Magic Tides

Checked email at 10 pm, discovered preorder receipt, downloaded book and finished by 1 a.m.

Fun; a return to good, old-fashioned Andrews fun. Kate and Curran are once again trying to escape Atlanta, moving farther and farther out. They’re supposed to be keeping a low profile, but you know how hard it is to keep them from trying to help others. Kate runs off on a little errand to take on a band of kidnappers.

“Red Horn kills people,” Thomas said behind my back. “Your wife…”
“Will enjoy the exercise,” my husband said. “You know what they say. Happy wife, happy life.”

It did contain solid advice about dealing with management you don’t want to work for:

“Both Jim and Desandra tried to pull him their respective sides, but show more Keelan proceeded to half-ass every task they had given him and was insufferably apathetic about werewolfing in general and following their orders in particular.”

Nice humor, great action, once again a nice variety of mythologies and fights. I appreciated the way the story seemed to side-step the over-power issue. In a shift from the Kate series, the narrative is alternating between Kate and Curran point-of-views. An interesting way to add interest to a long series.

It did descend into purplish prose at a couple of points; disappointing, but unsurprising as the Andrews were effusively purple in the latest Innkeeper. There's also a mental sidetrack into historical runes that I could have lived without (and did). It was the sort of thing that added to word-count without benefiting the story. I would have loved to see both replaced with more character interaction or shift sheer description into a more organic way of noticing the environment.

For those who are new to the series, there's more than adequate world and character-building (which is a nice way of saying it might feel repetitive to series fans). Still, loads of fun and I’m sure to give it a re-read.

"The woman’s smile gained a slightly plastic quality. That’s right, I’m accusing you of breaching federal law, and the Knight-Protector knows about it. Happy Monday." show less

I had no idea that 'Magic Tides' was coming. As soon as I saw the cover on Twitter, I downloaded the ebook, put my other books aside and dove in.

It was wonderful fun. It's classic Kate Daniels but freed from the weight of all the politics and complex conflicts.

I was happy because I had Kate back AND it was Kate making a new beginning in a new place, with no pack, just her husband and her son.

Kate and Curren have set up home in Wilmington (in a faux castle, abandoned by a billionaire pre-shift, which they're now turning into a defensible keep - doesn't everyone want a home like that?), sending Conlan to school (OK, it's not a normal school and Kate carefully explains to the school administrator that, in the unlikely event that show more eight-year-old Conlan goes on the rampage, the best thing would be to hide and wait for one of his parents to arrive) and Kate and her family are keeping a low profile.

A new start in a new place doesn't make Kate a new person and keeping a low profile isn't in her DNA, so, after a very few pages, Kate is on a mission to save a child from the bad guys and she's going to make a lot of noise while she's doing it. The child is the nephew of one of the contractors working on Kate's castle rebuild. He's been kidnapped by a feared gang called Red Horn. Thomas, the child's father tries to explain to Curren the risk that Kate is about to take. He doesn't get the response he expects. Here's how it goes:

“Red Horn kills people,” Thomas said behind my back. “Your wife…”
“Will enjoy the exercise,” my husband said. “You know what they say. Happy wife, happy life.”

It was great to see Kate not trying to hide her abilities anymore. Yes, she'd like to keep a low profile but that's not going to keep her from doing whatever it takes to defeat anyone standing between her and the child she has set out to retrieve, so things quickly become messy, bloody and very very loud.

I loved the humour. The fight scenes were all fun. The plot was simple but effective. Kate's search for the child has her bumping into The Order, The People and some members of The Pack, as well as encountering a wide range of monsters from an international buffet of mythologies.

I liked that the story wasn't all told from Kate's point of view. Curran gets to give an account of how he deals with the backwash from the bow wave of Kate's slash-and-dash pursuit of the kidnappers, including a full-scale assault on the not-quite-finished castle. Conlan gives us his version of how that assault went, including his own kill, which Curren is doing his best to ensure that Kate never hears of.

'Magic Tides' is a 154-page novella but it packs in more action, more humour and more myths and legends than most full-length novels.

I was smiling the whole time that I was reading it.

I want more and I want it soon I'm hoping Kate's fresh start is going to give me some great new stories to read. I'm also happy if they're novellas, especially if they have this level of energy. show less

Just when I thought Kate Daniels was through and I was reduced to catching glimpses or mentions of her through Andrews' other same-universe series, out comes this little novella, re-whetting my appetite for Kate and Curran adventures.

It was almost perfect. I understand moving Kate and Curran to another city allows for a fresh set of adventures with new fiends to fight and friends/alliances to make, but I still knocked .5 a star off because I miss the old friends, dammit! Not all of them, but I'd have really liked Barabas and Christopher to stick around.

Even without them, the story was excellent. Very tightly written (and well edited!) with a plot that's constantly moving forward, a lot of action, and a fair number of bad guys dying, show more with the humorous dialog that always make these books fun to read, even when the content gets a bit dark.

In my last review of an Andrews' work, I bemoaned their decision to break completely from traditional publishing and stated a number of reasons why I thought it was less than ideal; I'll add another (purely selfish) reason: with no traditional publishing contract, it's anyone's guess as to when - or even if - they'll get around to writing another Wilmington Years story. It's hard enough to wait for a favourite series when you know it's scheduled; it's excruciating when you're left at the whim of the author. Still, fingers crossed, because it's obvious Kate and Curran aren't ready to be retired just yet. show less

This was perfection! I can’t even explain how joyful I was to learn that we were getting a new Kate Daniels story. I was so sad when the series ended but understood why it needed to end. The fact that the writing team of Ilona Andrews decided to bless us with a novella/short novel featuring these well-loved characters is nothing short of a dream come true. Of course, I dived into this just as soon as it made its way into my greedy hands and I can honestly tell you that it is even better than you think it will be.

Kate, Curran, and Conlan have moved to Wilmington and hope to live a quiet life. Obviously, this is never going to happen because Kate is Kate and Curran is Curran. When Kate finds out that a child is in danger, of course, she show more has to help. So much for staying under the radar. Kate leaves with the boy’s father on a rescue mission while Curran and Conlan get their home ready for the fallout. This story wasn’t long but it was a very full story with all of the awesomeness that I have come to expect from this fantastic series.

This book had all of the action and excitement that I had hoped it would. We get to see Kate, Curran, and even Conlan use just about all of their skills. It was great to see Kate and Curran as parents sharing life lessons with their son all while making their world a safer place. The secondary characters were very well-done and often added a bit of humor to the story. This book was everything that I dared to hope for. I am thrilled that we got this opportunity to see Kate, Curran, and even Conlan kick some ass. I hope that we don’t have to wait too long to see these characters again.

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

I smiled. Curran and I had agreed to maintain a low profile after moving. Think normal suburban thoughts. How hard could this be, right?

Some things never change. Kate, Curran and their son Conlan have moved from Atlanta to Wilimgton in an attempt to have a normal life. This being Kate, it's not long before she hears of a kidnapping and must go find the missing child.

Magic Tides is the first in the Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years series by Ilona Andrews. If this initial book is any indicator, this is going to be a series of novellas about the couple's entirely normal, low profile life after having saved Atlanta from Roland. Perhaps I should put "normal" and "low profile" in quotes as this family isn't normal by any means and keeping a low show more profile just isn't in Kate's DNA. It make for a short, fun adventure with some favorite characters. I found the novella length just right - it was a satisfying read while leaving me wanting for more. Kate meets some new/old friends along the way, which makes for an interesting set up for future novellas. Forming a new pack maybe? I also enjoyed that we got a couple chapters in Curran and Conlan's POVs. Conlan is such a sweet boy from what we get to see of him. I'm looking forward to future novellas in Wilmington. show less

They aren't done with Kate Daniels yet, and I am here for it -- loved this, loved seeing Kate and Curran as parents to a completely different sort of youngster than Julie is, loved the eccentric shifter crew that's already in their neighborhood. Very good.

I love all (but one) of Ilona Andrews' series and worlds. Without a doubt, however, the Kate Daniels' stories are my absolute favourites. I am so happy to see Kate return even if it is just in a (long) novella. The story was as fascinating as usual. Several characters are introduced but do not play a significant role leading me to hope for more tales in the future. The author indicated that Kate and Curran will no longer be involved in saving the world or the race of shapeshifters but may continue to get involved in saving individuals, it not being realistic that they would settle down to live happily ever after in their new home. Makes my HEA much happier. Thanks for the story and cannot wait for more.