By: Ilona Andrews
Kate Daniels #1 | 260 Pages | Pub. 2007
Magic Bites at a Glance
- Overall Rating: ★★★1/2
- Heroine: Modern day Slayena
- Dude: Rawrr
- Steaminess: Frozen like white street
- Creepiness: The vampires = hard no
Mini Review
I’m not sure what I expected going into this series, but it wasn’t what I got. This was my first Ilona Andrews book and it will not be my last. There was so much action that I felt like I needed a break from reading at times, but overall I enjoyed the ass-kicking nature of Kate Daniels.
Kate is a mercenary, which is my favorite profession for women in fantasies. I’m much more prone to like a girl who can save herself. No whiny heroines for me thank you.
We meet her drinking Boone’s Farm on her porch while sharpening knives. I’m ALL IN for this. Kate is feisty as hell and reminds me of Aelin from the Throne of Glass series, with her swagger and inability to keep her mouth shut.
“I usually have to threaten men with bodily harm before they tell me secrets.”
There is minor romance in this, but it is not the primary focus. Any romance in this series is going to be a super slow burn and well worth the wait. But that doesn’t mean we don’t get some sexy and fun characters in Crest and Curran. I’m all for hot shifters.
The one thing that drove me crazy was that I didn’t feel her commitment to Greg. She is trying to find a murderer, but she rarely talks about the man she is avenging. I didn’t feel the connection and it made it seem like she was just the glory hound that Curran said she was.
The world that Andrews creates is unique in that magic and technology are almost at war and cannot exist well at the same time. So there are periods of time when tech is up and cellphones work and all of a sudden magic comes in and she has to ride a horse. I liked this new spin and I am excited to see the world continue to build as we learn more about it. Plus, the insane creatures she meets are not the norm. The vampires are piloted by necromancers and I NEVER want to run into one of those. No thank you.
All in all, I really liked Kate and am halfway through the second book!
Have you read Magic Bites? Let us know what you thought in the comments!
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You got to the book so soon! I wasn’t super impressed with the first book but enough to keep reading and now I am super involved. I am currently trying to not read the 9th one too early so I won’t have to wait for the last one (I am expecting a cliffhanger and I already have a theory).
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I’m almost done with number two 🙈! And I’m getting very involved wondering what she is and how this Curran thing is going to play out!
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I am so glad you’re liking it!
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Glad you enjoyed I had a hard time connecting with Kate, but I love love love their Hidden Legacy series! And I am in complete agreement about whiny heroines they can ruin a book!
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Yaaaaaaaaaaay. I can’t wait until you get to the third one! I think that one and the 5th one so far are my faves. I have to get the 6 th and 7th one soon.
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I just finished the 4th 🙈
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I adore this series, I love the world. It took me until book 3 to become fully invested, but I reread the series almost every year.
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I just finished book 4 and I agree that it took me a couple to get invested.
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YASSS was so excited for you to read this! Aren’t the vampires so iiiicckkk?!! The romance is definitely slow but so good. I love the line that’s something like “he terrified her, so she laughed in his face” haha Kate is so kick-ass, I love her!
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Yes! Kate is amazing. I love her. And those vampires are the worst!
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[…] Magic Bites (Kate Daniels # 1) – Ilona Andrews […]
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[…] and Teagan reviewed the first in the Kate Daniels’ series and I am glad to not be the only one who is currently discovering this wonderful […]
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