Rowena
Written on Apr 8, 2020
The #1 New York Times Bestseller!
Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost...
Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.
Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap...
- ISBN10 1937007588
- ISBN13 9781937007584
- Publish Date 30 July 2013
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint Ace Books
- Format Paperback (US Mass Market)
- Pages 368
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781937007584
Reviews
booksandcats
Written on Jan 17, 2020
On one hand: I love it. It's gripping and interesting and I wasn't able to put it down. I loved the new Characters, loved how Hugh was written, how I, as a reader, hated him, wanted Kate to beat him up and was at the same time quite intrigued by him. He has a lot of Potential as a kind of Anti-Hero. I loved the interactions he and Kate had, but I have to say I would never want them to be together as I've seen quite a few other reviewers ask for. He is interesting and he certainly challenges her, but let's face him. At this point his is an Ass, racist (don't know if that is the correct term here) against Shapeshifters, condescending and he is pretty much responsible for Aunt B's death .
On the other hand... there was so much emotional drama and it was just soooo much! I mean, I get it. I get why Curran did it and how it was set up and I actually think it was done well and resolved in a good manner. But damn... I feel like we get all the emotional drama that was so nicely kept out of the last five books pushed into this one. Oh, also I hate how Kate didn't have a final ending confrontation with the bitch (I forgot her name already lol). I get that you couldn't really do that because Kate would rip her apart in seconds but that short interaction at the final dinner was really not enough for my taste. She deserves more.
So... yeah. Still not sure. I love it, I still love the writing pair of Ilona Andrews, I love this story, but it was just so much emotional drama. I guess I am more ok with the Drama because it's not just Drama that comes from a misunderstanding and them not talking it out, but a serious set up and reasoning behind it. For me this is 3.5 stars, which is not bad but since this series was pretty much a solid 5 stars until this, it's a bit a let down. And I don't know why because I honestly loved the book and the story...
funstm
Written on Jul 1, 2019
Yeah - read the rest of the series. It gets SO MUCH BETTER. Kate stops being standoffish and starts letting people in. Derek becomes a total badass. Ghastek - well he's still pretty creepy. But also funny and kind and sweet when he wants to be. And Curran - I love him now. He is an absolute ass in this first book. But I forgot. He becomes everything you want in a love interest. There's a ton of new loveable characters; Julie, Andrea, Aunt Bea, Raphael, Barbaras. Some new evil ones; Hugh, Roland. So much action and adventure and intensity and laughs.
So do yourself a favour. Keep reading.
This one made me uneasy and anxious to read. Curran and Kate's lack of communication just irritated me and the whole thing with Lorelai made me angry. They were playing into Hugh's hands and it just vexed me. I was glad when this one was over.
Mercy
Written on Sep 27, 2018
However, I loved the change of setting and to learn about the shapeshifter politics. It was so good to read. Also, forever amused at the shapeshifters being number one gossipers. xD
New characters additions such as Desandra (she's a new favourite for sure) were one of many highlights, gotta mention that scene with the boudas being scandalized with her sex talk. xDDD And I know I'm rambling and this isn't making much sense but my point is you need to read this series because it's getting better and better.
P.D. Hugh can go fuck himself.
Chelsea
Written on Oct 14, 2017
EBookObsessed
Written on May 8, 2016
For the children of shifters, the chance of going Loup before they hit puberty is a read danger. When Julie’s friends, twins Maddie and Margo start to show symptoms of Loup, Curran manages to get his hand on one dose of panacea, a special drug which helps the shifters fight Loup and gives the children a chance of survival.
The European shifters are the only ones who have the formula for panacea and they aren’t willing to share their secret, no matter how much Curran is willing to pay. They are also not generous in selling their supply. So imagine how skeptical Curran and Kate are when they are asked to come to Greece to protect a pregnant shifter. She is pregnant with a fraternal twins, one from her current husband and one from her prior husband. The first born child will be given ownership of a valuable pass through the mountains. The woman needs to be protected from the packs of both fathers as well as her own father, who has decided he would rather kill her then left the pass go. For his service, Curran will be paid with 10 barrels of panacea.
Curran and Kate know they are being baited into a trap, but who and why one is being set is the question. With the possibility of 10 barrels of the precious panacea as the bounty, they can’t refuse. Especially when suddenly all the packs seem to know about the deal being made. The pressure is on Curran to get that panacea and he won’t go without Kate at his side.
Kate no longer questions who set the trap when she comes face to face with Hugh d’Ambray, her father Roland’s warlord, who is central to this fiasco. Hugh knows who Kate is, and especially who her father is, and he wants to spend some time with Kate. Kate isn’t sure what his game plan is, but she needs to play along with Hugh until the birth of the babies so the pack gets its reward.
No one said the job was going to be easy and the packs are making a big mistake thinking that they can succeed going through Kate, the weak human consort. As a trained bodyguard, Kate might spend a lot of time bleeding but she’s is also taking out anyone who tries to get through her to the body she is protecting.
THOUGHTS:
Another exciting Kate Daniels story. What I like the most in this story is the fact that the shifters are starting to accept Kate as one of their own and they rally to protect her more than they have in the past stories. We know that Derek and Andrea with do anything to protect her. The fact that she walks into this set up at their side, willing to risk her life for the panacea for the shifter children, makes her one of them in the eyes of the other pack members.
I do give a big thumbs down to Curran in this story. Curran asked Kate if she would accompany him on this trip. He said he needed her with him. While Kate is risking her life for the pack, Curran is “protecting” Kate by allowing the European packs to believe she isn’t that important to him. Another shifter wants Curran has her mate, and is all over Curran. He allows her to believe she is winning his attention to keep her from harming Kate. But we know from reading the prior books, that shifters are all about strength and allowing this woman to get too close undermines Kate’s authority in the pack and the European packs who see her as soon being replaced. Kate kills off several questionable creatures which are sent to kill her and her charge, so do you think that she wouldn’t be able to fend off one female shifter with an agenda? He handled this badly and on top of that, he doesn’t mention it to Kate because Kate is a bad liar/actress so she really had to look upset. All the Atlanta shifters keep saying, “I’m sure Curran has a plan” every time Curran allowed the other woman to get too close. He was a dumbass in this story and his whole plan is for nothing when he loses his mind when Kate goes missing.
Hugh uses Curran’s dismissal of Kate to his own advantage trying to get Kate to toss away Curran for him, but the question is whether he wants to join with Kate in an uprising against Roland or does he want to present Kate to her father with a bow.
As always, besides spending most of her time bleeding, Kate is always standing up for those weaker, that can’t fight for themselves, even if it means risking herself.
These are such great characters and I enjoy them more and more as I get to know them better. This is a definite must read Urban Fantasy series.
See more at EBookObsessed.com
celinenyx
Written on Mar 26, 2016
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Dec 23, 2014
First Date: Teens in the pack often have difficulty with change and end up going rapid. It is heartbreaking and no lie I was crying right along with Kate and the mothers. An opportunity to act as arbitrators for a European pack in exchange for a miracle drug has Kate and Curran traveling the high seas. Selecting who will go was serious but also hilarious and I loved all the political maneuvering.
“I tried to picture a female version of Jim and got Jim in a dress instead. The image was disturbing.”
Second Date: We have not even debarked and some little hottie Mc-shifter has set her sights on Curran. Oh but lordy this is going to be fun and dangerous. Kate internal commentary is hilarious let us just hope she keeps her cool. Court politics, death threats, group hunts and a strange beast is going to make things interesting. Hugh D’Ambray is present and his verbal exchanges with Kate were a dance of hate, respect and connection.
"Outside the windows the day was bright: golden sunshine, blue sky, pleasant wind...I wanted to punch the happy day in the face, grab it by the hair, and beat it until it told me what the hell it was so happy about.”
Third date: Miscommunication, Angst and Heartbreak abound. With all that is happening and trying to fulfill their duties, poor Kate is beginning to doubt everything about her relationship with Curran. It is killing me, well not really. I am annoyed at the lummox and the angst. I personally would have killed the little minx and chewed her to bits. Were-beasts of every type imaginable and not imaginable make it on stage and we see battles, damage and even death. This last date was heinous and had me standing still while cleaning to take it all in. Lords above and below something Doolittle does nearly broke my heart. The book ended and then Andrews gave us a deleted scene addressing something that happens during the actual story that was not fully addressed. I was delighted and appreciative.
Bought it. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Linda
Written on Oct 1, 2014
littleread1
Written on Aug 28, 2014