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 Quirky Cat on

5 of 5 stars

Share

I have been an Ilona Andrews fangirl from the moment I picked up Magic Bites. Despite this, I have never written a review for most of the series. While I cannot recapture my original thoughts on this series, I can write down how I currently feel about it.

Magic Burns is the second novel in the Kate Daniels series. In other words, the world and the characters have been established, so now it's time to start really pushing things! It's time to meet secondary characters and face new challenges.

Magic and technology tend to ebb and flow in this world. Unfortunately, we're heading into a larger wave of magic known as a flare. These don't come as often, which is good, given the sheer amount of chaos they bring.

Kate has been tasked with tracking down the Pack's stolen maps. Coincidentally, this assignment works well with the mission she's currently working on. Who would have thought? Unfortunately, these events crossing paths just makes the work more complicated – and dangerous – for Kate.

I fell in love with Kate Daniels' world during Magic Bites. During Magic Burns, I became addicted to it. I love this world, the characters, the magical system, everything. This novel made me want to learn everything about everything, you know?

Magic Burns carries the story forward, all while introducing new characters and plots (including the romantic subplot!). It's perfect. I feel like this is the novel that made all the danger and stakes feel real. But that might just be a recency bias.

Highlights:
Urban Fantasy Series
Expansive Worldbuilding
Sarcastic Characters/Heroine
Kick Ass Heroine
Shapeshifters/Vampires/Gods

Graphic Audio Review

Magic Burns is the second novel in Kate Daniels' world. As it also happens to be my favorite urban fantasy series (of all time), of course, I'm going to check out the Graphic Audio version. I believe, as of when I'm writing this review, Graphic Audio is still working its way through the series, but I'm excited to hear all the different voices.

I said it in my review of Magic Bites, but the Graphic Audio version of Magic Burns is EVERYTHING. No, really, it's perfect. I love the voices they've cast for Kate and Curran. Anything else is bonus points, as far as I'm concerned. Oh! And Bran! His voice was a bit of a surprise – but also so SO perfect.

Magic Burns included one of the Curran POV stories set during this time. I'm pretty sure there's at least one more (unless that was a fever dream), so the greedy part of me wishes that it had been included as well. Still, I probably don't have any right to complain, as what I got was pretty awesome.

You Can Also Find Me On:
Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks | Quirky Cat's Comics | The Book Review Crew | Monkeys Fighting Robots | Storygraph | Bookhype | Bookstagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Reedsy

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 10 December, 2015: Finished reading
  • 19 February, 2024: Reviewed