Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Continued solid storytelling., March 31, 2009
Ilona Andrews has done a wonderful job of walking that fine line between tough, sassy heroine and ridiculous, overly powerful superwoman. Kate Daniels is a unique character in a genre that is largely populated with carbon copies of the same woman. Kudos to Andrews, who has once again managed to balance the qualities of power and vulnerability to perfection.
Magic Strikes doesn't pick right up where Magic Burns left off. Time has passed for Kate and Andrews didn't feel compelled to fill in every little detail that happened off-screen. But, events have again conspired to lure Kate into situations where her loyalty to friends and fears of her past come into conflict. That tension is part of what makes these books worth reading.
An underground gladiatorial games of sorts provides the backdrop for the story as new villains emerge and looming threats from previous novels begin to actually take shape. The reader is not required to have perfect recall of the previous books, but minimal familiarity will help.
What Andrews does best is to create tension. Whether it's between Kate and her value system or Kate and Curran, the local lycanthrope leader, it's intense. But there's enough humorous dialogue to relieve the tension and actually make you chuckle a bit. I particularly like that Kate remains vulnerable. Whether it's her feelings, or actual physical attacks, she knows that there are some fights she can't win and there are some fights that she is willing to lose. That sense of possible death is what separates Ilona Andrews from most of the other urban fantasists.
That, and the fact that she doesn't put Kate to bed with every gorgeous creature who enters the story. Another wonderful installment.
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45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magic Strikes. Again, March 31, 2009
It's no surprise that I'm writing a review for this book. I've reviewed Ilona's books before and have always had good things to say about the writing and the plots. This time, I'll say it again... fantastic writing and a great plot.
What I like about book three is that we're seeing more of Kate and her relationships. Yes, there is action and intrigue but more importantly, there's a sense of Kate becoming more open to being entangled with the people around her. She fights for her place in others' lives here. People are important and she's as much a guardian of the people she's taken into her life as she is the nameless faces that she protects.
I prefer character-driven stories and Ilona Andrews delivers this type of story with a generous helping of cohesive plotline. Add into the mix, a conflicted world of magic and tech and you've got the recipe for a fantastical world that Kate Daniels lives in.
I'm not going to give out spoilers. I dislike reading reviews where the person spews out every last detail of the story but suffice it to say; Kate decides who is important to her in her life... and really, goes into action without much thought to her own safety. I enjoyed the tension in this story and the tightness of the writing was a delight to read. I could envision what was happening from the descriptions on the page and there are scenes that I could swear I could smell and taste the surroundings.
Brilliant writing and a fantastic step towards the main character's development.
Good book. I've gotten multiple copies just so I can give them to people I think would enjoy it. Pick it up. Spend an evening with Kate Daniels and submerge yourself into Ilona Andrews' Atlanta.
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22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just what I needed during a busy week, April 1, 2009
I'd had the previous books in my to read list for a very long time and finally got around to reading them last week in anticipation of this coming out. I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed the first two and this one has become my favorite. The book was just right for a nice break in the middle of a very long week.
If I had to pick one thing about this book (and the series in general) that I like the most it would be the pacing. So many times you see sequels that drag the story on and feel like fluff. This is not the case here. There was just the right level of progression in both major plots I was interested in (Roland and Curran). I felt there was a good amount of movement while still keeping enough back to look forward to future books. Anything else would have felt too slow or too rushed.
I also really enjoyed the character development in the book. It was a nice balance to the action/plot progression. While a good chunk of the character development was insight into Kate, the other characters had some great development as well. I appreciated how the development of these characters didn't overwhelm Kate but added to the entire picture we get of her.
This book had the perfect balance of all the elements I was looking for. The only thing lacking is that I don't have the next book yet!
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