Coming back from a long-awaited trip to Atlanta (it's been almost two years since I went home!), I settled into the third installment of Ilona Andrew's much loved Kate Daniel's series with more than a little excitement. With the series set in a futuristic Atlanta that has been ravaged by magic, I felt like I was getting to extend my vacation a few more days as Kate described tromping around Buckhead and other notable downtown spots. Also, I've been waiting all summer to snag a copy of this one and the anticipation may have made me a tiny bit antsy. What started off as a pretty good series has now turned into one of my top three current fantasy series, the stories have literally gotten so much better with each book.Kate is back to her usual Order of Knights of Merciful Aid day job after the massive magical flare that rocked the city of Atlanta. She's still trying to figure out how to support Julie - the orphan she adopted in the magical aftermath - and most of all how to avoid His Royal Fussiness or Curran, the Beast Lord. Needless to say, she isn't exactly pleased when the ucky Saiman calls her up to say he's got one of Curran's shifters, Derek, captive in his apartment. Derek makes Kate swear not to tell Curran the reason he's broken into Saiman's apartment - to steal tickets to an extremely illegal, extremely dangerous gladiator-type tournament - which leaves her in a place she does not want to be. But when things with Derek go south in a hurry, Kate throws herself in a deadly struggle to save her friends without revealing her true identity (which she actually finally divulges to the reader! FINALLY).What I think makes me keeping coming back for more in this series is its constant humor. Kate is a smart-mouth and I love her. I guess I just have a thing for girls who can't keep their mouth shut even to the detriment of their health. Sometimes I would completely bust up while reading and just couldn't wait to see what would happen next. This humor element is especially important to me since there is so much darkness that Kate faces. For starters, her whole life has been centered around killing one big, bad guy for goodness sakes. So, Ilona Andrews strikes a nice balance for me. Another reason I love it is becuase of the relationships between the characters: Kate and Curran, Kate and her 'ward' Julie, Kate and Derek, they are all so real and constantly changing, leaving me breathless with anticipation for what will happen next.Does anyone else totally dig the cover? Okay, I know they all have been quite similar: Kate with a sword and Curran as his furry self - but until I saw this book up close and personal and realized that Kate is sporting a set of very colorful bruises along her arms did I think: "Yeah! That's my girl who doesn't know how to stay out of trouble." ( )

In spite of the increased violence of the theme in this one, of the three books I've read so far in this series I think I enjoyed this one the most. Kate has become a much more approachable character and all the characters are becoming more fleshed out. For some reason I even enjoyed the setting more with its magic wrecked skyscrapers and ley line transportation. It may be that because the characters are now established the author is giving them more free rein and everything is smoother because of it.

As I mentioned before, the base of this story is more violent, especially considering the crux of the plot wrests on to-the-death arena games where all sorts of creatures tend to rip each other to shreds. However, it is Kate's reaction to her friends' dilemmas that really made me enjoy the book. I like the protective type heroes/heroines and Kate's desires to protect Derek, Curran and the others are really a driving force here. Only two things really bugged me. One was Kate's reaction to Saiman, really was his dancing naked in the snow episode from the last book such a very bad thing as to make Kate despise him? The second are her thick-headed ideas about Curran. I can't figure out if she has a shifter prejudice that keeps her from accepting that the guy likes her or what, but her stubbornness in thinking he's just messing with her in the face of everything to the contrary is slightly annoying.

Despite these little annoyances I will certainly say the series as a whole has grown on me, as have the various characters. The author has built a very interesting world here and I hope that she plans to continue on. ( )

The third book in the series reveals who her biological father is, but the foreshadowing has been so explicit that it is no surprise. Lots of fighting in this book - it is about a gladiator-like contest, and so we know that our cast of protagonists are going to end up in the Pit. There is some pretty gory fighting. So far, book #2 is my choice of the three. ( )

Kate's life is running relatively smoothly - she's exhausted, overworked, and missing her last piece of apple pie. But on the whole, things are pretty smoothly: good sign that everything's about to go seriously pear-shaped.

When a werewolf gets seriously dead - as in little pieces strewn all over the road - the weres say hands off, and there's not much Kate can do about it. But when the next were beaten to a bloody pulp is a friend, Kate takes a hand. The trail leads to an underground fight club and a team of preternaturally strong humans. The odds are against her, as always, but Kate's going after answers regardless of the consequences (which may involve cooking naked....).

Not the best place to jump in on the series, and there are a few weak spots, but on the whole a very readable next installment. ( )

I have been a fan of Ilona Andrews' books ever since I was bored in Borders one day, listlessy browsing through the Science Fiction section alphabetically in 2007. I had just finished all of my regular "auto-buy" books, and had nothing interesting to read. None of my "auto-buy" authors had a new book out at that time. Magic Bites (Kate Daniels Book 1) had just come out, and it practically jumped off the shelf into my hand. Something about the cover, along with the name, drew me in. I thought it was going to be about witches. I bought it, took it home and read it in one weekend. I already wanted more. I had to wait. To amuse myself I looked online at her website, and discovered "she" was a "them". Ilona and Gordon Andrews, in fact. When I finally was able to buy Magic Burns, (Kate Daniels, book 2) I finished that book way too fast. I've had Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, book 3) for a while, but this past year has been the year of B.A.D.D. (Book Attention Deficit Disorder?, my totally made up affliction)

Curran (beastlord), Jim (security for beastlord and Kate's sometimes partner), Derek (a young were), Saiman (mysteriously rich shapeshifter), Andrea (fellow Knight of the Order, and in-the-closet beastkin) and Raphael, (were-hyena) all make appearances as important characters in this third Kate Daniels book. All of these characters are great secondary characters, and we learn a little more about each of them in this book.

Derek, Kate's friend is tortured and almost murdered by a team of fighters from the Midnight Games, an event that has been banned for the weres by Curran. The Midnight Games has an interest for Saiman, Derek and now Kate, since Derek has been left for dead. Derek has been tortured so badly that he cannot shift, which would promote his healing. He is essentially in a coma, near death. Jim, the head of security for Curran's clan has gone into hiding from Curran, along with his security team. As well as finding out why, and by whom Derek has been tortured, Kate tries to find the reason for Derek's strange condition, tries to keep out of Curran's way, while aiding Jim and his team, and they all try to solve the mystery of a few of the shapeshifters' deaths (shapeshifters who were also unable to shift during a crucial time).

While all this is going on, Curran continues to pursue Kate, in his beastlord, shapeshifter ways, few of which Kate understands. Kate, on the otherhand continues to fight her growing attraction to Curran, as she feels she would be just another notch for Curran. I'm usually put off by romantic elements in urban fantasy books, but the growing attraction between Kate and Curran is handled with humor and some mystery (especially for Kate) which amuses me.

The interplay between characters was very entertaining, and Kate's inner dialogue was wonderful to read, at times smartass, and at other times blood thirsty. The conversations between characters were also good reads.
Example:
" '.and Cesare's head'
They looked at me.
'Why the head?' Doolittle asked.
' Because it's easy to carry and I can torture it for a long time' And I didn't just say it out loud, did I? I checked their faces. Yep, I did. "

Another example:
" 'His Majesty needs a can-I girl anyway. And I'm not it'
'A can-I girl?' Andrea frowned.
I leaned back. ' "Can I fetch you your food, Your Majesty? Can I tell you how strong and mighty you are, Your Majesty? Can I pick out your fleas, Your Majesty? Can I kiss your ass, Your Majesty? Can I..." '
It dawned on me that Raphael was sitting very still. Frozen, like a statue, his gaze fixed on the point above my head.
' He's standing behind me, isn't he?'
Andrea nodded slowly.
'Technically it should be "may I. " ' Curran said, his voice deeper than I remembered. 'Since you're asking permission."
......'To answer your question, yes, you may kiss my ass. Normally I prefer to maintain my personal space, but you're a Friend of the Pack and your services have proven useful once or twice. I strive to accommodate the wishes of persons friendly to my people. My only question is, would your kissing my ass be obeisance, grooming, or foreplay?' "

For my own taste, this book has it all. Suspense, fights, new myths, new creatures, danger, humor, good conversations, character expansion (for all the characters), and a little sexual tension. A little goes a long way.

The only thing I hate about reading books like Magic Strikes is finishing them, and waiting for the next book in the series. The consolation, looking forward to the next installment, knowing it's going to be a quality read. A couple of my favorite characters in this third book are Raphael, Andrea and Saiman. ( )