Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)

by Ilona Andrews

Renee Raudman (Narrator), RenA (c)e Raudman (Narrator), and Renée Raudman (Narrator)

Ilona Andrews invites you to experience the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series featuring the intriguing fantasy world of mercenary Kate Daniels…

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.
 
Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.
 
The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way...

• ISBN10: 1400160308
• ISBN13: 9781400160303
• Publish Date: 5 January 2009 (first published 1 March 2007)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 1 October 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tantor Media, Inc
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (MP3)
• Duration: 9 hours
• Language: English

Reviews

[nitzan_schwarz]

3.5 stars

2016 Re-Read
Fun as the first time, but I'm still firmly in the opinion the later books are far superior. This one feels slightly abrupt, in a way? Like, suddenly something happens out of the blue, and the villain is not fleshed out and is, again, abrupt.

But don't judge this series based on this book - it gets better and better with every book.

[Angie]

Magic Bites is a book that I've wanted to read for a long time, but just never got to it until now. And now, I'm sadly disappointed. It jumps straight into the action, which normally isn't a bad thing, but in this case I needed some build up. Kate's guardian has just been murdered and she's dead set on discovering who did it and then killing them. But I don't know Kate. I don't know Greg. And I certainly don't know the nature of their relationship. How am I suppose to care about what happened to him?

I wanted to like Magic Bites, but I just never got into it. Kate is a down on her luck mercenary who takes care of magical problems. She's also not what she seems, even to herself. She's also no wilting flower and won't let anyone get in her way in solving this murder. But like I said, I didn't care. This was an emotional thing for Kate, but I had no attachment to her after five pages. I still didn't feel anything for her by the end either. I was just reading to be reading.

What I did like about Magic Bites, but didn't get enough of was the world building. I love this idea of magic surging and overtaking technology. However, I was quite confused about it for much of the book. All we really get about the situation is that "magic is up, tech is down." I kept imagining magic as a solar flare that just destroyed whatever tech got in its way. I wanted to know more about why it happens and how long its been going on. It's obviously a huge deal, since there's suddenly all kinds of magical beings roaming the earth. I didn't really understand anything until I read the bonus material, which should be supplementary, not the entire explanation.

I'm just disappointed in Magic Bites. I absolutely love the idea of the base of this world, but there's not enough world-building for me to make up for the boring plot. I do want to know more though, so that might be enough for me to at least pick up the second book.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[layawaydragon]

Love Kate. Love this original world building. It's a perfect urban paranormal. I read through the whole series up to date without stopping.

The first time I read this I didn't get why there were so many rave reviews. I mean it seemed pretty average. The world building was cool and Kate seemed alright but a bit standoffish. The romance between Kate and Crest was mediocre - it seemed like she didn't like him at all and it felt forced and awkward. The romance between Curran wasn't any better. It didn't make sense why he followed her home while he was on his date. I liked Derek and Ghastek was creepy. There was lots of snappy, witty dialogue and I had a few laughs - but I was just confused. It was good but it wasn't great.

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.

So do yourself a favour. Keep reading.

3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

[Silvara]

Check out my other reviews, discussions and link ups at Fantasy of the Silver Dragon.

"What kind of a woman greets the Beast Lord with 'here, kitty, kitty'?"



I love how sarcastic and funny Kate is. She knows how she should act around vampires and werewolves, but she doesn't always do so. Especially around the Beast Lord. She makes mistakes and owns up to them. She admits she is lonely, but she is also unafraid to call the men in her life on the stupid things they sometimes do. She has lines she will not cross, and she also has a strong sense of right and wrong. She has a magic sword that actually drools.

I also was amused by the fact she chose to sit on her porch and get drunk at one point. Daring the bad guys to appear by the very fact that she was drunk enough to have slower reflexes.

Curran, the Beast Lord was arrogant, dismissive and violent among other things. Part of it fit because he is THE Beast Lord. All other shapeshifters bow to him, no matter their species. But some of the power plays he did were fairly silly since Kate is not a shifter. He needs to tone it down a notch or three unless the secret is that Kate will end up the Beast Lady at some point? I don't know, I haven't read the synopsis of the other books. But even so. I did like him, and his sparring with Kate was some of the best funny moments in the book.

I didn't guess who the bad guy was. Partly because I was distracted by Kate and Curran. Partly because I wasn't trying to figure it out. The ride to get to the end of the book was too amusing, and the fact Kate was so bad (and supposed to be so bad) at figuring out the mystery helped suspend my curiosity about who was ultimately responsible.

If you like urban fantasy with smart-mouthed characters you need to try this book.

This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon

[Linda]

Very nice introduction to the Kate Daniels series, I enjoyed myself a lot reading this!

[kimbacaffeinate]

The story takes place in Atlanta where magic and technology battle. Here we meet Kate Daniels a sword-wielding human who is more. There is magic in her blood, and until now she has spent most of her life in seclusion, but when her guardian is murdered Kate is determined to seek her revenge.

The world Andrews introduces us to is filled with paranormal creatures from vampires, weres and shifters to strange abominations caused by breeding. A council governs the paranormal world and magic as well as others seeking to gain power. It was simple, yet complex.

The characters are fairly fleshed out, and all have unique voices. Kate is unapologetic, from the clothes she wears to the method she will use to kick your ass. I loved her, and I see so much potential in her for growth. Curran is lord of the beasts, and I am anxious to see how his role plays out because, OMG the man needs a smack. He is controlling, aggressive and oh so arrogant! I got angry at myself, because the big lug wrapped managed to sneak into my heart.

Magic Bites is dark, bloody, and filled with potential. I slipped right into the story and connected with Kate and many of the characters. The villains were creep-tastic notching up the tension. We witnessed necromancy and carnage with some kick-ass scenes as Kate investigated her guardian’s death.. I love raising the dead. The plot had great balance with intense action scenes, quite moments and a dash of humor.

The narration by Renee Raudman was good. She gave the characters clear voices, and I was easily able to follow along.This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[littleread1]

I read this as part of my Goodreads Book Club's, Edsel's Hair of the Dog, July read. I know this is nowhere near a new release, but it was my first time reading it, so here you go. I liked it. I didn't love it, but I liked it. I have heard several people say the same things about this book, but that the rest of the series gets better. This wasn't my first glimpse into this world. I have read a short story about the world. I can't remember what it was called, or where, or even if the characters in it included Kate (though I don't think they do because of what happens) but it helped ease me into the world. Which could be really confusing. Magic flows through in waves. When magic is "up" all things technological don't work. But when tech is "up" most things magic don't work. Vampires are ravenous creatures that, if not piloted (controlled by a necromancer), then they would just eat until they were stopped. The People (not the general public) control the vampires and run casinos for income.

Were-creatures have their own Pack, including a pack leader named Curran, who apparently becomes the love interest at some later book. Definitely not in this one. He is a cocky bastard. Kate, the MC knows it, and instantly dislikes him. Well, she fears him, with good reason, and masks her fear with dislike, and snarky comments.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty."

"Would you please deliver a saucer of milk to him with my compliments?"

I suppose I should explain that Curran is a were-lion. Which is no surprise if you look at the cover of the book. I actually laughed aloud at that second line. Kate is on a date with another man, and sees Curran in the restaurant watching her. That is her response. David looked at me like I was on something and shook his head. Whatever, any book that can make me laugh our loud is good.

While I liked the story, I felt there were too many unanswered questions. Too many things left unexplained. I hate books that have an info dump in book one, and barely squeak out a story, but this one did the opposite. I didn't feel there was enough info. The story flowed well, but kept referencing things it appeared I should already know. Kate herself kept alluding to things in her past, her magic, the world, that I am still confused on.

Because of the lack of info, and the fact that the story kept me thoroughly interested, I would have to give this 3.5 stars. Good, but not great. Will I read the rest of the series? How could I not with all the talk about how Kate and Curran are one of the greatest book couples in rceent history? Will they trump Terrible and Chess from Downside Ghosts? In my mind, doubtful, but I am willing to give them a shot. :-)

[elysium]

3.5 stars

Kate works as a mercenary instead of working for the Order. When her guardian is killed she finds herself working on their behalf for finding the killer. And she must work with shapechangers and vampires to do so, and with the Beast Lord.

I liked the book and I thought it was great one to start a new serie. There’s magic, shifters and vampires so what’s not to like? I would have liked to learn more about the world and how everything came to pass, like how the magic came back and shifters and vampires too.

I liked Kate who knew how to stand up to herself and was no damsel in distress. She’s not afraid of Curran the Beast Lord of the city, and I’m not sure if she should be. You can see there’s something between them but there’s no romance yet but I hope there will be! We don’t really learn much about Curran yet but I’m sure he’ll be more in the next books.

It was good first book, maybe not the best, but I’ve heard those get better. Can’t wait to read more!

[Amanda]

Joint review with Kelly

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2012/04/09/joint-review-with-soulswallo-magic-bites-by-ilona-andrews/

Kelly: This is a series that had been on my radar for a while.

Amanda: Mine, too! Though I can’t exactly remember why it’s been on my radar. Just one of those series that everyone loves and I should read, too.

Kelly: I kept hearing about Curran’s awesomeness and it was recommended by several people whose opinions I trust. So, I went into this book with some fairly high expectations.

Amanda: I really had no expectations. I didn’t even read the synopsis before diving in. I like to do this with heavily recommended books in case it doesn’t live up to the hype.

Kelly: I’m glad to say that I wasn’t disappointed. Kate’s world is dark and gritty and when things start happening they START HAPPENING. I really, really liked the idea behind the magical and technological blackouts. At this point I don’t know why these blackouts happen but the picture I have of two opposing forces pushing against one another gives me the shivers. Honestly, there’s so much room for wacky shenanigans that I’m itching to get my hands on the next few books.

Amanda: I think I’ve pretty much established that I’m an information whore, so while I agree that I liked the idea of magical and tech blackouts, I wanted to know why they happen. It was a source of frustration for me, and one of the reasons I didn’t rate the book higher. I wasn’t quite able to situate myself into the world and I dislike that. But I liked what I read, so I assume that each book will get better.

Kelly: One of the biggest things I’m curious about is Kate and her magical mystery past. Why is her blood so powerful? Who is her father? She has all these secrets and I want some answers.

Amanda: I think I know who her father is. Unless the answer is too easy. But her blood is so powerful because of who her father is no matter who he is. But yes! I want to know more about Kate’s past. She’s very interesting, and we really only get a hint of who she is in t his book.

Kelly: And then there’s Curran.

Amanda: Rawr.

Kelly: The Beast Lord (Not to be confused with the Lion King- which I kept calling him in my head). I know he plays a big part in later books (or at least a part. I’m really just assuming it’s big. Oh, *snicker*, I made a size joke.) and I want to see how Kate integrates herself into his world.

Amanda: Or, how Curran integrates himself into Kate’s world.

Kelly: Plenty of fun (and sexy) characters, creepy bad guys who are uber-creepy, and a world with oodles of potential. Yep, this book pushed all my buttons. In a good way.

Amanda: Yes! I think this is another winner series. I instantly wanted to pick up the next book in the series. Everything I read leads me to believe that the series will continue to get better.