New Fiendish Review: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Book:                  Magic Bites

Author:                Ilona Andrews

Publisher:            Ace

ISBN/ASIN:         9781429569859 

Release Date:      Out Now!!!

Rating:                4.0 Stars

Find out more about the dynamic duo here.

Delve into the crazy crumbling world of magical Atlanta.

Discovering the world of Kate Daniels propelled me into a non-stop weekend immersion. For three whole days I read non-stop, sans the Boons Farm and Slayer.

Magic Bites, the first of the Daniels’ story truly sets the pace for the entire series and whetted my appetite enough to blaze furiously through each and every installment, ever hungry for more-just a small testament to the lure of the Andrews’ duo literary superpowers. It should really be renamed Magic Rocks. How can you go wrong with a merc chick that carries a bloodthirsty blade called Slayer?

Kate Daniels is determined to get to the bottom of the death of her guardian Greg Feldman, the Knight Diviner of the local chapter of the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid. Something of a badass, and loose cannon, there is no love lost between the Knights and Kate and they are barely able to tolerate her. But her guardian had power, connections, and a secret to keep. And he’s bequeathed a few magical power words to Kate that is bound to get her into trouble.

So starts an enigmatic, and combustible series. Magic Bites keeps a steady pace-that of a small jet engine, in reality. There are so many things pushing the plot forward: the alliance with Curran, Beast Lord and her potential love interest, the mysterious Saiman, Dr. Crest who wants a relationship with Kate, a diabolically evil upir, and the deadly secret that she is keeping. All these great plot movements make for a dead sexy read. 

The best part about Magic Bites is that it seamlessly delivers a great story, engaging action, and without fail, a consistent quality, that will make you hunger for more. The Andrew’s world-building talents figure largely into the plot: the idea of Atlanta crumbling from corrosive magical elements perpetually battling technology, and eating away at its infrastructure, is genius. The concept of the Immortuus pathogen and Lyc-V, m-scans, the color of a supernaturals magical residue, the feylanterns and how Atlanta exists when the magic is “up”, is brilliantly conceived. Even the Andrews’ take on vampiredom the innovative perspective of how vamp drones are driven by their Master of the Dead is cunningly original, making this first in the series not only a killer read but a heady experience.

For those who might have started the On The Edge series (like moi) without turning to Kate Daniels first, be sure to pick up and read the entire series. After I blew through On the Edge and Bayou Moon, I figured I’d pick up some Kate. By the first chapter had been absorbed I found myself a tad chagrined that I hadn’t discovered the series sooner. It’s not hard to imagine the Andrews’ rubbing their collective hands gleefully over their computer cooking up one delicious plot after another. 

If you like Kelly Gay, Laura Ann Gilman, Stacia Kane, or Seanan McGuire, Magic Bites will be a seamless transition and an instant hit. I guarantee you’ll read your paperback copy to pulp. Tatters. Shredded pages. Like moi.

A Fiendishly Bookish Read and One Grumpy Cat