Kait's comments (member since Aug 19, 2008)

Kait's comments from the Urban Fantasy group.

I picked up Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews (loved it!) and The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison.

Speaking of Kims... I really need to see if Kim Wilkins has written anything new lately. I absolutely ADORE her.

Sidhe1 - what I like about the series is that even if you don't really love the current character, the next book might be about someone different, so the series stays fresh. It's not just about one character who goes on the same cookie-cutter adventure.

I read this one years ago, and I think that Bitten and Stolen remain my favorite in the series. There's something about Elena's character that I related to the most.

You Slay Me
War of the Oaks (am I allowed to vote for the one I suggested?)

I would like to suggest War of the Oaks by Emma Bull. http://www.amazon.com/War-Oaks-Novel-Emm...

It's not a new book, but for those who haven't read it, it's awesome.

I always prefer to find out what book we're reading ahead of time, so if I have to wait for it at the library, I can.

This book totally took me by surprise. I was expecting a vapid "trying to be funny and sexy" type book, but I was blown away by the depth of the story, and the emotion the tale evoked. I enjoyed it a lot!

Jason,

I did notice that it was copyright to both of them, and that the family name was not Andrews. I wasn't sure if they were a writing team or just both owned the copyright, but that makes sense.

Pianogal - I had the same feeling, about being dropped into the middle of the series. I kept checking and rechecking that I hadn't missed a book. I wish that she had written it slightly different to erase that feeling. However, it wasn't a book-killer for me.

I'm really trying to wrack my brain for a way where Andrews could have "shown" that scene better than telling it, but I can't really think of a way without adding all sorts of extra "stuff" in. But that may be because I'm not a writer! :)

@new_user - Some of the one liners were good. Some seemed like more effort than necessary, I guess. I am a big fan of sarcasm as well, but sometimes I just wanted her to shut up. Maybe that's just me! ;)

Jason (message 10) had mentioned on how someone asked her a question, which sent her into a long tirade on how magic worked. I was more posting in response to that.

I really enjoyed Magic Bites. I don't think I was in the right head-space for a darker urban fantasy when I had picked it up (I had just finished a Katie MacAlister book, if that give you any indication of where I was), so it was slow moving at first. But the constant good description really helped, as did the dialog. While I'm typically a fan of the "show don't tell" rule of storytelling, I didn't mind it so much. I suppose that it's because I've been reading a lot of brain candy lately.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. I found it entertaining (although some of the one-liners were annoying), and fast paced.

I really enjoyed this book, more than I thought I would from the first few chapters. I think that Andrews has the opportunity to take this series and do with it what LKH should have done with Anita Blake (ie. not the painful gratuitous sex scenes). I look forward to reading the second (and any forthcoming books) in the series.

I was annoyed with how Kate kept hinting around how her dad was some big powerful dude, but never coming out and giving us any more information on it. I understand that it's a ploy to draw us in and keep us reading (beyond Bites, that is).

In the scene where Kate asks Curran if his "lady" is inside the compound and he looked at her and said "she is" I just about squealed. Even though it wasn't apparent that he would be the love interest at first, I had kind of hoped that he would be. I suppose that it will be interesting to see where Andrews takes it in Burns.

Jason - I understand what you're saying about how some of the characters seem to be stock characters. I found Kate to be all "tough girl" with funny quips and a bad attitude. I felt like I had read her before. However, I didn't feel distracted by it, and was able to get over that. Perhaps I am not a very demanding reader? Oh well.

I also liked that the Upir was someone insignificant in the scheme of things.