Magic Stars

Oh gosh was I happy when I discovered there was a Derek and Julie short story out there. I have been a secret-hopeful-one-day Derek/Julie shipper for some time and the little hints of forbidden attraction in here were so cute. They are on the hunt for whomever is behind a terrible murder of a family with children that had been in possession of a magical device, and as it does in most KD books, things go terribly, terribly wrong. It was really great getting to be in Derek's head for a while. He's so private and intense that it's hard to tell what's going on in there, so this was especially cool. I totally hope after/if KD finishes at 10 books, Ilona Andrews will consider continuing writing in the world with some Julie/Derek books later show more down the road once she's an adult. I know, I'm just greedy for more of this universe :). 5/5 stars.

Please excuse typos. Entered on screen reader. show less

Oh
My
God.
Seriously. Why is this a novella!!!

I need more Derek and Julie being awesome. I need to read more about how Derek can wipe the floor with people with Julie as an assist. And now Julie is Kate's Herald?! What the ever loving hell is going on people?

I need more.

"Julie sighed again and glanced at him. This is taking way too long. That was a declaration of murderous intent. We're clear. The big one is yours; I'll take the ginger.
They moved at the same time."

Really great novella that expands on the Pack's rules and now what the rules are that Derek is no longer a member of the Pack. And we get little fun asides like the fact that the police don't use yellow caution tape anymore because of the way magic erodes at it. Who knew?

Also show more we have a reveal about Julia and her interactions with Roland and girl...I am ready to shake you.

This is just classic Ilona Andrews, but it's nice to read a story told from the point of view of Derek. I have a soft spot for Derek and have loved him in all of the Magic books and I for one am cheering on Ilona Andrews bringing him to the forefront of his own series. show less

When I saw that there was a new novella being released in the Kate Daniels Series, it was an absolute given that I would have to read it. I am always ready for more Kate and more Curran. Then I took another look at this book and found out that this one isn't focused on Kate or Curran and instead features Derek and Julie and I got even more excited. As soon as I saw some of my friends on Goodreads posting that it was available to purchase on Amazon, I couldn't click the Buy Now button fast enough. I put everything else aside to read this just as soon as I got the chance and I absolutely loved it.

This novella is a part of the Kate Daniels series and you really do need to read this series in order. I have always liked Derek in this series. show more He is just an awesome character that has been through a lot but always seems to bounce back better than before. I really like just about everything there is to like about Derek and the growth of his character during the series. I have to admit that I am not as big a fan of Julie. I don't actively dislike her but I wouldn't miss her if she were suddenly absent from the series. That is until this novella. This Julie is pretty kick ass and I kind of love her a little now.

I would also say that this is a novella that you will not want to skip if you are a fan of the series. There is a lot of stuff going on in the short piece that will have a huge impact in the overall story. We seriously learn a lot in this one. I am really excited about the things that happen in this novella. Getting to see this world from another perspective was very eye opening as well. Some of the things that I thought that Julie was clueless about were just wrong. Julie is a whole lot smarter than I have ever given her credit for.

Another thing about this novella that is really exciting for me is the fact that it is a part of the Grey Wolf series as well. I can only assume that this means that there will be more stories that feature Derek and I can barely wait. I would highly recommend this one to all fans of the Kate Daniels series. If you have yet to read this series, what is holding you back? Stop what you are doing and find a copy of Magic Bites right now and start reading. It is so worth it. I will continue to read anything written by Ilona Andrews that I can get my hands on.

This review can be found at Carole's Random Life. http://carolesrandomlife.blogspot.com/ show less

Oh
My
God.
Seriously. Why is this a novella!!!

I need more Derek and Julie being awesome. I need to read more about how Derek can wipe the floor with people with Julie as an assist. And now Julie is Kate's Herald?! What the ever loving hell is going on people?

I need more.

"Julie sighed again and glanced at him. This is taking way too long. That was a declaration of murderous intent. We're clear. The big one is yours; I'll take the ginger.
They moved at the same time."

Really great novella that expands on the Pack's rules and now what the rules are that Derek is no longer a member of the Pack. And we get little fun asides like the fact that the police don't use yellow caution tape anymore because of the way magic erodes at it. Who knew?

Also show more we have a reveal about Julia and her interactions with Roland and girl...I am ready to shake you.

This is just classic Ilona Andrews, but it's nice to read a story told from the point of view of Derek. I have a soft spot for Derek and have loved him in all of the Magic books and I for one am cheering on Ilona Andrews bringing him to the forefront of his own series. show less

A generously sized short story at over 60 pages, Magic Stars gives us a lead in the mind of Derek as he partners with Julie on a seek-and-revenge job while Kate and Curran are out of town. They go from one violent exploration to the next, with some downtime talking in between them.

If you're a fan of the series, this short story is important reading because it reveals some stuff about Julie in the background that is important to the overall story (Roland, her relationship with Kate). I already knew all that was revealed regarding Derek, it was just nifty being in his head for a change. He's a favorite character of the series for many. Shippers of the two may be more content as well, depending on how you look at it.

Overall it was show more interesting but wasn't totally filling my series addiction. There was too much mindless action while I preferred the style that's usually filling Kate's full length novels. Kate stories may be heavy in action, too, but they have that pause and depth in between. Here the emotions of Derek came across almost as being read to us, told instead of shown, I already knew his history and background but it didn't add anything new for me. I don't think I'd care reading through Derek's head for a full-length book based on this.

The start and ending were the best parts. So much revelation from Julie when they talk, and that ending gave me a spine shiver. Excited on where that may lead, but we'll see. show less

Derek has separated from the pack, the werewolf is one of those who have now joined with Kate and Curran and their independent organisation. An organisation – and business – that doesn’t tolerate the slaughter of families

Julie, Kate’s ward, is certainly not going to stay out of the action either – even as their investigation reveals horrors they never expected, backing down is never an option.

A spin off series in the Kate Daniels universe? Give give give give! *grabby hands*

It can be said I did not react to this news with particular grace and maturity.

In the past I’ve been wary of spin off series because they don’t always work – the main characters are such a major part of the world that without them it falls flat. This show more world has carried the different spin off stories so well because, even while Kate and Curran are the most amazing, epic characters imaginable, the other characters in the series are fleshed out enough, developed enough and interesting enough to easily carry their own stories

Still, I was surprised that this series follows Julie – Kate’s magic-sensitive ward/sort-of-foster-daughter – and Derrick, the werewolf who has entered Kate’s shadow for a long time now

Like most of the characters in the main series, they have been developed, they have had their own storylines, they have their own histories which are quite involved. But for so much of the books these two have been very much extensions of Kate and Curran. Which makes it interesting that these were the ones chosen to expansion – I feel almost like the author has decided that they need more attention to show that these characters are just as awesome as everyone else.

And this book does an excellent job of taking both characters and establishing them as individuals. We have Derek’s history, how his path has changed so much with him being involved with Kate (but also, just as important, with his life before Kate) and how his face being scarred changed his life again (we also have an excellent look at the ableism Derek faces – with a woman assuming he will be grateful and servile towards her because his scars mean he should consider himself “lucky” that she’s paying attention to him at all). Woven into the story is Derek’s history, nicely setting him up as his own character and co-protagonist in this series as well as being a lethal fighter who has been forged through terrible experience

Derek’s story is very much a disability narrative. Even though he is physically very capable still, his entire life has been changed by his facial injuries; the way people treat him has changed a lot, his old career has ended and he now finds that career path completely closed to him. His whole identity changed from the man he used to be to the Man With Scars which affects so much of his life. His professional life, family life, home life and romantic life have all been vastly derailed by the scarring to his face and voice.

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Fascinating short story and great start to the Grey Wolf series! Derek and Julie have always been interesting characters in the Kate Daniels series and I was thrilled to see them get their own book. I admit I have a soft spot for Derek. He's been through a lot of stuff and has that "tortured soul thing" going on - my personal kryptonite. I like that he channels all that anger and loss against his enemies. It works well for him. I was impressed to learn that Julie has a few new tricks up her sleeve, too. Pretty impressive!

In this book, Derek tracks down the people responsible for murdering a young family in Pack territory. Soon, he and Julie are on the trail of three pieces of a magical stone and the evil warlock wanting them for some show more evil plan. I don't know how this writing team pulls it off, but each book turns out to be new and unique. The fight scenes are always great, the spells are new, the evil creatures are new (the ones that are supposed to be anyway). Even the fight scenes have new elements. You never know what to expect, which keeps me coming back for more!

This was a very satisfying read for being so short. Derek and Julie are going to be huge asset to Kate and a powerful force against the darker beings lurking in the magical Atlanta nights. Nicely done! show less