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GROUP READ OF THE MONTH--ARCHIVE
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Magic Bites - September's Group Read - SPOILER FREE
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Theresa
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Aug 27, 2008 07:28AM
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I really enjoyed it - so much so that I got the second book in the series and finished that too!
I thought Magic Bites was okay, but the second book was fabulous. Kate's so much more "real" the second time around. There were some truly touching moments. And the ending...!
I agree, the ending of book 2 has me hooked for the next one, and it's not due out til March. March! That's too long to wait...
I love dark urban fantasies, but I really don't care much for dark urban fantasy romances, so I'm always leery starting a new series. I saw Magic Bites recommended on Amazon, so I gave it a shot. It was VERY good and I look forward to reading the second one. I work in Acquisitions at a Public Library, so I have a HUGE list of to-reads. It's kind of nice knowing I'll never catch up. That means there are a lot of great new authors out there!
I'm only on the 2nd chapter but it's holding my interest so far. I'm not saying it's great or not yet cuz I'm not far enough but Kate seems to be a cool protogonist so I'll keep going.I must say I hate the fact that vampires are aren't independent beings like other books but it's okay. I don't read many books with magic in them so I'm gonna keep going again! LOL
Yeah, it's kind of interesting how the vampires are pawns, isn't it? Kind of sinister too, to see their controllers and their blithe and disturbing manipulation of helpless souls who want to be put to rest. And yet they're sanctioned by the government in Kate's world. It's very interesting how the magic has become a matter of fact in her world and all becomes as day to day (and bureaucratic) as paperwork. It makes it all very believable. Nicely crafted world in Magic Bites.
I think her world building is very well done so far. I'm not confused and it's keeping me interested. I like that magic is just the way of life.It's kind of creepy that the vamps are like pets or something. And they are hideous! I imagine them to look like Golum from Lord of the Rings.
Yeah Andrews world building is excellent. I think I had a hard time getting into it because it seemed sort of Sci-Fi-ish but once I got the feel for the world I was able to enjoy it and the prospect of romance made it alot easier :) I'm now starting the 2nd in the series.
I am about half way through. I am enjoying it so far, but it is clear the author is "newer" to publishing. The biggest indicator has been the use of "dialogue" to tell the story. When she is with the 18 year old wolf guy and he asks her a one sentence question then she spends the next 2 to 3 pages explaining how magic works but never really answering his question I felt more like a student in a lecture than a reader with a book.
I'm about halfway in as well and I agree. It does kind of drag and I'm not reading it as fast as I would a book I was really into but it's not bad at all.Interesting concept.
Is it just me or does this book really drag? I mean, I keep losing focus. I'm gonna finish it though because I want to read the next one cuz I hear it's better so I can do it! Give me strength! LOL
I read both of the books awhile back and I had a hard time with the first one too, Ranata. Even though it is such a short book! The second one was faster and more interesting.
Thanks Theresa. I'll continue. It was my pick, after all!
Hm, I don't know, I didn't really have a hard time with it because I didn't feel there was any excess or fat, y'know. It was all very efficient. There were no unnecessary scenes/action. All of it contributed to the conflict in the story somehow, and we cut to each without delay. So overall, I felt it was reasonably fast-paced.
Yeah Ranata I had that problem as well but I finished it and It was worth it because the second is turning out to be better
I'll finish it but for now, I've put it down. I'll pick it up before the month is out.
Finished it. The pace was okay, but, I think the problem was more the lack of depth of the charachters. The plot had a few decent hooks, and the world was well set, and it moved us through the story; but the flat, canned charachters made me feel like-"I don't really care all that much if they solve the problem". I may read the second one just because I don't like to have an unfinished series---but more than likely it will get shuffled into the stack with New Spring from Jordan and perpetually moved to the bottom.
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.
Lol, Kait, I kind of liked the one-liners (when the mood was appropriate). Kind of drive-thru humor. I like it better than gag humor, and that kind of sarcasm suits the genre, I think. Where do you think she did the "tell" more than "show" though, out of curiosity?
@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.
Ah, yes, I agree. That was less than subtle, lol, but I didn't see many of those slipups in the book. In most cases, we learned through Andrews' casual dialogue or brief expository. That was one of those author "d'oh!" moments, lol.
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! :)
Well, so it's the last day of the month, so I figured I better finish our Sept. read so I can start both Octs. Overall, this book didn't really float my train. I kind of felt like Andrews dropped us in the middle of series without any explanation. I liked Curan and the story had an interesting premise, but it just left me flat.
It sounds like bk. 2 is better, so maybe I'll give the author a second chance at some point in the future, but for now I've got to move on to bigger better reads.
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.
Kait,Overall I think it was an excellent first effort for the husband/wife team of Ilona and Andrew (they are a team of writers who took their first names to be the "authors" name. I will probably read the second one.
On the "one-liners", I think that was one of the canned sides of the charachter I didn't really enjoy. Her and his (multiple his) seemed forced at times-maybe it was supposed to feel that way- but I didn't get the sense that she was using it to divert her discomfort. I felt more like the author had to constantly have her say something witty/sarcastic/inappropriate; and that apparently all of the males found her irresistible and engaged in her witty banter.
But overall it was a good first effort, and there were a few hooks that I am interested in following up on.
Jason, I felt the same way with the dialogue, with all the men bantering with her in the same manner (hive mind or what?) It didn't even seem like they had different personalities at those points, or else why would they all talk the same and have the same exact sense of humor? But I did like the humor from Kate's point of view (the narrative portion rather than the dialogue).And I had no idea this was a collaborative effort between them. That makes more sense now that I think about their website, lol.
The next book's pretty much at the back of my TBR list right now.
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.
There is a great review of Magic Bites at this blog...Review
And there is a comment posted after the review by Ilona Andrews, the author of the book. She explains why the book was so short.
