Ilona Andrews

Atlanta is going to the dogs in this “sexy” (Publishers Weekly) story from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Kate Daniels series. Andrea Nash of the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid—with an assist from her partner, Kate Daniels—tries to figure out why the giant three-headed dog who guards the gates of Hades is sniffing around Atlanta in this tale by the author of the “edgy series” full of “complex world-building and skilled characterizations” (Library Journal).

A Novella in the World of Kate Daniels

Magic Mourns

Sarah Escorsa

⚔ 
  The Grand IAA™ KD Buddy Rerererereread Extravaganza
 (GIAAKDBRE™), aka the yellow brick road to Magic Triumphs ⚔

Presenting Episode 3.5, or How Andrea Nash Learned Cat Corpses Make smelly Lovely Fashion Accessories. Sometimes.

» 
  And the moral
 of this rereread is: hey, all you Andrea haters out there! Die, die, die Are you sure you read this novella before erroneously deciding you couldn't stand warm up to my mostest favoritest beatskin ever? Because if you did, that can only mean two things: 1/you read the story very wrong or 2/you read the story very wrong. Either way it doesn't bode particularly well for you.



What? Not scary enough for you? Sigh. Such a ridiculously demanding bunch you are. Let me go get Junior for you, he just woke up from his siesta. 



That better? Good. Oh, and by the way, bye bye, puny humans! It was not nice knowing you and stuff! 

P.S. Fido + Boom Baby + badass boudas + the "thing" + ice spiders + hahahaha + the werehyena Casanova + Thanatos + hahahaha + squeamish honey badgers + blood and gore and guts, yay! + "Lion, King of Cats: Exploring the Pride" + apples = yes, yes and BLOODY SHRIMPING YES.



[Original review (from centuries ago)]

I’m getting very impatient as the release of Magic Breaks approaches (only a few days left, tick tock tick tock!) and I’m trying to get my hands on anything Kate Daniels related. I wasn’t too sure about a novella centered on Andrea’s character but Magic Mourns is fantastic and gives great insight into the whole series! 

Reading this made me realize how little we get to know Andrea as a character in the main series. We know she is beatskin and that she suffered quite a lot as a child but little more. We know that she gets together with Raphael but have no idea about her inner struggles. Some readers seem to think this novella is not that important in the grand scheme of things (i.e. the main series) but I think it really is. There is so much to learn here!

Now that I’ve read Magic Mourns I almost (almost I said) love Andrea as much as I love Kate. I wasn’t really sure about her until now and didn’t know what to make of her character but she really grew on me here. She kicks butt, takes no crap and is snarky as hell (maybe not as much as Kate is, but still). What’s not to love? The part of the novella where she tells Raphael about her birth and childhood is absolutely heartbreaking. Who would have guessed she had suffered so much? Actually it does explain a lot about her character as it comes across in the rest of the series. 

Before reading Magic Mourns I didn’t think Raphael’s character was that interesting but I’m getting to like him quite a lot. The Bouda sex magnet has become quite the love sick hyena! I like the relationship he has with Andrea. Like Kate & Curran, they both have their flaws but complement each other very well. 

As in the rest of the series, this novella is fast-paced and action-packed. The mythology-related mystery was entertaining and kept me guessing until the end. The epilogue unsettled me a bit because of the change of narrator but it reveals an interesting piece of information about Kate & Curran (view spoiler)[(they both are immune to Persephone’s Apples. Intriguing to say the least!) (hide spoiler)] so I guess I can’t complain.

I can’t wait to get my hands on Gunmetal Magic to read more about Andrea!

Jo H

Am liking Andrea and LOVING Raphael and his bad self! This was a cute little side story about these two characters.

Magic Mourns A Novella in the World of Kate Daniels

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