IAAA - Ilona Andrews Addicts Anonymous: Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years & Other spinoffs (December 2024)

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Arabella trilogy definitely feels in the cards, now, but I doubt we see it before 2027...

With the Maggie announcement, I think we'll get Iron & Magic 2, Innkeeper Chronicle 6, Blood Heir / Aureli..."

re Arabella (view spoiler)[when they had her do math and she was like seriously? I was like same, girl, SAME lol (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Just started Magic Rises and (view spoiler)[if the reason those packs want Curran specifically (and Kate as well) is not related to her father and somehow drawing her out I will be surprised. Oh what could possibly have changed? Oh I don't know, you 2 are in her evil father? (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

So the series has definitely picked up for me, in the last few days I read Magic Breaks, Magic Shifts and Magic Stars. I am almost caught up with the Kate Daniels part of this!

[Ann-Marie]

So how terrible would it be if I skipped Hugh's story and went right to book 10? I understand he is going through some things so can I just revisit later after I see how the main story ends?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I was gonna say you can skip Hugh's book, but you kinda can't...

Hugh's book is the start of a trilogy that hasn't been finished yet, but the first book which exists is actually super important to the finale of KD... the Hugh book introduces the lower level villains of the KD finale... the villain of the KD finale is the boss of the villain & underlings in Hugh's book...

The KD finale isn't Kate vs Roland, it's Kate & Roland vs a mutual enemy/threat, with the knowledge that betrayal is inevitable... and Kate still trying to find that solution she started seeking in book 8 with the djinn box...

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I was gonna say you can skip Hugh's book, but you kinda can't...

Hugh's book is the start of a trilogy that hasn't been finished yet, but the first book which exists is actually super important to..."

I do not think for a minute that Roland doesn't act like an asshat, he is the definition of untrustworthy. Also I knew you would say that lol Ugh that Michael R Miller book is a chonker, did not expect that, the next Stormlight Archives is staring me in the face, I may have to make some decisions, looking at you Michael R Miller lol

[Diana Stormblessed]

Ann-Marie wrote: "So how terrible would it be if I skipped Hugh's story and went right to book 10? I understand he is going through some things so can I just revisit later after I see how the main story ends?"

Certain parts of the book play a role in the final Kate Daniels book. Sorry but it’s not skipable.

[Ann-Marie]

Diana Stormblessed wrote: "Ann-Marie wrote: "So how terrible would it be if I skipped Hugh's story and went right to book 10? I understand he is going through some things so can I just revisit later after I see how the main ..."

I started it last night but I have been reading the ebooks the last few of these so it isn't as easy as audiobooks.

[Charlie]

Ann-Marie wrote: "So the series has definitely picked up for me, in the last few days I read Magic Breaks, Magic Shifts and Magic Stars. I am almost caught up with the..."

Ooh you've made excellent progress!

[Charlie]

Ann-Marie wrote: "I started it last night but I have been reading the ebooks the last few of these so it isn't as easy as audiobooks..."

What do you think of it so far? I really loved it but I do think they retconned Hugh a bit. (view spoiler)[ When Kate and Curran went to his castle in Europe, Hugh made a big thing about how he thought shape shifters were all mindless animals, only useful if they could be controlled. Even though he had shifters under his command in the Iron Dogs. His distain for them was clear.

In this book, the shifters he commands seem to be his friends. He seems to genuinely care for them. This is a huge difference. (hide spoiler)]

[Diana Stormblessed]

Charlie wrote: "Ann-Marie wrote: "I started it last night but I have been reading the ebooks the last few of these so it isn't as easy as audiobooks..."

What do you think of it so far? I really loved it but I do ..."

They tried to make him likable after spending many books making him unlikable. You had to basically forget all your prior thoughts about him and start from scratch.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yea... most of his worst qualities were played off as kayfabe and/or Roland's manipulation... all a persona he put on to manipulate Kate/etc...

[Ann-Marie]

Charlie wrote: "Ann-Marie wrote: "I started it last night but I have been reading the ebooks the last few of these so it isn't as easy as audiobooks..."

What do you think of it so far? I really loved it but I do ..."

I didn't get too far, I listened to some other books while doing house crap and now I am firmly in Cerulean Sea world but I'll be back soon :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Is Hugh the stinky book from the other thread? :D

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Is Hugh the stinky book from the other thread? :D"

lol no, Defiant but it is probably my fault because I didn't love book 2 and I was unpleasantly surprised this one was like 900 pages long so I put it aside and will try again before I make the final decision to continue or tap out. As far as the Hugh book goes (view spoiler)[he is reunited with the soldiers, he got his horse that is glowing like a unicorn maybe and is headed to meet the witch lady he is supposed to marry. (hide spoiler)]

[Charlie]

I love the (view spoiler)[ magical glowing horse! So pretty :D. (hide spoiler)]

[Charlie]

I finished book 10 recently and I keep thinking about (view spoiler)[ how Roland set his cult to eat Conlan. I know he did it so Kate would kill them for him but still, what an absolutely horrific thing. I have a toddler and it just really hit me.

Also, the epilogue with Erra and Julie sets things up nicely for Julie's book. I had forgotten about that. I think Julie is going to be everything Kate could have become, if she's been raised in her power. Instead she got a very steep learning curve. Julie gets to grow into her power naturally and she has an amazing teacher. (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

So I finished this series yesterday.

Iron and Magic - (view spoiler)[the definitely ret-conned Hugh but it wasn't finished for me until he finally sat down with Kate in the next book. I liked this one but what is Elara, is she like Christopher? Also seriously, 2018, when will the next be out? (hide spoiler)]

Magic Triumphs - (view spoiler)[Satisfying conclusion foe me HOWEVER Julie and the aunt left which is some bullshit. Like I know what Kate promised but she did it to save Julie's life ffs, Julie is a dumbass. I felt like the big battle was rushed, it was done way too quickly. I did like how Roland got trapped in the dragon's shadow realm, that was a good solution for now but leaves his return open. (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

The Wilmington Years books....(view spoiler)[So Kate, Curran and the baby leave Atlanta and no one else goes with them? Not even Derek? Barabas & Christopher? Julie & the aunt? I am not sure how I feel about that..... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

You're reading the Wilmington Years books?... everyone else was waiting for December for those...

If you read Blood Heir, which came out first (which you shouldn't... it's also being saved for December), you'd know (view spoiler)[Derek went off and took over the Russian shapeshifter pack I think... and Julie & Erra went around doing things, and ended up doing a bunch of stuff in California, and then started hiding from Kate because something happened, and the only way to deal with it / try to change the future / I don't remember, was to go into like a coffin/stasis chamber and reforge her body/etc to turn into a literal Kate clone, and she was hiding the fact that she looks like a family member now and not adopted daughter... took that blood infusion in book 6 to the Nth degree...

No idea why Barabas & Chris aren't there... makes room for new characters, I guess... same way killing off Saiman did (felt unnecessary, and a bit out of character as people say, considering how death/pain-averse he was the whole series as a plot point... just a way to remove a Deus Ex Machina character from the field and stop having to come up with plotlines for him in the future)...

In some ways, Kate & Curran in Wilmington, with a Castle, and a moat, reads like 2 suburban dads competing over lawns (Curran & Hugh and their castles)... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Ann-Marie wrote: "So I finished this series yesterday.

Iron and Magic - [spoilers removed]

Magic Triumphs - [spoilers removed]"

I think people have ideas about Elara... and authors have said there are clues and some have figured it out... reads Eldritch to me, but I dunno... book 2 is coming very soon... they were gonna start writing it as early as this month, I think, but I dunno if timelines shifted a bit with the Big Publishing House contract for Maggie in 2026... I think they need to hit some editing deadlines and got covid over the summer, then they're free to write Hugh 2 and Innkeeper 6 during the year while Maggie is being edited, before they need to write Maggie 2 for 2027 release...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Ann-Marie wrote: "So I finished this series yesterday.

Iron and Magic - [spoilers removed]

Magic Triumphs - [spoilers removed]"

Magic Triumphs: (view spoiler)[it was a bit BS for characters in the story maybe, but seemed basically designed as setup for future stories someday when authors were ready... which started with Blood Heir...

Not sure if Roland will ever be a threat again... Blood Heir has a new bigger bad and a prophecy of some sort to deal with... the adversary is Moloch, so another biblical character... he's very much an off-screen baddie so far, so I don't know much, and Blood Heir is a book I've only read once, since it's an unfinished series, so I also don't remember what little I do know... probably know more from reading the author blog than the book at this point...

The Wilmington Years books are intended as setup for Blood Heir 2... (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

So Julie 2 is to be released before Hugh 2? That is some bullshit, Hugh 1 was WAY before Julie 1.....

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

No... i dunno when Julie 2 is coming... Hugh 2 is coming super soon (see the previous comment before my Magic Triumphs comment, or after the Wilmington Years comment)...

I don't think the authors have concrete plans for things... they mostly write what gets the creative juices flowing... Wilmington Years was a surprise a year or 2 ago, with 2 novellas fast... Innkeeper Chronicles tends to get a bit of a priority as their first indie project before they went 90% indie... and they do fan votes on their website sometimes, to get a gauge for what series people are most interested in seeing next (but don't commit to picking the number 1 choice, just use it as a barometer and a bit of a ranked list to help them pick from options and possibilities)...

I dunno if Hugh 2-3 still takes place before KD 10... maybe it has to, to sort out the Hugh/Elara relationship, since they're sorted by KD 10... otherwise they could used it as a bridge bridge and just had Hugh 1 between 9-10, Hugh 2 between 10-Wilmington, and Hugh 3 between Wilmington-Julie...

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "No... i dunno when Julie 2 is coming... Hugh 2 is coming super soon (see the previous comment before my Magic Triumphs comment, or after the Wilmington Years comment)...

I don't think the authors ..."

Yeah I missed your first post, sorry about that....About Hugh though, (view spoiler)[I was good where the book left off with regard to their relationship. I mean if Hugh 2 is pre-Kate Daniels finale then that would be okay but if it is after that would make sense to me as well. They were in a good place, they were in lurve and all that. (hide spoiler)]

[Charlie]

Ann-Marie wrote: "So I finished this series yesterday.

Iron and Magic - [spoilers removed]

Magic Triumphs - [spoilers removed]"

Regarding Hugh (view spoiler)[ I actually really liked when he sat down with Kate and worked out the issues, it was nice. I want to know what Elara is too. I think maybe similar to Christopher, some sort of divine manifestation. (hide spoiler)]

Magic triumphs - (view spoiler)[I think Julie left not because she was pissed at Kate for breaking her word, but because she knew Kate would tear herself up about it, and she didn't want to get caught up in Kate's guilt about it. Running away wasn't mature, but I do understand why she did it.

I think the battle was kind of rushed, it wasn't as awesome as I remembered or wanted. Also, I think Kate just has too many friends now for them all to get decent screen time unfortunately. I think the Roland problem was also solved too quickly. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I give the Roland plot some leeway... the original plan was to deal with Roland in book 7, after all... and then they realized that woulda been even more rushed, after basically building him up offscreen for 6 books... 8-10 let him breath a bit, but it was also an almost impossible problem to solve, in general... without just going scorched earth, damn the consequences to future storytelling possibilities...

[Charlie]

Ann-Marie wrote: "About Hugh though..."

I actually really loved that (view spoiler)[ Elara and Hugh were so loved up, it was adorable. (hide spoiler)]

[Charlie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I give the Roland plot some leeway... the original plan was to deal with Roland in book 7, after all... and then they realized that woulda been even more rushed, after basically building him up off..."

Yeah I do see that, (view spoiler)[ They could have just sacrificed almost everyone to kill him, but that would have really sucked. This solution was neater. Also he still gets to be a character we can see and interact with, which is cool.

I do think though that the dragon was very conveniently timed. If he hadn't appeared and started causing chaos, there would be no dragon realm to banish Roland to and they all would have been screwed. They would be living in Rolandville by now. (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

I was satisfied with the end of this series until I got some hints about how the next books play out and I am not so sure about that....

[Diana Stormblessed]

Charlie wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "I give the Roland plot some leeway... the original plan was to deal with Roland in book 7, after all... and then they realized that woulda been even more rushed, after basical..."

(view spoiler)[I think the dragon dude appearing was very over convenient but I liked that the solution of Roland was to trap him somewhere. He was built up to be an unkillable being so if they killed him it would be a letdown (hide spoiler)]

[Charlie]

Diana Stormblessed wrote: "I think the dragon dude..."

True, (view spoiler)[ At least they didn't break their own rules. Really the dragon coming was a blessing in disguise. If he were alive, I'm sure he'd be all 'YOU'RE WELCOME' lol. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

The Sanctuary audiobook is $3 on Chirp for 4 more days... part of a $15 bundle that includes Small Magics, Magic Tides & Claims, and Sweep of the Heart, if you need those too...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Hit pause on Osten Ard at work today, and returned to my first love... Ilona Andrews...

I think my reading order for the month is:

Magic Tides
Magic Claims
Blood Heir
Sanctuary

As far as I know, that's chronological order... publication order would put Blood Heir 1st...

Zerged through Magic Tides at work and started Magic Claims... Magic Tides is super short, only 1/3 of the audiobook omnibus... 4hrs or so...

I love getting back to Kate, but am not enamored with the final confrontation... I like the 2nd book more and am looking forward to finishing it...

[RachelG.]

I finished Magic Tides and agree that the ending isn't great. I like the setting and really could get a feel for the area.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Book 2 ramps up and I love it… but spoils a smidge of Blood Heir…

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Actually, the more I read Blood Heir today, the more it hits different when you know what Kate/Curran have been doing the previous year in Wilmington (view spoiler)[to build a safety net when Jim's Pack implodes from mismanagement and savior complex... (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Wait I thought Blood Heir was supposed to be first! I am halfway through, dammit! Oh well I guess lol

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

It's fine... Blood Heir was published first... you're experiencing the Julie Timeline ;)

Not the Kate/Curran // Omniscient Timeline :D

Wilmington Years was written to setup things that were needed for Blood Heir #2 in the future...

I shuffled the reading order on my own prerogative, since I'm not worried about ruining BR points right now...

[RachelG.]

I finished Magic Claims this morning and I love how Kate and Curran always get the bad guys. I gave myself a mental slap to the head in chapter 12 when the leader was revealed. (view spoiler)[ I should have thought Fae but it didn't even cross my mind." (hide spoiler)]

I am going to work on Blood Heir next.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

The 2 Wilmington books added a bunch of new characters and layers to the lore of The Pack & The People/Roland, and Alpha Strain Shifters like Curran... alot of great stuff... and then the potential of the tools provided, going into Blood Heir and the conflict brewing in that series... I'm really starting to look forward to Blood Heir 2-3...

[RachelG.]

Do we know when Blood Heir 2-3 will be published?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Not really, no... I feel like we're gonna get a 3rd Wilmington book first, but that's not official... I know we're getting Hugh 2 and maybe Roman 2... that and/or the next Innkeeper Chronicles book are the promised books other than Maggie 1-2...

Maggie 1 rewrites have been taking longer than they'd hoped, because it sounds like Ilona needed her gallbladder removed earlier this year, among other things... they only have next year to write the non-Maggie books before they need to get on to writing Maggie 2 for release in 2027, I think... Maggie 1 comes out early 2026...

[Nirkatze]

Was going to start Aurelia #1 Blood Heir but saw Iain's notes and think I'll do the same--start with Wilmington Years.

And I am having the hardest time remembering who Aurelia is. Someone give me a summary?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

It's Julie & Derek, but everyone is using fake identities... Julie is Aurelia Ryder... Aurelia = gold, and being a temporary Knight of the Order of Merciful Aid makes her Knight Ryder ;)

And Derek is Darren Argent, and Argent = Silver...

Gold & Silver...

Lots of stuff going on, and a new armageddon level threat to worry about, basically...

It's like 8 years after Magic Triumphs & 1 year after Magic Tides/Claims... Conlan is 9, and I think he's 8 in Magic Tides...

[Nirkatze]

Ah, good to know, ty! I'm not sure I would have figured that out. Definitely starting Wilmington first...

[Nirkatze]

Zoomed through the Wilmington Years and thoroughly enjoyed. (view spoiler)[It's interesting seeing both what has and what hasn't changed in the years since the end of Kate's series... seeing Conlan grown up enough to get his own POV sections... seeing them trying to live a "normal" life and not pull out celebrity cards like Pack Leader or Blessed Daughter. But still having to navigate those times when they happen anyway. And having to occasionally let off steam by beating up some toughs who had no idea what they were getting into. Kate calling Hugh for a background story was funny. And I also snorted at the moment when Conlan made his first kill and Curran's response was "Let's not tell your mother about this." (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Agreed... whether or not I love the villain of a story, I love all the character moments in Ilona Andrews books, basically...

[Nirkatze]

LOL For all the violence, I'd say her books fit my personal definition of cozy...

Read Blood Heir and really enjoyed it. One of the things I liked the most was just how much worldbuilding was packed in, especially (view spoiler)[in Julie/Aurelia's flashbacks and random commentary on what she'd been up to learning under "grandmother" and "grandfather." It took me several books to actually get a handle on the way this world worked, so I felt like I could properly enjoy it in this book. More on how people cope/coped with the magic/tech shifts, and more on Julie's life pre-Kate as well, more on the Knight order... just more.

The secret identity trope is a fun one too--so I had fun seeing Aurelia interact with--and occasionally beat up--people who would have known better if they'd figured it out.

And of course, the climactic moment when Derek revealed that he knew who she was from the moment he saw her was very awwwww. I've been a fan of those two from the start. Sweetest relationship in the 'verse. (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

I totally agree with you Nirkatze about Blood Heir. Although I haven't read all the books in this series yet I felt that the flashbacks and commentary helped me with some of the background I was missing.