Characters die, power shifts, a new path is forged

*** Review may contain spoilers for previous installments in the series. ***

Whenever I finish a truly amazing book I’m often tempted to write a one sentence review because words fail me, and the only thing that potential readers really need to know is READ THIS. And, never has that urge been as strong as in the case of MAGIC BREAKS. This novel wraps up one of the greatest Urban Fantasy story arcs that has ever been penned, and that’s not even the best part, because even though KATE DANIELS’ lifelong journey has reached its culmination, the best is still to come. In this installment, characters die, power shifts, and a new path is forged—epic is the only term that comes to mind, and even then, it still falls short.

It was a good thing that MAGIC BREAKS came with a disclaimer because otherwise I think this novel would have caused mass panic among readers (me included). I loved the character recap; it really helped to set the stage for this story, and ensured that everyone was on the same page regardless of whether you re-read all of the installments prior to this one, or haven’t visited Andrews’ universe since last July when MAGIC RISES hit shelves. Hugh d’Ambray demonstrates why he earned the title of Roland’s Warlord when he sets his ingenious scheme in motion to cause an all-out war between the Pack and the People. Kate’s got some pretty big shoes to fill with Curran away on business, and although I did find myself missing the Beast Lord, the wait was worth it when he finally made his spectacular entrance.

Pretty much all of this series’ characters came out to play which was awesome, and fitting seeing how everything comes to a head in this book. Kate and Curran’s interactions were perfect, and I loved learning more about Ghastek. And, even though the action was at the forefront of this story, there’s still a good dose of romance, and—believe it or not—cuteness thanks to Cuddles, the mammoth donkey, and an adorable bunnycat. A long time character dies, however I think that I was actually more upset over what happened to Slayer, but again it was all part of the Andrews’ master plan. The authors did a fabulous job of tying up loose ends while still continuing to add new mythology and world-building to the mix. Roland was positively magnificent, and I was thrilled that his and Kate’s first meeting exceeded my sky high expectations after a grueling six installment long build-up.

I’ve been hooked on Renée Raudman’s narration of this series since the very beginning, but never have I hung on her every word quite like I did while listening to this audiobook. Towards the end, I think that I actually forgot to breathe a time or two. The conclusion was jaw droppingly wonderful, and her suspenseful delivery made time stand still. I loved everything about her performance, from Curran’s raspy baritone, to Kate’s sarcastic wit, and Julie’s bonus short story at the end was the cherry on top.

Never has a series been more about the journey than the actual destination, and the evolution that Ilona & Gordon’s characters have undergone is staggering. Urban Fantasy doesn’t get any better than MAGIC BREAKS—READ THIS.

35 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

I LOVED IT!!!

This is a great addition to the collection. I was scared for a moment about half way through the book because I thought that this was the end. But take a deep breath, stay calm, hope is alive! lol We have more additions coming up :). Or at least it’s not the end. There is no need to go into details (mainly because everyone else has already done that) this is just a wonderful story and I look forward to each and every addition. I love Kate and I love Curran. I spend all year wishing for the months to past, waiting for the new book to come out, listen to it in one to two settings and then (sigh!) starting the wait back over again. It is a fantastic world that I love visiting.

Thank you llona Andrews for sharing your world with us.
Renee Raudman thank you for making that world come alive.
The combination of IA's writing and RR's narrating is a magical experience!

15 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Witty and Awesome.

The first 45 minutes is just a list of the characters and a recap of events from the other books. So if you have been reading this series at all you won't need to read it if you don't want to.

This series need to be a TV series. I think Jessica Alba would make a perfect Kate Daniels. There is a lot that happens in this book. This series is full of great characters, action, adventure, romance and a touch of crazy. Thank God there will be at least 3 more books to come. I miss Marigold the mule and am glad we have another the crazy donkey Cuddles to entertain us. Narrator does such a great job she is now Kate Daniels in my eyes.

Magic Test is a short bonus story at the end that is all about Julie starting a new school. 1 hr 15 mins.

4 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Urban Fantasy with action

Magic Breaks is book 7 in the Kate Daniels series and this book is worth your credit. You need to start at the beginning, but if you like urban fantasy, I think you will enjoy this series.

My first exposure to the husband and wife team that uses the pseudonym Illona Andrews came when I listened to a collection of short stories. I am a huge Harry Dresden fan and the collection contained one of Jim Butchers works. In that collection I stumbled into another short story that I really enjoyed. The story was by the author Illona Andrews and I liked it so much that I wanted to read more. The story contained magical creatures from fairly tails, combined with some great action. So I went to the library and found Magic Bites and I have been hooked since.

Kate Daniels is a sarcastic, kick ass heroine set in a world where magic returns in waves. The series is an outstanding collection of urban fantasies, well narrated and with lots of action and great supporting characters that you will come to call friends. This series is more than the common romance urban fantasy. In Magic Breaks much will come to a head for Kate and pack, but not to an end. The narration even contains bonus short story about Julie at the end. Fans must now wait impatiently for the next book.

3 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Oh, so good!

I was so happy to see the latest edition to the Kate Daniels world has arrived! This is my all-time favorite series! If you've been following Kate and the pack, you will have to get this book, you know you will - and you will not be disappointed! If you're stumbling upon this book looking for a great series, you've found it.. just go back to book one and set aside a week of straight listening! I usually listen to each new book twice, once to eagerly hear whats happening next and the second time around to absorb all the details and put the pieces together. And the narrator? Oh, she is sooo good! LOVE LOVE LOVE this book - it stacks up with the rest!

3 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Freaky and fantastic!

What did you love best about Magic Breaks?

This is one of the best series I have ever had the pleasure of losing myself in.  Ilona and Gordon have me in the palm of their hands.  Kate and Curran are a dynamic couple. I found myself laughing and on pins and needles.  I have the ebook and audio series. I have replayed it and reread it during the month of July and August.  The shapeshifters and vampires in this series have so many characteristics that you may find in other author’s series but have been developed to a new intricate level.  I have so many favorite “scenes”.  I love the witty banter.  I can’t wait to finish work or whatever I am doing so I can get back to the books.  So glad there are more to come.  Talk about Daddy/Mommy issues ha!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Magic Breaks?

When Kate and Curran go to the swan palace.

Have you listened to any of Renée Raudman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No but I have fallen in love with her ability to distinguish all the characters in the series. Awesome!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Epic tale of magic, shapeshifters, love and betrayal! Nocturnal terror between magic and tech that will make you pray it never comes to pass!

Any additional comments?

Wow- awesome, awe-inspiring, intimidating, mind blowing, stupefying story line. more more more!

3 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

BEST ONE YET!!!

If you could sum up Magic Breaks in three words, what would they be?

Outstanding. Exhilarating. FUN!!!!!!!

What did you like best about this story?

I really don't want to give anything away so this is what I will say. This is the book when Kate is revealed about who she is. I have been waiting for the big reveal and it was so WORTH the wait.

What about Renée Raudman’s performance did you like?

I love Renee Raudman. She always makes me feel what the character is feeling. Her voices for Curren and the other characters come off PERFECT.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did listen to this in one sitting and I have that buzzing in my wats because my headphones have been attached to my head for 16 1/2 hours.

Any additional comments?

Ilona Andrews has once again delivered us a perfect story.
Renee Raudman is a perfect Kate Daniels. :-)

3 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Daddy is here

As always another wonderful installment of the Kate Daniels series. The characters've stayed true to themselves and shown growth, and the storyline continues to move steadily. The expected big confrontation happens but it wasn't quite what I expected as to how it will unfold, nevertheless knowing it's not over yet makes me extremely happy and salivating for more.

I love the people surrounding Kate and they show up in this book, unfortunately not as much as I like. So I especially enjoyed "the Derek and Ascanio show" at the beginning. On the other side, people who've never quite had their 15min of fame gets stand center stage and reveal themselves more. I really liked that. We also finally get to meet the Daddy who is as creepy and strong as we expected. All through the book Curran shows what he is made of and made me fall in love with him more along with Kate!

Will be another enjoyable and fun read for the fan of the books!


Oh! I also appreciated the addition at the beginning the small character introductions and very short background story up until now. It helps for those of us who have to read the series over again when reading a new book and now we have so many!

3 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Nice ending, but the middle got annoying

Ok, I wanted to like the book. I REALLY wanted to like this book. All the previous books in the series were amongst my favorite. The character Kate Daniels was FUN to read/listen. Remember when she was fighting in the Arena in one of the previous books, where she first came to the attention of Hugh, and an older cocky competitor asks her what she meant about remembering what is was like to fight in arena? Because she was too young to fight in the last gladiator arenas, and she tells him how her father made her fight in some other arena years ago...then the guy realizes that the 13 year old girl he saw fight years ago is the same person standing right before him...and he darn near poops his pants right there and runs off to figure out how the heck he and his team were going to survive this?...That was the *fun* Kate Daniels...this Kate Daniels spend FAAAAARRR to much time wondering where Kern is..."Ohh, where is Kern?...I LOVE Kern.....Kern will save me....Oh My gosh, I sooo want to have Kern's babies." It was annoying!! I kept hoping that Kick-butt Kate would return, and she does at the very end of the book. But for the first 75-85% we get whiny Kate. I get what Illona is trying to do, she is trying to convey the emotional growth that is transforming Kate from a loner killer into a family women. But I am afraid I don't buy it. While all character need to grow and evolve in a a series this long, I just felt that Kate's growth would have been more "I want to be married, so I am going to kill everyone who tries to prevent it", and then actually killing them. I this novel, Kern and the other weres are the big bad and Kate seems to be always waiting for Kern to show up and take care of the problem. Yes, she leads them, but it is the weres doing the vast majority of the work while she pines for Kern.

I have to point out, that the real problem may have been in the narrator's interpretation. It seemed to me that when a line could be read two ways, for example "where is Kern". The narrator opted for a more simpering quiet "Where is Kern" instead of a shouting angry "WHERE IS KERN!!!" . I may have to try reading the novel to see if Angry Kate was there all along.

All this....and I have to admit I still liked the book overall. I like this series. The writing is still mostly superb, and the characters are very well conceived and fully fleshed. I like these characters and I wanted to see how this story arc finished, and I liked how it ended. There will supposedly be three more novels in the World of Kate Daniels, and the ending sets up what may be a very fun and exciting story arc. While this is the weakest novel in the series (in my opinion) overall this is still a good book/listen.

5 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Great addition to the series! <3 Kate & Curran! :D

4.5-5 stars

This was a great addition to the series. I love Kate and Curran and I was really happy to see how things turned out at the end of the story. There is a certain amount of conclusion in some parts of the series storyline but the way it happened opened doors for further Kate and Curran adventures in the future and I can't wait to see what comes next.

I don't want to get too detailed but you know the first part of the story from the book description, a master of the dead is killed and Kate and the shifters have to find the killer (who was a shifter) before noon the next day or risk war between "the People" and the Pack. There are a few more difficulties tied in to this, one of which is Hugh (Roland's warlord) showing up in Atlanta and is the instigator of Kate's issues. Another difficulties is that Curran is out of town when Hugh shows up and the deadline is given so Kate and her allies have to find the truth (and prepare for a war) on their own. They manage to find the killer but there's still some strategic thinking needed to avert the war. Kate and company mange to pull things out just as Curran and more backup show. Unfortunately, Hugh doesn't like being thwarted and kidnaps Kate (and Ghastech by accident), teleporting her to a magical prison she can't escape and trying to tempt her to his side. Kate wont accept of course and so things get a bit sketchy for a while. Curran and company come to the rescue but they get propelled in to a series of events that ends up bringing Kate to a meeting she's both dreaded and looked forward to most of her life. Kate, Curran and their crew end up going through the wringer but they do come out on the other side. Things are left with Kate and Curran (and their crew) ending the story safe and in a good place. As I noted above, the way the story ended left plenty of places for the series to go and there seem to be some interesting times in store for Kate and Curran.

I totally enjoyed this story. I guess if I had one complaint it would be that Curran wasn't in it for most of the first half of the story but the story was pretty long so there was still a decent amount of Curran time. The story was fast paced and interesting until the end...I only stopped reading to sleep and even then I dreamed about the story. I'd recommend this story for fans of the series. If you haven't read the series yet, I'd highly recommend it but suggest starting with book #1 Magic Bites. 2 thumbs up. :D

2 les gens ont trouvé cela utile