Magic Burns (Kate Daniels Book 2)

This is the second installment in an urban fantasy series revolving around one kick-ass character, Kate ;) I was originally recommended these books by one of my trusted #BookBesties, and even before that I knew that they existed in the world... ;) it's just that with all the books I already own I am in constant stae of "too many books too little time" :) but I finally decided to give them a try and... I really liked the first one :) as you can see by my review of the sequel, that you are currently reading, I continued on with the series ;) and just as K predicted, I liked it even more than the beginning :) she also claims that the books keep getting better and better so I'm super excited to dive into the next one... that I purchased immediately after finishing this one ;) since this is a sequel, I will have the next paragraph completely spoiler free, safe to read for all of you who are new to the series :) I will give you some more details about the world and Kate in general, and then in the third and last one I will share with you guys my thoughts and feelings about this 5 stars gem, where I will talk about certain characters and events without additional explanations, cause I assume you know who I'm talking about ;) ok, let's jump into all that ;)Like I mentioned before, this is an urban fantasy series, which for me means that we mix our modern-ish world with some paranormal elements... in this case, the whole action takes place in Atlanta... or at least an alternate version of Atlanta, set some time in the future... it's a world where magic exists but is very unreliable... it ebbs and flows, appearing in our world and the disappearing for a time... this makes everything very unstable... when magic is present, technology tends to not work properly... besides humans, we have quite a few other groups of creatures: shapeshifters, vampires and witches just to name a few... I don't want to get into more details about them, cause everything is explained much better in the actual books, but it's a very rich and complex world that I love more and more with each story I read... even though I am usually not a fan of books that tend to veer towards more dark and gritty vibes... but this series is done in such a spectacular way that I became addicted :) in the middle of all that we have Kate :) she's... sort of a private investigator / mercenary and definitely have quite a few secrets of her own... :) I absolutely love her... her strength, determination and courage... I adore that she has flaws, she can be quite stubborn to name just one of them ;) she has so many layers and I can't wait to read more books and get to know her more :) each book in this series have a different case / situation that is resolved within that installment... or at least that was the case so far, I can't be sure it will stay that way in the future ;) but there are characters and themes that appear in more than one of them, and with each little detail unveiled I am more and more curious / excited to read more about all that... I know I'm being vaue, but I don't want to spoil you guys certain things in case you are new to this series like I was just a few weeks ago ;) ok, now that we have this little explanation out of the way, let me jump into my actual review of this second book in the series :)When K said to me that the first book is good, but to not be discouraged if I don't like it very much, because the next ones are better, I prepared my expectations accordingly... ;) and I actually did liked that first novel... there was a lot of world building, which is pretty obvious, since it was the very beginning, but I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the details at times... but with this one? :) I think because I already had a lot of the knowledge about the world, characters and events, this one was much easier to get into :) it takes place a few months after the end of the previous one, during a flare... it's an event that occurs every seven years or so, when magic is more powerful and unpredictable than usual and allows a lot of weird and powerful things to happen... Kate is once again thrown right in the middle of some serious troubles... I think my favourite parts of the story were her interactions with the pack members... especially Curran, the alpha... we got to see a few glimpses here and there of the very slow burn romance between them... and those little teasers only made me want to know more... immediately :) with this second book we got to know more about certain secondary characters... *coughs* Derek *coughs* ;) I mean, I loved him before, but now I really love him :) not only that, we got introduced to a few new characters that I have a feeling will become quite important in the future... *coughs* Andrea *coughs* ;) but I won't say anything else about her... just... I really like her as well and am very curious to see what will happen in future installments :) like with the previous book, this one was once again phenomenally written... full of action and surprising turns of events I was glued to the pages :) the best proof of how much I adored it and how much I became addicted to the series is that I already own the third book... I would buy more but I am very consciously restraining myself from book buying binges... yeah... it's a pattern of mine ;) but I am predicting that after each book I read next in this series, I will buy the next one immediately after finishing it... especially if it will keep getting better and better... I am just so in love with Kate as a character and the whole world in general... I was able to not get spoiled about future installments so far and I am hoping this trend will stick with me :) looking forward to continue on with the rest of the series ;)

Magic Burns is the second book in the Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews and is AMAZING! I was a bit eh on Magic Bites, but this book, this book got me hooked on the series!Kate is finally doing good at working with both the Guild and the Order and is able to put food on the table and is finally starting to get her life in order. After everything she went through in the previous book she needs a break, but then a flare starts and everything just goes downhill. What I really enjoyed in this book, was the character development and the new characters that we met. We really got to see Kate in her element, as well as see her not be such a stoic character as she was in Magic Bites. Her empathy and caring for Julie was beautiful, and the friendship she has with Andrea is amazing. She may not want to admit it, but she really does care for Jim and Derek and her banter with Ghastek is quite hilarious as well. But the one thing I truly enjoyed in this book was seeing her and Curran and their back and forth and seeing them and their odd relationship progress.The storyline in this book was fantastic. I loved the flare and the mystery of what was going on, and why everyone was after Julie. Watching Kate go all crazy trying to get answers was awesome, and watching her do what she needed to do to save the people she cared about was amazing. This book really was the one that was going to show me if I was going to invest in the rest of the series or not, and now I know I will be reading more in this series. I have fallen in love with Kate Daniels and her awesomeness and this series. Especially now that we are getting more hints as to what exactly Kate is hiding!If you're a lover of paranormal/urban fantasy, or just looking for something new to try, this is definitely a book to pick up. Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews definitely has suspense, magic, angst, and a storyline that will have you on the edge of your seat!

Having read the whole series more than twice, I love these books. Great world building, storytelling and characters. Awesome.

Debo decir que me gusta mucho la personalidad de Kate, sin embargo en este libro sus avaneturas no tanto, habia muchos personajes y en veces la historia se tornaba un tanto aburrida, pero en terminos generales el libro esta muy bien 4 estrellas.

Further down you can read my review in English.MEINE MEINUNGDie Story beginnt Wochen später nach dem ersten Band. Jim, ein Rudel Mitglied und einer der wenigen Freunde die Kate hat, ruft sie an und versucht sie dazu zu bewegen, mit ihm einen Auftrag als Söldnerin auszuführen. In diesem erfährt man unter anderem auch, wie das Verhältnis zwischen Rudel und Orden ist, für den Kate neben der Söldnergilde, auch arbeitet. Diese Information ist sehr gut eingestreut und ist nicht nur informativ, sondern dient gleichzeitig auch als „Lückenfüller“. Während diesem Auftrag wird ihre Zielperson durch einen mysteriösen Schützen erschossen, der im weiteren Verlauf im Buch eine wichtige Rolle spielen wird.Im Gegensatz zu anderen Autoren, schafft das Autorenpaar hier, spannend zu beginnen. Durch einen scheinbar banalen Auftrag als Söldner gerät Kate in etwas Großes und stolpert im weiteren Verlauf über Hexen und Götter. Ich finde es gut, dass das Autorenpaar damit gewartet hat, diese vorzustellen, da es im ersten Teil einfach zu viele worden wäre. Ilona Andrews verdeutlicht, wie gefährlich es in dieser Welt doch sein kann, wenn man keinen Plan von irgendwas hat und dann mit Magie herumpfuscht.Im weiteren Verlauf der Geschichte trifft Kate durch Zufall auf Red, der im ersten Band kurz erschien. Er ist ein junger Schamane, der auf der Straße lebt und ihr Julie anvertraut, die auf der Suche nach ihrer verschollenen Mutter ist. Kate macht sich daran ihr zu helfen. Gleichzeitig bittet sie nicht nur das Rudel um Hilfe, sondern auch Myong, die im ersten Band als Freundin von Curran auftauchte.Es erscheint zuerst, dass es zu viele Handlungen gleichzeitig sind und man sieht scheinbar nicht den Zusammenhang zueinander. Das Autorenpaar allerdings schafft es nicht den Faden zu verlieren und die Handlungen gut miteinander zu verknüpfen und keines auszulassen. Zum Beispiel Myong: Sie kommt mit der Bitte zu Kate, dass sie Curran überzeugen soll, dass sie Crest, Kates Ex, heiraten darf. In Laufe der Geschichte habe ich diese Bitte ab und an vergessen, aber sie diente als gute Vorlage Kate zum Rudel zu führen und mit dieser bitte Curran ordentlich auf die Nerven zu gehen.Curran tauchte in diesem Band sehr oft auf, was mir persönlich sehr gut gefiel. Mir gefällt einfach dieses hin und her zwischen Kate und ihm. Ich muss einfach jedes Mal schmunzeln, wenn ich ihnen „zuhöre“. Am liebsten hätte ich einfach nur ein Band mit denen beiden ihren Unterhaltungen. Vor allem kann man einfach nicht wissen, ob die sich gegenseitig hassen oder gleich umeinander herfallen. Ich denke einfach mal beides.Auch in dieser Band wird in Kates Sicht geschrieben. Sie hat wie immer eine humorvolle Ansicht an Dinge und bringt einen gewissen Pfiff mit. Ihre Sicht, bzw. der Schreibstil in ihrer Sicht, unterscheidet sich kaum zum ersten Band und wirkt so wie eine lange Handlung, die nicht durch zwei Bänder unterbrochen worden ist.Julie, 14 Jahre alt, ist ein Mädchen, dass in diesem Band vorgestellt wird. Sie wird in den weiteren Bändern eine große Rolle spielen und sie wächst einem hier ans Herzen. Man kann gut mit ihr mitfühlen. Das Autorenpaar schafft es hier wirklich ein Mädchen in ihrer Pubertät glaubhaft zu zeigen, was ich echt toll finde. Julie hängt an Kate und die beiden bauen eine Bindung auf.Der Orden wird durch Andrea in diesem Band präsentiert, die zu Kates bester Freundin wird. Auch sie wird im weiteren Verlauf eine große Rolle spielen.Alles in allem schafft das Autorenpaar eine gute Fortsetzung zum ersten Band, das diesem in nichts dahinter steht. Es ist mit Witz geschrieben und man verliert im Laufe des Lesens nicht das Interesse. Es wird, je weiter man liest, ein guter Spannungsbogen aufgebaut. Auch scheint jede Handlung gut durchdacht.REVIEWMagic burns is the second novel written by the husband and wife writing Team known as Ilona Andrews. It continues a few weeks after the first novel. Kate Daniels, who is a badass mercenary works now as a liaison between the Mercenary Guild and the Order of Merciful Aid. I would recommend reading Magic Bites before beginning with Magic Burns, because it builds up on the first novel.Magic Burns is narrated in first person by Kate Daniels, whose dark humor infuses the story telling and amused me through the whole book. Her way of thinking doesn’t get boring and helps to light up the mood.The style of writing is easy to read and you can imagine everything perfectly. It is more like watching a movie instead of reading a book. Even if you read a flashback on what happened before, it isn’t too much and narrowed down.In this novel, witches are playing an important part. Kates newest Gig leads her to Julie, a 14-year-old girl who is trying to find her mother. Kate decides to help this girl and discovers, that the mother was a part of an amateur coven, which messed around with magic and gods.Ilona Andrews managed not only to use 260 pages to write a wonderful novel. No, they successfully tell about Celtic mythology and how this world is build and works. Every bit of information was exciting to read and never boring. It still amazes me how they managed to not only use the information Kate got for the story but more like build it up and use it in more ways than a source of information.Short: it is a excellent sequel and I can’t wait to continue reading more about Kate Daniels as the badass mercenary!

@apenas.um.trecho Segundo livro em inglês lido! 🙌🏼 infelizmente a dica de hoje vai ser só para quem se arrisca a ler em inglês, porque a série Kate Daniels só tem o primeiro livro lançado aqui no Brasil (eu comecei a série pelo segundo por indicação de amiga). Assim que comecei a ler eu já me apaixonei pela protagonista da série. Amei a personalidade forte e determinada dela, sem contar aquele ar de ironia em momentos "impróprios". Não demorou muito para a história me prender e em dado momento eu já tava devorando o livro mesmo sendo em inglês (tô orgulhosa hahahha). Achei super interessante o mundo criado pela a autora e o fato de existir um "pêndulo" entre a magia e a tecnologia (uma hora o mundo está mais mágico, outra mais tecnológico). E adorei o fato da personificação dos deuses, esse sempre é um assunto que ganha vários pontos comigo. Para quem tá começando a se aventurar nas leituras em inglês como eu, fica aí uma dica de um livro incrível e que tem uma linguagem bem acessível. (Eu juro que por trás dessa capa horrível tem uma história maravilhosa) Alguém já conhecia a série? Tô LOUCA para ler o próximo!

Second book in the series and doesn't disappoint, packed with action and fast paced, you finish it without realizing it.