Early Review: Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

*This title will be released on May 31, 2011*

Title: Magic Slays Author: Ilona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels #5 Cover Art: Chad Michael Ward Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Abigail Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Ace (May 31, 2011) ISBN-10: 0441020429 ISBN-13: 978-0441020423 Sexual Content: Kissing. A brief sex scene. Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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Description

Plagued by a war between magic and technology, Atlanta has never been so deadly. Good thing Kate Daniels is on the job.

Kate Daniels may have quit the Order of Merciful Aid, but she’s still knee-deep in paranormal problems. Or she would be if she could get someone to hire her. Starting her own business has been more challenging than she thought it would be—now that the Order is disparaging her good name, and many potential clients are afraid of getting on the bad side of the Beast Lord, who just happens to be Kate’s mate.

So when Atlanta’s premier Master of the Dead calls to ask for help with a vampire on the loose, Kate leaps at the chance of some paying work. Turns out this is not an isolated incident, and Kate needs to get to the bottom of it—fast, or the city and everyone dear to her might pay the ultimate price . . .

Review

In a lot of ways, MAGIC SLAYS is like a new beginning for Kate.  It feels almost like a fresh start for her (and potentially a starting point for new readers).  She’s cut ties with the Order of Merciful Aid (good riddance) and started Cutting Edge Investigations with her best friend and fellow former Knight Andrea Nash.   The showdown with her father is still looming, but in the background.  This time we learn several vital things about Kate’s mother.  Things that rattle Kate to her bones and force her to question the love of the two most important men in her life. 

The action is intense and relentless from the first page.  From a savage vampire attack, shifters gone Loupe (wild), assassins, you name it and they probably tried to kill Kate in MAGIC SLAYS.  Seriously I don’t think she stopped bleeding the entire book.  But the scenes are handled each time with a fresh energy so that they never feel stale. 

When not kicking some serious butt, Kate’s personal life never slows down.  She and Curran are still adjusting to being mated.  It’s always a gamble when two characters finally get together.  Will they loose their romantic tension? Will they become boring?  Not possible for Kate and Curran.  They fight and make up with the same raw intensity as always, still verbally spare with the same flirtatious wit, still clash and argue with the same finesse.  But there is a new understanding, a new vulnerability that we see in Kate.  Intimacy and giving oneself completely to another person is still so alien to her that she has real moments of panic.  I loved that there were still new sides of Kate for me to see.

I did notice one annoying thing throughout MAGIC SLAYS, the word ‘Aha.’  Everyone said it. A lot.  Maybe that’s something they fixed in the final version, but in my ARC, it was everywhere.  I’ve never noticed it in the previous books either.  It did become very distracting and unfortunately it caused me to drop a rating in this otherwise outstanding book.

The Kate Daniels series has always defined what urban fantasy should be.  And with every new book, it becomes that much harder for all the other urban fantasy series to keep up. No one is cooler than Kate, no one is fiercer than Curran, and no world more magically mucked up than Atlanta.  If I could only read one urban fantasy series for the rest of my life, it would be the Kate Daniels series. No contest.

Previous Books in Series	Also Reviewed By:
1. Magic Bites 2. Magic Burns 3. Magic Strikes 3.5 Magic Mourns (novella in MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS) 4. Magic Bleeds 4.5 Magic Dreams (novella in HEXED)	Genre Go Round Reviews My Bookish Ways