Magic Burns

Down in Atlanta, tempers – and temperatures – are about to flare…
As a mercenary who cleans up after magic gone wrong, Kate Daniels has seen her share of occupational hazards. Normally, waves of paranormal energy ebb and flow across Atlanta like a tide. But once every seven years, a flare comes, a time when magic runs rampant. Now Kate’s going to have to deal with problems on a much bigger scale: a divine one.
When Kate sets out to retrieve a set of stolen maps for the Pack, Atlanta’s paramilitary clan of shapeshifters, she quickly realizes much more at stake. During a flare, gods and goddesses can manifest – and battle for power. The stolen maps are only the opening gambit in an epic tug-of-war between two gods hoping for rebirth. And if Kate can’t stop the cataclysmic showdown, the city may not survive…

I feel like urban fantasy gets a bad rap, yknow? Maybe it’s because of all the YA vampire novels that were so big around the Twilight era. Not that all of those were bad!! Or maybe it’s because they still don’t have the fancy covers that almost all other genres have now. However!! I have been really into the genre lately. We all know my love for Seanan McGuire and the October Daye series. Well, the Kate Daniels series is another favorite urban fantasy series – even though this book is only the second in the series!

I think my main delight in urban fantasy comes from the kickass female characters I’ve been reading about, and the pure fun and adventure and shenanigans that they get up to. Kate is one badass bitch! She’s got POWERFUL magic, can wield her sword Slayer with precision and grace, and she takes no shit from anyone. Including the Beast Lord, the master of all were-people.

Speaking of, I love that in this series we don’t just get werewolves, we get all sorts of were-people! Hyenas, cats (jaguars, lions, etc), wolves, and so much more. I think that’s a fresh take on the classic werewolf idea. Andrews’ also does a really neat take on vampires as well. Vampires are more like host bodies that a necromancer or “Master of the Dead” can “pilot” – meaning they can basically use mind control to take over the body of the vampire.

The world building in the first book was definitely a bit lacking, but I feel like the pieces that were missing were mostly filled in during this book! I was much less confused and everything felt very cohesive and understandable.

The main plot centers around Kate helping a young girl find her mother, who is a witch. But of course it can’t be that simple – there are heroes and monsters from Celtic legend roaming around and wreaking havoc. I loved the inclusion of the Celtic mythology in an urban fantasy novel. What I love even more is that other mythologies are mentioned, and are also concrete “real” things (such as Stymphalian birds from Greek mythology). The world is much more than the stereotypical urban fantasy world.

This is a shorter review since it’s late and I need to sleep! But I wanted to get this out of my head while it was fresh haha. But yeah I am loving this series and am very excited to continue!