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Sunday, July 21, 2013

Book Review: (ARC) Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews (book tour + giveaway)


Magic Rises (Kate Daniels #6)
by Ilona Andrews

Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost.

Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.

Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap
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Magic Rises grabbed me by the heart from the beginning, shook it senseless and left me picking up the pieces till the last sentence. Oh, the feels!

Can’t talk much about the details in this book. So many good things and so many bad happened to our group of misfits. There is an underlying theme about family dynamics along with the pain and length a parent will go to save a child or future ones. There are new creatures and mythologies the gang runs up against and many twists and turns that had me cursing up till the very end! Don’t worry, the Karma bus does its job; some get on and some get run over. There is also a short story at the end of the book to expand on an event Kate talks about in the beginning of Magic Rises. It was deleted from the original draft, but added as a bonus.

What makes this series so damn entertaining is the ease at which the story flows. Ilona Andrews weaves background information from previous books into the new story line better than anyone. You could pick this series up at Book #6 and be caught up on the information needed to understand what is going on. I don’t recommend it, because you are missing out on one hell of world building experience and character growth. One thing that sets this urban fantasy series apart from the rest is an equal heroine and hero duo. They are both strong willed, snarky and bad ass. One doesn't balance out the other. It is fire and gasoline and when they get together things go boom! And it is fabulous fun.

I did feel the need to go all Bunny Foo Foo* on Kate and Curran at one point in the story. It has been 6 books and they still keep information to their selves to “protect” the other. When has that EVER worked out?! <G>

*when characters act in a way that makes me want to scoop them up and bop them on the head.


Quo-ti-licious:

"In the middle of it the Keep rose like a gray man-made mountain, an example of what happened if several hundred deeply paranoid and superhumanly strong people got together and decided they needed a safe place to crash."


“Curran leaned over me. My handsome psycho.”

“Saying things like
We think this is a trap and We would rather cut off our left foot than go would endanger our ship acquisition and our badass image.”

“Go to the Black Sea, meet new people, see beautiful places, get killed by a mutant carnivourous kangaroo goat.”

“Are you hungry, baby?” Curran asked.

“Starving”
“I think we should go to dinner.”
“Great idea.” 
“What are you going to wear?”
“My badass face.”
“Good choice.” He said.


5 “When I grow up I want to be Kate Daniels, live in the Keep and marry Curran” Sheep
1 Bunny Foo Foo





Sharon Stogner

About the authors:
Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. author2sm“Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)

Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Oregon with their two children, three dogs and a cat. They have co-authored two series, the bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels and romantic urban fantasy of The Edge.




43 comments:

  1. I have not read by of this series. It sounds like I need to change that.

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  2. OMG, I have reread this series five or six times. I even got my daughter and friend hooked on it. The Kate Daniels series is my "pick me up books". When I am down or just don't know what I want to read, I pick the first one up and read the whole series. I am impatient for Magic Rises. Only one more week....
    koonie2888 at yahoo dot com

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  3. I'm guessing I would prefer to be Kate also. She's a kick ass woman who can take care of herself in any situation. I've read most of the books in this series thanks to two different county libraries (neither one carries all of them).

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  4. I'm way too old to pick a character to be when I grow up. It's too late for that! I have the previous 5 books on my reader, but haven't gotten to them yet. Looks like it's time to move them up! Thank you for the giveaway!!
    Bonnie Hilligoss - bonhill@speakeasy.net

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  5. Of course I want to be Kate - snarky, brave, kickass, take-me-as-I-am. Yep, I'm gonna be Kate. Thanks for the opportunity to win. michelle_willms@yahoo.com

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  6. I HAVE JUST FOUND THIS SERIES AND WOULD LIKE TO START READING THEM

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  7. I AM NEW TO THIS SERIES BUT WOULD LIKE TO READ IT SOON!GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW BOOK AND THANKS FOR THE GIVEAWAY! SHELLEY S. calicolady60@hotmail.com

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  8. Fascinating book! I have not read any of the Kate Daniels series yet, but it is high on my wishlist. When I grow up I would like to be like Rachel Morgan from the Hollows series by Kim Harrison. Thanks for the great giveaway.
    bhometchko(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  9. Have yet to read this series. Looking forward to the chance!

    Kassandra
    sionedkla@gmail.com

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  10. I haven't read any of this series. I'd love to be Mercy Thompson or Jane Yellowrock though! ;-)

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  11. I haven't read any of this series. I'd love to be Mercy Thompson or Jane Yellowrock though! ;-)

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  12. I haven't read this series but am putting them in my wish list now. What character would I want to be when I grow up? A badass vampire character. lol

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  13. I wanna be Kate, but then again I think Im jealous :) I want her sword - and maybe her man LOL

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  14. I want to be married to johnny depp...lol...does that count as fiction, or fantasy?? OK I want to be Claire and romp in the heather with Jamie.....

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  15. I'd like to be Rose Drayton from Ilona Andrews' The Edge series when I grow up. That would be pretty spectacular.

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  16. Kate - no question about it! Damaris dsr002(at)gmail(dot)com

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  17. This is going to sound bass-ackward, but I would love to be Julie when I grow up. Having Kate and Curran as parental figures? Being the pack princess? Boo-yah!

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  18. Kate is my favorite urban fantasy character. I would love to her. I also wouldn't mind becoming Andrea. They are the best BFFs ever!

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  19. Who doesn't want to be Kate -- a hilariously snarky kick-ass woman with Curran as a mate! Or maybe Eve from J.D. Robb's In Death series (why?... ROARKE! 'nuf said!)

    Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
    elizabeth @ bookattict . com

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  20. Like everyone else, Kate! That would be such an adventure!! wow! Scary but pretty damn awesome!! I am DYING to read this series!!! It's in my Amazon cart ready to get. Thank you so much for this awesome giveaway!!!!

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  21. I haven't read this series yet but it's on my wish list. I've always sort of thought I want to be Soteria from the book Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon. She sort of rules and she has a god at her beck and call!

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  22. I would love to read this series. It sounds really good. Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me.

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  23. Kate would certainly be high on my list, though it's kind of a toss-up between her, Cat Crawfield, and Mercy Thompson.

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  24. Elizabeth Bennet!

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  25. I'm honest. I haven't read any of Ilona's books so I can't pick a character. What am I saying...I AM A CHARACTER! LOL!
    Btw, I didnt know "Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team". You got me! Now pick me! ;-)

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  26. Thanks for sharing your post and the giveaway. I love Kate Daniels and Curran, so I think if I ever grow up, I would want to be Kate Daniels.

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  27. I think I would like to be Kate Daniels. I am just now getting acquainted with her.

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  28. Kate Daniels, Jane Yellowrock, Gin Blanco :)

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  29. havent read these books yet but they sound really interesting but @ this pointif I could pick any character from any book I think i would have 2 say Jane Yellowrock ( Faith Hunter) or Kahlan Amnell (Terry Goodkind)

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  30. Hermione! I would use all the knowledge to cause nothing but mischief.

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  31. Aside from Kate ? Andrea. She's cool, and witty and kind of strong too.

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  32. I've always wanted to be Kate when I grow up. She is everything I am not!

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  33. I have not read this series and from all the reviews I keep reading I need to change that like yesterday! I love to be Eve Dallas and get spoiled by Roarke for a day!

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  34. New to the series. Sounds great!

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  35. new to the series and cant wait to read it sounds awesome!!

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  36. As I sit here going through emails and listening to The Laughing Corpse - I have to say I want to be Anita Blake, even knowing all that goes on after this installment and just maybe because of it LOL

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