Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, #2)

by Ilona Andrews

Mercenary Kate Daniels tries to save her city from divine intervention in this novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series.

As a mercenary who cleans up after magic gone wrong, Kate Daniels has seen her share of occupational hazards. Normally, waves of paranormal energy ebb and flow across Atlanta like a tide. But once every seven years, a flare comes, a time when magic runs rampant. Now Kate’s going to have to deal with problems on a much bigger scale: a divine one.

When Kate sets out to retrieve a set of stolen maps for the Pack—Atlanta’s paramilitary clan of shape shifters—she quickly realizes much more is at stake. During a flare, gods and goddesses can manifest and battle for power. The stolen maps are only the opening gambit in an epic tug of war between two gods hoping for rebirth, and if Kate can’t stop the cataclysmic showdown, Atlanta may not survive...

Reviewed by Silvara on

4 of 5 stars

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

“You don't cause problems. You cause catastrophes.”


I really do love snarky characters. Kate has a lot of really funny lines in this book, and I like that a bit of mythology was also included. The book was fast paced, without it being so fast that you miss anything important, or feel like it needed to slow down.

I liked Curran a lot better in this book than in the first one. There were quite a few scenes with him and Kate trading snark, and flirting to embarrass her. I also like how it seems to be a slow build romance (if in fact, it's supposed to end up with them together?)

We got to learn a bit more about the city, and how magic works in the world. The way the various plots weaved through the story was well done, and the character who was only in things for themselves got what they deserved at the end.

I loved Derek and Julie, I hope we get to see more of both of them in the next books. I'm guessing at least Derek will be around since he helped Kate out in the first book. I wasn't sure how I'd like the series, since the first book didn't grab me as much as I expected it to (though I still liked it!) But this one was better and sucked me right in. I'll be picking up the next one, and if you haven't read this yet you need to!

This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 September, 2016: Finished reading
  • 20 September, 2016: Reviewed