Small Magics

I've read and reviewed a lot of these stories separately or as part of other anthologies but it never hurts to have everything all in one place so I'm going to post those reviews again here. Three of the stories in this anthology are set in the Kate Daniels world but two are completely standalone (and one of those was completely new to me).

A Questionable Client (Kate Daniels 0.5):

A Questionable Client is a prequel short story for the Kate Daniels series and shows a bit of Kate's history with the Mercenary Guild and we see her first meeting with shape shifter Saiman. This is a great introduction to the series and I loved finding out more about Saiman who is a character that intrigued me in the first book Magic Bites. Although short this story is full of humour and was a quick, enjoyable read that has reminded me how much I liked the first book in this series and made me keen to continue reading Kate's story.

Retribution Clause (Kate Daniels 5.6):

This is set in the same world as the Kate Daniels series but we don't get to see any of the characters we already know and love, we do get to meet Saiman's cousin though so there is a link there. I really loved Adam, as much as I find Saiman's constant body swapping amusing it is also kind of creepy so it was interesting to see how different Adam is and how comfortable he is in his own skin. Adam and his partner, Siroun, work as insurance adjusters which sounds boring on the surface but in reality means they are charged with investigating any suspicious deaths among their clients. In the case of murder victims it is up to them to dispense justice to their killers. Although this is a farily short story there is a mystery to solve and I enjoyed getting to meet these characters and explore this world further. There is definitely some great potential for these two and I'd love to read more stories about them in the future.

Of Swine and Roses:

This short story introduces us to teenager Alena Kornov who is under pressure from her family to date Chad Thurman, a boy from one of the local families who they need a favour from. Alena has absolutely no interest in Chad but her mother is a master of guilt manipulation and Alena ends up agreeing to her demands. What follows is an absolutely hilarious first date from hell. I'm not going to say any more than that so you'll just have to read it for yourself but it was definitely a fun read.

It's official, team Andrews can do no wrong! Even in a 23 page short story they manage to hook me completely in and get me fully invested in the characters they've created. I actually would have loved to see this turned into a full length novel but it was surprisingly satisfying for such a short read. You can definitely tell this is one of the stories that eventually developed into the Hidden Legacy series, it's totally different worlds and the rules of magic aren't quite the same but there are plenty of similarities there too.

Grace of Small Magics:

This is another story that shows the beginnings of the ideas behind the Hidden Legacy series, Grace knows her family is different and that she has a magical ability but her family have done their best to keep her untrained and under the radar. What she doesn't know is that her family owe a huge debt to one of the magical elite families due to a long running vendetta and now Nassar, the head of the other family, is calling in their debt. This story has plenty of action and some great characters alongside a satisfying romance. There were a lot of things that reminded me of Nevada and Rogan from the Hidden Legacy books and reading this left me itching to start a HL reread - AGAIN (seriously I can't get enough of those books!).

Magic Tests (Kate Daniels 5.3):

I've always quite liked Julie's character, she can be a little annoying at times but I think she is a fairly typical teenager in that regard, and it was nice to see a story from her point of view. Although this story isn't essential reading as part of the series because it doesn't really effect the ongoing story arc it was nice to get to know Julie a bit better and I'd actually like to see more from her POV in the future. We've all seen how much Julie hates the boarding school that Kate sent her to and now she's home and living in the Keep she seems to think she can get away without going to school at all. Kate has other plans for her though and she has a very clever way of getting Julie to go along with them. We are introduced to some great new characters but the one I was most excited about seeing again was Yu Fong (you may remember him from Dali's short story Magic Dreams). I was already hoping he'd end up being a major character in the series and now I'm thinking he's more likely to re-appear thanks to his friendship with Julie. I loved getting to see Julie grow up a bit and actually work out a way to use her ability to help someone else and I'd definitely like to see her get her own book or spin off series in the future.

This anthology contains two stories I’ve read before in other compilations and I always take at least one star off for that. I really wish authors wouldn’t double dip on our wallets that way. It’s getting so that I don’t want to buy any anthologies, which is a shame since they can be a good way to get an introduction to a new author. That said, this one is ok. Retribution Clause was the best, in my opinion. The characters were a departure from the ones we know and love. I wish we’d found out a little more about them, but maybe they’ll write more about them in the future. I might have liked Grace of Small Magic’s best if I hadn’t read it before. All in all, if you like Kate Daniels, you’ll like this anthology, though she actually only appears in one of the stories. Three have nothing to do with the Kate storylines, and of those three, two may or may not be set in the same world. If you keep up on Kate stories, chances are you will have read at least one of these before.

For anyone who has read and loved the Kate Daniels universe, this book is a must read. "Small Magics" by Ilona Andrews contains five wonderful short stories; three of them are set in the Kate Daniels universe and two are in new magical worlds. This author duo strikes again with stories that draw you in until the last word.

"Questionable Client" marks the beginning of Kate and Saiman's relationship. Saiman needs a bodyguard and Kate needs money. She keep him for getting killed (obvious, since he's in following books) and Saiman becomes fascinated with the woman who politely turns him down.

"Retribution Clause" brings all new characters, starting with Saiman's cousin Adam. If you haven't read "Magic Strikes" (Kate Daniels series book 3), this story contains one significant spoiler. I'll say no more.

"Magic Tests" brings Kate and her adopted daughter, Julie, to a new school in Atlanta. A student is missing and Julie has 24 hours to find her. For those who like to read stories in order, this comes after "Magic Slays".

"Of Swine and Roses" finds a young woman on a horrible date with a neanderthal chasing a pig. It's seriously funny - I almost fell out of my chair laughing. :-)

"Grace of Small Magics" introduces a new magical universe that I keep hoping Ilona Andrews will write more stories in. Magical families, revenge, duels, secret societies, and competitions to the death - this story has it all plus great characters and a new way to approach magic.

Even if you own one of these stories, it is more than work the money to buy this compilation to get all the stories. You won't regret it.

I give "Small Magics" 5 stars out of 5.

A Questionable Client – I wasn’t so sure about this story the first time I read it, but when I read it again I liked it a bit more. It’s not my favorite of the series though.

Retribution Clause - I loved this short story. I found Adam and Siroun to be really intriguing and I wouldn't be opposed to seeing more of them and the insurance agency they work for. Hopefully we'll get more of them some day...maybe even a spin-off if we're lucky?

Of Swine and Roses – This story was pretty funny. Not Kate Daniels related, but I liked it a lot.

Grace of Small Magics – This was an interesting story. It’s not Kate Daniels related so it seemed like a weird fit, but I enjoyed reading it.

Magic Tests – I love Julie and I loved this story. I want more Julie-centric stories for sure.

I read a lot and it is unusual for every story in a collection to be good. All of these stories were great. If you are new to fantasy this is a beautiful introduction to the genre. After reading this you will want to read everything written by this author. You will want to know more about the people you met through these stories. If you are a fan of Fantasy these stories will remind you why. When you are weary of reading just ok stories read this collection again. It will make you feel so good.

I'm usually a die-hard sci-fi person. However, I took a chance and read it. What a nice surprise. Romance (not soft prom), fantasy, strong female character. The ONLY con about this is the age of the characters - way too young.

A book of shorts for those of us who can't get enough of Ilona Andrews. I liked the Kate Daniels spinoff short - the main character was Saimon's cousin and it was set on the eastern seaboard. And I believe one was from the Hidden Legacy universe, a different magical family, though. Great world building, graphic action...no graphic sex in these, and not even any romance in some. Two thumbs up.

Great set of short stories, some in the Kate Daniels world, some in totally different settings, every single one of them is great. I you are like me and don't like to buy those short story bundles by multiple authors, this has most of the cool stories by Ilona Andrews. As always the stories are brilliant and original, disregarding the lines of science fiction, fantasy, romance etc.

I love Ilona Andrews ' books but this one just left me wanting more. Some of the short stories were fine but a few felt like a being to another rather than complete one. It was still a good book just not what I wanted.

I liked this book. There are several short stories which all centered around a magical theme. There were many twists and turns so the stories were not very predictable. It was nice to see a system of magic different than any I have seen before. I would want to read more or perhaps a full book length story.

If you like paranormal romantic suspense this is the series for you! There are full length books, novellas and free online short stories.
The writing couple that make up Ilona.Andrews are very good. Never too wordy or hard to follow. You start to care about the characters immediately and want to stay with them as the series progresses.

An interesting mix of stories. For me, the best thing was broadening the "Shift" universe (where the Kate and Curran books occur) by setting a story in that universe entirely outside of Atlanta and including none of the Atlanta-based characters. The stories from other universes were also good.

I love the Kate Daniel's series! There are so many characters and supernaturals to either fight or flight with and I like the storyline to this world. The idea of magic changing it up with technology is neat and can be bad at times, depending on what you're driving. Haha!

I've read a couple of the short stories already, but it was nice reading new ones. I love the writing and character development of the authors. They rock, especially writing great female characters. These women are three dimensional not a construct of one emotion or way of being.

Ilona Andrews is a husband and wife team who write great stories with intelligent and interesting characters. One of my all-time favorite authors! This collection might be a great way for anyone wanting to check out the quality of their writing. I certainly recommend it.

I enjoyed revisiting some shorts I hadn't read in a while, and reading some new ones. As usual the stories are so well written that I wish they were longer. I get very attached to the characters, they are so well developed.

A great compilation of short stories that have been published previously in various anthologies. Some are set in Kate Daniels’ world and others are in totally unrelated universes that you wish she would write more about. All in all, a very enjoyable compilation.

First off I am a huge fan. This is a great collection of short stories...... Some set in Kate Daniels world and some set in the world of her new series. If you are a fan, it is great to have them in one place

I had read some of this small compilation of stories but the ones that I had not were also delightful. If you are expecting new material, it will be rather light but still a great read from one of my favorite authors

As usual this couple gives you something that will keep the pages turning and keep you wanting more.It is fantasy but it is creative and different enough to be interesting. Hope to hear from "cousin" in future stories.

LOVE anything by Ulona Andrews. I have read everything she has to offer and love every minute of it! Supernatural with all of the bells and whistles - tough characters with depth, love interests, fight scenes.

The relationships between the characters and the slightly snarky sense of humor make this collection of short stories a totally enjoyable read. Gordon and Ilona Andrews continue to provide top notch intertainment.