Melissa’s Comments (group member since May 09, 2018)

Melissa’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

sooo ... i read the short story between book 3 & 4: Magic Mourns and totally loved it. (view spoiler)[ priest of hades!?! (hide spoiler)] mythology is my jam! that's reason enough to love this series!

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "Would you believe they keep getting better than this? "

How exciting!

Completion Post



Title: Magic Strikes
Author: Ilona Andrews
Pages: 310
Date read: 6/10/18
Spells: A, B, C, D, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, R, S, T, V
Characters: Andrea, Brenna, Curran, Dali, George, Hugh, Kate, Livie, Maxine, Nick, Raphael, Saiman, Thomas Durand - Samian's alter ego, Voron
Buddy Read: Link

Finished!

While I did enjoy books one & two, book three blew them both out of the water. By book three, the world building and Kate's personal relationships are established making way for a really great story.

So many things: (view spoiler)[

* WTH, Jim??? Let's just have Kate remind you why you don't mess with her.

* Darn, Derek! Why didn't you just ask for help? Kate woulda been there for you.

* Raphael/Andrea - TWT-IHFB made me snort water out of my nose - gross but hilarious.

* Julie - How cool was the Kate/Raphael scene at Julie's school!?!? Kate really is the best. Also, Raphael in head to toe leather ... holy moly!

* Midnight Games - like Fight Club on steroids! Who knew I would love Gladiator style arena fighting??

* Saiman - Just gonna put this right here:

“Do you prefer the Aesir?” The word hit me like a bolt of lightning. Pieces fell into place in my head: Saiman, golden and high on magic, dancing on the roof and celebrating “the time of the gods,” his fluid changes of shape, his self-interest, his ego, and him now, an enormous monster, a giant of a man. I gaped at him. He wasn’t supposed to exist." ... “He said he is a quarter Aesir, which probably means his grandmother was a Viking god. But there is only one Norse deity who can change shape the way he does and he wasn’t Aesir. He was Loki, the trickster, a giant who became a god. Saiman is the grandson of two Norse deities, Jim.”

........ Mind blown.

* Dali - might just be my new favorite side character ♥♥♥

*Voron/Hugh: sooooo ... does this make Hugh Kate's adopted brother??? (Don't answer that if it's a spoiler!)

* Hot Tub ... holy moly ... I think I need that fan! Jeez!

* Doolittle is a Honey Badger??? What?!?!?

* Andrea putting stuff together b/c of the totally BA thing with the Scarlet Star and being the best friend ever for keeping that secret.

* Also, this quote:

"Aaahh. Home. My place, my smells, my familiar rug under my feet, my kitchen, my Curran in the kitchen chair . . . Wait a damn minute."

Yaaaaaaasssssss. (hide spoiler)]

@ Michelle - I don't think it's you. This is my first time reading the Kate Daniels series. Magic Bites took me a week to get through - which is really unusual for me. There's so much world/character building that it was hard to stay focused. Book two was better but book three is the best, hands down, so far. Hang in there!

Also, I've been on a true crime kick ... I can't get enough of the My Favorite Murder podcast. Unfortunately, podcasts don't count and non-fiction is not ideal for this challenge so I have to keep re-directing myself to get back on task.

And in my defense, I'm not usually this scatterbrained reading-wise. It's been a really busy month. I've been doing a ton of driving ... My sister had her first baby, Miles and my cousin had his first baby, Tessa. Plus, my dad was visiting from out of town. I've had lots of wonderful distractions. All the babies ♥♥♥ So stinkin' cute.

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "It is such a great series that it is hard to stop once you start. Sort of liking eating just one potato chip."

No kidding! I didn't think I would have time to read at all this weekend. We have two new babies in the family and my dad was visiting from out of town but somehow I managed to finish the whole book in two sittings! Soooo good!

Cathy M. wrote: "I accidentally killed my Kindle this morning ..."

Oh, no! Can you use the kindle app on your phone in the meantime? So sorry thst happened!

Cathy M. wrote: "I've never read Jane Yellowrock but have had the 1st one on my Kindle forever..."

The first book, Skinwalker, took me longer than normal to finish. Faith Hunter's storytelling style was pretty different than what I was used to and it took me a minute to adjust. But, her writing style came to be one of my favorite things about the series. She kept me guessing all the way through and the consequences of Jane's choices had real, rippling repurcussions throughout the series. There were lots of times when I had no idea what to expect and no clue what was going to happen next. Lots of intense physical reactions - like in a heart racing, palm sweating, fast breathing kind of way. Anyway, it is by far my #1, best, most favorite series which is insane to me because I didn't think I would ever love anything more than Mercy Thompson.

I've avoided Kate Daniels for a very long time ... nothing against Kate but I am always super wary of writing teams ... So far, the story seems pretty cohesive - which makes me happy. I love that it's so action packed and that Kate is more complex than she appears. I love her smart mouth. I especially enjoy a slow burn romance so Curran's "Psych" made me totally giddy. I totally love all the different mythos that are used ... it's so cool and totally up my alley. I am really intrigued by Saiman and can't wait to see what role he plays. There's lots I'm looking forward to in this series, so if it just gets better, I am excited to see where the story leads.

ooooooo! good luck! if you are listening to an audiobook from overdrive, try listening in your browser instead of the app! you can speed up the narration up to 3x normal! just pull down on the speed icon! I have a hard time understanding anything faster than 2.25x but I know there are people out there who can! also, it helps if I speed it up a little at a time! Fingers crossed for you!

Checking in for Team Draco Malfoy!

Cathy M. wrote: "Thru Chpt 9 -

(view spoiler)[The Honeycomb sounds really crazy! Could you imagine disappearing into the walls (not be choice) & being stuck somewhere else? Reminds me of Stranger Things :P

Kate mentioned the Morrigan - wonder if this is the same Morrigan as in the Iron Druids Chronicles! Kate did mention the Druids...

I have a bad feeling about Red, like something bad is going to happen to him. Really hoping it doesn't though!!

Love how Kate is already referring to Julie as "her kid" though she's only known her a couple hours :) And finally get the 1st story about Roland and Kate's mother! Things about Kate's past are slowly coming out!" (hide spoiler)]


Honeycomb - (view spoiler)[Totally agree! The Honeycomb sounds pretty scary! I was picturing the Hogwart's staircases on steroids! But Stanger Things is probably more like it! (hide spoiler)]

Morrigan - (view spoiler)[She's my favorite! She is wicked interesting in Celtic Mythology. I loved her in Iron Druid especially! How cool is the title "Chooser of the Slain"?! And the whole crow thing??? Loving it! (hide spoiler)]

Julie & slight spoilers for Jane Yellowrock - (view spoiler)[One of the things that upset me the most about Jane Yellowock in the early books was how utterly alone she was ... there is no constant friendship/familial love. Just when Jane thinks she has someone to claim, she loses them. It just broke my heart. And even though I love Molly, I think I'll always hold a small grudge against her for turning her back on Jane - even if her (Molly's) reasoning was understandable.

So, when I'm reading Kate and I see the same solitary life that she's leading, it kills me. I'm really hoping that Julie, Derek & Andrea fill that void for her. And I can totally understand her almost desperation to claim this child that she's just met as her own. Like she's been alone long enough that she's gotta cling to any lifeline. (hide spoiler)]

Kate's Past - (view spoiler)[Since I haven't read the series before, from what I got out of books 1 & 2 - Roland is really just a background character to me ... like a big bad to be dealt with at a later date... BUT that little snippet about Roland and Kate's mother definitely made my ears perk up. Going to be paying closer attention to him for sure! (hide spoiler)]

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "@ Melissa - the series just keeps getting better"

Hi!! How did your last round of bingo go?? Missed having you on my team! :)

I'm glad that the series gets better! I just checked out book 3 ... going to start tonight :)

Title: Magic Burns
Author: Ilona Andrews
Pages: 260
Date read:6/6/18
Buddy Read: Link
Spells: A, B, C, D, G, I, K, M, S, T
Characters: Andrea, Bran, Curran, Derek, Ghastek, Kate, Myong, Red, Saiman, Ted

Just finished!! I don't remember who recommended Kate Daniels to me to help with my Jane Yellowrock blues, but I'm so glad that they did! I'm not totally out of my reading slump yet but I like where this series is going!

Cathy M. wrote: "I've never heard of that creature before! Where did you grow up?"

I grew up in Maine. We played in the woods all day, every day. Looking for faeries and other magical creatures. It was about a mile from the beach. We never saw any selkies but we did find tons of horseshoe crabs!

Ch 3 -

Geez, I haven't heard about a leshii since I was a kid! I spent sooooo much time in the woods. I used to know a rhyme to keep safe from them but all I can remember is: "leshy, leshy rhythm rhyme" ... something, something ... Darn, I wish I could remember. Still - it's cool to see mention of creatures I had mostly forgotten.

thanks! :)

okay, great! where do I post the link to my 1st post? here or on our book list?

Checking in for Team Draco Malfoy! Excited to read more about Kate!

okay, cool. I'll probably still read it but I really wanted to read Magic Burns, I noticed that there is an open buddy read for this one but someone else from our team already used it for a buddy read ... not sure if it will count for that if I read it too ...

I just finished all of the Jane Yellowrock & I need some super fantastic UF to fill that void ... hence, the Kate Daniels. Here's hoping that she's equally B.A.

Side note, all 3 of the Chemistry Lessons have really vivid covers - book 2 is definitely turquoise & book 3 is violet. I can't vouch for the series b/c I haven't read them yet but they did come highly recommended as geeky romance after I finished the Fandom Hearts series by Cathy Yardley (also solidly vivid covers - red, yellow, blue, purple).