Review: Magic Slays (Kate Daniels #5) by Ilona Andrews |《Reread》

5 stars for Magic Slays (Kate Daniels book 5) by Ilona Andrews |《Reread》.

It has been a long time; I need to get this off my mind. Of all the book covers since the series started, this one portrays Kate in the most unflattering, undignified manner. I always wonder why this picture was chosen to grace the book cover of Magic Slays. Perhaps this is the best among the rest, but even so, I feel that Kate deserves something better. The title is sleek and well chosen yet the cover is anything but. The good thing is, other than this minor slip-up of the outside, the inside is all well and good.

Once again, the authors deliver an amazing story. I thought the last book 4 was spectacular, yet the authors manage to outdo themselves again. In this book, the magic elite of Atlanta put aside old rivalries to form a common alliance. Mages, witches, druids, volhvs, shamans, the People, the Pack, and the mercenary Guild, all come together to fight a cause worthy of fighting.

As usual, when it comes to Kate and the beast lord, there are always those bear-your-heart-out scenes that makes me so emotional that tears roll down my cheeks as I read. And mind you, those are not fanciful conversations, just simple, practical, heart-to-heart talking, yet they make the world go round in Kate's world.

Next up book six Magic Rises. Another of my favourites.

Review: Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels #4) by Ilona Andrews |《Reread》

5 stars for Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels book 4) by Ilona Andrews |《Reread》.

Reading book 4 Magic Bleeds again feels like revisiting a dear old friend. I say it again. This series just keeps getting better with each new book. In this new instalment, shapeshifters who never fall sick (due to the Lyc-V virus) caught deadly plagues, the People (the Masters of the Dead who navigate the vampires) unexpectedly asked the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid for assistance, and undead creatures make an appearance and used elemental magic.

It feels great to be reading a completed series. No waiting. No longing. No hangover. Having to wait like one year for the next book to be written and published is such a killjoy. I remember vividly as if it was yesterday when I specially patronized a certain library branch to borrow the first two books because they were available only in that particular library. I was lucky then that I didn't have to wait long for book 3 Magic Strikes to be out. And then, the pain came. It came right after I finished reading book 3, and it repeated itself every year after. Those were terrible times.

Also, it feels wonderful to be holding and reading Kate Daniels in the dead tree version. I bought the books some years ago and I specially went for the original covers it came in (first edition covers which I read in previously). So, even though I am rereading the series now, the books I hold in my hands are proudly mine and in mint condition. So happy!

While book 3 Magic Strikes, my all-time favourite, is a book that reaffirms that this series is worth all my time reading and following, book 4 Magic Bleeds is a book that cumulates all that have been said and done in the previous three books and then... reveals and reduces it to three mere words "all or nothing".

If you are a fan of Urban Fantasy, this is s series not to be missed.

Next up book five Magic Slays.