictable, and worst of all, possessing an innate ability to infuriate me, throwing me off balance.