Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Jul 20, 2010 Beanbag Love rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Well, another new addiction. I've already ordered the second installment used from Amazon. I didn't want to waste the time it takes to troll the UBS, so I went ahead and swallowed the shipping. It's worth it.

Andrews's "Kate Daniels" series takes place in and near Atlanta. It's a little confusing as to the time frame because nothing is as we know it. Magic has erupted and eaten away normal life, but it seems humans and beasts have adapted and make an uneasy go of it.

Kate is a mercenary who hunts ...more

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Apr 02, 2011 Lisa Kay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-me, m-library-sj-audio-oda, m-audible-dot-com, authors-a, m-kindle, bom-nbrc, setting-usa-georgia, its-magic, genre-urban-fantasy, genre-post-apocalyptic-world

I listened to the Magic Bites via a downloadable audio file from my public library. It was narrated by Renée Raudman, who I thought gave an above average reading.

I would strongly suggest anyone interested in this series who, like myself, is not a frequent reader of urban-fantasy, have access to the internet when starting Magic Bites. Here is the link to the vital website: http://kate.ilona-andrews.com/ One can safely navigate the site without running across spoilers. There are many wonderful thi I listened to the Magic Bites via a downloadable audio file from my public library. It was narrated by Renée Raudman, who I thought gave an above average reading.

I would strongly suggest anyone interested in this series who, like myself, is not a frequent reader of urban-fantasy, have access to the internet when starting Magic Bites. Here is the link to the vital website: http://kate.ilona-andrews.com/ One can safely navigate the site without running across spoilers. There are many wonderful things on there that helped me understand the interesting world Ms. Andrews and her husband created. You can read more about the different factions: The Order of Merciful Aid (of which, our heroine, Kate Daniels, is an agent), The Pack, The Neo Cult, The Mercenary Guild (Kate is a member), The Covens, and The People.

In all honesty, I was a little confused at the beginning; however, I do not usually read this genre. I actually thought I had somehow jumped to the middle of the book. After two chapters, I started the book over again and I'm glad I did. I totally enjoyed Andrews’ post-apocalyptic Atlanta and, of course, Kate, who is imperfectly perfect as written.

Basically, our old world changed into this new world due to the overuse of technology and therefore Magic pushed back. The first thing I would have appreciated understanding is that vampires are essentially mindless zombies who are operated by necronavigators. The second thing is what exactly “flare” entails. The website posted this:

Flare is a magic tsunami, a wave of terrible magnitude. It starts as a series of shallow magic fluctuations. During those short waves, the magic never completely falls, coming back stronger and stronger until it finally drowns the world in an enormous surge. Weird things happen during the flare. The magic lasts for three days straight and some really nasty critters come out of the woodwork. The upside to this whole mess is that after the flare, the magic takes a while to return. Weeks if not months.

Ahhhh. So that explains why things are so strange. The world we, the reader, are experiencing is constantly in flux.

This book is fun, horrific, and violent. And a good read – or listen.

My favorite line is when Kate first meets Curran. She calls out: “Here kitty, kitty, kitty!”

P. S. Also at the website is a collection of scenes written by Gordon Andrews as a companion to our Kate Daniels series; they are from the POV of Curran, the Beast Lord of Atlanta, the ruler of the South-East Pack of shapeshifters. Pretty cool. Always nice, when a book is written in the first person female POV, to see what the male was thinking.
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May 12, 2011 Jess the Romanceaholic rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-read, vampires, magick, werewolves-or-other-shape-shifters, favorite-heroes, favorite-heroines, urban-fantasy, needs-review, major-illness-or-injury, no-smexin

I really liked it, but then again, I had kinda sorta already read books 3-5, so I had a bit of an advantage going into this one. I can honestly say I see why so many people told me to start with Book 3, though, because I think I would have been a wee bit lost had I not already had a firm understanding of the universe this was set in. The character development was a bit overshadowed in my opinion by all of the action (though I loved the action!), and of course, being an early entry into an UF nov ...more

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Jul 08, 2010 is mee... kissa rated it liked it · review of another edition

even though this book has gotten pretty good ratings i didn't really expect to like it - but i did.
It started out very slow and confusing for me, but towards the end i did understand the World more. So saying, i guess the world building could have been done better. Of course, that's assuming I'm not the only person who got confused and felt like they just got thrown into a World with no information on it.

so... the beginning bored me a little, the end woke me up to what was happening... what did even though this book has gotten pretty good ratings i didn't really expect to like it - but i did.
It started out very slow and confusing for me, but towards the end i did understand the World more. So saying, i guess the world building could have been done better. Of course, that's assuming I'm not the only person who got confused and felt like they just got thrown into a World with no information on it.

so... the beginning bored me a little, the end woke me up to what was happening... what did i like in between? hmm.. i liked the bad guy... what is wrong with me? i mean me and the dark side? agghh....
i like Jim too... oh and Curren.... hmmm.. and Derek.... why are they all guys? oh well.

*spoiler alert*

the villain was kind of too surreal for me. I mean he freaking ate corpses... which is not so bad for me to comprehend in supernatural novels but THEN we find out that he mates with animals. ANIMALS! what.the.hell? what is that?! i don't think that i have ever come across something like that before. I mean, i don't have a weak stomach or anything, not that the scenes were too gross... except for maybe the examination of the chopped off head bit... but it was just so weird. and i know that sounds odd when you're talking about a supernatural novel but still...

*end of spoiler*

the plot. That was pretty good, not very original but the series of events was unique [i think]

our heroine, Kate, i love. I find that since i'm a smart-ass, i like the smart-asses too. Even though so many people get annoyed at me for it [it's a talent:]. she's impulsive.. yay for spontaneous people! and she's tough... and of course, my favourtite trait in a heroine: she's a smart-ass. She's smart, tough, knows how to wield a sword, and knows magic. All in all.... she's a badass.

i like the chemistry between Curren and Kate. They kind of act like children when they're around each other.. hehe... and i like it when they get into arguments.

oh and by the by.. if you like vampires you'll be happy to know that they are in this novel but they probably aren't what you expect. ...more

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Aug 04, 2010 Peep (Pop! Pop!) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-cravings, really-liked, read-in-2010

I liked this one. I didn't know what to expect but I was surprised at how much I liked it.

Kate is a mercenary (merc) who is trying to find out who killed her guardian, Greg. We go with her on her quest to find the killer and along the way we learn about post-apocalyptic Atlanta. Magic and other beings are pretty much the norm. I didn't really catch how normal "humans" are, but there are some mentioned in the book. I guess Kate is human, but not quite normal.

She was actually likable and funny. Sh ...more

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