Andrews, Ilona; Magic Slays (Kate Daniels #5); "Informal Buddy Read" ; Start Date: January 09, 2014

[Mary X]

Finished tonight.

I liked getting more of Kate's background and seeing more of her powers come out. It will be interesting to see where they take Julie's character now.

[Cathy M.]

I got sucked into another book so am only thru Chpt 11 so far -

(view spoiler)[Love the addition of Ascanio & Derek to the Cutting Edge team :) And Evdokia & volhvs - can't remember if they are good or not but so far they are interesting new characters.

Felt so bad when Kate learned the truth about her mother & Voron. She had this idea in her head about her mother, never really having known her. But Voron :( (hide spoiler)]

[Mary X]

I will keep chatting with you about the book.

[Cathy M.]

Finished last night!

(view spoiler)[
So that ending. That was Roland's voice that she heard when doing the ritual for Julie right? I don't remember if it's ever commented on later but it sure seemed like he was guiding her. And then have to think - is it just sort of a hallucination in her mind, or was he actually talking to her in her mind? And wow how she changed during that ritual! It's like she zoned out, absorbed by the power.

So glad Julie is okay but wonder what the ramifications of it will be. She can't disobey Kate now, they are tied together. And she's still so young. Wonder if it enhances her magic now. Also glad Ascanio was okay. He may be a punk but he's a charismatic punk :)

What happened to Daniel was so sad! I hoped I hadn't remembered it right. As much as I disliked Jennifer she really got a bum deal. Loved how the different groups worked together to win in the end, and celebrated their victory together. Shane died too quickly - they should've made it slow and painful for his betrayal. But also have to wonder how many more in the Order are part of their terrorist group.

With that note from Hugh, looks like he'll be making another appearance soon. Makes me anxious seeing as he's Roland's man... (hide spoiler)]

[Diane ~Firefly~]

Cathy M. wrote: "Finished last night! ..."

(view spoiler)[Yeah, pretty sure that was Roland's voice.

I have a hard time feeling sorry for Jennifer as a lot of her issues she brought on herself. Daniel's death was not one of them, but is part of being an alpha. He wasn't the only shapeshifter who died there.

Yes, Shane deserved something much longer and more painful. (hide spoiler)]

[Cathy M.]

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "Cathy M. wrote: "Finished last night! ..."

..."

(view spoiler)[I think Daniel was the only shapeshifter who died that we were familiar with and I feel like we were front and center for his death. It IS hard to feel sorry for Jennifer because of her past actions and attitude (she WAS partly to blame for her sister having to be put down by Kate) but I thought Daniel seemed good and almost didn't deserve it. Wonder if she'll become more bitter and hard to handle now that he's gone because he also seemed to rail her in (like at the petitions). (hide spoiler)]

[Mary X]

Daniel didnt seem very alpha like to me.

[Cathy M.]

Mary: Harry Dresden's Love Slave wrote: "Daniel didnt seem very alpha like to me."

(view spoiler)[Yes, he didn't seem very alpha. Kate even said that he was "passive". But I think he was able to handle Jennifer. He WAS her mate & I think about to rein her in when she was pushing too hard, like at the petitions when he grabbed her and took her out of the room when Jennifer was pushing Kate a little too hard. (hide spoiler)]

[Ora]

I just started listening to this one. I love Kate's advice to Julie about fighting. Hit in the stomach, it doesn't leave any evidence..lol

[Ora]

Cathy M. wrote: "I got sucked into another book so am only thru Chpt 11 so far -

Love the addition of Ascanio & Derek to the Cutting Edge team :) And Evdokia & volhvs - can't remember if they are good or not but ..."

I love Derek and Ascanio too! Just listened to Ascanio's first meeting Julie.
I really feel bad for Kate learning the truth about Voron.

[Ora]

I forgot about Kate being guided during the ritual. With rereading this series I am torn between Roland wanting Kate dead or if he wants her to prove herself to be worthy of Roland's acknowledgement. In the last book it looked like he wanted her dead, but this time guiding her through the ritual. I kind of think he is becoming proud of her. I can't remember exactly what happens in the next books since it's been ~4 years since I read them, but I am thinking they are trials Roland has set up for her.

[Diane ~Firefly~]

I think Roland is torn as well...

[Tammie]

Just finished chapter 4 and I'm so excited that Andrea and (view spoiler)[ Kate will be working together. We'll see how Curran accepts Kate getting in to mischief since she's not had clients for so long (hide spoiler)]. Although I will say that Andrea really got the shaft being let go by the Order as she was. I think she should have taken the severance honestly...she earned it!

Really curious what's causing the 'fainting'!

[Tammie]

Ora wrote: "Cathy M. wrote: "I got sucked into another book so am only thru Chpt 11 so far -

Love the addition of Ascanio & Derek to the Cutting Edge team :) And Evdokia & volhvs - can't remember if they are..."

Andrews does a nice job of conveying Kate's devastation in learning about Voron. She's really having a bad day when Curran (view spoiler)[ basically stands her up and she has to take on the hearings by herself. I thought she did a 'kick ass' job with that and really told the pack leaders off like a true leader. I just know Curran is going to be happy with how she handled everything. (hide spoiler)]

[Tammie]

I love that Kate finally told Curran (view spoiler)[ that she loves him and he said it back...not in the greatest of times when her beloved ward Julie is hanging on by a thread. I hope she makes it! (hide spoiler)] Ascanio, I know will be changed by this (view spoiler)[near death experience/internal failure (hide spoiler)]...it's times like this in our lives that can make us take a different path.

[Ora]

Tammie wrote: "Just finished chapter 4 and I'm so excited that Andrea and [spoilers removed]. Although I will say that Andrea really got the shaft being let go by the Order as she was. I think she should have tak..."

I love that Andrea isn't with the Order anymore. Her talents were definitley wasted there.

[Ora]

Tammie wrote: "I love that Kate finally told Curran [spoilers removed] Ascanio, I know will be changed by this [spoilers removed]...it's times like this in our lives that can make us take a different path."

That did take a lot of courage for Kate to finally admit out loud what she feels for Curran.
Ascanio is one of my favorite shifters. I love how he has grown throughout the series and how resilient he is

[Tammie]

I finished this late last night. I really enjoyed the end of this book especially...some of this one dragged a bit for me.
I thought the narrator did a great job of adding to the emotion/action of this story.
I wonder if Kate will be able to resist (view spoiler)[giving direction to Julie in the future...that's going to be very tricky. Julie seemed extremely timid there at the end of the book...having Kate not come around for three days really seemed to shake her and Curren up. (hide spoiler)]
I look forward to the rest of this series.

[Jane]

Fictitious1 wrote: "Arrrg! I'm finally finished and I'm not sure how I feel about this one.

Julie I was reading in the waiting room at the hospital while my husband was having some tests done. I had to try so hard ..."

(view spoiler)[Kate doesn't like it either but as it is a choice between binding Julie or letting her die I don't think there was another way out. (hide spoiler)]

[Jane]

Deanna wrote: "Read through chapter 18.

Adam's device - [spoilers removed]

Aunt Bea - [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I didn't see this as anybody's fault as such. Nobody expected to be attacked because if they did, I don't think Julie would have been allowed in the office. So if anybody is at fault it was Kate for not seeing that the attack on the office could happen. (hide spoiler)]

[Ora]

Tammie wrote: "I finished this late last night. I really enjoyed the end of this book especially...some of this one dragged a bit for me.
I thought the narrator did a great job of adding to the emotion/action of..."

I hope you like the next one. This is a series that just gets better with each book.

[Jane]

One part I really liked in this was when Curran and Kate discuss (view spoiler)[If Curran knew who she was before asking her to be his mate. He says yes and at this point Kate believes he is about to leave her, instead he tells her that he has safe house ready for them to run away to if her father comes after her and she wants to run away. She really realises how much he loves her.
This was my favourite part of the book. (hide spoiler)]

[Tammie]

Jane wrote: "One part I really liked in this was when Curran and Kate discuss If Curran knew who she was before asking her to be his mate. He says yes and at this point Kate believes he is about to leave her, i..."

I loved that part too...I did the audio version...the way the narrator did this part was so excellent...awesome book!