Reviews
I don't think I will ever get tired of this series. Kate Daniels is still a badass.
In Magic Breaks, another installment in the world of Kate and Curran. Curran, the Beast Lord of Pack, has left on a mission, and Kate is left behind. However, upon in a meeting the with People, one of their past enemies Curran had killed...has come back alive. Now Kate is on her own to defeat her enemy who may be working with her father. She realizes that if she can't save her people, they might be destroyed. Meanwhile, she is worried about Curran and that he may be dead or injured. This was such a unique installment into this series, although I will admit, I didn't like that Kate and Curran are apart from each other for the majority of the story. But we also see some major factors happen that we see the progress in their relationship and the politics of the Pack. I did like seeing how creative Kate becomes in surviving in certain situations. Curran really surprised me in this book though. With his decision at the end, because he is willing to give up certain things for Kate and their relationship. I loved that, seeing how devoted he is to her, how he respects her abilities, how they fight side by side and seeks to do what is right by Kate despite the major change it will bring. And on the other side of the coin, we see how despite what is going around Kate, the dangers to her and those she cares about...Curran is still her top priority. We see how much he matters to her, and she is such a strong character. I love how even though she is hurting inside because she suspects he may be gone, she doesn't let it distract her when she needs to be at top form. But we see a deeper level to her feelings for Curran. This story definitely made me eager for the next book , and seeing the change in their lives progress even more.
I have no more words for this series. Only: shit actually hit the fan this time
Main review Be warned! Lots of major spoilers ahead! Ok I feel like I’ve been slapped, punched, kicked and beaten to a pulp. My heart was ripped to pieces several times, the wind was knocked out of me but boy did I laugh! Magic Breaks is nothing short of freaking amazing and I’m going to need some time before I can recover and write a review that makes a tiny little bit of sense. And, arrrggghhh, what am I supposed to read after this?! All the other books will seem dull and boring compared with Magic Breaks! What’s a girl to do?! Heck, I might even go without reading for a few days (no small feat as far as I’m concerned!). ¤¤¤¤¤ Soooo, I finished reading Magic Breaks a few days ago and I’m not sure I’ve recovered yet. I wanted to keep this review short but I don’t think I’ll manage so either stop reading right here or brace yourself for this is going to take a while. I highlighted my way through 90% of the freaking novel and wrote page after page of notes but I’ll try to sort it all out to make a (more or less) sensible review. I don’t want to go into much detail anyway. Magic Breaks is so rich & dense that my retelling wouldn’t do it justice. Here goes. I knew I was in for one wild roller coaster ride when I started reading this book I was wrong. I wasn’t even close. This is just mind-blowing. I know, I said that about the last few instalments in this series but Magic Breaks takes it up a notch, or two, or three, or ten… Whatever I expected would happen didn’t but so much did happen! The book is packed with action, epic fights, twists, turns, intrigue, surprises, laughs, violence, gore, darkness, heartbreak and enough emotion to last a lifetime or two. Reading this book was a pretty amazing experience and it left me exhausted. Magic Breaks starts off with a character recap for the series. I loved it. The descriptions are in-depth and very detailed which just shows how much work the authors put into this series. The characters really come to life here and you feel like you know them intimately. Another great recap before the actual book begins: the story so far as told by Barabas. He is definitely one of my favourite characters in the series and I love him as a narrative voice. Reading a summary of the series so far from his perspective is priceless.The Consort refers to me as her nanny occasionally, and I find that term uniquely accurate. I would put one of those hideous child leashes on her if I could, except I’m reasonably sure she would cut my arm off.Before Roland went into hibernation, he apparently swore off procreation. But after he woke up during the Shift, he must’ve been overcome by the euphoria of being alive. Same reason why people have sex after funerals. Now for the story itself. I think what really leaves me in awe with this series is how the world keeps building up and becomes richer with every new instalment. Everything gets bigger, more detailed and the rules keep changing. Magic Breaks takes us one step closer to the final showdown and you can feel the end is near. Things evolve drastically throughout the book with Roland finally closing in on Kate which is a turning point for this series. This instalment is really one epic fight after another. I never was into fight and battle scenes before reading this series but I’m completely addicted now. The fights in previous instalments were amazing but they are even more so in Magic Breaks. More violent, more gruesome, more everything! It’s all cut cut cut and slice slice slice with lots of gory details. So freaky and so cool! Favourite fight scenes: with the wendigo; Hugh butchering his way through the knights of the Order, Kate slicing Hibla piece by piece, Kate fighting Roland with her blood magic, her power words and Curran’s help (it doesn’t get much better than that)… Random favourite scenes: Hugh showing up at the conclave; Hugh showing up (yes, he does that a lot) at Double D’s and getting his ass kicked by Kate’s Magic; any scene involving Dessandra & Jennifer; Kate, Dessandra, Robert, Derek, Ascanio & Cuddles (the mammoth jenny!) on their way to the crime scene; their arrival at the Order with Hugh & the iron dogs in tow; Kate locked in a cage at the Order; the very emotional conversation between Doolittle & Kate (about what happened in Magic Rises); Kate giving Jennifer a “pep talk” (“Reach deep down, find a backbone and handle your own shit.” Ha ha!); Curran’s arrival at the Keep with Mahon; Slayer breaking (arrgghhh!!); Kate & Ghastek being teleported together (and Ghastek’ subsequent and hilarious tantrum); any scene involving Derek the boy wonder & Ascanio the bane of Kate’s existence; Kate & Semiramis; the scene with Landon when Kate takes Sarrat out of her sheath (bloody hilarious); the last conversation between Kate, Curran & Roland… Oh. For those who think the (now infamous) sex scene is too (choose all that apply) explicit, hot, steamy, racy: get over it, this is no ya novel! I’m actually grateful the Andrews didn’t try to tone the scene down (apparently they were asked to do so) as it was long overdue. Kate & Curran being who they are, this scene felt particularly true to character and didn’t feel discordant at all. Besides, after all they went through in this instalment, His Furriness and Consort desperately needed to release the tension somehow! :) Yet another accomplishment coursety of Ilona Andrews? Magic Breaks is as action-packed, gruesome and violent as it is hilarious. The book is such an emotional, gut-wrenching ride that the comic relief is more than welcome. The dialogues just crack me up (Derek & Ascanio, can’t get enough of them!), I love Kate’s crazy-funny-snarky comments, Dessandra kills me with her sexual innuendos (Hugh’s pork sword!) and Cuddles is one hilarious addition to the story (whether she is just prancing around or the subject of some crazy vampire dialogue). Unexpected as it may be, this is probably one of the funniest books in the series. The characters? Kate Daniels, I love you! I want to be you when I grow up. I don’t care whether Curran is around, I just want to be as cool and freaking awesome as you are. I love Derek. I love Ascanio. I love Dessandra. And Barabas. And Ghastek. And Andrea. And Jim. And Doolittle. And Hugh (aka “sick fuck” as Barabas calls him). And Christopher. And Roland. And Landon… Curran I’ve never been overly enthusiastic about but he is slowly growing on me. One small gripe: I missed Saiman and Dali in this instalment! About the ending & epilogue of the book: it seems some readers were disappointed and/or surprised by the way things turned out but I can’t say it was the case for me. I actually think the whole (view spoiler)[Roland wanting to know Kate better development (hide spoiler)] is a nice trick to keep the series going. Curran’s decision to (view spoiler)[back down as Beast Lord and leave the Pack isn’t that surprising either since he mentioned it before (his “fuck the pack” speech in Magic Slays) (hide spoiler)]. Anyway, I think the ending of the book leaves room for lots of exciting developments in instalments to come! Finishing this book is like getting down from a high and it took me a few days to come back to reality! How will I manage to sit patiently until the next instalment is published, I have no idea. Well, I’ll probably just re-read the whole series again… Once or twice:) • Book 1: Magic Bites ★★★★★ • Book 2: Magic Burns ★★★★★ • Book 3: Magic Strikes ★★★★★ • Book 4: Magic Bleeds ★★★★★ • Book 5: Magic Slays ★★★★★ • Book 6: Magic Rises ★★★★★ • Book 8: Magic Shifts ★★★★★ • Book 9: Magic Binds ★★★★★ • Book 10: Magic Triumphs ★★★★
Still my fave in the series
This book went in a direction I didn't expect but I liked it. I hadn't been sure after the last book what direction the Kate Daniels series would take. After the events in Europe there were shockwaves set to feed through the pack because a lot of shit went down and the I couldn't see everyone in the pack being happy that Katw always seemed to draw trouble. There were problems within the pack but I was surprised to see it was a Pack v People plot where they are pitted against each other with a war brewing. I enjoyed that we saw a lot of Kate by herself interacting with pack members rather than it all being with Curran. It's always interesting to see that dynamic as they respect her but are also uncertain of her. I was also thrilled Desandra stayed because she was so much fun in the last book. I don't want to reveal any spoilers but I honestly couldn't see how it would end in a good way but it has built to an interesting change in the Kate Daniels world. I wonder how it will change things between Kate and Curran.
I tak to przeczytam do końca serii, choć kolejne tomy są coraz gorsze. No niestety.
2.5☆
If it was possible, I would give this book a higher rating. Words cannot describe how much I loved this latest installment. This was already one of my favorite series. This specific book is now one of my all time favorites.
Interesting to finally see some development of the big bad in this world. Very interested to see what happens next.
I know I'm probably in the minority, but I'm in denial about what happened at the end of this one. I feel so let down by it, I know it's partly a purely personal issue, but I still think that they could have done something different with the ending. It feels like Kate and Curran's story is going to have a totally different feel from now on, and I can't see how the large cast of characters, many of whom I love, can be maintained now with the new circumstances. And I also am left a bit... lackluster about Roland. Whilst he did appear somewhat humane, given his legend, he just seemed a bit limp IRL so to speak, and his ultimatum reeks of jealousy to me. Also, while I appreciate that it has been a few months since the events of book 6, and therefore some emotional healing has probably taken place, there was absolutely no mention of Curran's despicable behavior whilst they were in Europe and the consequences of it. Indeed, something just went wrong at the start of this one for me. The info/plot dumping was beyond irritating. I mostly hate these fillers in series books anyway, but there seemed to be an overabundance of it happening in this one, especially given that it was already covered in the prelude by Barabas. And, TBH, while I enjoyed reading that, I'm not quite sure why it was included, unless there is more to come in further volumes that adds to the plot? I actually would love to see a whole short story/novella written this way rather than include it as a side note as it seems to have been done here.
