As promised by Emmalita and others, the Kate Daniels series really hits its stride in its third outing Magic Strikes, as Kate finds herself fighting in gladiatorial rings and snogging in hot tubs, while Atlanta continues to be rocked by magic waves.
Now working for the Order, although not a Knight, Kate is put into a difficult position when her teenaged werewolf friend, Derek, makes her promise to keep a secret. With Derek then turning up near dead, attacked by a band of Reapers, Kate’s guilt and fury leads her to try and take them down. Drawn into the shadowy world of the Midnight Games – a supernatural gladiatorial contest – Kate must work with both Saiman and the Pack to get revenge on the shits who hurt Derek and to stop their plans of decimating the Pack.
Lots of what has been hinted at before is revealed here, whether that be Saiman’s true nature (seemingly designed especially to please my Norse myth loving self), Kate’s parentage and history (yup, she’s definitely a Big Deal), just how many mythological creatures inhabit Atlanta (a lot), or how were-lions go about courting their chosen mate, and it’s all a tremendous amount of fun (so much fun, in fact, that I devoured this one night rather than going to bed).
I’m still not a huge fan of Curran as a character (he’s way too much of a controlling douche for that), but I must admit that I’m rather enjoying the slow burn of his budding relationship with Kate, even as I secretly ship Andrea and Raphael instead.
Bring on number four!
Curran is a bit douchy in the early books, but he and Kate work so well as a couple (because, when it comes down to it, Kate may in fact be even more alpha than he is) and are now one of my favourite couples in urban/paranormal fantasy.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you like Andrea and Raphael, wait until you get to Gunmetal Magic(technically book 5.5). It’s worth it.
Ooh, thanks for putting that one on my radar, I may have missed it otherwise!