REVIEW: Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Format: Real Live Book
Narrated By: NA
Original Publication Year: 2008
Genre(s): Urban Fantasy
Series: Kate Daniels #2
Awards: None

This is one of those series that I just want to curl up with and burn through in a matter of days. In fact I’ve read the first three in quick succession and am halfway through book 4. I will quickly run out of books (there are currently 7 plus some in between short-stories and novellas) and be irritated that I blew through them so impatiently.

This is book 2 in the Kate Daniels series and Kate is dealing with the repercussion of her new situation that came about at the end of book one. She is now a representative of the Order (a formal organization which takes care of magical “issues” for the good of mankind) and official liaison to Atlanta’s Pack of shapeshifters i.e. were-creatures and she is still unsure of her role. To complicate matters it looks like Atlanta is headed for a Magical Flare – a rare and super intense period where magic reigns. Kate must face down a God and Goddess (of the Celtic variety) and their various minions AND cozy up with the witches when she gets hired by The Pack to track down some important maps that have been stolen. She also gets caught up in the search for a young girl’s missing mother which ends up being connected to The Pack’s stolen maps.

In this book we start to see Kate’s soft side as she becomes protective of her foundling Julie. For someone as self-sufficient and independent as she is, she bonds with folks pretty darn fast and quickly takes responsibility for them. In this book she meets her “best friend” Andrea who continues to be a secondary character in future books. If I have any reservations about the books it is that a lot of things happen and the reaction by the characters, particularly Kate, doesn’t always quite compute. Usually the action and general likeability of everybody propelled me right along so I never dwelt on these twinges of “wha..huh” that occasionally popped up.

One other annoyance that I should mention just in case you like me want to consume all the books in one sitting: Andrews recaps everything within the narrative – action from the previous books and the basics and rules etc…of the world. It’s likely a bonus if you’re reading each book a year apart, but when they are a day apart it’s irritating. It’s made me wonder why authors don’t more often do a synopsis at the beginning of a book that you could read or skip as you preferred.

Final Verdict: Continuing fun in a really well constructed Urban Fantasy world. This is definitely an addictive series. Comparable to Book one.


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