Review: Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

Title: Magic Bleeds
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels, Book 4
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 25 May 2010
Source: Bought

Kate Daniels cleans up the paranormal problems no one else wants to deal with-especially if they involve Atlanta's shapeshifting community.

And now there's a new player in town-a foe that may be too much for even Kate and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, to handle. Because this time, Kate will be taking on family.

This series has some of the shortest blurbs I've ever read. After the end of Magic Strikes, I was so eager to start this book. It seemed like finally everything we'd been waiting for between Curran and Kate was going to happen.

And then I sat, alongside Kate, as it all came shattering down. Curran didn't show. Curran didn't take her call. Kate was hurt, and devastated, and then she got mad. I was right there with her.

It's hard to talk about this book without a lot of spoilers. The plot - again - is tightly written and the pacing is spot on. I could hardly catch my breath while I read. Everyone got in on the action here - the Masters of the Dead, the shapeshifters, the Order and the Guild - no one was safe.

And then there's the villain. So utterly perfect, and terrifying. The stakes keeping getting ramped up, and the opponents keep getting more difficult to deal with. Ilona Andrews is doing a superb job of ratcheting up the suspense in the lead up to what we all know has to come eventually for Kate; the thing she's been training her whole life for.

Though I didn't get the payout I wanted at the beginning of Magic Bleeds, I definitely got satisfaction. Watching Kate and Curran circle each other, tease each other, and go through their own mating ritual made me grin, laugh out loud, and so incredibly happy when they finally figured out how to make it work.

The final showdown, I can't even begin to talk about, but it had me on the edge of my seat. Then when it was done, they went and ripped my heart out, stomped on it a couple of times, and handed me back the mushy remains.

Magic Bleeds proves that Ilona Andrews is in top form. These books just get better on re-reads, and I love going back to visit with all of the beloved characters.

Grade: A


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