Excellent Sequel to Magic Bites
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Magic Burns picks up three months after Magic Bites. Atlanta is about to experience a flare - a time (every seven years) when magic runs rampant. So things in Kate's life are even crazier than usual. A simple job for the Pack (Atlanta's paramilitary clan of shapeshifters) to retrieve some maps, puts Kate in the path of two Gods fighting a battle of power. The price for stopping this war is going to be high.
The dialogue (as in the first book) is sparky, witty and compelling. Kate is a spunky, smart-mouthed heroine, who doesn't always think before she opens up her mouth, but is usually able to think fast enough to get herself out of any trouble her mouth gets her into. Though she should really know better than to preface a visit to anyone in Atlanta with the comment "...he's harmless."
Retrieving the maps is not as easy as it sounds. Whenever Kate gets her hands on them, the thief steals them back. Bran is a character you can't help but like. He's such a rascal. :)
'"Hello, dove." He grinned at me. "Look at that: you don't have your pretty knife and I've got your hands. What are you gonna do now?"
I rammed my head into his nose.'
The relationship he has with Kate is both funny and sad, though I think at the end of the book he is her champion.
Probably my favourite section is when Kate has to visit the werehyenas, not only for the stuff we find out, but also because the characters of the hyenas are just so hyena-like. I read that bit and I've got the trio from the Lion King in my head.
In some ways this book is more fantastical, and I wonder how much of that can be attributed to the flare. The number and variety of supernatural creatures on display increases - salamanders, stymphalean birds, giant tortoises - as does the strength of magical activity. It gives you an idea of what Atlanta would be like if it ever tipped completely over into the magical world. (Slightly reminded me of Simon R. Greens Nightside).
We get a lot more hints about Kate's secret. Some whacking big clues. I'm pretty sure I know what it is but it doesn't really annoy me that we still don't know for sure. I like that it's slowly unfolding with events.
The chemistry between Kate and Curran increases. Phew!
Any book that can make you laugh and cry is a keeper. My major gripe is that 2009 is too long to wait for the next in the series.
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Absolutely...amazing!
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I loved this book. I can't really add anymore to the other reviewers except to say, if you haven't started this series then get going NOW. It's one of the best urban fantasies around. It needed to be longer! Kate is skilled,powerful, funny, intelligent, emotional and...she doesn't think she can save the world without any help. She puts her trust in others despite going through hardships in her past. She has fears and insecurities, and at the end of the day she is kick ass but she also wants comfort and love. There is a section in this book where she gives her reasons as to why she won't stand in the way of love...it's truly heartfelt and I just worship her even more for it.
I'm happy with the pace of Kate's relationship with Curran. I absolutely adore sexual tension and hope she doesn't sleep with him for a long, long time. I like their fooling around, Curran is so naughty...that part at the end..hmmm
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Well worth the wait
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Ever since reading the first book in Ilona Andrews series, I've been patiently waiting for Magic Burns to come out. It definitely was well worth waiting for. The story was imaginative and well written,I just couldn't put it down. I love the world that Ilona has created and the fact that magic and technology is in constant flux, leaving the world unpredictable. I disagree with some of the reviews about the romance between Kate and Curran, I think the way it's building between them is just perfect.
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Absolutely fabulous
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Wow! This book is even better than the first, and it's very difficult to top a good first book. Loved it, loved it, loved it.
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Brilliant, leaves others in the shade
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I came across Magic Bites completely by accident as a recommendation from Amazon and loved it, it's one of the few "short" books I've read more than once as it feels much longer than it is. Magic Burns has been on my wish list for as long as it was advertised on here.
What a sequel! Thank goodness it's only part 2, although I am devastated it's going to take a year for the next one to be released. My only wish is that Ilona Andrews would be able to write quicker without compromising the story, but I'm willing to wait if the standard remains this high.
I have a very dry and black sense of humour and some of Kate's lines make me laugh out loud, which is difficult for a book to achieve a lot of the time but her "voice" comes through very clearly in my head, especially when she is thinking about Curran.
I understand why other fans would want the romance between Kate and Curran to come along faster but I think this slow torturous pace is perfect. After all, we have to remember who and what they both are (I think it is becoming clearer who Kate's real father is?) and there are many mountains to climb for it to be remotely realistic. I see the irony of that statement in a review about a fantasy novel, however as Ms Andrews succeeds in making all other areas of this story believable, a mis-step with the romance sub-plot would be awful and turn Kate from a respectable, ball-busting character (like Buffy only harder) who talks a good fight into a swoony, slightly wet M&B type. We had Myong in this book for that!
I am thoroughly impressed with Ilona Andrews and this series and am showing no signs of tiring of it. I have the new Kelley Armstrong to read tonight, she has a lot to live up to now!
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