User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
The Top 8 Reasons why you should drop everything you're doing and grab the Kate Daniels series ASAP (focusing on Magic Strikes)
1. The huge variety of mythology: celtic, greek, and now norse and
hindu. Honestly, every supernatural creature you've ever heard will make an appearance, preferably soaked in blood and other substances I dare not name, and will deliver you extraordinary threats, unique bloodbath and eventually it will be killed in the most badass way.
2. The Midnight Games. An underground gladiatorial tournament with a magic jewel as a price. We're talking about a massacre of epic proportions that would make George Martin weep with pride. And the participants? Minotaurs, golems, mages and of course our Valiant Knights of the Fur. Prepare for major ass kicking.
3. Kate Daniels. “I gave him a smile. I was aiming for sweet, but he turned a shade paler and scooted a bit farther from me. Note to self: work more on sweet and less on psycho-killer.”
4. The action. I will admit that while reading the first chapters I thought Magic Strikes would be a 4 stars read, they seemed pretty lame compared to the incredible plotline of the second book. But oh boy I was so wrong! Once the plot thickened with rogue shapeshifters and the kill-or-be-killed tournament,
I.couldn't.stop.reading. This series keeps getting better and I have a feeling that sky is the limit!
5. The side characters. Whether they're
sexual deviants or uptight cats or pretty werewolves or devastatingly handsome sex addicts, they're a great addition to the story, with their wit and loyalty and friendship.
6. Curran, the Beast Lord of Atlanta, the Leader of the Pack, and Asshole Supreme. “...you expect me to fall on my back with my legs spread."
"Not necessarily. ... You can fall on your hands and knees if you prefer. Or against the wall. Or on the kitchen counter. I suppose I might let you be on top, if you make it worth my while.”
You get the picture.
7. The romance. “Kiss me and I'll kill you,”I warned.
“It might be worth it,”he said softly.
The will-or-won't-they status keeps going, and it can be frustrating as hell, but it's the right course. Besides the
sizzling tension and their fights, in Magic Strikes we saw how much Curran and Kate care for each other, that despite their differences there is something strong brewing between them, something more than raw attraction.
They're falling in love. “He caressed my cheek.
"You came for me," I whispered.
"Always," he told me.”
8. The.hot.tub.scene.
You're welcome.
Love,
Katerina
Rating: really liked it
➽
And the moral of this particular rerererererereread is: Kate Daniels, aka
just what the doctor ordered.
👋
Until next time and stuff.
[
May 2019]
🐈
The Adventures Of A Brave Little Kitty Buddy Rerererereread (TAOABLKBR™) with the IA Addicts 🐈
➽
And the moral of this particular rererererereread is: tinmen on steroids and overgrown logs are no match for
Kate Daniels, sausage expert extraordinaire. Ha. And now let's dance and stuff.
P.S. Nonchalance is the
best camouflage for drooling. Just so you know.
👋
Until next time and stuff.
[
December 2017]
⚔
The Grand IAA™ KD Buddy Rerererereread Extravaganza (GIAAKDBRE™), aka the
yellow brick road to Magic Triumphs ⚔
Presenting Episode 3, or How Kate Daniels Learned not all Cats Hate Water Hot Tubs.
»
And the moral of this particular rererereread is: TWT-IHFB is the best bloody shrimping acronym in the history of
bloody shrimping acronyms. Trust me on that one, I practically invented the concept. Of bloody shrimping acronyms, I mean.
Not of TWT-IHFBs. I wish I had, though. Because it's, you know, the best acronym in the history of
bloody shrimping acronyms and stuff.
»
And the other moral of this particular rererereread is: 
And who doesn't love aggravating cats sneaky kitties the universe exploding Curran trouble?
[
June 2016]
❣
KD is the Cure to All of Life's Problems Buddy Read (KDitCtAoLPBR™) with my dear wife Ange, and the poor IAA souls who have fallen into our deathly
KD Surprise Reread Trap (KSRT™).
✎
Original rating: 5 stars
✎
Rating after xxxxxx rereads: boom. The universe exploded. This book is so
BLOODY AWESOME, it's bloody unratable.
See? Even my dog decided to do a crazy dance to celebrate the total, utter and complete awesomeness that is this book.»
And the moral of this particular rererereread is: Midnight Games + hot tubs + the Scarlet Star + a flying palace = it doesn't get much better than this.
Bye now.
[
Original review]
☆☆☆ Post-Shift Productions proudly present ☆☆☆Just Another Day in the Life of Kate Daniels
►
8.00 a.m.: roll out of bed after getting 2 hours of sleep. Realize you're hungry. Open the fridge to get some of that leftover apple pie.
The plate is empty. Strange.
►
8.30 a.m.: rescue your teenage werewolf sidekick from Saiman. Watch Saiman change form and
throw up in your mouth a little.
►
9.00 a.m.: find out His Furriness became Beast Lord at the tender age of 15 after chopping Andorf's head off.
This is going to be a long day.►
9.30 a.m.: your best friend tells you she doesn't want to be Raphael's TWT-IHFB.
Oh boy.►
10.00 a.m.: have a conversation with His Fussiness about
kissing his ass.
►
10.30 a.m.: hand Saiman a needle so he can
pop his head with it. It's obscuring your view of the room.
►
11.00 a.m.: listen to Jim telling you about a
weredingo. Consider yourself lucky he didn't steal your baby.
►
11.30 a.m.: try to smile. Aim for sweet. End up looking like a
psycho-killer.
►
12.00 a.m.: listen to a lecture about the different shapeshifter courtship customs. Aunt B. A cat on the ceiling. A fan. Mist.
That's boudas for you.
►
12.30 a.m.: go sightseeing with Jim. Visit a jungle and a flying palace. Play with the locals.
Chop a few arms off. Things are looking up.
►
1.00 p.m.: tell His Furriness he's a deadly psychopath with a god complex. Then tell him you're
having rough sex with Jim. Bad idea.
►
1.30 p.m.: temporary insanity. Oh. My. God.
The Universe just exploded.
►
2.00 p.m.: explain to your furry friends why you want Cesare's head. Then proceed to explain how you plan to
resurrect it and make it relive its death over and over again. Did you just say all that out loud? Yep. You did.
►
2.30 p.m.: the Beast Lord asks you
why you always attract creeps. Ha! He walked right into that one, yes, he did.
►
3.00 p.m.: Andrea says M-A-T-E.
You curse. Then consider strangling her a little.
►
3.30 p.m.: fight in the arena. Jim tells you to be sloppy.
You try.
►
4.00 p.m.: have a conversation about sausages with your furry friends.
Die, die, die, die. 
►
4.30 p.m.: Raphael hands you a fan in case you get hot. Curran doesn't think you need it.
This cat's such a bore.
►
5.00 p.m.: remember the good old days with daddy Voron back when you were thirteen.
Sightseeing in South America. Visiting arenas. Slaughtering things a bit.
►
5.30 p.m.: another fight in the arena. Blade-sprouting silver golem ✓ Troll (aka the overgrown log) ✓ Ancient vampire ✓ Enjoy seeing them die ✓
This is so much fun.
►
6.00 p.m.: take a relaxing bath in a hot tub.
Try to pretend the Beast Lord isn't in there with you. Oh. My. God. The Universe just exploded again.
►
6.30 p.m.: yet another fight in the arena.
Oh, look, it's the Scarlet Star.
"Hessaad." Mine. "Ud." Die. Sorry daddy, I think I just broke your sword.
►
7.00 p.m.: Oh look, it's the flying palace again.
Feeling suddenly very tired. It's been a long day.
►
7.30 p.m.: Lose a little blood.
Cut a head off. Feel much better.
►
8.00 p.m.: find out cats are suicidal morons.
Who would have thought?►
8.30 p.m.: try telling the people in your head to shut up.
It doesn't work. Oh look, a cat.
►
9.00 p.m.: go home. Find someone in your kitchen.
Wait. What?►
9.30 p.m.: read a note reminding you of an upcoming dinner.
You're allowed to wear a bra and panties. Oh boy.
·
Book 1: Magic Bites ★★★★★
·
Book 2: Magic Burns ★★★★★
·
Book 4: Magic Bleeds ★★★★★
·
Book 5: Magic Slays ★★★★★
·
Book 6: Magic Rises ★★★★★
·
Book 7: Magic Breaks ★★★★★
·
Book 8: Magic Shifts ★★★★★
·
Book 9: Magic Binds ★★★★★
·
Book 10: Magic Triumphs ★★★★
Rating: really liked it
All the stars! I enjoyed the first two books in this Kate Daniels series, but
Magic Strikes reached new levels of fun and games (of the gladiator death match variety) and just sheer awesomeness.
Kate Daniels and her werewolf, werehyena, and other shapeshifter friends get mixed up with some shady goings-on in connection with the Midnight Games, an underground organization that puts on illegal, to-the-death cage fights of the magical variety. Kate's young werewolf friend Derek decides to get involved in rescuing a lovely young woman from a particularly vicious group. Saiman has a stake in the Midnight Games, but events get personal for him as well.
Meanwhile, Julie, Kate's teenage friend/mentee/adoptive daughter, is having trouble adjusting in school, so Kate decides some impressing of Julie's schoolmates in order, which results in one of the most delightful scenes in the book. I reread that scene probably four times. Curran, with his Beast Lord magnificence, is slowly closing in on Kate. (I hypothetically might have read a certain hot tub scene three or four times as well.) I also LOVE a legal throwdown Kate does when Jim, the Pack's chief of security, tries to stonewall her.
"James Damael Shrapshire, in your capacity as the Pack's chief security officer, you have permitted Pack members under your command to deliberately injure an employee of the Order. At least three individuals involved in the assault word the shapeshifter warrior form. Under the Georgia code, a shapeshifter in a warrior form is equivalent to being armed with a deadly weapon. Therefore, your actions fall under O.C.G.A. Section 16-5-21(c), aggravated assault on a peace officer engaged in the performance of her duties, which is punishable by mandatory imprisonment of no less than five and no more than twenty years. A formal complaint will be filed with the Order within twenty-four hours. I advise you to seek the assistance of counsel."
Jim stared at me. The hardness drained from his eyes, and in their depths I saw astonishment.
Legal prowess FTW!
Characters make mistakes, but they're not idiotic mistakes where you want to slap them upside the head and/or hurl the book against the wall.
Magic Strikes weaves in another culture's mythology again, Hindu in this case (who knew about Rakshasas and vimanas before reading this book? Not I). And we start getting some real answers to some of the mysteries about Kate's background and parents that I've wondered about since early in book #1. Total win!
I was originally thinking 4 stars for this book, but then I realized a couple of things: First, I keep going back to the book to reread my favorite scenes. Also, I decided it's not fair to compare this book to
Pride and Prejudice or other classic or literary masterpieces. This is urban fantasy. It's meant to be smart (and smartass), enjoyable, fantastical, and sexy.
Magic Strikes is all of these things, and I really can't think of a better book in this particular genre. If we're comparing apples to apples, this is like the best UF apple
ever.
Art credit: http://strikerv2.deviantart.com/art/F...
Rating: really liked it
Did you guys watch American Gladiators when you were kids? I just looked it up on IMDB, and the show's first run was from 1989-1997.<-----eight years is a LONG time.
Long enough for most of you to have watched it at some point during your childhood. B/c really? What's better than ridiculously muscled men (and women) in red, white, and blue spandex with names like Nitro and Laser . . . and MALIBU (Oh yeaaah):
GAWD, I love the 80's.
And Malibu could totally be Curran in the middle of the magic flare. I mean, look at that hair. (Don't worry, Curran isn't some gym rat with 80's hair. The magic flare just made it grow REALLY fast. As soon as it was over he hacked it all off, I promise.)
The point is that b/c of my glorious upbringing, I'm predisposed to like anything gladiator related. I could lie and say that I love it b/c of my extensive studies of western civilization, but really it's b/c of this:
And this:
#sorrynotsorry
Right. So, Kate's having the longest day ever, and is just about ready to finally go home when Maxine asks her to look into a report of a Pack death. But when she gets to the site, Jim is all, "I got this," so Kate goes home.
To her pie. (<-----Ehehehehe)
And almost immediately gets a call from Saiman.
Derek broke into his apartment, you see, and would Kate care to come and get him, or should Saiman contact the police to handle it instead?
Of course Kate goes to get Derek, but she has to agree to accompany Saiman to the MIDNIGHT GAMES in return for his silence. Kate and Boy Wonder hit the road, but before they part ways, Derek gives her a note . . .
For a girl . . . at the MIDNIGHT GAMES.
I wish we had neural implants that were triggered when you read "MIDNIGHT GAMES." It would echo and sound like one of those small car dealership or furniture warehouse "MIDNIGHT MADNESS SALE" commercials. B/c that would be awesome.
Anyway, stuff happens, including, but not limited to Kate telling Jim that he can stick his, "I got this," attitude where the sun don't shine, Kate telling Curran that she's running away with Jim, and Curran losing his mind.
Have I mentioned that this is my FAVORITE book in my FAVORITE series?
'Cause it is.
And not just b/c of the MIDNIGHT GAMES (which is, admittedly, significant). MAGIC STRIKES is just one big mass of awesome. In fact, there is so much awesome that it deserves a list:
(view spoiler)
[1. The Jim smackdown.
2. Raphael and Kate going to pick up Julie.
3. HOT TUB.
4. Blood spikes in Cesare's head.
5. Curran in the loup cage.
6. Finding out Doolittle is a HONEY BADGER.
7. Finding out Saiman is part LOKI.
8. HUGH D'AMBREY.
And that's just off the top of my head. (hide spoiler)] This book is everything that Urban Fantasy is supposed to be. It does not get better than this. If you like UF, and you haven't read this series and this book, your opinion on other series and books in this genre isn't going to carry as much weight with me. If you
have read and loved it, your recommendations gain credibility. If I find a new person who loves KATE DANIELS, I friend request them. If you friend request me saying that you love Kate too, I accept. That's how fantastic this series and this book are. The end.
My other reviews for this series: A Questionable Client (Kate Daniels, #0.5) Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1) Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, #2) Magic Mourns (Kate Daniels, #3.5) Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, #4) Magic Dreams (Kate Daniels, #4.5) Magic Slays (Kate Daniels, #5) Magic Tests (Kate Daniels, #5.3) Magic Gifts (Kate Daniels, #5.4) Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels, #5.5) Retribution Clause (Kate Daniels, #5.6) An Ill-Advised Rescue (Kate Daniels, #5.8) Magic Rises (Kate Daniels, #6) Magic Steals (Kate Daniels, #6.5) Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels, #7) Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels, #8) Magic Stars (Kate Daniels, #8.5, Grey Wolf, #1) Magic Binds (Kate Daniels, #9) Iron and Magic (Kate Daniels, #9.5) Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels, #10) Curran POV Collection
Rating: really liked it
4.35/5 ⭐
This was definitely better than the first two ones and that says a lot because I really liked those too.
This book is definitely bloodier than the others so far, messier and also, sadder in its cruelty.
My poor baby Derek does not deserve all the things she had to endure in his life! Not at all! He has a pure heart and he just deserves the best!
On the other hand - Curran and Kate's relationship seems to go somewhere? Huh? Huh?? I think so, yes. That
ending...that's a promise for the future!
(Book-styled)
Rating: really liked it
Alright, alright. I am now fully entrenched in the "I Love the Kate Daniels Series" camp.
Magic Bites was ok, Magic Burns was better, and Magic Strikes had me grinning from ear to ear at the last page. I'm desperate now to read the next one to see what happens with Kate and Curran. The tension they've built up is absolutely delicious. THIS is how you create a relationship in a series. I hate authors that think throwing the two characters into bed with each other right away is either realistic, plausible, or sexy. Most of the time it makes me roll my eyes. I think the first Mona Lisa book by Sunny had the two main characters jump each others bones within the first 10 pages. Ridiculous and unsatisfying, and it made me think less of her characters and the author for creating it. (I only mention Sunny because I just finished a book by her, trying to giver her a second chance. My advice: don't bother.)
Anyway, getting back to Magic Strikes.
At the start, Kate is extremely tired and overworked. After one too many jobs she gets a call that a shapeshifter has been murdered. She goes to investigate, already exhausted and craving her bed and some pie she left in the fridge, and finds a bunch of shapeshifters at the scene combing for evidence. Before she can even get close though, a shifter walks up to her and tells her they have it under control. And then Jim, Curran's chief of security as well as her friend and fellow mercenary, drops from the shadows and tells her to leave. He won't let her see the body and he doesn't want her help or interference. She leaves, although the situation nags at her. And rightly so, since the creatures that killed the shifter come after her and her friends, and threaten the shifter community like none have done before.I loved the back stories we were treated to in this one. Finally we learn more about Jim, Derek, Curran, Roland, and Kate and I'm hungry to learn more.
The characters are getting fleshed out and the story is getting more complex without being overwhelming. Andrews sticks to a select few of Kate's friends and acquaintances and really develops them and all I want to do is read more and more. This was the type of book where you're almost at the end and you're hoping 20 more pages will magically appear because you don't want it to stop.
Kate has more than just grown on me at this point too;
I've got a full blown girl-crush on her now. She's strong, funny, caring, snarky, and just a complete badass. I can't wait to read more of her adventures.
I also like Curran more now since he's slowly progressed from the snarling caveman (cavelion?) from the first book. He's still decidedly alpha and scary, but not to the point where I'm afraid for Kate to be around him. He loves her and cares for her and he's sexy as hell. I honestly couldn't stop smiling after I read the last page and even after I closed the book I had a stupid grin on my face.
This was a fantastic book and May can't come soon enough.
Ilona Andrews's books have moved on to my list of automatic buys and if you liked this one as much as I did, check out On the Edge, which was written after. It's a completely different series but the quality of Magic Strikes is also apparent in On the Edge as well.
Check out my reviews of books two and four in this series: Magic Burns and Magic Bleeds.
Rating: really liked it
Sixth re-read: 16.01.22 I think this is one of my favorite books in the series. I just genuinely enjoy it. That said, I did skim as I know every little thing that happens...
“We have to get the Diamond. And Cesare’s head.”
They looked at me.
“Why the head?” Doolittle asked.
“Because it’s easy to carry and I can torture it for a long time.” And I didn’t just say it out loud, did I? I checked their faces. Yep, I did.
“How do you torture a head?” Dali asked.
“You resurrect it and make it relive its death.”
Jim cleared his throat.
New Rating: 3.5/4 stars
Fifth re-read: 16.07.19 I love the ending of this book. I really do. The last two - or three - chapters are really great. I absolutely adore Curran, and I specially adore his way of courting Kate. On to next re-read.
“I lied. I need your help.”
“Who are we killing?”
New Rating: 3.5 stars
Fourth re-read: 27.04.17 I'm on roll here, as you can see. I've been reading #1-3 really fast just because I needed some Curran. I love the Games part, and I still want to kill everyone for what happened to Derek. I think I'll re-read next one and stop.
Third re-read: 17.09.16 I adore the ending. I want Curran to court me, too! I love the Games. Kate fighting are a turn on. Seriously. I'm completely straight, I lust for Curran damn hard, yet Kate in the Games? Daaaamn. She knows her moves, I'm just saying. And let's not get started on Curran...I'll never stop. I just know I'll read this one again...
Second re-read: 07.08.15 This series gets better and better! :D I still love it!! I have no problem re-reading this again.
Re-read: 28.07.14 Man I love Curran! He is fucking sexy and Kate is just brilliant and those two are perfect for each other!
Rating: really liked it
Reread August, 2021: I loved it even more this time around!! Definitely liked Curran WAY more, too. I don't know what that says about me, but 🤷♀️. Quick note though : please don't use food or coffee to describe skin color (only happened once, but ah nope)
Original review :
I, the undersigned, duly authorized representative of my frowning self, hereby state that all my pressuring friends were right when they declared, and I quote them, "it gets better".
This present declaration allows them for expressing their satisfaction at the ruin of my stubbornness, including by using disheartening gloating sayings as, "I told you so".
In addition, to ensure fair and full disclosure, please see the attached terms and conditions of my surrender :
Clause # 1 : I hereby certify that the writing, including the narration, the transitions and the pacing, did get better.
Clause #2 : Albeit unwillingly, I concede that Curran's behavior improved grandly (*) and that the development of his relationship with Kate did get better.
Clause #3 : It doesn't come as a surprise that my complete admiration for Kate didn't waver but on the contrary, tended to increase in full speed.
Clause #4 : I admit that the quality of the plot largely improved, impacting on its addictive, fascinating and compelling factors.
Close # 5 : Last but not least, YES. I did get feels.
(*) Despite these improvements, I am withholding my final judgment until complete disappearance of his stalkerish and aggressive tendencies. If I do realize that Kate has the necessary core abilities to kick his fucking ass for doing so, my inner bitch NO : decent person can't help but snarl at him. I, for one, don't believe in the appeal of an aggressive person. An aggressive person makes you angry, not excited.
With love,
Anna MY REVIEWS FOR THIS SERIES (click on the pictures to go) 
For more of my reviews, please visit: 
Rating: really liked it
Yes I'm reading the Kate Daniels Series AGAIN and guess what I love it a little more every time. 3rd read and this is still my favorite of the series. So many great moments. This book gets ALL THE STARS
Kate Daniels Buddy Read/Reread May 25 with the gang at Ilona Andrews Addicts (IAA)Revised Fangirl Review upon the Re-read of the series before Magic Breaks is Released. 
Magic Strikes has
Gladiator style fighting with MAGIC so it is even better, sexual tension so thick you can cut it with a knife, flying palaces in a separate realm and a murder mystery as good as any crime novel.
I loved it even more the second time around. All the quips, the intense and extremely entertaining battles, the budding relationship between Raphael and Andrea, the extreme sexual tension, Curran staking his claim on the ever reluctant Kate:
“Also, when he opened the door to leave, Curran told him very casually that if Jim wanted to pick fights with his future mate, he was welcome to do so, but he should keep in mind that Curran wouldn’t come and rescue him when you beat his ass. You should have seen Jim’s face.”
“His what?”
“His mate, M-A-T-E.”
I cursed.
Andrea grinned. “I thought that would make your day. And now you’re stuck with him in here for three days and you get to fight together in the Arena. It’s so romantic. Like a honeymoon.”There are so many great moments in this, I loved so many characters. Saiman is slightly creepy with a god complex but turns out he is a quarter God so it is deserved. The shapeshifter equivalent to the Scooby-Doo gang, who pulls together to help Derrek, who has gotten in over his head in attempt to save a pretty girl. Kate’s background and her well-earned daddy issues come more to light in this as well as her reluctance to form attachments. Curran always a favorite proves just how far he is willing to go to save the woman he has decided is his.
”Have you ever seen a lion hunt a herd?”
“No.”
“They are very single-minded. When a loin stalks a herd, he sneaks in close, lies down, and surveys them to choose his victim. He takes his time. The deer or buffalo have no idea he’s near. He finds his prey and then explodes from his hiding place and grabs it. Even if another, perfectly serviceable animal ends up within his reach, he isn’t going to alter his course. He has chosen, and he would rather go hungry than change his mind.”Kate I don’t think you stand a chance. So much better the second time through and I loved every heart-thumping moment of it.
Initial Review 9/25/13Kate Daniels once mercenary and now a semi-member of a Magical Order of Knights never seems to have small problems. She always has if you don’t succeed the world is all doomed problems. This book is no different there are some things that don’t seem all together human and an illegal fight ring going on in Atlanta. Derek is in trouble too and won’t tell Kate what is going on and Jim is hiding things from Curran as well.
“Just reflecting on the fact that when the Universe punches you in the teeth, it never just lets you fall down. It kicks you in the ribs a couple of times and dumps mud on your head.” It also seems that Kate has caught the eye of The Beast Lord who may be trying to court her using a few unusual methods involving food and a little breaking and entering. The tension between them is insane and I eat up every moment they are on the page together. I struggle between wanting them to get together and wanting to drag that moment out a little longer.
“Go play your games with Jim. I'll find you both when I need you."
Arrogant asshole. "I tell you what, if you find us before those three days run out, I'll cook you a damn dinner and serve it to you naked."
"Is that a promise?"
"Yes…..” There is the introduction of a few new characters Dali being one of my favorite new additions. She is a vegetarian Were-tiger that helps the team in the gladiator pit in an interesting and unusual way.
“I do shodo magic,” Dali said. “I curse through calligraphy. I have to write the curse out on a piece of paper and I can’t move while I do it. One smudge, and I might kill the lot of us.”
Oh good.
“But don’t worry.” Dali waved her arms. “It’s so precise, it usually doesn’t work at all.”
Better and better. Magic Bites was just ok, I liked Magic Burns more but I absolutely loved Magic Strikes. The story arc of the murder mystery, the illegal fighting pit, some more backstory into Kate’s upbringing, Saimion and all his weirdness and the building relationship of Kate and Curran kept me on the edge of my seat. I could not put this book down I literally finished it at 3 am and got up at 6 am to go to work
Well done a fantastic addition to the series and the strongest book so far. The first two books are well worth reading to get to this one. And again the last few pages be still my beating heart. It made me want to jump into the next book as soon as humanly possible.
Rating: really liked it
If you haven't read this series yet, you need to at least read the first three. The first two books were good, but this one is magic! :)
Originally read in February of 2015. Rereading with the Ilona Andrews Addicts group.
Here's my original review:Best one yet in the series! Have I mentioned how much I love Kate Daniels? Oh yeah, I guess I have, just in every other review of these books. She is so funny and sarcastic. I find myself chuckling while reading.
"What kind of shapeshifter has orange fur anyway?"
"Weredingo."
Now I'd seen everything. Well, at least he didn't steal my baby.
...
I gave him a smile. I was aiming for sweet, but he turned a shade paler and scooted a bit farther from me. Note to self: work more on sweet and less on psycho-killer. In this book, we get to experience the "Midnight Games", which remind me of some of the video games that my sons play , like League of Legends or TF2. They have gladiator-style fights in an arena one-on-one, but then there is a competition for team fighting for a big prize. Each team has seven members, and each member has to play a certain role. There is the Stone, the Swordsmaster, the Shield, the Shiv, the Spell, the Stratego, and the Sling. There is a lot of fighting and action, but with the usual humor mixed in.
It is also fun to watch Curran and Kate get closer. I like how there is no insta-love in these books at all. As a matter of fact, come on, already!! Sheesh!
Curran looked back at me. "Why is it you always attract creeps?"
"You tell me." Ha! Walked right into that one, yes, he did. 
Rating: really liked it
First reread January 2015
Original rating: 5
New rating: 10☆☆☆ Post-Shift Productions proudly present ☆☆☆Just Another Day in the Life of Kate Daniels►
8.00 a.m.: roll out of bed after getting 2 hours of sleep. Realize you're hungry. Open the fridge to get some of that leftover apple pie.
The plate is empty. Strange.
►
8.30 a.m.: rescue your teenage werewolf sidekick from Saiman. Watch Saiman change form and
throw up in your mouth a little.
►
9.00 a.m.: find out His Furriness became Beast Lord at the tender age of 15 after chopping Andorf's head off.
This is going to be a long day.►
9.30 a.m.: your best friend tells you she doesn't want to be Raphael's TWT-IHFB.
Oh boy.►
10.00 a.m.: have a conversation with His Fussiness about
kissing his ass.
►
10.30 a.m.: hand Saiman a needle so he can
pop his head with it. It's obscuring your view of the room.
►
11.00 a.m.: listen to Jim telling you about a
weredingo. Consider yourself lucky he didn't steal your baby.
►
11.30 a.m.: try to smile. Aim for sweet. End up looking like a
psycho-killer.
►
12.00 a.m.: listen to a lecture about the different shapeshifter courtship customs. Aunt B. A cat on the ceiling. A fan. Mist.
That's boudas for you.
►
12.30 a.m.: go sightseeing with Jim. Visit a jungle and a flying palace. Play with the locals.
Chop a few arms off. Things are looking up.
►
1.00 p.m.: tell His Furriness he's a deadly psychopath with a god complex. Then tell him you're
having rough sex with Jim. Bad idea.
►
1.30 p.m.: temporary insanity. Oh. My. God.
The Universe just exploded.
►
2.00 p.m.: explain to your furry friends why you want Cesare's head. Then proceed to explain how you plan to
resurrect it and make it relive its death over and over again. Did you just say all that out loud? Yep. You did.
►
2.30 p.m.: the Beast Lord asks you
why you always attract creeps. Ha! He walked right into that one, yes, he did.
►
3.00 p.m.: Andrea says M-A-T-E.
You curse. Then consider strangling her a little.
►
3.30 p.m.: fight in the arena. Jim tells you to be sloppy.
You try.
►
4.00 p.m.: have a conversation about sausages with your furry friends.
Die, die, die, die. ►
4.30 p.m.: Raphael hands you a fan in case you get hot. Curran doesn't think you need it.
This cat's such a bore.
►
5.00 p.m.: remember the good old days with daddy Voron back when you were thirteen.
Sightseeing in South America. Visiting arenas. Slaughtering things a bit.
►
5.30 p.m.: another fight in the arena. Blade-sprouting silver golem ✓ Troll (aka the overgrown log) ✓ Ancient vampire ✓ Enjoy seeing them die ✓
This is so much fun.
►
6.00 p.m.: take a relaxing bath in a hot tub.
Try to pretend the Beast Lord isn't in there with you. Oh. My. God. The Universe just exploded again.
►
6.30 p.m.: yet another fight in the arena.
Oh, look, it's the Scarlet Star.
"Hessaad." Mine. "Ud." Die. Sorry daddy, I think I just broke your sword.
►
7.00 p.m.: Oh look, it's the flying palace again.
Feeling suddenly very tired. It's been a long day.
►
7.30 p.m.: Lose a little blood.
Cut a head off. Feel much better.
►
8.00 p.m.: find out cats are suicidal morons.
Who would have thought?►
8.30 p.m.: try telling the people in your head to shut up.
It doesn't work. Oh look, a cat.
►
9.00 p.m.: go home. Find someone in your kitchen.
Wait. What? ►
9.30 p.m.: read a note reminding you of an upcoming dinner.
You're allowed to wear a bra and panties. Oh boy.
*********
Original review (June 2014):How much better can this series get!? I’m seriously being blown away by every new instalment here. KD = pure awesomeness. Fabulous, exciting, memorable, astounding, staggering, wonderful, impressive, breathtaking, and nothing short of downright amazing.
Ever went on a roller coaster ride? Take that feeling, multiply it by 10 and you might get an idea of what this book is like. There is so much to take here that my heart must have stopped beating quite a few times as I was
reading devouring Magic Strikes. The world building blew me away (again). It's even richer and more complex than in previous instalments. I didn’t think it was possible but yes, the Andrews got even better at it! This series is probably the better-crafted I have ever read. We had to wait for the third book in the series to find out about Kate’s blood and why she is so special but it was handled very well by the authors. Situations and characters take time to evolve and develop within the series but it doesn’t feel forced as all things are revealed in due time. There is still a lot to figure out about Kate though which leaves room for much more development in instalments to come.
I think what I like most about this series is that it is so well-balanced.
The action and battle scenes are mind-blowing (and that’s saying a lot since I usually hate battle scenes), there is emotion, lots of humour, mystery, mythology… Everything really!
Oh and the characters! Kate & Curran are just great (I love that the romance part of the book is only a subplot so far and not taking over the whole series), the Derek situation is (view spoiler)
[heartbreaking (hide spoiler)], Saiman is a total creep but I love him, Julie & Dali are both welcome additions to the cast of characters, I love Andrea, I love Raphael… As I said in a previous review I think I just love everything single character in this series, even the evil ones!
What else? The quotes! The quotes! Sorry, I can't resist it.
Seven pairs of glowing eyes stared at me: four green, three yellow. Judging by the glow, the shapeshifter crew hovered on the verge of going furry. One of their own was dead and they were out for blood. I kept my tone light. “You fellows ever thought of hiring out as a Christmas lights crew? You’d make a fortune.”
A shadow crossed Andrea’s face. “I don’t want to be his TWT-IHFB” “What does that mean?” “That Weird Thing I Haven’t Fucked Before.” I choked on a bite of gyro.
“His Majesty needs a can-I girl anyway. And I’m not it.” “A can-I girl?” Andrea frowned. I leaned back. “Can I fetch you your food, Your Majesty? Can I tell you how strong and mighty you are, Your Majesty? Can I pick out your fleas, Your Majesty? Can I kiss your ass, Your Majesty? Can I…” It dawned on me that Raphael was sitting very still. Frozen, like a statue, his gaze fixed on the point above my head. “He’s standing behind me, isn’t he?” Andrea nodded slowly. “Technically it should be “may I,” Curran said, his voice deeper than I remembered. “Since you’re asking permission.” Why me? “To answer your question, yes, you may kiss my ass. Normally I prefer to maintain my personal space, but you’re a Friend of the Pack and your services have proven useful once or twice. I strive to accommodate the wishes of persons friendly to my people. My only question is, would your kissing my ass be obeisance, grooming, or foreplay?”
Saiman sighed. “At the risk of sounding crude, wooing you is like playing basketball with a porcupine. No compliment goes unpunished.”
I gave him a smile. I was aiming for sweet, but he turned a shade paler and scooted a bit farther from me. Note to self: work more on sweet and less on psycho-killer.
Curran looked back at me. “Why is it you always attract creeps?”
“You tell me.” Ha! Walked right into that one, yes, he did.
As he passed me, he leaned to Curran and handed him a paper fan folded from some sort of flyer.
Curran looked at the fan. “What?”
“An emergency precaution, Your Majesty. In case the lady faints.”
Curran just stared at him.
Raphael strode toward the Pit, turned, flexed a bit, and winked at me.
“Give me that,” I told Curran. “I need to fan myself.”
“No, you don’t.”
Get me the next instalment! Quick!•
Book 1: Magic Bites ★★★★★
•
Book 2: Magic Burns ★★★★★
•
Book 4: Magic Bleeds ★★★★★
•
Book 5: Magic Slays ★★★★★
•
Book 6: Magic Rises ★★★★★
•
Book 7: Magic Breaks ★★★★★
•
Book 8: Magic Shifts ★★★★★
•
Book 9: Magic Binds ★★★★★
•
Book 10: Magic Triumphs ★★★★
Rating: really liked it
I promised myself that I would review this book after finishing it the second time around. I took expansive notes, I copied my favorite quotes down in preparation and I even went so far as to try to start writing a review while still reading. I made several attempts actually. The first was a gushing letter to the author. The second was a serious breakdown of the story and characters that just felt all wrong and the third was a half drunken, rambling poem modeled after “There once was a man from Nantucket”. What? I was on vacation.
I’d say it’s pretty obvious that all attempts failed miserably. You know what that means?
I
LOVE this frigging book!
I
LOVE the murder mystery
I
LOVE Curran’s pursuit of Kate
I
LOVE Kate’s badassery
I
LOVE their non-stop taunting of each other
I
LOVE the gladiator style battles
And I even
LOVE Saiman’s creep factor.
Rating: really liked it
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Urban fantasy was my method of escape in college when I was frequently mentally exhausted from writing ten-page research papers and fatigued from pulling all-nighters. After reading endless books about psychiatric disorders, behaviorism, and the physical structures of the eye, sometimes it's nice to kick it with something that's just pure fun-- and for me, PNRs were always that. I will forever have a soft spot for vampires, shape-shifters, and witches.
The Kate Daniels series is basically the epitome of every book I loved as a woman in my only twenties, only upgraded, and equipped with a fancy sword. It borrows heavily from the folklore and mythology of
all cultures (not just Western ones) and features a jaded, quippy heroine who the authors also aren't afraid to portray as emotionally vulnerable. MAGIC STRIKES, in particular, really delves deep into Kate's personal history and what makes her tick.
This book takes on a
Hunger Games-like flavor when we learn about an underground fighting league that pits magical creature against magical creature in a high-stakes stadium tournament that frequently results in fights to the death-- only the price of defeat may be higher than anyone thought. Creatures are turning up dead and there's some sinister challengers who read as human but have abilities that no human would have, and things are bad enough that even Curran's Pack members are trying to undermine his authority, out of fear of starting an out-and-out territory war.
So you know, just another day in the world of Kate Daniels.
I didn't like this book
quite as much as the previous book because this one was so brutal and violent and cutthroat. The other books in the series aren't exactly free from violence, but I must admit, I'm squeamish and I tend to balk at the presence of too much graphic physical violence. The gladiatorial elements were compelling though, and everything that happened in this book was relevant to the plot, but I was surprised at how much more violent it was than the previous too books. Poor Derek.
That said, I really appreciated how diverse this series was/is. Especially considering that it was published 10 years ago, before that was really the status quo and everything was overwhelmingly
white. Andrews really makes an effort to be inclusive and while there are some stereotypes that have since become outmoded, it really stands out from its contemporaries, which tended to be way less diverse and feminist in tone. I love that Kate Daniels doesn't just fall over for a man, and she doesn't eschew femininity like Anita Blake did. I mean, she wears underwear with bows on! Love. Being a strong woman doesn't mean hating on feminine things. I'm glad to see Team Andrews gets that.
Also, Curran! I'm still Team Rogan for life, but this book made me realize why everyone loves him. That cliffhanger ending! I am DECEASED. Thank goodness I have books four and five on standby.
Definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves UF/PNRs but is tired of the same ol' same ol'.
3.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
She should have seen this coming!Kate has a number of things which occupy her mind and her life:
1. The wellbeing of her new friends:-Jim betrays the pack,
-Derek almost gets himself killed,
-Raphael is crazy about Andrea and
-Saiman has new scary enemies. They talk like human, smell like human, behave like human but what are they really?
I am just happy that Kate has true friends finally.
2. The dangers that her real family brings:We learn who her biological father is and what the consequences of these revelations might be.
Okay, this will definitely make things more complex in the next books.
3. The dangerous, illegal Midnight Games:Full action, wonderful body conduct scenes in a primitive like arena.
The description of many, strangely magnificent, out of nightmare creatures that are battling together to prove who is the strongest.
For sure, the games in which Kate’s team participate were my favorites – especially the ones that they finish them off in less than a minute.
4. Curran……more persistent than ever to have her:
Apparently, he has already decided that she is his mate. He just wants to have her firstly and answer her questions later. Certainly everybody else has realized his intentions except for Kate who does not understand the ways Alpha shifters play and the rules of courtship.
I really enjoy seeing them dancing around each other.
5. Who has eaten her apple pie……or has Kate eaten it and she does not remember it?
I cannot believe she was so careless and not paying attention to the details in this book.
Of course she should have seen it coming!
At least the girl knows where she stands:
"I can't let him kiss me again, because if he does, I'll sleep with him."
Rating: really liked it
Reread 7/2018I can't believe I didn't review this book back when I read it for the first time, this is definitely where the series began to pick up for me. This reread of the series has reminded me of why I like this series and this author.
Kate and Curran are the ultimate slow burn and that couple you find yourself shipping. I only made it to book 4 the first time around, and while I am taking a quick break after this one, I fully intend to finally catch up with this series. It's so good! It's reminded me of why I love PNR.
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I don't feel like reviewing, so all I'll say is this book was awesome. This series is awesome and you should read it.
The end.
