Magic Burns (Kate Daniels Book 2)

I read the first book, had NO IDEA it was suppose to be in Atlanta. I'm reading the second book and there's just so many awkward sentences in both. So many times I have to go back and reread it a few times to figure out exactly what's going on and more than once I thought I had accidentally skipped a page, it was so disjointed. Not to give anything away but an example is the horse drawn carriage ride to the werehyenas. So we've got the male in the cart, I guess, with them, some others perhaps blocking the road? The way it reads is that 2 people are riding in the cart. A male werehyena jumps in with them, there is a fight, while she's driving. Suddenly, there are others. The horse never stops. Our heroine is able to stick the werehyena's nose up close to the victim in the back of the cart which makes him jump up and demand the others let them pass. And yet, they were never stopped. There's no mention of the horse stopping. So is this all in motion? Stopped? I don't know, but there's a lot like that throughout both books. The author must have been in a hurry. The proofreader as well.

I think it is a fun premise and as an Atlanta, I greatly enjoy the post apocalyptic depiction of my city. My favorite part is by far the dialogue. I think the authors have done a wonderful job of capturing the voice of all their characters.

Romance, or soft porn. Why does any fantasy/sci-fi with a female protagonist have to rush down this road? After reading the first book in this series I was suitably impressed to buy the next and the third. I found it fairly well written - and (thank goodness)Kate Daniels was not sex-obsessed. Every other female character in the book does not hate her on sight, she was not given to pointless, unreasonable anger and spoiled-brat arguments with every man she met, every man she met wasn't either breathtakingly handsome and sexy or completely evil and hideous. So, sure - lets read book 2.
In Magic Burns, Kate has that Harlequin-esque inability to know when she is attracted to a man. She has one pointless fight with the object of her attraction after another. She obesseses about rippling muscles and needing sex. (Which, naturally, she suddenly cannot have. She wasn't worried about this in book 1, but apparently the reason why is not going to be revealed any time soon. Sigh.)
Why? Do the authors imagine this is the sort of thing that turns women on? Or is it the editors? I am not saying there shouldn't be some love interest - but in a series like this, soft porn romance junk of this type quickly becomes ridiculous, with our heroine lusting after every other male she meets and never having any clue as to her feelings, which of course ends in brawling and (I hate to give anything away!) arguments that leave her even MORE confused and clueless. All this mixed up with lots of overly graphic gore and too many battle scenes. (HUH?)You won't be shocked to hear that the plot suffers for it.
I cannot imagine how the previous reviewer didn't see this book as Paranormal Romance. I am quickly learning a valuable lesson about this genre - one I wish publishers would make an effort to remedy. In Urban Fantasy, if the protagonist is female, the book will always fall off and under Paranormal Romance. More's the pity.

I really enjoyed the first Kate Daniels book I read. It created such an interesting world. In reading this second book, I realized that when you take out the descriptions of transformed Atlanta and the way that magic and tech shifts back and forth (because I already was familiar with them), there is really very little plot. I gave it 2 stars because of the world-building. If I had rated it on my enjoyment, I would have given it 1.

4.5 "I'm really starting to love this series" stars

While investigating a mysterious bowman who killed her mark, mercenary Kate Daniels finds herself in the custody of a pre-teen girl. Turns out the young street girl has some magical powers, the kind of powers that 1 in 10,000 people get and there are creatures coming after her. Kate must go to the last person she wants help from, Curran, and together they fight to help the girl.

Another great installment in this series. The plot thickens with this book but we still have some questions left unanswered. Such as:
-What exactly is Kate?
-Who is Roland?
-What interest does Curran have in Kate?

My favorite part of this book was the interactions between Kate and Curran. Their banter is so much fun to read and I am dying for the two of them to admit they have the hots for each other.

“Not only will you sleep with me, but you will say 'please.'"
I stared at him, shocked.
The smile widened. "You will say 'please' before and 'thank you' after."
Nervous laughter bubbled up. "You've gone insane. All that peroxide in your hair finally did your brain in, Goldilocks.”

Ilona Andrews writing duo has done it again and marked a winner in my book. The world building and character development are awesome, and that's all I ask for in urban fantasy. Well, those two things and the hopes of romance.

I'm dying to get to the third book. I keep hearing rumors about a hot tub scene ;-)

4.5-5 stars

This was a really good story and continuation of Kate's series. The connection between Curran and Kate doesn't really progress in this book but it does become apparent that Curran is showing an interest in Kate. Of course Kate thinks it's a way of manipulating her, not a true interest, even if there's a strong attraction between them.

Magic is behaving erratically...coming and going in ever stronger waves that will eventually crest in what's called a "flare". Big and bad things can happen during a flare and Kate soon realizes that something is brewing, something that could be dangerous for many. Kate investigates what's going on while protecting a young girl (Julie, who will be in future books) and trying to find her mother. Things do kind of go to crap but the main reason isn't really Kate's fault. A big effort has to be made (with multiple allies) to stop the big bad from happening during the flare things turn out well (for the most part...if a bit sad) and the story ends nicely even if there are questions left about how serious Curran is when he flirts with Kate. I would recommend this series. :)

* note - I listened to the audio version of this story and the narrator did a great job.

Magic Burns (2008) is the second Fantasy novel in the Kate Daniels series, following Magic Bites.

In the previous volume, Kate was drinking Boone's Farm Hard Lemonade when a magic fluctuation occurred. Soon after, a vampire crawled into the kitchen and settled into a corner. Kate threw a knife at it and hit it in the throat.

Ghastek chided her for knifing the vampire. She said that it was a common reaction to such creatures. He asked whether she has heard from her guardian lately.

Kate called the Order and asked for Greg. She was asked for her name, but didn't give it. After quoting the Charter about the giving of names, she was told that Greg is dead.

Kate packed a few essentials and traveled to Atlanta. She went to the Order administrative building and asked to see the Knight-protector. He was busy, so she was diverted to the waiting room.

After a while, a very dirty and odorous man came into the room. They exchanged greetings and then waited. When the secretary told her that the Knight-protector was available, Kate brushed against the dirty man on the way out.

In this novel, Kate Daniels is a Mercenary specializing in magic. She had been in the Order, but quit due to its regimentation.

Curran is the Beast Master. He is the leader of the shapeshifters.

Jim is a shapeshifter. He is a jaguar and also Kate's partner.

Maxine is the secretary at the headquarters of the Atlanta Chapter of the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid. She is a telepath.

Andrea is a Knight of the Order. She had been exposed to the Lycos Virus. She had been transferred to Atlanta and restricted to headquarters while waiting to see if she is infected.

Myong Williams is tall, slender and elegant. She has Asian eyes and blue-black hair.

Maximillian Crest is an former boyfriend of Kate. She found Max comforting after the Red Point Stalker episode, but has since split from him.

Julie Olsen is the thirteen year old daughter of Jessica. Her mother is an amateur witch.

Red is a fifteen year old street kid. He is Julie's boyfriend.

Bran is an agent of the goddess Morrigan. He is an expert with the crossbow.

In this story, Jim wakes Kate at two in the morning. He has a job for them. They negotiate the split in the fees.

After settling on a fifty-fifty split, Jim says that they are after an magical arsonist. They depart for an underground parking lot. The arsonist throws fireballs at them.

He has a salamander in a glass sphere. He stalks Kate as Jim closes in on him. Kate is more afraid of breaking the sphere than the arsonist's fireballs.

Jim grabs the throat of the arsonist. He drops the sphere, but Kate catches it. The arsonist has a crossbow bolt in his back. Then Jim's pager goes off and he leaves Kate with the dead arsonist.

Kate cuts off the arsonists head and takes it to the Guild. The clerk gives her forms to fill out and then pays her an advance on the bounty. She mentally divides the hundred dollars among her overdue bills as she leaves the building.

Two hours later, she drags herself into the Atlanta Chapter of the Order. She is carrying a large cup of coffee and the bolt that had killed the arsonist. She unlocks her office door, but turns around to go to the armory.

Kate asks Andrea about the bolt. She identifies its construction and possible origins. She asks Kate if she can test fire it.

While Andrea is setting up the test, the magic dies and the tech returns. Andrea finds that the bolt has an unusaual residue of magic. It could be from the surges.

Then Maxine sends a message to the mind of Kate that she has a petitioner. Kate returns to her office. Myong appears and asks her for a personal favor.

Myong wants Kate to talk to Curran about letting her marry Max. Kate thinks that Myong is being a bit imposing since Max had been her boyfriend. However, Myong believes that Kate has some influence with Curran.

Then Derek appears at her office door. He is surprised to see Myong there. Myong jumps up from her chair and cringes. Kate tells her that she may leave and she departs.

Derek has come to Kate to ask her to take a case for them. The person who shot the bolt on her desk had ambushed a survey team and stole their maps. Curran knows that she has more contacts than the pack and wants her to look for the perp.

Kate goes back to the underground garage. She follows a cleft in the garage wall to a tunnel. It takes her to the Honeycomb.

The place is full of junk. A hangar has fallen into the Honeycomb. Kate hear voices and enters the hangar.

She finds Julie and Red in the building. They are discussing her missing mother. Red tells Kate to guard Julie and leave the hangar.

This tale brings back the man with the crossbow. He calls himself Bran. He and Kate fight and she is winning. She pulls the maps from his jacket and he vanishes.

She takes Julie home with her. The next installment in this sequence is Magic Strikes.

Highly recommended for Andrews fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of magical talents, armed combat, and a bit of romance. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

Am I warming up to this series? Yes, I am. In terms of plot, Magic Burns is not mind-blowing, but it is very entertaining, hard to put down. The characters are probably the best thing of the book; messy, arrogant, a pain in the ass sometimes, but also, pretty sympathetic. I really like Kate, a lot, and it is clear she is changing. Her relationship with Julie and Andrea is heartwarming and amazing.

I didn't think I would say this, but I am kind of liking Curran now. I mean, he has all this tough super macho attitude, but come on, he is actually a softie who wants to feed soup. I loved that the chemistry between Curran and Kate is there, papable, but they aren't a couple yet. Their romance is the definition of a slow burn and god how much I am enjoying it. Rivals to lovers, my ultimate trope.

Magical mysteries? A big battle? Sexual tension? Sign me up! This book had a little bit of everything and had a *superb* ending. It left me smiling and wanting more.

We join Kate, now firmly entrenched in her new life as a liaison, essentially working for The Order for the steady pay while taking jobs with the mercenaries to cover her growing real estate empire. With magical fluctuations starting to point at a big flare coming, things are all sorts of crazy. There’s someone killing her targets, a young girl looking for her mom, and the ever-present beast lord is still… mysterious. I really think this book showed us what constitutes the “softer” side of Kate. She really forms some bonds (or further develops them) and they remind her what it is like to have someone counting on her/caring about her.

This book also took a deep dive into the world of gods and goddesses, with a bonus road trip-like story thrown in. Who knew a vampire, a shifter, and a witch could make such a great team? I can’t even put into words how epic the final battle was, but it certainly exceeded all my expectations. Kate is a force to be reckoned with and I can’t wait to read more from her world. Oh, and that ending! Gah! It couldn’t have been more perfect!

This is the second Ilona Andrews series that I am in the process of rereading. Unfortunately, they cannot produce them fast enough to suit me. Not many series are good enough to stand another go-round, this one certainly is. Kate Daniels is a heroine whose snarky sense of humor and kick-tush persona combine with a unique and honorable moral GPS. Magically devastated Atlanta provides a background for some first-rate World building. The mix of Mythology, solid well developed characters, both primary and secondary, and plots that build into something rich and strange, make my second plunge into the world of Kate Daniels and Curran, the Beast Lord, something to savor while I wait for their next book. Please Ilona Andrews, write faster!

4.5 stars

Wow. If you're like me and put off starting this series for some dumb reason, Magic Burns will let you know just how bad an idea that was. Although I enjoyed Magic Bites, Magic Burns was much better.

For one, they explained the world so much more thoroughly. Magic Burns really made the pendulum shift between Tech and Magic so much clearer - and raised the stakes. I had a feeling that this factor was more important than just not being able to use guns or wards failing - and Magic Burns showed me just how important it was. In Magic Burns a flare is approaching - a period where magic is really intense I guess - and its hugely impacting EVERYTHING. I just love when world building pays off and makes such a tangible difference to the story!

And then there's Kate - who I already loved. She's even more lovable in Magic Burns. First off, prepared to be WOWed by her kick ass abilities. She kinda blew my mind at a couple points. And then her snark! I just love it and I love - as Jesica @ Rabid Reads has pointed out - the way she tells you she's scared shitless, and that's why she's running her mouth. Its a defense mechanism and it makes her so real. On top of all that, she's showing her softer side again. I love that Kate has a vulnerability because of how much she cares. It makes her oh so loveable.

The story and mystery was fantastic in Magic Burns as well. Ilona Andrews has clearly done their research - the layers of different mythologies weaved into Magic Burns was incredible and done so well - I did occasionally get confused and there were times I wished the mystery were more solvable, but these were exceptions.

Finally, I can't imagine not listening to this series. Renée Raudman IS Kate. She brings her personality to life so perfectly. And that's besides the other characters I haven't taken the time to gush about but loved and loved the way Renee brought them to life.

Seriously, Magic Burns is so great: the characters so real, the story so intense and the FEELS so shocking! If you haven't read it yet, do so ASAP.

I started reading this book with a lot of apprehension and even fear, because in my experience with other series, the second book is usually the weakest one of the lot. And since I had really loved Magic Bites (which I also reviewed), I really didn't want to be disappointed by book 2 and stop reading what was promising to be an excellent series.

Well, I'm glad to say that Magic Burns is the exception to the rule. This book is just as good as Book 1, if not better.

Ilona Andrews continues to develop the wonderful world she has created and gives us a little bit more insight into Kate's past along with a few explanations about how she came to be as kickass as she is. I'm happy that she isn't one of those heroines that just wakes up with superpowers. No, Kate had to work, sweat and bleed for every single one of them. And this is also so very refreshing, after reading about some indestructible heroines who seem to acquire a new level of badass with every consequent book without seemingly lifting a finger.

So far, Kate is by far my favorite Urban Fantasy heroine, with October Daye just a little bit behind. She is smart, she is strong, she is badass, but she is also very human and vulnerable in some things. She really feels like a living breathing person.

The wonderful world she lives in has also been developed further. In an alternative Atlanta where magic comes in waves, people (both magical and normal) have learned to adapt to the changing nature of their environment. They have electricity as well as runes and magelights and use either one of the other depending which wave is upon them. And car rentals and garages have both normal as well as magically altered cars, and even horses. But every seven years or so, an exceptionally powerful magical wave rolls over the land, leaving destruction in its wake and often drastically changing both the physical and the metaphysical landscape. One such wave is coming, and Kate finds herself smack in the middle of its path, even if she doesn't want to.

All of the characters from book 1 get further development in this book, and we are introduced to several new people as well. I love the fact that they aren't there just to play second fiddle to Kate. They all have their own lives and agendas, and even though most of that happens outside of this story, you still can feel that.

And for the lovers of paranormal romance, the relationship between Kate and Curran develops even further. I love the fact that those two don't go all love / lust at first sight like it so often happens in other books. I love the progression of their relationship from rivals to reluctant allies who come to respect each other and realize that they can count on the other to have their back in a fight. Trust is a very important aspect to any relationship and it's not easily gained, especially for people with difficult pasts like Kate and Curran.

I also like the fact that Kate finally decides to make herself vulnerable enough to actually connect with other people and acknowledge that she might consider some of them friends. And we are introduced to several other strong female characters that are not portrayed as rivals or complete b$#%es or anything else we often see in the paranormal romance books. Ilona Andrews shows us that having other strong women as the protagonist's friends doesn't bring the protagonist's awesomeness down at all. In fact, it makes her even more awesome.

So, as you have probably gathered from all the praise in this review, I think Magic Burns is a must read. I love this series and I will definitely pick up book 3 very soon.

I'm rereading the kate Daniels series. I find I love each book as much the second time around as I did the first. I love the fighting. Lots of action and well Kate is a bad ass. Love the diverse mythological creatures. And the slow burning romantic tension between Kate and the beast Lord is amazing.

Love Kate Daniels! What a great character - smart, tough, caring (though she doesn't want the world to know it) - she is one bad ass magic wielder. I appreciate that the authors let things unfold, not releasing all of Kate's secrets at once. This was a thoroughly enjoyable book.

This book is the second in a series (the first is Magic Bites). The heroine - Kate - is a mercenary who deals with magic problems. In this book a flare (a time when magic is strong) occurs. Kate ends up with her hands full. Not only does she have a teenager to take care of, she has some seriously bad things that want her dead. I don't want to give away the story, so that is all I am going to say on the plot.

The books is well written and incredibly fast paced. I would definitely read the first book before this one to help you understand what is going on. It is a book that keeps you entertained and wanting to find out what happens next. The heroine is sarcastic and powerful, and she certainly isn't perfect which makes her even more likable. Curran is involved in this story, and while he is somewhat heavy handed, he is still a likable guy - maybe because he is so loyal to his pack. Anyway, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast paced fantasy book without any gratuitous sex scenes.

The Kate Daniels series from Ilona Andrews is fast paced, well plotted, with good characterization. I have become a big fan of Kate Daniels and eagerly await future novels. The growing tension of how she can survive the coming conflict with her ancient father makes me eager for the next novel. I strongly recommend it.

It really reminds me of the early Anita Blake books and I keep waiting for it go down that terrible path. I'm glad to report that it hadn't and had stayed it's course!

I also want more of Kate and Curran! Going on to Book 3 now! Yay!

************Beware of a Spoiler in this review*************
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4.5-5 stars.

I loved this installment.

Kate is really growing on me. She has all this power and even though she could have brought Bran back she didn't because it went against her moral code and what she believed in. It's refreshing to read that. I love that the writers are building the romance between Curran and Kate slowly. They are just giving little hints that there might be more later but nothing that is completely in your face.

As with the previous book I loved the other characters, Curran, Andrea, Jim, Derek, and Bran. Julie was a nice addition and I hope they bring her back in future installments.

Can not wait to read the next one in the series.

Kate Daniels is tough, troubled and full of tender honor. The author continues to tease out the mystery of Kate's true power while more fully outlining her character and what makes her tick. This outing through magic flares and tech crashes introduces several new characters and furthers the uneasy alliance between Kate and the Beast Lord, Curran. Readers get to see Kate at her best in this novel and realize there is so much more to reveal about her. I'm looking forward to the next book and I highly recommend this one if you like mythology weaved in with magic and a lot of butt kicking.

I bought the first in this series for my wife last year and she took her time with it. Since February, she has sped through books 2-4 in the series and is making short work of book five. She loves the characters and finds the pacing exciting enough that she has a hard time putting the book down.

I finished the book and immediately got the next two. Good, enjoyable light reading. Enough character development and plot to keep me interested and wanting more. If you are looking for heavy and in-depth, look elsewhere. I would describe this a perfect travelling to work reading.

Number 2 was great!! The 'dance' between Kate and Curran is getting hotter and hotter!! Characters in this installment are wonderful book friends. Pity we lost one. But seeing the inside of a giant tortoise... AWESOME!!!!

Magic burns was a great second book and Ilona Andrews is a wonderful find. I read a lot, many different genres and have for more years than I care to note here. This story manages to surprise and creates a world that is believable and different. It seems like there are only so many variations on a theme that can be created within fantasy and generally it is the characters providing the difference in each book. However, Ms. Andrews managed to create a world that is new and keep me reading as much for the interaction between the characters as because I couldn't figure out what was going to happen next or what the "world" would be like next. There was one place where the next step in the action caught me totally by surprise and I laughed out loud and then laughed again. Very clever. I particulary like the main characters and their development. I recommend this highly and look forward to more books by the author. One other note, generally I stay away from "thin" books because they usually aren't capable of creating good depth in the story. The content of this book seemed much bigger than the size would indicate.

I am a great fan of the strong female lead in fantasy and to me this book is absolutely perfect. It is very well written and edited, it's brimming with humor, the dialogue is really very good, and the interaction between Ms. Daniels and Curran the Beast Lord is entertaining indeed. And to me, Kate Daniels personifies the strong female lead. She is just wonderful.

~ 5 Magic Burns Stars ~
(No Spoilers)

Magic Burns is the second book in the Kate Daniels series and it was a vast improvement from the first book, Magic Bites. This time there was absolutely no confusion on how the world worked. Magic and tech oscillate with one another to make a very cool backdrop to an alternate Atlanta. But for me, the best parts of this book are the relationships Kate makes.

Outstanding! Great series! Must read! I am enjoying "Kate Daniels" series. In "Magic Burns" you get non-stop Action, Adventure, and growth in characters and relationships.

My god Kate is such a great character. I just love kick ass chicks who don't take crap or let people just walk all over them. Kate is confident, skilled, funny, occasionally lonely, and caring. I love learning about her and seeing the relationship between Curran and her grow into something more. You can tell they will end up together somewhere down the line.

Four stars may be a tad bit generous for this one. I definitely give it more than three stars. And I liked it significantly more than I liked Magic Bites (to which I gave two stars), so I think that four stars reflects my feelings about this book more than three stars would.

I was bored with the first 30% or so of this book. I suspect that the authorship team believes that action scenes create interest. In my opinion, variety creates interest more than back-to-back-to-back action scenes. The first 30% of the book was all action, and I was bored. Then, the book slowed down a bit, and I got to meet the characters, and the issues facing the characters came into focus. Only then did I begin to care what happened to the characters.

Kate had more personality in Magic Burns than she did in Magic Bites. At times, her internal and external dialogues were witty. Amusingly, she displayed some familiarity with pop culture. She made jokes about Rambo and other pop culture references that were lost on other characters, which I found to be quite funny. In the first book, I failed to connect with Kate, in part because the authors went out of their way to make Kate super-duper mysterious. I cannot connect to a character whom I don't know. Although Kate's origins remained a mystery in Magic Burns, I was able to get to know her personality through her dialogue and through some tough decisions that she made. I liked her much better in this book.

On a side note: I was disappointed with an inconsistency that I identified. At some point, Kate removes all of her weapons in order to perform a bit of magic. Before she is reunited with her weapons, there is a reference about her sword smoking (which it generally does when Kate is pissed off). Wrong! Her sword is nowhere on the premises. This showed negligence on the authors' and editors' parts, but it did not impact the story at all, as Kate made no attempt to use the sword while it was somewhere else.

~Reviewed by SUZANNE & posted at Under the Covers Book Blog

This series is one of my favourites, not only does it have a heroine whose sarcastic and kill-first-think-later attitude I love, Team Andrews have also created a world where literally anything could happen and still make perfect sense. ~ Under the Covers

Magic is now an everyday occurrence in Atlanta, shapeshifters, vampires and all the other creatures for myth and legend have all came out to play when magic once again hit the world. But every 7 years there is a magic flare, a time of really strong magic where for a few days gods could potentially walk the Earth. Kate Daniels with the help of the ever arrogant Beast Lord Curran must try and work together again and stop the world being over run by gods and demons.

To say I am a massive Kate Daniels fan is a teeny tiny bit of an understatement. This series is one of my favourites, not only does it have a heroine whose sarcastic and kill-first-think-later attitude I love, Team Andrews have also created a world where literally anything could happen and still make perfect sense.

Like Magic Bites this book is fast paced and full of action with Kate stumbling from one disaster to the next with little pause for a breather. This frantic dash through events as she races to try and save not only her newly acquire friends, but also Atlanta really kept me turning the pages.

However, this isn't just a couple of hundred pages of poking things with a sword, we also see Kate start to develop friendships that she has previously shunned and learn more about her past. We also see the continuing developments with Curran you could cut through the tension between them with a knife!

I am still fanatical about this series, action, romance and an interesting fast moving plot, I loved it!

Magic Burns is the second book in the Kate Daniels series. Kate cleans up magical problems as tech and magic fluctuate throughout Atlanta. Generally there is a reasonable period of time between shifts but every seven years a magic flare occurs, giving magic users and creatures even more strength than normal. Kate is hired by the local were-Pack to retrieve some stolen maps. While attempting to complete this task, she finds herself in the middle of an even larger problem that threatens those close to her and all of Atlanta.

I loved all the same things about Kate in this book as I did in Magic Bites . She still has a the same strong attitude and temper which often gets her into trouble but she continues to demonstrate vulnerability and insecurities. She has issues trusting people but can't turn away an orphan child in need. Sometimes it takes her a bit too long to figure out the details of what is going on but I suppose the book wouldn't have such a build up to the dramatic finish if she understood her situation too quickly.

Magic Burns is another fast paced story bringing in elements from Kate's past that apply to the current crisis. Kate is often so busy dealing with the immediate crisis at hand that she has little time to think through how these pieces fit into a larger, more dangerous, situation. She also enters and leaves each battle knowing that she must protect her secret. While we still don't know the entire truth of this secret, I was very happy that we did see a bit more of the things Kate can do. I love how small elements of her story are being revealed in each book. It makes me look forward to learning more in the next one!

Kate's personal relationships also reveal a lot about her current situation. From taking in the child who has lost her mother to her relationship with Curran, the lion king of the shapeshifters, to her complete acceptance of her friend Andrea when her secret is revealed, each relationship shows Kate as both someone who wants to have people in her life but who also brings danger to the people around her.

Clearly, I am fascinated with Kate Daniels as the central character in these stories but the stories themselves are engaging as well. The action is non-stop and the many story lines are complex. If the first two books are any indication, events from previous books may have an impact on the current one and the relationships will develop through them but the main story line will be independent enough to follow on its own. I will definitely be continuing on with the Kate Daniels series and I can't wait to read the third book, Magic Strikes.

Another very solid offering in the Kate Daniels series. I've read the first two books in relatively rapid succession and unlike a lot of other series, this one stands up to two books within a month. The characters are well written and compelling. There is enough of the long running mystery teased in both books to keep interest up, without admitting what the mystery is yet. There is a potential love story here that again, isn't presented at breakneck speed. If there's a payoff in the future, it will be well worth it for the time that's been spent building things up, but it hasn't been so overdone that the series would die without it. These aren't romance books by any means, and Kate isn't a romantic person, so I am quite curious to see if there is a payoff in this arena in the future.

We are introduced to more characters in Kate's world here, each with their own story and the author makes all of them compelling and sympathetic, even when they might not be in reality. This book is really about Kate protecting a young girl, Julie, and her interactions with the Pack, a coworker, and the vampires. We have the added benefit of learning more about the magic that comes and goes in the world, and get a bit more history of it, which is something I think was missing from the first book. Through this description of the magic flare, and Kate's reaction to it, we also learn more of her own magic and where she comes from (magically).

I've already requested the next book in the series from the library.

Down the rabbit hole, in technicolor, and I swear I was only drinking tea :).

Holy cow what a trip. A walk-in tortoise oracle command center, complete with spongy tongue, some really fugly and gross monsters, a lion Hero that is really still kind of scary. And he apparently likes catnip filled toy mice, or so he says lol.

Oh how I like Kate. A leading UF heroine that does not do totally non-logical stupid stuff. Some of the little things she does, in the middle of crisis, really are poignant and funny sometimes.

This little gem here while talking to Ghastek who was piloting a ghastly vampire body:

.....The vampire stared at me, his mouth slack as Ghastek assessed his options. I took a couple of forms from my desk, put them into the vamp’s mouth, and pulled them up by their edges. “What are you doing?” Ghastek asked. “My hole puncher broke.” “You have no respect for the undead.”

I also really like the cat and mouse game that is between Kate and Curran at the moment.

Lots of gross liquids in these books :)

** read November 2012

It's been four months since Greg's death, Kate's guardian and close friend of the family and where Magic Bites started. Jim wakes Kate with a phone call to help with a job. One that bringing in the "guilty" party alive makes them some rather good money, only to have another person kill their target, yet not them. A little disappointed in the down fall of potential money, Kate goes back to do the paperwork on their catch, then heads to her office. Kate has not seen Curran in months, and given the temperament of the two together feels it's best, until a woman, engaged to a past friend of Kate's, comes to ask Kate to talk to Curran asking he grant approval of the marriage. Then Derek shows up with a petition from the pack for help finding a man who attacked a team with bolts, exactly like the one Kate has from her target being killed, and the stolen maps this man took. On Kate's searching, she comes across Red who asks Kate to watch over his girlfriend for him. Whom Kate learns, has had her mother disappear while with her coven of witches. Kate finds herself helping this young girl as well. All this and magic is on the fritz with the flares, making magic stronger and magic geared creatures more vulnerable.

I liked Magic Bites, but it didn't woo me. Thanks for the wonderful words of friends out here, I picked up Magic Burns, and Wow. I loved this one. This book gripped me and kept me going. Where Magic Bites felt weaker, Magic Burns filled in some of the gaps and made the world and magic stronger for me. After reading Magic Burns, Magic Bites feels more like a prelude to introduce you to the characters for what's to come in the future. I can say, you could easily pick up and start the series here with Magic Burns. You get the little bits of insight of what happens in Magic Bites here as you go, so you are filled in with the meeting of the main characters. But me, I'm one to follow a series as it's reading order, yes another OCD thing. So, if you've read Magic Bites and lost interest, I do hope you give Magic Burns a try, it just might be better for you.

I like that I got a better grip of the world in this book. I got a little meaning to the magic and tech working opposite each other, although at times they might work at the same time. Yeah, sounds strange. lol. The creatures we see here opens the world wide, even the places and magic.

I LOVE the bickering between Kate and Curran, two alpha's but it's always filled with humor. They are always competing for who is the "best." I think this is one of the strongest points that brings me to this series. I still love Derek, really. He seems to have a knowing on Kate and Curran, but hasn't voiced it yet.

Then we have the mystery! I like the mystery with the witches, Julie, Bowman, and Hoodguy. hee hee. Again, Kate is not the experienced detective but she mentions that and what she is doing to learn the trade. I like that Kate learns as she goes, and that she is not all knowing. This makes Kate feel more personable, as she picks up on tidbits but knows where to look to get the history on the subject, like in this book with the gods. The way this plays together with the characters I already know and now, after this book, love.

SYNOPSIS:
When this mercenary gives her word, she means it. Kate Daniels gave her business card to Red, a ragtag street kid and told him that he could call on her when he needed help. Now Red has called in the favor. He wants Kate to protect Julie and help her find her mother who, along with the rest of her coven of amateur witches, has disappeared. This search will lead Kate to a hole in the earth through which magic creatures are arriving. If Kate can't stop their advance, the entire population of Atlanta will be at risk.

OPINION:
Let me just tell you, that synopsis was almost impossible to write simply because there is so much going on in this novel. Trying to summarize everything into a neat little package is impossible. This is Book #2 in the Kate Daniels series and it was absolutely mind boggling for me. I have never read a book which displayed so much imagination on the part of an author. Ilona Andrews created entities, beings, monsters, and creatures that were almost impossible to imagine and yet she made them all work, and work well at that. This writer has an incredible imagination. How in the world can she come up with these beings? Just imagine a tortoise so large that Kate and a cohort walked into it's mouth to confront the Oracle of all the witches. Have you ever thought about walking though tortoise spit? Well I certainly never had.

All of the wonderful characters are back from Book #1, "Magic Bites", along with new friends and many new enemies. The city of Atlanta, Georgia, is crumbling to bits and falling down from the fluctuating forces of magic vs technology. Kate is still working as a liaison between The Mercenary Guild and The Order of Merciful Aid, but at heart she is still as independent as she has always been. Ms Andrews did a really good job of incorporating the pertinent information from the first book into this story so that it can be a complete stand alone book. I would, however, recommend reading the first book just because every little detail cannot possibly be repeated and there is so much information that is working toward making Kate into a complete character. More hints are given regarding Kate's heritage and she uses her magic in a very strong manner in this book. Curran, Beast Lord of the Pack, continues to tease us with a growing relationship with Kate. Derek and Jim are back as is Ghastek, a vampire who uses his mind to control other vampires in order to work with (or even against) Kate.

Once again this series is very heavy on the violent aspects of fighting the battle between good and evil. In fact this second book has even more violence in it than the first book. It almost got to be too much for me. I was really glad to get to what I knew had to be the final battle. These tales are character and plot driven and those characters are violent. Every character has the potential to be violent because of the magic they possess and the world of death and destruction they inhabit. If you like for your urban fantasy books to be neat and clean with just a little fairy dust sprinkled over everything to make it interesting, then this series would probably not be your favorite reading material. These bad guys are seriously bad, even some of the good guys are seriously bad. And yet I want to find out more about Kate, I want to understand what secrets she is still hiding, I want to see where her relationship with Curran is leading. My curiosity is aroused and I feel compelled to continue on with book three.

RECOMMENDATION:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even while I was wishing that the bloodshed and mutilation scenes would end. I just think that potential readers need to know that this is not some nice, cute, sweet little urban fantasy book with a hunky vampire type who swoops in and saves the feisty little heroine. Kate is sarcastic, stubborn, strong-willed, determined, pig-headed, leaps before she looks, opens mouth and inserts foot on a regular basis. But even in the middle of a really intense scene Ms Andrews will write a line that is so funny that I just laugh out loud. Maybe I like Kate so much because I understand her, she's me on one of my "loose cannon" days. So far both books in this series have been serious reading experiences. I've seen this series described as "dark" and "edgy". Often those words are used just to sell a book. Well, believe it this time. This time they are a completely accurate description.

Wow! After reading the first book in the series Magic Bites, I was still a little wary about getting to excited for the next books. I was unsure since I have said before that I prefer Paranormal Romance because I want a little romantic tension with my characters. Urban Fantasy doesn't focus on the romance usually, but with Magic Burns the author definitely kicked in the romantic tension along the journey.

Kate proved to be more than just an ordinary mercenary in this one. She showed compassion, strength, determination and weakness of emotions. I was cheering for her all the way until the last word in the last chapter. Kate definitely was a better character in this installment than the last. I also enjoyed previous characters making an encore appearance as well. Derek was involved more in this story which was definitely a plus! I also thought the interaction between Derek and Ghastek was at times hilarious and I look forward to them being left alone together in a room with no holds barred.

The revelation of Andrea's personal secret was interesting and the author handled Kate's discovery of it great. I loved how Kate stood by her and told her that it didn't matter to her what that secret involved. Aunt B even showed a little compassion and made me like her a little bit when helping Andrea when needed. Julie was a great compliment in the character of Kate. I liked how Julie brought out the mothering instinct in Kate, but she also had secrets of her own. When Kate takes her under her wing, you just know that Kate would die for her if needed.

While Curran is starting to grow on me even more, I only had one problem with him in this book. Where the heck was he for most of it? I was disappointed in the fact that he didn't really get any story time until the last half of the book. I needed my furry Curran fix! And that ending featuring Kate and Curran at her house was perfect! I couldn't have asked for a better ending for this book. It made me jump up and grab the next book so I could dive back in and see what happens.

Overall I think this book was much better than the first. Now that the world the author has created is set up and all the players have been in place, I find myself swept up in the magic and story. I can't wait to see what the author brings next!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is way better than the first book and I'm glad I gave this series another chance. I bet there was a new editor because this book flowed much better than the first. I only liked the first book okay, which got better toward the end which was why I gave this series another chance. Magic Burns on the other hand was good and makes me want to read more of Kate Daniels. I like a strong heroine who doesn't think she is the best at what she does so when she gets hurt it isn't shocking and annoying. I also like to see characters who care about others. Kate taught Bran how to be a real hero, which was cool in my book. I'm also intrigued with how the relationship with Kate and Curran might develop. This book had me laughing out loud several times. Narrator was okay, she was a little over dramatic at the end.

Magic Burns, the second installment in the Kate Daniels series, steps up the action, friendships, romantic tension, and magic several notches. After successfully working with the People (Vampire riders) and the Pack (shapeshifters), the Order of Merciful Aid has decided to bring on the financially struggling Kate Daniels as a liason in junior capacity while she still has her mercenary job on the side.

The story starts out in very humourous fashion with Kate helping her shapeshifter friend, Jim, bring back a stolen magical weapon as well as the thief who took it, only to have the thief killed during the capture by an unknown entity. As Kate looks into the mystery of the mysterious killer, she discovers that he is also responsible for stealing the shapeshifter Pack's maps and agrees to help the Pack get them back. What seemingling started as a simple day turns into a mixture of people and chaos that anti-social Kate is ill-equipped to deal with. Tied into an insignificant events from the first book, Kate, during her quest for the maps, also ends up looking after an 11 year old girl, Julie, who's lost her mother. Unbeknownst to Kate, however, is that there are magical undead creatures backed by a powerful deity looking for Julie and in doing so, Kate is attacked in her home and almost killed. Luckily for her, Julie is a pretty tough street wise kid and ends up picking up the phone, hitting redial, and calling for help. That redial leads Julie to the Keep where the shapeshifters live, and <sigh>, Curran, the Beast Lord of Atlanta comes to her rescue.

So many things are happening at once and new characters as well as old play a prominent role in the story. Every 7 years or so, Magic trumps Technology in this world and while the magical flare is at it's highest, things go more than crazy in post apocolyptic Atlanta. Kate finds herself in the middle of a battle of the divine and has to find a way, with help from the Pack, the People, and a sexy new seducer, to stop an ancient evil from returning to her world.

I can say that even though many things are happening and the plot is complex, the story pulls together extremely well and the dots are connected in a way that's easy to understand, is tense in it's direness, and laugh out loud funny where you need it to be. The story, is balanced and well crafted, and even though it's told in a first person account, you genuinely feel and see what's taking place. The story comes to a stellar climax where I kept thinking, WOW, when I was reading it, and you really start to feel how powerful Kate really is, even though she's always hiding it. The best part is that the team of Ilona Andrews really knows how to grow her characters in a way that's believable and their endings are spot on. You're left satisfied without a cliff hanger, but very hungry for more. There's simply no better series in the genre and well worth the read.

Magic Burns takes off more or less where book 1 left off. Kate's still working for the Order, she's still broke, and she's still alone. She gets a new little friend in this book though.

I gotta say, normally when children are introduced into a series it sort of slows the pace of the book and takes away the swagger. But I can actually say I was more interested in her interactions with Julie than any of her fights with all of the super natural big bads. I really liked seeing Kate so dedicated to helping her, literally risking life and limb to see her reunite with her mother. She had a believable balance of distance with her, but I think it's a great quirk to Kate's character that she has an actual reason for wanting to be distant with people. It doesn't feel contrived at all.

Bran was also a pretty cool character, and interesting frenemy of sorts. His banter and come ons to Kate were almost as entertaining as her interactions with Curran. If you're a huge fan of Curran, you won't see him too much in this book, but when he's there, it's eventful to say the least. Their interactions and courting etiquette make so much sense, haha. I seriously would have thought Kate would have been clued in on what he was doing since she's so knowledgeable, but it's cool. The moment was funny.

Again, I really like the angle chosen for the vampires in this series. It adds so much intrigue because you really want to know who navigates them.

Kate's a wise-ass with a heart of gold, and wears bows on her panties. What's not to love?

The second book opens up roughly three months after the events described in the first book which have been christened as the Red Point Stalker case. Kate Daniels finds herself in a better position than earlier as she is now a liaison officer between the Mercenary Guild as well as the Order of the Merciful Aid. She's making a decent living and still has her preferred status amongst the Pack as well as her secrets are safe with her.

The most recent case she gets is when Derek (apparent sidekick) approaches her to do a favor for the pack as someone seems to have stolen a set of the city maps from the pack and in the process hurt more than a few of them at the same time.
Kate's new odyssey begins where she has to figure who is the mysterious bowman who can disappear at will and why is he after these maps and the young girl Julie, who's mom is a witch and is missing with her entire coven and lastly who is behind all of this. Kate seems to have established some sort of a working relationship with the beast Lord Curran, however newer developments might lead to further deterioration in her precocious standings and with her trying to find out more about Roland (her main enemy). This time it looks as if Kate will have more than what she can handle.

The writing is better in this one as we get to read and understand Kate better. In the first book it seemed as if the authors were a bit unsure as to how to showcase her but in this book she's the same hard-talking and fighting female but her persona is much more appreciable. While in the first book I couldn't connect wholly to the main character, the second book completely drew me in and made Kate Daniels and her life that much more readable. The world is also deepened with the introduction of Irish mythology as the first book featured East European myths. Readers also get to see more interaction between Kate and the Beast Lord which forms a crucial aspect of these books. There is another climatic battle in this book as well however the scale is tremendous as in the first book it was more personal whereas in this one, the entire pack gets involved. The ending is fitting and also leaves the readers guessing as to what might be happening next in Kate's personal life.

I think Ilona Andrews might have given us another worthy character to follow and the world which they have created is pretty detailed and different at the same time. This series while seeming like many of those in the urban fantasy sub-genre manages to differentiate itself by having a female protagonist who primarily is a bad ass but also a decent person at heart. There is also a grander plot arc working behind the scene as snippets of dialogue tell us about Kate's crusade against Roland and how she is definitely more than what she seems to be. This is another fantastic series which I have discovered and one which I plan to follow till the authors bring it to the fantastic end which they seem to have planned for all us readers.

...and it's shocking!
I liked this second volume so much better than the first one (although I gave both of them 4 stars, don't ask), the story was interesting and Ilona clearly did a thorough research on the Celtic Myths.
When I picked up this book I never expected to see Kate's maternal side (at least not this soon in the series, because I'm hoping she'll have a couple of lion cubs later on xD) so it was quite surprising when she became Julie's kind-of-crazy-aunt - it's just that she's such a badass that to see her being so caring and gentle to the girl was completely unexpected, but so heartwarming.
I have to admit I teared up when Kate talked about her mother, and when she was telling Curran why he should let his ex marry the other douche. I had never seen her so vulnerable until then. (He should have hugged her.) Which means that, that last scene when he waits for her at home and makes coffee, made me smile until my face started to hurt.
And of course: the soup! So funny. I laughed my head off when the other woman is telling Kate what it means to be fed by the Beast Lord. Loved it! Can't wait to see what happens next with these two -- should be fun! :D

After reading the last book I was a little frustrated. Nothing about the world was explained and the vague hints about Kate's "big secret" were irritating. Luckily early on in the book we start getting some new information. One of my biggest irritants was my lack of understanding of these magic waves. What's causing this, when did this start? I got some of the answers I was looking for, which was nice. I still want want more answers, but I'll try to be patient.

The beginning of this book was slow. Well, the middle of it was too for that matter. I repeatedly found my mind wandering and had to force myself to pay attention. It wasn't the actual events that were a bore to me, it was the writing. For some reason I feel very disassociated from this author's style. It wasn't until the end that I became engaged in the action. That's predictable though. I'm a sucker for action and I am fascinated by power. So, being that the end had those things... well, of course I was hooked.

Kate's dense and irritating at times, but her determination to put herself on the line for her friends is endearing. When Kate explained to Curran why she was willing to go to bat to support the wedding she finally became human for me. During the first book, and this book to an extent, she comes off rather two dimensional and flat. I like the world though, so I'll read the next one.

I liked Julie and Kate's interactions with her. She didn't baby her, but she didn't come off as cold either. I liked that Kate sat down and discussed the wrongness of what Red wanted her for. She didn't beat a dead horse with it, but she made her view known. One thing did bother me in the Julie protection thing though. ***SPOILER***How exactly did Red make it far enough into the Order to grab Julie? Aren't they supposed to be the safest place in the city?***END SPOILERS***

I really liked Bran. I thought he was an excellent character. What made it even better was that Kate could see through him to his motives and wasn't fooled. I liked when they sat down and had a serious talk in his own domain. His history was sad though. When that certain event happened at the end that upset Kate so much - man, that upset me too. He was my favorite so far. How can you not love a man who poofs in, kisses Kate, and poofs out while Curran throws a hissy fit in the background?

Curran and Kate get a bit more page time in this one. They have some nice, quiet moments, but overall they're antagonism and one-upmanship dominates their interactions. Kate can't control her mouth, Curran thunders around intimidating everyone and wants everything his way. Rinse and repeat and that'll pretty much be them through the whole book. They do have a few cute interactions. I liked when he gave her soup and drooled over her bow. Cute. I don't really find Curran compelling, but I don't see anyone better around (anymore) so I'm not exactly against them either. He has an unfortunate habit of reminding me of my kid. He's selfish and thinks he's always right and if he doesn't get his way he turns into a jerk and tries to start a fight. Yep, he reminds me of my three year old.

Well then let's get to it right away, shall we? Kate Daniels has managed yet again to attract some unwanted attention, the magic flactuation is getting worst this time. Someone has stolen a Pack's map, a thing of importance stating all Pack interest, zones, etc... Derek our young shifter-lad asked a favor to Kate to retrieve it and as expected Kate accomplished that favor and encountered the thief who owned the crossbow that she got during a Salamader and Arsonist gig she had with Jim. His name is Bran, who have an impressive power to vanish into thin air and if he's injured he manage to regenerate while he does it. I like him. He might appear to be a bastard you wanted to repeatly slap but in the end he lived up to be a hero that he is. There was also a matter of missing Coven members in Honeycomb. One of them is the mother of the child that Kate found by the bottomless pit. Her name is Julie, she looks innocent and lost and seems to have a phobia with vampires but underneath all that lies power. According to Kate, Julie is a live m-scanner, she can tell what color of magic an entity has. The child thinks it is useless but tell that to the navigator named Bolgor the Shepard and his revolting soldiers called the reeves, I have learned that they are Fomorian. Who is out to get the goddess Morrigan a.k.a the goddess of war. But what does Julie have to do with it? ahh... that's for you to find out.

So... my book blogger friends are right. Book two gets better. First I am now acquainted with the terms. Second, Curran seems to be softening up with Kate, had that little soup incident and he had that hearty laugh when Kate told him that she would not spot him but she will give verbal pushing, up until about she opened her mouth at the topic of Crest and Myong. Third, Kate seems to have a better interaction with the People and the Pack (better than on the first book at least). Our protag's smart mouth has also doubled the amusement factor. Her developed guardianship towards Julie made her seems more human than the bad ass merc that she is and that added points to my book.

Kate's bloodline is still unclear to me. When am I going to find out? When can I get more Kate-Curran interaction? The anticipation is killing me and I have no book three yet. sigh. Clues are welcome.

Magic Burns begins when Kate is offered a chance to do a quick and easy job with Jim. But little did she know this easy job would turn into something not so easy... Now she has to find a guy who can just disappear in thin air. And help a little girl find her mother. But along with all of this she also as to deal with Curran the beast lord, and his weird ways. Kate has a whole lot to deal with in this book, but she does her hardest to make everything right.

Magic Burns was very good. We learn a lot more about what Kate actually is, and some of her powers. And we also learn a few strange things about the beast lord, and his attention to Kate. I really enjoyed this one, and now I look forward to more in this series. I loved how this one explained so much more about Kate, I still have questions about her. And about the beast lord, but I hope all of that will be answered soon in the next few books!

The most appealing thing about any Kate Daniels book, is hands-down, Kate Daniels herself. She strong and smart, witty and irreverent. And it doesn't look like she ever gets a moment's peace. As the book begins, a few months have passed since the events of Magic Bites. Kate is working as a liaison between the mercenary guild and the Order of Merciful Aid. And the waves of magic in the world are growing more frequent and intense, indicating a flare is on the horizon.

While on a mission for the Pack, Kate's path crosses with a young girl named Julie. Her mom is missing and soon Kate realizes that the woman was part of a coven that was messing with forces beyond their control. Kate makes it her mission to take care of Julie and figure out where her mother is. The coven's work, though incomplete, has already unleashed some serious baddies which are coming after Julie and Kate. And if that weren't distraction enough, there's a sexy archer named Bran thrown in the mix... and his only clear intentions seem to be bedding Kate!

Of course, it's hard to root for anyone to be with Kate, other than the super-sexy alpha Beast Lord, Curran. There are some great revelations here about his intentions toward our heroine. And their interactions are great fun to watch. Their dialogue is fast, funny, and sometimes sexy. One of my favorite things about the series is watching the slow-build between these two!

There are also some great secondary stories here, some featuring familiar faces like Crest and Red; others are new, like Andrea and Julie. Old relationships end; new ones begin. And we're still getting nuggets of information about Kate's past and the secrets to her power. Not a dull moment in sight. 4 1/2 stars.

This is the second book in the Kate Daniels series. Last I heard Andrews was contacted to do four books in this series; I sure hope she ends up doing more! This is a great paranormal fantasy series; it is not a romance. It is also not for the faint of heart; the language and gore is described in great detail. I listened to this on audio book and the audio book was very well done.

The magic flare is looming closer and closer. Kate gets a request from the pack to retrieve some maps that have been stolen from them. In retrieving the maps she stumbles upon a man named Bran. Bran is a rogue with a wicked shot and wandering hands and his origins are a mystery. Kate also runs into Red, who asks Kate to return his favor by watching a girl named Julie. Julie's mom has disappeared and Kate is going to help Julie find her mom; that is until she finds out that Julie's mom may be involved with Bran's appearance, who may be involved with a struggle between two ancient gods that would rip Atlanta in two.

I really like this series. The second book was just as good, if not better than, the first. The plot was crazy fast, the fight scenes numerous and well-written. The characters are awesome; I am in awe of how interesting Andrews makes all of the characters, even the supporting ones. The enemies are extremely creative and the world Kate lives in increasingly interesting. I love all of the characters in this book and I love that Kate is powerful but not all-powerful. She makes some mistakes and she honestly is growing as a character.

I love the humor in this book; Kate has a wicked mouth and some of the things she says had me laughing out loud. Curran and Bran also were wonderful characters with many witty comebacks. The only thing that I didn't like about this book is that, at times, too much time is spent on Kate mourning the loss of life. It is good to have some of this in there, but at times Kate's remorse was gone into in too much detail and at oddly inappropriate times. I know it is a small thing, but at times I was rolling my eyes and thinking "okay we get it Kate is sad, on with the story". These scenes made the story drag a bit at parts.

This book expands on the relationship between Kate and Curran, we slowly find out a little bit more about Kate's origins and why her blood is so special. Simone(sp?) is one of my favorite characters in this book and I hope his role expands in future books. Overall this was an excellent book in what is turning out to be a really great series. I really hope we see more than just four of these book; I am so excited to read the third book!

I gave Magic Bites a four star review. I can't quite give this one a five star review but its still better than the first one. A solid 4 1/2 were such a thing possible on the store. I think this book beneifts from the fact that a lot of the characters and the world is established. The thing that made this story just shy of perfect for me is the fact that things happen so fast occassionally I have to back up and see what I missed. However, the confusion I had in reading the first book wasn't an issue with "Magic Burns". I liked the plot a little more here as well. A pre-teen girl's mother has gone missing and Kate becomes involved only to find out that the girl's mom is a part of a witches coven. Now the witches are missing and some baddies are searching for the girl. Enter some of my favorite characters from the first book, Dereck the teenage were and Curran, the were lion (Lord of the Beasts) and I was in for a treat. This book isn't nearly long enough, but action was packed into ever pages. In this series, there is no down town, no unimportant side plots, few moments where there isn't something hot on the page. I loved seeing Kate become so human and feeling. She protected the orphan girl like she was her own. She uses her body and her mind in her quests, but she is still realistic and sometimes makes mistakes. She chides herself from time to time when she does something not quite right and I really identified with that. I also truly enjoyed the tension between Curran and Kate. I love the speed (SLOW) that we are seeing things move between them. The last scene, the last page, is one of the most fun, and cutest things I have read in a long time. Start this series now, if you haven't already. I can't imagine an urban fantasy fan wouldn't enjoy this wholeheartedly.

I'll admit I was cautious with the first book in this series. Magic Bites was really good book but I've been down this path before when a series goes south in a heartbeat. Magic Burns was awesome!!! I'm intrigued and a little spellbound. The dialogue is witty, sharp, and funny. The action is well written that you can truly visualize the settings and battles. The story ends well and leaves you wanting more...on to book 3! Well recommended!

The first book showed promise, the second book delivers on that promise! The second Kate Daniels novel is infinitely readable and enjoyable.

The fast paced dialogue continues and the plot moves well.

I really love Kate Daniels & her world & how the magic ebbs & flows. In this novel, there is a surplus of magic, a wannabe ancient god & the introduction of Julie, a young girl who is at least ten times better than an M-scanner.

I can see why people would like this book, but I just did not like it. Kate is supposed to be a strong female figure I think, but it's the exact opposite. She can't do anything without help, and that irritated me too much to enjoy the book. I wish more female protagonists were strong on their own instead of screw ups with men to set it right. The writing was great and the story was awesome otherwise. It was just too much for me to enjoy.

Ilona Andrews deserves credit for creating an exceptionally detailed world, with a heroine you would actually like to meet. Kate, the heroine, is hardworking, brave, wise-cracking, ethical, and caring. Her job may call for violence, but it is not her first choice for dealing with every situation. The plot led from one scene to the next so seamlessly that this book was hard to put down - so I didn't. I read it all in one sitting, and when I was done I decided that a night's sleep was a small price to pay for such an engrossing story.

This is a sequel that bucks the trend and is actually even better than the first book in the series, Magic Bites. Our heroine is tough yet has her insecurities( she has not had sex in nearly two years!). The romantic tension between her and Curran is wonderful. Even better is the fact that their relationship is not yet consumated which draws out the interest for the reader. I just can't wait to see what happens between these two next! The action is non-stop and yet it flows wonderfully and does not seem like a series of disjointed actions sequences. The story is bursting with necromancers, vampires, shapeshifters and rich with Celtic lore. There is a little of everything and yet the flow is smooth and this leads too a great and logical climax. Recently I have been disappointed by some mediocre paranormal/fantasy sequels (Fire Study, Iron Kissed, Mage"s Daughter), so this book was a wonderful gift! I can't wait for the sequel, I hope we get it by years end. If you want a great story, well written with a smart heroine, run and buy Magic Bites and Magic Burns.

I absolutely love this series. In Magic Burns, there are twists, turns, bumps and bruises galore. What a humor Kate, our hero, has. And she's strong, magical, and all to human. Definitely a five star read!

Haven't read any fantasy at all since the Thomas Covenant trilogies in the 80’s... then someone recommended the Kate Daniels series. Thank you, thank you. The world and characters that the author creates are simply brilliant. No doubt that I will binge read the entire series, and then like the "In Death" series, I'll sit frustrated until the next chapter in the story is written. That is a really good kind of pain. Highly, highly recommended.

I absolutely loved this book! Kate is the new Anita Blake without a horde of lovers :)

Ilona Andrews has outdone herself and in such a short time earned a name for herself with this amazing series. The only minor criticism I could come up with is the size of the book - I wish it was a little longer. But then again, there weren't a lot of artificial fillers which other authors use to excess, therefore the size didn't impact my enjoyment of the book.

Kate is such an entertaining character, and her sarcastic sense of humor for every situation does not come out forced, which is usually the case with writers trying to make their hero/heroine witty. Once again we see most of the same returning characters and addition of a few new ones, but this book can easily stand on its own. The plot line is intriguing and complicated and the resolution exciting.

If you are looking for a new urban fantasy series and stumbled across this thread, definitely don't hesitate to dish out $6.99 - you won't be disappointed.

I LOVE THESE BOOKS! Wow. That was a wild ride. An amazing story. Heart wrenching action. A must read for anyone who likes urban fantasy, magic, and just great fun. Deep story with a lot of intrigue, surprises and mystery. Loved, loved, loved!

That's It!
Ilona Andrews must be a God, and we are in a perpetual flare cause They are manifesting in the form of these beautifully written books!
No one else would quite so skillfully unite myths and legends with urban fantasy and make it so believable that even the most stuck-up folklorist can't say a word.

Kate is awesome! I've said it many times and I'll say it many more.
She is not only a kick-ass hardcore heroine who is pretty and funny and effing smart, but she's down to earth "I'll help you, even if it kills me" kind of girl.
And it takes a whole lot of skill to write a character that you have trust in, that is believable in her endeavors and not just a two dimensional, sword wielding, sexed up power house like many female protagonists in Urban Fantasy.

I loved the timid way she proclaimed that Andrea was her first friend. It tugs on your heartstrings when such an awesome person says something that's pretty much a given for anyone else, right there you can feel the loneliness she struggled with.

Curran, I'm admitting to hating his ignorant piece of ass in the first book. His God-given smugness made me want to sharpen my nails.
But, beguilingly, I'll admit that there is potential there. They could be good for each other.
I mean even Kate knows that she has to stay away from His Furriness, the big, bad, mean kitty that wants to get in her pants.
He is intrigued by the fact that she stands up to him, even trough he can smell her fear.
This is a man sick of women who are one their knees for all the wrong reasons (grins). Hence the soup.
The barbs and the courtship ritual had me in stitches.

There is more of the clan shown, and we get to see some new clan members and pack politics are explained.
The Hyena Clan (Bouda) are especially hilariously naughty.
Kate gets another little sidekick in the form of a little girl searching for her mother. And that ends up being a story of it's on.
And Derek (my sweet Derek) is a dashing prince snark as usual but with a little more teeth.

And then there is Bran, a warrior of old. With a more than obvious attraction to Kate and not shy about it either, especially in front of His Lordship.

The Climax was tremendous. Kate went in and just let go, I don't remember the last time i enjoyed a battle this much (not since HP, for sure)
But in the end it was bittersweet as these things usually are, you win some and you lose some.

Before i realized the book was finished and i lay dazed under the covers, the clock read four am, and i was due to get up in two hours.
Suffice to say this is one helluva book.

Magic Burns could easily have passed as book one for the Kate Daniels series. In fact, I might have preferred it as the starting point. It brought more details about Kate to light, but not much. Then some of the more basic questions about the universe of the Kate Daniels were finally given a better explanation. The lack of world building and character depth on Kate were two of my biggest complaints on the first book. The focus on Magic Burns is much like the previous book--Magic Bites--the supernatural mystery. Since I like mysteries I can't complain too much and the magic "wave" that comes up here is just too much fun!

Andrews shows us a side of both Kate and Curran that had been seemingly lacking in the first book--featuring compassion and personalities outside of killing things. A little girls live is at stake and it's warming how both Kate and Curran do everything in their power to help this one girl. Kate still isn't fleshed out enough for me. I. Need. More.

The monster isn't as scary as the creepy animalistic rapist from the first book, but it's definitely up there. A magic flare is coming up, where magic takes out technology for days to weeks. What was supposed to be a quick retrieval of some pack maps turns quickly into a gruesome battle between gods. Of course the evil god is trying to break through and become "real" on the human plane--which can only successfully happen during a magic flare.

Another fun entry to the Kate Daniel world. It helped flesh it out a bit more, but I still feel like it held a lot back. Fun characters come in and are not explored enough, mainly a certain goddesses' horny "hell hound". The buildup between Kate and Curran is definitely heating up, and I'm starting to see why the fans rave. With a better plot, tons of great action, and simply more Kate Daniel time--why miss it?

Sexual Content: As mentioned in the review, there is one horny guy/hellhound. Nothing too risky, unless you can't handle the sexual tension building up.

3/5- Adored it, just a few minor details held it back

Originally reviewed at Book Whispers.

I don't know what I was thinking when I blew off this book and didn't buy it. Now I feel dumb.

I get so tired of the female heroine who acts all big and bad and then stumbles, stubs her toe and faints (a.k.a. Rachel Morgan). Kate feels pain, she just doesn't give up. She bleeds and needs to heal, but she's still a work in progress.

I like Kate mostly because she is "real". Sure she's smart mouthed, but even she knows when to bite her tongue and keep her opinions to herself. She's worked hard at being as good as she is, she didn't just wake up weilding a sword. It's taken years of practice and lots of endurance training. (Plus, she doesn't wear tight leather pants with spiky high heeled boots, which, if you think about it, wouldn't be the best outfit for fighting and running).

Curran... sigh... I adore how strong he is, and not just in the physical sense. He's a good leader and understands what he has to do to keep his people under control. People is kind of loose, since they are shapeshifters and can either be ruled by humanity or their animal instincts.

Derek is wonderful. How can you not love someone who is trying to go against all his instincts and rearing as an out of control animal? He's not perfect, but he definately works at it.

Overall, I adore this series. As the series develops, I find it more addicting and funny. We don't get any out of nowhere information, all the clues are there, they're just fed to us slowly.

I doubt anyone who likes Briggs or Harrison will truly enjoy this book (I don't know if they would appreciate a good read)

Ilona Andrews is a husband\wife writing team extrordinar. The charitors are well formed and alive. The primis is beleivable. The story is smoth and exciting. You live the tail through the herowin and see a real world.

Bloody Brilliant! Even better than the first one, and the first one was great. In this sequel to Magic Bites, Ilona Andrews ups the ante on world building and adds a layer of mythology. Best of all, Magic Burns has Heart. I don't mean romance - there is sexual tension between Kate and Curran but no romance yet. By Heart I mean that it tackles some of the big questions of the human condition. Ms. Andrews makes a compelling argument that there are somethings worth fighting for. That the life of one little girl is worth a thousand soldiers who might die trying to save her, and if it wasn't then this isn't a world worth living in. Violence has become such a common occurrence in our lives that we hardly bat an eye at it anymore. I appreciate Ms. Andrews taking the discussion to the next level and challenging her readers to think deeply about our blase acceptance of violence.

Mercenary Kate Daniels stumbles across a young starving street kid whose mother has disappeared in a coven spell-gone-horribly-wrong. She takes it upon herself to find the little girl's mother and ends up discovering a plot to unleash monsters from celtic mythology on the world. Kate is also enlisted to find maps of the city that were stolen from the Pack, to provide information for the People who want to control the new breed of undead that have appeared, and to obtain magic blood to save the witch Oracle. In the midst of all this, a Flare is coming; Once every seven years Magic runs rampant unleashing all sorts of monsters and madness. In the face of impossible odds, Kate gets by with a little help from her friends.

The heroine Kate is a tough cookie who, despite an argumentative nature, has a depth of character and understanding that makes her not only sympathetic to the reader, but also makes her someone to look up to; heroic in the true sense of the word. The villains are bent on world domination, and as such they are not multifaceted. More interesting are the secondary characters that help or hinder Kate in her quest. These actors illustrate the inner struggle to do the right thing in the face of horror and apocalyptic violence. Do we chose the easy way - every man for himself? Or do we risk everything against impossible odds for the honorable path? Among these fascinating secondary characters are Red, a young street kid, Curran, the leader of the shapeshifters, Ghastek, the vampire pilot, and Bran, mythic warrior.

In the first book I was a bit concerned about Curran in the role of potential "love-interest," but he's grown on me in this book. He's still a violent bastard, but he shows a bit of his softer side in protecting the little girl and showing a bit of gruff caring toward our intrepid heroine. I especially like his comment (p186):

"You're fun to play with. You make a good mouse....I was always kind of partial to toy mice." He smiled. "Sometimes they're filled with catnip. It's a nice bonus."

"I'm not filled with catnip." [said Kate]

"Let's find out."

The image of this 700 pound lion playing with a catnip toy is adorable. But then, I'm partial to cats.

Magic Burns is also full of Ilona Andrews' trademark lyrical descriptions. It's beautiful to read.

Twisted steel skeletons of once mighty skyscrapers jutted like bleached fossil bones from the debris. Here and there a lone half-eaten survivor struggled to remain upright, all but its last few stories destroyed. Shattered glass from hundreds of windows glittered among chunks of concrete, (p24).

And, of course, the world building is fabulous. I love the idea behind it: What would happen if magic took back the world from technology? From Ms. Andrews' FAQs on her website, but also in the book, I just can't find the page:

"Theory said that magic and tech used to coexist in a balance. Like the pendulum of a grandfather clock that barely moved, if at all. But then came the age of Man, and men are made of progress. They overdeveloped magic, pushing the pendulum further and further to one side until it came crashing down and started swinging back and forth, bringing with it tech waves.

And then in its turn, the technology oversaturated the world, helped once again by pesky Man, and the pendulum swung again, into the side of magic this time. The previous Shift from magic to tech took place somewhere around the start of the Iron age. The current Shift officially dawned almost thirty years ago. It began with a flare, and with each subsequent flare, more of our world succumbed to magic."

I thoroughly, completely, and totally recommend Magic Burns to EVERYONE. Read Magic Bites first. It's good. But this book is even better. I can't wait to read the 3rd book in the series, Magic Strikes, (2009 - noooo!!!!), and every single other book that Ms. Andrews gives us in the years to come.

And the ending is so very, very good. I just reread it and realized that I completely missed the best part. Subtle, I am not. I want you to read this book so that I can gush about it with someone. Pleeeaaaassseeeee. Reeeaaaadddd iiiiittttt. You will love it. I promise.

This book was so wicked good! It's better than the first book. I inhaled it in less than a day. I love the return of pretty much all the characters from the first book. It makes me form a deeper connection with them and they are beginning to feel like my friends. Kate is my kind of gal - a smart, strong but flawed heroine with a soft heart. Ilona Andrews did a terrific job of weaving a stand alone story within the larger plot that began with the first book. Just the right amount of new information about Kate was revealed to make me feel satisfied that my patience is being rewarded and intrigued to learn more. Finally, the heat under Kate and Curran has been turned up another notch. If only I had ordered the 3rd book sooner. Bad pre-planning on my part, ggrrr...

Haven't read any fantasy at all since the Thomas Covenant trilogies in the 80’s... then someone recommended the Kate Daniels series. Thank you, thank you. The world and characters that the author creates are simply brilliant. No doubt that I will binge read the entire series, and then like the "In Death" series, I'll sit frustrated until the next chapter in the story is written. That is a really good kind of pain. Highly, highly recommended.

Kate Daniels is tough, troubled and full of tender honor. The author continues to tease out the mystery of Kate's true power while more fully outlining her character and what makes her tick. This outing through magic flares and tech crashes introduces several new characters and furthers the uneasy alliance between Kate and the Beast Lord, Curran. Readers get to see Kate at her best in this novel and realize there is so much more to reveal about her. I'm looking forward to the next book and I highly recommend this one if you like mythology weaved in with magic and a lot of butt kicking.

Enjoyed it even more this time than I did the first. I am going back and reading this series in order from the beginning and enjoying it more. I am noticing things, especially humor, that I didn't catch the first time. The characters are intriguing, the world building exceptionally well done, and the plot in each book stands alone while enhancing the overall tale. I suspect I might not survive long living in this world but I certainly enjoy visiting it and plan to continue to do so.

A magic flare is coming to Atlanta, causing the shift between technology and magic to be more unreliable and haphazard. It's also the perfect time for those of divine origin to manifest in our world. And that would be disastrous.

When a magic imprint on a bolt fired during one of her Guild jobs registers as "human divine," Kate sets out to find the crossbowman. Then the Pack approaches Kate for help retrieving some survey maps that were stolen and just so happen to have been taken by the crossbowman she's looking for. These two events bring Kate to Julie, a young girl looking for her missing mother. But what Kate discovers along the way is even more disturbing.

Kate Daniels is moving up in the world in Magic Burns. After her role in the Red Stalker case, Kate has been given a new job as Liaison between the Order and the Guild. She's also been given Friend of the Pack status with the Atlanta shapeshifter Pack. On one hand, Kate has to deal with the knight-protector, Ted Moynohan and Curran, the Beast Lord, on the other. And she'd rather not have to deal with either. Ted is a human supremest who wants to eradicate anything with an ounce of magic. And Curran basically just gets Kate hot-and-bothered and that freaks her out.

"Not only will you sleep with me, but you will say 'please.' You will say 'please' before and 'thank you' after."

After that good luck kiss in Magic Bites, Curran has been slowly moving in on Kate. And, boy, is he subtle about it. Kate doesn't know what he's doing until others in the Pack tell her. For example: When Kate was severely injured in an attack by the reeves, she was brought to a Pack safehouse ans healed by Doolittle. Bowls of soup were brought in for her and Curran pick one up, looks at it with a look of contemplation, and hands it to Kate. Now for shapeshifters, food has a special significance. Food is how animals express love. The fact that Curran gave Kate food signifies his serious interest in her.

Curran's pursuit kind of freaks Kate out. Kate is someone who doesn't have close connections with anyone. The main reason for this is because of who she is. Her blood makes her a target and intimacy means sharing her magic. But another reason is because she's scared. Every person she's ever cared about has been killed or died because of her--first her mother, then her stepfather, and more recently her guardian, Greg. Kate avoids close relationships because she's being hunted and she's scared of losing anyone else she loves because of who she is the daughter of.

There is a perfect example of this in her relationship with Bran. Bran is one of Morrigan's warriors. Kate didn't know him for long, but she came to care about him and understand him. Her grief and sadness was so great that, as she cried over his body, small white star-shaped flowers with centers as black as his eyes bloomed all around them. But because of these flowers, Bran's heroics that day will always be remembered, just as he always wanted.

Kate grows emotionally in Magic Burns and the world of the series grows as well. New places are introduces to us in great detail and we learn more about what life is like for the people in those places. I'm excited to see how much more Kate ans the world of this series continue to grow in the next book.

Not only does Magic Burns meet the expectations created by its predecessor, Magic Bites, but surpasses them. A flare has hit Atlanta, disruptting magic and creating more problems for Kate, who, by helping the Pack and investigating the disappearance of a coven called Sisters of the Crow, finds herself caught in a war between gods. It may be the second in the Kate Daniels series, but new readers won't have any difficulty emersing themselves in Andrews' well-crafted world if they pick up this book first. Along with the intricate plot and characters, the interactions between Kate and Curran the most delightful to read, Magic Burns has enough grit and wit to satisfy any urban fantasy fan. Although overall satisfying, I am still eager to see what will happen next to Kate and Co. in future volumes of the series.

There's so many good reviews here I don't feel like expounding overlong, except to add my praise for the count. This is an excellent series with a heroine with strong development. She's got strength, intelligence, and capability, while possessing a morale code and maturity that other heroines sometimes lack. Humility and humor, too.

Note to the publishers: Let her write longer books!!! This is too good a series to restrict.

My top author? Kim Harrison for her Rachel Morgan series (not so much the anthologies). If Ilona Andrews can maintain this series over as many books and be allowed more rein to write longer stories it could be a tie.

* Weird sh@t is attracted to her
* She doesn't do 'humble'
* She has cute bows on her panties

Intrigued? You should be. If you're a strong fan of kickbutt urban fantasy heroines, you need to meet Kate.

Kate lives in an alternate Atlanta in a world where magic has returned and it comes in waves with technology. Aside from double coping skills, she's got two jobs--one with the Order and One with the Merc Guild. Add to that, two mortgages and enough trouble on her plate that she needs a clone or two to give her a hand.

Someone's stealing valuable maps from the weres and she's got to get them back. A misguided coven makes an alliance with the wrong Celtic God and Kate's stuck with the coven leader's daughter. And the girl comes with all the troubles teenage girls are prone to--and then some. You see, she's a virgin and her boyfriend wants to try and use her for some powerful mojo.

What I'm most impresed with Ilona Andrews' sophomore effort is that she's taken a great start in "Magic Bites" and made it better. Clearly, she's done her mythological research and synthesized it into her manuscript seamlessly. Strong fantasy and titilating romance blend with enough elements of both to keep both camps happy.

"Magic Bites" was an impressive entry into the urban fantasy genre. "Magic Bites" establishes Ilona Andrews as an author who's going to keep honing her craft until she reaches the top of the charts. I wish her every success in that endeavor and I'll be waiting for the next installment.

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels Series, Book 1)

I enjoyed this second book in the Kate Daniels series more than the first due to its better pacing. (It didn't have a slow beginning like the first one did.) It was also more character-driven, so it appealed to me more. Others have detailed the plot, so I'll just add that I liked the softening relationship between Kate and Curran, as well as her building friendships/relationships with others (Derrick, Angela, Julie, Bran). The author gave us a few more clues into Kate's backstory with this one, but I look forward to learning more of it in future books. The action was well-paced, and the resolution was good. I look forward to the next one. :)

In the beginning I remembering thinking this book is laugh out loud hilarious...

But the humor dies down as the going gets rough and the violent plot thickens.

An entertaining story to read for entertainments sake.

I had read the twilight series and was looking for other things in the same vein with a little romance thrown in and thought I would try this series. I absolutely adored the first one and I can honestly say I like this one even better than the first one. This book is not boring and there is never a dull moment, which I like because I hate reading a book, getting to a good part and then having to read through a dragging slow section. All the characters she creates are really real characters and the dialogue is just absolutely wonderful. I think this is the best dialogue I've read in a long time. Its very real sounding and that is so important to me to bring the story and characters and be able to invest in it emotionally. The romance is very slow but I like it that way because with any great story its better when the characters stay apart, it makes you want them together that much more. I hope they never get together and that way the tension is maintained. I like just a little tease of a romance and then there is something to build on for the next sequel and then the next etc. I loved this book.

I recently discovered the Kate Daniels series and am really enjoying them. The main character has a devil may care attitude and a speak before you think life mantra. She is hiding a huge secret, which if revealed would make her a target for every power hungry predator around. I love her flirtatious and dangerous relationship with the Beast KIng Curran. This installment was full of celtic lore and myths, which was a delight to read. I am looking forward to reading the third book and highly recommend this series of books.
Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2)

I enjoyed it a lot but it's still not a five star read for me. I listened to this on audio and found myself drifting off here and there and had to rewind a few times but it may be me not the book. The Kate and Julie dynamic worked and showed another side to Kate, not exactly a softer side but more of a protective side. This book is pretty non-stop action with small side appearances made by the sexy men in her life. I really appreciate the fact that the author is focusing on developing Kate, the plot and the secondary characters rather than zooming in on the lust factor. On to #3 . . .

This book was so wicked good! It's better than the first book. I inhaled it in less than a day. I love the return of pretty much all the characters from the first book. It makes me form a deeper connection with them and they are beginning to feel like my friends. Kate is my kind of gal - a smart, strong but flawed heroine with a soft heart. Ilona Andrews did a terrific job of weaving a stand alone story within the larger plot that began with the first book. Just the right amount of new information about Kate was revealed to make me feel satisfied that my patience is being rewarded and intrigued to learn more. Finally, the heat under Kate and Curran has been turned up another notch. If only I had ordered the 3rd book sooner. Bad pre-planning on my part, ggrrr...

A little better than the first book. Kate is hired to retrieve maps stolen from the shapeshifters, but of course the whole affair blows up into epic magic warfare between two gods. Still leaves you mystified about Kate's origin, and teases you with the love/hate relationship between Kate and Curran, the Beast Master. Shows a little more of Kate's human side as she tries to keep a little girl safe. I thought the last scene with Bran was way overblown - there was no development of any relationship between them and that's how she reacts? Felt like the reader is expected to read the author's mind or else the publisher cut out chunks. Enjoyable enough, but still overall I think the story lacks substance.

A flare is coming... A time when the magic will take over for a space of days instead of hours. For Kate Daniels a flare is a thrill and a terror as it extends her abilities but also those of the populace around her. But when a witch coven goes missing, a homeless girl ends up Kate's temporary ward, gods walk the earth and the Beast Lord feeds her chicken soup it's a bit much even for a kick butt mercenary like Kate to handle.

Magic Burns is the second of the Kate Daniels books and picks up where the first left off with Kate serving as a liaison between the Merc Guild and the local Order and doing her best to cover two mortgages and keep herself fed. In Kate's world technology and magic hang in a balance that shifts pretty much on a whim, but every seven years there is a flare when the magic is high and stays that way. Strange things tend to happen during flares and this one is no different as a Celtic god tries to cross over into this world and Kate allies with the the necromancers and the Beast Lord, with whom she already has a strange relationship, part friend, part romantic interest and part chew toy. In this book we also start learning more about Kate's past and just what makes her so potent. It's enough information to both satisfy and start the search for more answers.

The Magic books are well written, though I feel like Burns is stronger the writing team of Andrews having learned from the first book and tightened up the few stylistic issues that I had. I'm thrilled over the result and look forward to the third book due out sometime next year...I hate waiting!

~J

In Magic Burns the journey of Kate Daniels continues, fighting/allying with were-critters, magical archers and unfortunate visits from her semi-ex.

The general prose of Burns is pretty good, an improvement on Bites, however the overall plot is a little dull, less memorable than ideal.

Much better and faster paced than the first book. I enjoyed reading and couldn't put it down. I'm loving Kate. I'm loving Derek. And Curran is getting better and better. I'm loving the few instances where we see his humor with Kate. Hope to see more of their banter.

Read from June 04 to 06, 2013

It seems that authors are taking longer and longer to publish the next book in their (SIGH!!) series, so I have been waiting for what seems like forever for this book, and it does not disappoint! Kate Daniels is interesting and funny-and I enjoyed every second of the book. I liked the new characters-especially Julie and the oracles, and am curious about how they will fit into future books. I loved the way the romance angle was woven INTO the story, not the other way around, but still am excited to see how Curran and Kate's courtship plays out. All in all, it is an exciting new series, and I can not wait for the next installment.

_Magic Burns_ is the second book in the Kate Daniels series, written by Ilona Andrews.

Kate is a trained warrior whose current job is liaison between the Order and the Mercenary Guild. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the few cities to survive the resurgence of magic in the early 2000s. The story takes place a few decades after magic reappeared. Kate is in her mid-20s when the story takes place.

(It would take too long to explain the world Kate lives in, so all I can say is please read the book. Ms. Andrews has created a really unique world and I loved reading the different ways that magic and tech mixed and interacted.)

Kate starts out the book hunting a pyromaniac, but as she keeps stumbling across some odd events that can't be overlooked -- both because of her own moral code and because the problems are things the Order would want information on anyway -- she becomes further entwined in a big nasty mess caused by some incompetent witches (and others).

Which brings up one of the things I like about Andrews' writing -- while Kate is a bit of a mouthy adolescent superhero herself, most of the other characters have real emotions, real ambitions, real anxieties, and make real mistakes. They are believable.

There is a love interest, but it's more anxiety and avoidance at this stage than anything real. Kate has a REALLY *BIG* secret in her past, which makes her very wary of trusting or becoming intimate with anyone.

In the end, things mostly work out, and there are hints that Kate is getting tired of hiding all the time. I am looking forward to future books in the series, as I think that will lead to some interesting events.

All in all, it was a very light and enjoyable read. I give it four stars.

********************************************

I also have to say I am VERY happy to see Ms. Andrews has changed some things from the first Kate Daniels book. _Magic Bites_ was a very interesting but deeply flawed series opening. I was torn after reading it because I wanted to see where Ms. Andrews took the series and characters, but at the same time I didn't want to wade through that much needless pain (from the overly-described villainous acts of the very sadistic bad guys) and needless stupidity (from Kate's uncontrolled mouth) in future books. Thankfully, Ms. Andrews has kept all the things I liked about the series (the setting, the secondary characters, Kate in her better moments, the mystery of Kate's past) and gotten rid of most of what I didn't like. I eagerly look forward to book 3.

I'm a Sookie Stackhouse and Rachel Morgan fan who is always looking for other series. I read book one in this series and gave it a 4. I bought book 2, just to kill time and was totally drawn in by it. I am now putting book 3 on my wishlist. I am not a "magic" fan, but enjoyed the interplay between Kate with her magic, and the knight in shining armor who is the alpha of the shapeshifter pack.

I really enjoyed Magic Bites! Magic Burns was good but a couple parts bored me or I thought were kind of cheesy. I'm going to carry on with the series cuz I do want to know what happens with Kate and Curran but I hope the next book is up to par with Book 1.

4.5 stars. Brilliant. Adore Kate Daniels even more in this installment. If not for some of the descriptions that I found myself skimming over, I'd have given it five stars. Kate's voice is perfect. Curran is fierce in all of his Beast Lord glory. The additions of Andrea, Julie and Bran made for interesting side characters. Can't wait to get to the next book.

I LOVE THESE BOOKS! Wow. That was a wild ride. An amazing story. Heart wrenching action. A must read for anyone who likes urban fantasy, magic, and just great fun. Deep story with a lot of intrigue, surprises and mystery. Loved, loved, loved!

This is the second in the Kate Daniels series and I ejoyed it even more than the first. The world-building is coming along nicely. The rise and fall of tech and magic is a unique idea and the author does well with it. She fills the book with interesting creatures and plenty of action. I really like Kate and am interested to learn more about her as this series moves ahead. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Be warned: Magic Burns is a dark story with graphic monsters and battle scenes mixed in with the humor and shapeshifters. In this second book, the banter is even better and the characters and the setting given additional details. Again, this isn't erotica or a romance, but a urban fantasy book with a few wonderful alpha-male characters to drool over while you cheer for Kate. Highly recommended!

This second book of the series moves with the same fast pace into great adventure. The relationship between Kate and Curran is growing slowly. I am glad that a great deal of sex is not pushed into the equation (like many of the paranormal stories we have seen today). Yet it shows some sweetness (of course, not from Kate's point of view).

Actually the character that I've found interesting in this book is Saiman (who will have bigger part in the third book).

Overall it is a 5-star.

I like this series. You do need to read the books in order to see the character development.These are keepers. I will read this book and the others in this series again. Living in the South and have driven through Atlanta, GA many times, adds to my interest as that is the locale for the series.

The vampires are not sexy in this series premise. The were animals on the other hand...

Just started this series and am hooked. Ilona Andrews brings the characters to life with just the right amount of drama, suspense, humor and action. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

This book continues the series of the heroine Kate Daniels. She's not your typical 'holier-than-thou' righteous heroine who just wants to save the world. She's working on cases partly because she needs the money too. She trained as a powerful fighter and magic user, but she doesn't show her magic for fear of attracting her (even more powerful) enemies. She has a mysterious past and a supremely powerful enemy who is not aware of her existence. And she has a loud mouth and says the darndest things that sometimes make me laugh out loud.

Kate Daniels is powerful, but she doesn't get crazy power buffs without reason, unlike the crap that is Anita Blake. AND she doesn't screw everything that comes along her way unlike Anita Blake.

Besides a interesting heroine, the story is built upon a world that is not unlike our own, except having magic and supernaturals. The other characters are also interesting and further expanded in this book and the next. The plots are interesting and keeps me riveted to the book from start to end.

Very well written series (up to book 3 that I've read), and right up there with Jim Butcher's Dresden Files.

I’ve seen this series mentioned before but can’t believe it has taken me this long to read it. I judged a book by its cover almost missed this jem.
I enjoyed the plot and I’m liking Curran a little more. I do like that they aren’t rushing into things too.

Like the first book, this one is well paced with great characters. Again, the romance between Kate and Curran is a little too slow for my taste, but it does keep me coming back for more. I powered through this book in a day! I love the intensity and the little sparks of levity.

I'm pretty picky about my fantasty fiction choices since I read so much of it; and I've had to suffer through a lot of badly written books. Books with stupid dialog, formulaic plotlines and characters, and just plain silly worldscapes. SO, I have to say that Ilona can't write her next novel fast enough for me. Her incredibly witty, well-paced, and inventive stories are fantastic!!! They easily rank up in my top 3 list, which includes Kim Harrison, and some other writer I've yet to discover. Hurry up and write, like 4 or 5 more of these, Ilona, or I'll be forced to just re-read the two scrumptious bits of entertainment you've already given us.

I finished this book last week, and man was it good. The world Ilona Andrews has created is fantastic and uttery original. A post shift apocolypse where magic and technology share the world in waves. Action, adventure, werewolves, nasty vamipires mentally ridden by necromancers, and a main character with slowly released secrets.

I loved it!

And Kate Daniels is great company.

Kate Daniels you are one kickass leading lady and Curran, the alpha you love to hate. Really enjoying this series, there are so many new "supes" that it is hard to keep up but that is what makes this series one of my favourite paranormals.

The story and characters were definitely more interesting this time around. The wit was more funny and the pacing was better. The author finally gave us more insight into the overarching story, which made for a much more interesting book.

This is the sequel to "Magic Bites" where we once again are following the adventures of Kate Daniels, a mercenary who cleans up after magic has gone wrong. This time there is a little girl who is mixed up in a power struggle between two gods. This time the same cast of characters that we meet in the previous book return to harass, seduce, and confuse Kate until she doesn't know which way to turn.

This book is heavily steeped in Celtic lore and mythology. We have one Celtic god who wants human form and will do anything he must to achieve that purpose. And we have another god, who has sent a servant to prevent this from happening. Throw in Curran, the Beast Lord, who is showing signs of stranger behavior around Kate, and Ghastek is back as the Master of the Dead controlling his vampires to learn about the new bad in town.

For those who didn't guess about the magic of Kate's blood, that little tidbit is answered in the second book. I'm am interested to know where the author plans to take this series. She left enough unsaid to interest me in looking forward to the next book which has a tentative title of "Midnight Games" and should be released sometime in 2009.

BTW, if you're wondering how did I get a copy of this book when it doesn't release until April 1, 2008. I can't tell you all my secrets, now can I? If you enjoyed the first book, you will not be disappointed with the sequel. This is a must for those who love urban fantasy.

Happy Reading

When I read the first book, I decided to try the second since the first really got my attention. The second is even better than the first. Has a lot of elements I like in books.

Action. It jumps right in. Gotta love that.

Comedy. Not all over the place, but enough for a chuckle every now and them.

"kick-butt" attitude.
Character development.

My only complaint was that the book was too short.

I have fallen in love with this reluctant heroine! I was not sure if the second book would match the furious pace of the first one and it sure did. Great characters that keep developing, keeps you on the edge with it's twists and turns... Can't wait to read the next one!

Although I feel this is no tthe strongest book in the series, it is still a 5 star for me. Andrews' writing is the best. Andrews continues to world build with ease and although Kate is tough, she has enough psychological issues to not be invincible (or unlikable). The mounting tension between Kate and Curran is satisfying as their relationship continues to become more complex, but the main plot of the story brings in mythologies that are obscure enough to be interesting.

I enjoyed Magic Burns even more the the first book, Magic Bites. The authors continue to build a intriguing new alternate world in modern Atlanta.

The mythology and fantasy characters introduced keep your interest as well as Kate and the other characters that show up in this book as well as in book one. Kate's relationship with Pack leader Curran continues to develop and change, and I enjoy the possible romance developing between them.

I anxiously await book three, hopefully coming out in 2009. I highly recommend this series to fans of Urban Fantasy.
5 stars.

In Magic Burns, the sequel to Andrews' Magic Bites, the magic in Kate Daniels' world is going crazy. More specifically, it is leading up to a flare, a period of time where the magic overtakes tech and holds steady and strong. During a flare all kinds of things can happen - including the manifestation of deities into the mortal world, bringing all their squabbles and wars with them.

I'm really liking this series, and cannot wait for the next installment! There are still a few issues in this book which I mentioned in my review of the previous book: namely, twists of storytelling which go too fast for me to follow (I could have used a turning signal, or at least a few more paragraphs) and a few editing and proofreading errors. Nonetheless, this is definitely an entertaining world which Ilona Andrews has crafted, and I enjoy reading Kate's viewpoint of her world.

I am glad that more of Kate's background is coming to light in this book. I have my guesses as to some of her secrets, and am sure that in the next book (or two or three) they will be confirmed. I am also loving the subtle, slowly growing romance between Kate and Curran, the Beast Lord.

I definitely recommend Magic Bites and Magic Burns to lovers of urban fantasy - especially dark urban fantasy, as this series is certainly not light, happy-go-lucky fare. It is real and gritty, with death and blood as much a part of Kate's world as (if not more than) love and happy endings.

hi everybody! i just thought i'd post this review to let everyone know just how amazing ilona's second book is. i ran out to get it the day it came out and finished it that night. i couldnt have put it down had my house caught fire and a very angry pack alpha been demanding my return to bed... (wistful sigh.... but yes, this story was imaginative, fresh and funny, not to mention i shed a tear or two for a reluctant hero and his end. so sad, i loved him and his misting tendencies.
anyway, i hope you all will buy this book because it was amazing.
peace out

Magic has returned to the world, but it comes in waves. When it flares, it is out of control; when it flows it works. The world obviously has changed since the return with cities devastated as the magic hates tech and skyscrapers and either destroys them or changes them into something else.

In Atlanta Kate Daniels works for the Order and the Mercenary's Guild who helps people in need. She takes down a killer in an underground garage but an unknown person does the actual kill using a special dart. A member of the shapeshifting Pack asks her to find maps stolen from them. The thief used the same dart that killed the man in the garage.. Kate returns to the scene where she got the dart. There she follows a clue to a child Julie, who is looking for her mom, a witch belonging to a nearby coven. Each vanished without a trace. Kate takes Julie home with her, but that proves no haven as sea demons attack. She next brings the child to the Order. She finally meets the dart thrower Bran who informs her that she, the witches and the shifters are caught in the middle of a war between two gods.

This urban fantasy is a spellbinding compelling read. On this alternate earth, vampires, shifters and other paranormals co-exist with humans; often not in harmony. Kate has a secret agenda and apparently has powers and a secret that are hinted at throughout the exciting story line. She makes the tale work as this alternate Atlanta seems genuine as a fascinating culture built around magic feels plausible. However it is Kate who will bring fans back for future tales.

Harriet Klausner

The Kate Daniels novels are always special. If you haven't read them and you like fantasy and magic, I heartily recommend them.

I won't ramble on about plots or character, I will only say they are always excellent. Again, I recommend them.

Great book. Moved much much faster than the first and you really get to start to know the characters. The relationships being built are intricate and interesting. I was in a hurry to start the next book when I finished. And I did right away.

I was very pleased with this second book in the Kate Daniels series. There has been positive character growth and the action was very fast paced and believable. I think the series can only get better. I love the dichotomy of tech Atlanta vs. magic Atlanta.

Everyone else already told you how great this book is, (and they've done a much better job than I could ever do.) The characters in Magic Burns are developed so well. They have grown in book 2 and continue to become unveiled to you like a present that is being slowly unwrapped. This book is worth reading just to get to the last two paragraphs! I was so surprised, it made me laugh out loud and I thought it was a wonderful way to end a book! I am so looking forward to book 3.

I loved, loved this book. Ilona is a brilliant talent as is her spouse/and literary cohort. Well written and not a boring moment to bypass. The characters are very well developed, the gallows humor refreshing and the plots are well developed and cohesive..... And I am just starting this series. Can' wait to see what comes next. If you haven't discovered Ilona Andrews well, hie yourself to The the store store and get going!!!!! You will not be disappointed.......

Great book. Worth the read. I like the characters and how the develop over time. The mainstream view on vampires isn't taken; which i like becuase she developes her own wolrd. Still the perfect amount of humor and not too much romance.

I enjoyed this more than the first, mostly because Kate is such an amazing character and she really shone in this. She's strong and capable and doesn't take crap, and I'm very curious about her mysterious heritage. I thought some of the other characters were better developed in this, as well. Onto the next!

Excellent book. Kate is strong and hilarious. Curran is yummy. All of the witty, snarky comments make this book stand out in the throng of urban fantasy novels out there. I love love love this series, and it only continues to get better (book 3 is my fave, but both books 4 and 5 are fantastic).

Buy this book. Read this book. Your emotional well-being will profit.

In this book the readers get to meet a new character thats kind of like a daughter/sister for Kate. I really liked this book and Bran was such a great edition. As always enjoyed the humor, loved seeing Aunt Bee and Andrea is someone I'm glad was created since Kate has a friend she can talk to when she needs it.

Author never disappoints, books getting better and better. You have to love and admire Kate, no words enough if talking about Curran, other main and minor characters. Read all books, actually this is probably my fifth time around and cannot wait for next. Keep them coming!!!

I stayed up and finished this one instead of last minute studying for finals (I do not recommend)! I'm in love with the world Ilona has created, and don't find Kate annoying in the way that I find most female protagonists are.

Can't wait for book 3 to come out!