second book even better than the first

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	• Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2) Ilona Andrews Ace, 2008 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 52 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

second book even better than the first

awesome series for those looking for life after harry potter and eragon. loved it

Creative and interesting

This series is refreshingly unique. Ms Andrews does a terrific job creating her alternative Atlanta and imbuing it with well-developed characters. Can't wait to see what happens next...

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Magic Burns

I am on pins and needles waiting for the third KATEGORIE|/book" class="textlinks">book in the installment. I am looking forward to learning more about Kate, and seeing how her powers develop.

Excellent Sequel to Magic Bites

Magic Burns picks up three months after Magic Bites. Atlanta is about to experience a flare - a time (every seven years) when magic runs rampant. So things in Kate's life are even crazier than usual. A simple job for the Pack (Atlanta's paramilitary clan of shapeshifters) to retrieve some maps, puts Kate in the path of two Gods fighting a battle of power. The price for stopping this war is going to be high.

The dialogue (as in the first book) is sparky, witty and compelling. Kate is a spunky, smart-mouthed heroine, who doesn't always think before she opens up her mouth, but is usually able to think fast enough to get herself out of any trouble her mouth gets her into. Though she should really know better than to preface a visit to anyone in Atlanta with the comment "...he's harmless."

Retrieving the maps is not as easy as it sounds. Whenever Kate gets her hands on them, the thief steals them back. Bran is a character you can't help but like. He's such a rascal. :)

'"Hello, dove." He grinned at me. "Look at that: you don't have your pretty knife and I've got your hands. What are you gonna do now?"
I rammed my head into his nose.'

The relationship he has with Kate is both funny and sad, though I think at the end of the book he is her champion.

Probably my favourite section is when Kate has to visit the werehyenas, not only for the stuff we find out, but also because the characters of the hyenas are just so hyena-like. I read that bit and I've got the trio from the Lion King in my head.

In some ways this book is more fantastical, and I wonder how much of that can be attributed to the flare. The number and variety of supernatural creatures on display increases - salamanders, stymphalean birds, giant tortoises - as does the strength of magical activity. It gives you an idea of what Atlanta would be like if it ever tipped completely over into the magical world. (Slightly reminded me of Simon R. Greens Nightside).

We get a lot more hints about Kate's secret. Some whacking big clues. I'm pretty sure I know what it is but it doesn't really annoy me that we still don't know for sure. I like that it's slowly unfolding with events.

The chemistry between Kate and Curran increases. Phew!

Any book that can make you laugh and cry is a keeper. My major gripe is that 2009 is too long to wait for the next in the series.

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Yay!!!! It got better . . . .

_Magic Burns_ is the second KATEGORIE|/book" class="textlinks">book in the Kate Daniels series, written by Ilona Andrews.

Kate is a trained warrior whose current job is liaison between the Order and the Mercenary Guild. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the few cities to survive the resurgence of magic in the early 2000s. The story takes place a few decades after magic reappeared. Kate is in her mid-20s when the story takes place.

(It would take too long to explain the world Kate lives in, so all I can say is please read the book. Ms. Andrews has created a really unique world and I loved reading the different ways that magic and tech mixed and interacted.)

Kate starts out the book hunting a pyromaniac, but as she keeps stumbling across some odd events that can't be overlooked -- both because of her own moral code and because the problems are things the Order would want information on anyway -- she becomes further entwined in a big nasty mess caused by some incompetent witches (and others).

Which brings up one of the things I like about Andrews' writing -- while Kate is a bit of a mouthy adolescent superhero herself, most of the other characters have real emotions, real ambitions, real anxieties, and make real mistakes. They are believable.

There is a love interest, but it's more anxiety and avoidance at this stage than anything real. Kate has a REALLY *BIG* secret in her past, which makes her very wary of trusting or becoming intimate with anyone.

In the end, things mostly work out, and there are hints that Kate is getting tired of hiding all the time. I am looking forward to future books in the series, as I think that will lead to some interesting events.

All in all, it was a very light and enjoyable read. I give it four stars.

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I also have to say I am VERY happy to see Ms. Andrews has changed some things from the first Kate Daniels book. _Magic Bites_ was a very interesting but deeply flawed series opening. I was torn after reading it because I wanted to see where Ms. Andrews took the series and characters, but at the same time I didn't want to wade through that much needless pain (from the overly-described villainous acts of the very sadistic bad guys) and needless stupidity (from Kate's uncontrolled mouth) in future books. Thankfully, Ms. Andrews has kept all the things I liked about the series (the setting, the secondary characters, Kate in her better moments, the mystery of Kate's past) and gotten rid of most of what I didn't like. I eagerly look forward to book 3.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

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