Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, #2) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Nov 07, 2019 Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, picked-for-me, urban-fantasy, read-on-my-kindle, completed-series, great-side-characters, for-a-challenge, e-book, romance, fantasy

4 stars. Not sure why it took me almost a year to pick up the next book in this series. Unacceptable. But, it’s okay because I’ve finally read book two and it was just as awesome as book one. I think I prefer the first book just a tad bit more but that doesn’t take anything away from this one.

Kate Daniels is such a badass character and I absolutely adore her and her wit. She’s funny and take charge and I love how she backs down to no one. She’s just so awesome. I love this weird, sexual tension ...more

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May 28, 2017 Linda C rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, paranormal, mystery, suspense-thriller, science-fiction

Kate Daniels, now liaison between the Order of Merciful Aid and the Pack (shapeshifters), continues to do mercenary work for the Guild, cleaning up Magic gone wrong. On one of her merc jobs, she and her partner, lose their live bounty when it is killed by an unknown using an arrow bolt. Later that same unknown steals Pack maps and disappears. His trail leads her to witches doing bad craft, a young girl with untapped power, feuding gods seeking entrance to the human world and lots of secrets to k ...more

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Dec 11, 2014 Debbie (Doc) rated it really liked it

Shelves: audible, thriller, fantasy, series-reads, read-in-2014, magic-spirits, fiction, tower-teams-3, witches, demons

The majority of the time I find book 1 in a series to be the best. Thank goodness that isn’t the case in this series, because I didn’t care for the first book at all. The storyline in Magic Burns kept me captivated from chapter 1, which isn’t an easy feat. This book takes up back to fictional Atlanta where Kate Daniels is once again fighting demons with her magic. It was fun to hear of the places that Kate visited, such as Buckhead, since I am from Atlanta. However, the world that Ilona Andrews ...more

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May 13, 2023 Lali & Michelle rated it really liked it

There was so much I really loved about this book starting with the characters. Kate is amazing in every way--from the way she dresses, to her fighting skills, to her hidden magic. But mainly because of the unwavering moral compass and compassion that is the bedrock of everything she does. From big things like risking everything to save a child she doesn't even know to refusing to take money for her work when the money is coming from sources she finds distasteful. In her mind, she is a loner who There was so much I really loved about this book starting with the characters. Kate is amazing in every way--from the way she dresses, to her fighting skills, to her hidden magic. But mainly because of the unwavering moral compass and compassion that is the bedrock of everything she does. From big things like risking everything to save a child she doesn't even know to refusing to take money for her work when the money is coming from sources she finds distasteful. In her mind, she is a loner who can only depend on herself, but this second book continues to slowly build meaningful relationships. She is completely loyal to anyone who has helped her and people know they can depend on her because her code is unbreakable.

The book continues to develop other characters as well, including Curran as the leader of the shapeshifters and Derek who is clearly marked for greatness in the future. Ghastek also returns representing the People whose power comes from control of the undead vampires--although in this volume there is competition from the reeves, undead from the sea. (As always I apologize to the authors for any plot points I get wrong.) While the shapeshifters and the People were introduced in the first book, now we get a third major magical group--the witches. The plot basically centers around Kate's attempt to protect a young girl, Julie, while she searches for her mother, a low-level witch whose entire coven has disappeared. Kate meets with the Oracle, a group of three powerful witches who agree to provide her with information if she does them a particular favor.

There's a lot of male interest here, from the regulars Saiman and Curran, to the newbies Bran and Raphael. But I am so glad the series so far hasn't gone in the direction of Kate hooking up with various men. Instead, there was a major development pointing to Curran and Kate's future relationship. I like a slow burn romance! The world-building continues in this one and I felt a little more comfortable with it this time around. The addition of Aunt B, Raphael and Andrea helped explain some of the nuances of shapeshifting and the People seemed more familiar. But the reason I did not give the book five stars is because there was still too much confusion in the plot for me to loose myself completely in the story. There were a few too many points that were "Wait! What's happening?"

Aside from Kate, the greatest strength of Magic Burns for me was how much it made me want to know what's going to happen in the future. After the first book, I was mildly curious--enough to get the second book but nothing too intense. But now I NEED to know. What is going to happen with Kate and Curran? How much power does Kate really have? What will happen with Julie? And Andrea? And Derek? So many questions! And so many characters that I feel invested in. But primarily Kate, Kate, Kate! I might be coming to this series more than a decade late, but I definitely get what all the love is about. ...more

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