Magic Strikes

Magic Strikes, by Illona Andrews, is one of those books that I feel like I've been waiting months, no years to read.  The author has a website where she posts snippets of her stories, including pieces from the upcoming books.  I get such a charge out of reading those snippets and I tear through them, only to leave me salivating for more.

Well, more finally arrived (thank you FedEX for sucking so very, very much!  You will face my wrath!) and I tore through Magic Strikes in a night.  (And again over the next couple of days.)  Really, it was everything I wanted and it left me wanting so much more.

Drafted into working for the Order of Merciful Aid, mercenary Kate Daniels has more paranormal problems than she knows what to do with these days. And in Atlanta, where magic comes and goes like the tide, that's saying a lot.

But when Kate's werewolf friend Derek is discovered nearly dead, she must confront her greatest challenge yet. As her investigation leads her to the Midnight Games - an invitation only, no holds barred, ultimate preternatural fighting tournament - she and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, uncover a dark plot that may forever alter the face of Atlanta's shapeshifting community...

Not only did we get more of Kate's life as a child (growing up with Voron, the training she underwent as a child, even her "bedtime" story), but we got more of Julie, Andrea, Saiman, and Derek in this novel, which helps to round the plot out so it's not all about Kate.  (Not that I would mind that, but have other characters to follow is fun.)  We also get more of the Kate/Curran drama, in which Curran shows/tells/demonstrates just how confident he is in their inevitable togetherness, while Kate shows/tells/demonstrates just how confident she is in it never happening. (Hee.)  

Although I very much liked the relationship aspects of this book, I think the biggest draw for me was learning more about Kate's past.  I love reading about her life growing up with Voron, as well as the additional tidbits about her biological father.  In the first two books, Kate was very much trying to keep a low profile, but in Magic Strikes, the low-profile life is over.  Kate's making her presence known in all sorts of ways, despite knowing what it will cost her.

I can't wait for Book Four.

Oh, Illona and Gordon recently did an interview with their publisher, which can be found here.