Series Review - Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 5 stars

Series summary:

"The world has suffered a magic apocalypse. We pushed the technological progress too far, and now magic returned with a vengeance. It comes in waves, without warning, and vanishes as suddenly as it appears. When magic is up, planes drop out of the sky, cars stall, electricity dies. When magic is down, guns work and spells fail.

It’s a volatile, screwed-up world. Magic feeds on technology, gnawing down on skyscrapers until most of them topple and fall, leaving only skeletal husks behind. Monsters prowl the ruined streets, werebears and werehyenas stalk their prey; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst for knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds.

In this world lives Kate Daniels. Kate likes her sword a little too much and has a hard time controlling her mouth. The magic in her blood makes her a target, and she spent most of her life hiding in plain sight. But sometimes even trained killers make friends and fall in love, and when the universe tries to kick them in the face, they kick back."

      It's been ages since I read urban fantasy or binge-read long series, and I've had my eye on Kate Daniels ever since Tanja (and several of our friends) raved about how amazing it is. So, I finally picked it up. Did I like it? YES!

Five kick-ass, awesome things about Kate Daniels series

• Main female character. What I like the most in books I read is strong women and there are a lot of those here. Kate has come close to dethroning my ultimate girl crush, MacKayla Lane from Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. 
• Mystery. Every sequel is focused on different set of the events, but at the same time everything is connected and there is the bigger story behind everything.
• Romance. Curran and Kate are the power couple of bookish world. Their chemistry is perfect, authors managed to make romance believable and present just enough to make everything interesting, and still give both characters something more than just "the couple" epithet.
• Secondary characters. They are not just fellow sidekicks, but you'll find actual character development. Everyone has their own reasons for doing things, you understand why they act certain way and you even wish to read their own stories. My favorite? Derek. 
• World building. It started slow and I have to admit that in the first book I had few issues. That is why I am happy that I've waited this long to read Kate Daniels. With every new book, authors give us new pieces of puzzle and you just have to be patient.

      Magic Shifts, eight book, should be publisher in August and I cannot wait to have it in my hands. Along with Feverborn by Karen Marie Moning, it's one of my most anticipated urban fantasy novels.

Happy reading,