Blood Heir

I can't even talk about how damn good this book is. My heart is so happy and I didn't know how badly I needed this book.

No spoilers but it kicks ass and moves along the Kate Daniels world in a new and fantastic way.

Aurelia Ryder is Julie Lennart-Olsen, daughter of Kate and Curran (former Beast Lord). In the last Kate Daniels book we saw her leave after Kate did something she promised she would never do. Julie and Erra (brought back to life) went off on a new adventure.

I read one of the short stories published on Ilona Andrew's site so I know all about what Julie was up to slightly. However, this full fledged novel expands on that and we get to see more of what is driving Julie and Erra now. When Julie returns to Atlanta after 8 years, show more it's because a prophecy she keeps trying to break, keeps popping back up. The prophecy says that Kate dies. And Julie refuses to let that happen.

The character development of everyone was wonderful. I want to hug Julie because her voice at times though similar to Kate, is definitely her own. And our boy Derek. Happy dance. Also Asicano stays being a little piece of crap and I was glad that did not change. I like that this book is setting up the 2nd generation of shapeshifters, magic users, etc that live in and outside of Atlanta.

The writing and flow worked beautifully and honestly if this book had included pictures I would have have been trembling with happiness.

Atlanta in Kate Daniels world still works as a great setting and it was awesome to see it via an older Julie's eyes.

Great set-up and I can't wait until the next book. show less

'Blood Heir' was a lot of fun and just what I needed to get me out of Lockdown blues. Perhaps this isn't surprising as the first draft of it was written and posted on line in response to a health care workers request to have something / anything from Ilona Andrews to take their mind off the pandemic.

This book had the freshness and excitement of a new start while still being able to build on everything I've learned from the ten Kate Daniels books.

As I read it, I mentally labelled it 'Kate Daniels: The Next Generation but it turned out to be more original than that.

The book has a great opening. We know Julie is returning to Atlanta after eight years. It's what we don't know that kept me turning the pages at first. Why such a long gap? show more Why is she so different? Why is she doing this in secret?

The eight year gap allows for things to have moved on, for the kids to have gotten older, for things in Atlanta to have gotten worse and for old relationships to have shifted.

Then there's Julie/Aurelia. She's all grown up and is strong and confident. Travelling covertly allows her to come back in contact with people with a clean sheet while still having insight into them.

There are new threats, a mystery to solve, conflicts to resolve, alliances to build. new players to meet, old players who've moved on, especially the younger ones. Every chapter felt like it was offering me something to go 'Oooh, that's good!' about.

The storytelling tone is confident. The pace is quick but not hurried. Knowledge of the Kate Daniels books gives the story some extra flavours but this would still be a strong book if you came to it cold.

Like lots of people I know, I've been finding the Lockdown has made it harder to relax into a book. 'Blood Heir' was one of those rare books that made depression recede every time I opened it. It made me smile. It kept me curious. It was exciting and fresh. Best of all, it was filled with a quiet hopefulness. The Atlanta Aurelia Ryder rides into is broken and it can't be fixed. It's a place where bad things happen to good people. And yet, there are people who will always do what they can to make things better, even if they have to use a blade to do it. show less

This was the book my little shipper heart has been waiting for ever since those first scenes with Julie and Derek back in the early Kate Daniels books. I have hoped all along Julie might one day get her own series as an adult.

Julie has been gone from Atlanta for 8 years. She has a new name, a new face, and new powers. There’s also a new threat, one she cannot tell Kate about because of a prophecy by the witch oracle that if she tells Kate, she dies for sure. Julie has been doing everything she can to try to take out the threat and save her family. Nothing so far has worked.

I LOVED seeing all the familiar characters from the KD world, now a decade later. Conlan! Barabas! Escancio! Night Protector Feldman! Roland, who is equal parts show more his evil self and doting grandfather. Julie has grown into her powers and is a force to be reckoned with. This was a wild ride. And the sizzling heat between her and Derek? They are steamed at each other, which only makes me more eager to read book two. This had all the wonderful Ilona Andrews humor, the brilliant world building, and the wonderful characters that I loved from the KD series. I really hope we get more Julie/Derek books.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Aurelia Ryder series, it takes place some years after the Kate Daniels book end. It features Kate’s ward, Julie, as the main character. I got a copy of this book from the publishers through NetGalley to review.

Story (5/5): I kind of hate reviewing books I love because I feel like I can never do them justice. I will just start by saying this was so, so good. I have missed the Kate Daniels world so much and this book was everything I hoped it would be. This follows Julie's story and is set some years after the events in the final Kate Daniels series. Julie/Aurelia has received a prophecy that an ancient child-devouring god will destroy the world and kill Kate if Aurelia doesn’t find a show more way to stop her first.

Characters (5/5): Julie/Aurelia is a total badass, she’s received extensive training from both Roland and Erra...so you can imagine what a powerhouse she is. You see a lot of cameos from old characters from the Kate Daniels series, as well as meet a lot of really wonderful new characters. The characters in this book are just awesome and so complex, definitely read the Kate Daniels series before this one.

Setting (5/5): Atlanta has changed some but is still just as awesome. I always love the way this world shifts between magic and tech; it’s just so well done and so well thought out. It was a pleasure to be back in this alternate Atlanta.

Writing Style (5/5): Every time I read an Andrews book I am reminded what an awesome urban fantasy should be. The world is unique and intricate, the pace is fast, the characters are phenomenal, and the plot just sucks you right in. There are a ton of amazing action scenes, the random dangerous monster, and a large new threat to Atlanta, Kate and the world as a whole. Everything is just so well balanced; there is danger but also humor and it’s soooo entertaining!

My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely loved this and can't wait for the next book in the series. I pretty much devoured this!!! It was so much fun to be back in the Kate Daniels world, I am dying to read the next book already and fearful I might be waiting years before I get to read it :-) As mentioned above, I would definitely recommend reading the Kate Daniels series before you read this one. Although they do a cute Q&A type of thing at the end of the book to give you some background if you try to dive into this book without reading that series first. show less

4.5

Eight years ago Julie Olsen left Atlanta in order to figure out who she wants to be and where she feels she belongs, to figure out her magic.

Now, she’s back, with new power, a new face, and a new name: Aurelia Ryder. All this helps with the reason she’s returned which revolves around thwarting a prophecy that would mean Kate’s death if it’s allowed to come to fruition. As we all know, the future’s path is malleable, but if Julie interacts with Kate, the prophecy is guaranteed to happen.

However, trying remain low-key will prove difficult as she’s pulled into investigating the murder of a beloved Priest. Things are further complicated when Julie comes face to face with Derek Gaunt, her onetime childhood crush, who also left show more Atlanta a couple years after Julie, except no one knew where he went – he didn’t come looking for her that’s for sure.

Julie has more pressing matters than dealing with a blast from her past, but seeing that Derek has entangled himself in the same mystery, they just might have to put their animosity aside and work together.

So, truth, the early serialization of this book on Ilona Andrews’ website really got me through the early waves of the pandemic when me trying to sit down and read most anything felt more like a chore than escape. While this finished copy is not exactly the same as what was started all those months ago, I’m still brought back to that, much-needed, feeling from the first time I started reading through the Kate Daniels series years and years ago.

I loved every minute I spent reading Blood Heir and it’s certainly a book I wish I could go back and read for the first time again.

I think the nostalgia factor fits well into the overall story where we have Julie coming back to Atlanta. Seeing as how she was raised, and heavily influenced by, Kate it makes complete sense that she would carry herself in a similar fashion. I loved the subtle differences in the way Julie embraces her power, the fact that she actively seeks out her grandmother (Erra) and grandfather (Roland) as her mentors.

Of course there is no way I can go through a review without mentioning Julie and Derek. Longtime fans of the series will know this for the slow-burn it’s meant to be. Despite having waited through so many books at this point, I really do appreciate Ilona Andrews’ taking their time to build these characters up as individuals first. Seriously, though, each scene they have together simply sparks. A whole book of them bantering back and forth would have been sufficient for me! Honestly, though, I liked seeing how they’ve grown, yet still remain true to the characters we’ve known from the beginning. Since the book is from Julie’s point of view, Derek still has this slight air of mystery about him that I’d love to see explored in future books (fingers crossed!).

The only nitpicky thing I have is the mystery got a little too tangled for me in places. I’d have to stop periodically and reconnect the dots about who what looking for whom and why. It does help that the story is full of exposition. If you haven’t done a re-read of the OG series in a while you won’t be lost, but it’s also very welcoming for new readers.

Overall, I loved getting back into this world. Seeing what favorite characters are up to, seeing that next generation come to the forefront. It’s a wonderful, natural progression for a series I hold very near and dear. show less

I loved this book! I have to admit that when I found out that the Kate Daniels series would end with the tenth book, I was heartbroken. These were characters that I loved and a world that I enjoyed visiting (even if it is dangerous most of the time) and I just did not want to see it end. This book brought me back to that world that I love so much. We get to see some familiar characters in this story but it is from a fresh, new perspective. This book was everything that I had hoped it would be and more.

Julie left Atlanta eight years ago but she's back and she is a whole new person. Julie is now known as Aurelia Ryder and is not recognizable to anyone who knew her as Kate and Curran's ward. She needs to keep her identity a secret and will show more go to great lengths to do so. Aurelia has acquired a lot of power and skill during the eight years she was gone while training with her grandmother. She is back in Atlanta to try to stop a prophecy that leaves her adopted mother dead. She will do whatever it takes to protect those she cares about.

There have been a string of murders that seems to be tied to the prophecy and Aurelia is in town to get to the bottom of things. Of course, things can never be easy and she runs into one challenge after another as she works to solve the case. It quickly becomes apparent that the culprit will present quite a challenge. As she works to make progress on the case, she is also trying to protect her identity while constantly running into a certain wolf from her past.

I loved the characters in this book. I thought that I knew Julie but she has grown so much over the years, she really was a new person. She is loyal to her family, highly competent, intelligent, and able to think several steps ahead at all times. She is not the only one who has changed over the years and some of the other character's transformations are just as dramatic. Some characters have grown up, literally. It was so much fun to see the younger characters, including Conlan, play a larger role and to hear about some of the trouble that they have caused over the years.

This book was very well written. It had all of the excitement and action that I have come to expect from this writing pair. I thought that the action scenes were perfectly balanced with the scenes that were more character-driven. The mystery was complex and kept me guessing and there were some pretty big surprises. Huge surprises! I loved how imaginative and unique some of the scenes were. The banter between the characters was entertaining and helped to keep the story from getting too serious.

I would highly recommend this book to others. This was a book that was next to impossible to put down once I picked it up and I found it enormously entertaining from beginning to end. I cannot wait to read more of Aurelia Ryder's adventures.

I received a digital review copy of this book from NYLA via NetGalley. show less

This spinoff from the Kate Daniels series stars Julie Lennart-Olsen. She left Atlanta eight years earlier to find out who she was and to heal from the events surrounding Kate's death. Since then she has learned a lot, grew and changed. Her adventures changed her beyond recognition. She's chosen a new name and is now Aurelia Ryder. She's also acquired an invincible enemy who wants Kate dead.

A prophecy calls her back to Atlanta where things have deteriorated in the past eight years. The various factions are near to splintering the city and carving out their own fiefdoms. She needs to maneuver her way through the factions while keeping her identity secret. She needs to find out who killed a minister named Nathan Haywood and why. But show more letting her family know she's in Atlanta will cause the prophecy to come true and lead to Kate's death.

There was so much about this story that I liked. I like the way Julie has grown up. I like her determination and her compassion. The way she interacted with the street kids around Pastor Haywood's church was evidence of her deep concern for kids who, like her, were out on the streets. I liked her strength as she dealt with the various factions including the Order and the mercenaries.

I liked seeing some of the other characters from the Kate Daniels series including Ascanio and Julie's crush Derek. I liked seeing how her brother Conlan is growing up. I liked the worldbuilding which combined so many ancient myths and cultures into an intriguing and cohesive world. There was a lot of action in the story as Aurelia investigates and keeps meeting representatives of the great evil she needs to defeat.

Fans of the Kate Daniels series will enjoy this spinoff. I know I did. show less