Review: Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews

Magic Rises
(Kate Daniels #6)
Ilona Andrews
Release: July 30, 2013
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Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost.

Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.

Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap…

Review:

I'll be honest. Magic Rises is my least favorite book in this series. But even with it being the one I like the least, it's still an amazing story! It is the epitome of an emotional roller coaster. I was everywhere emotionally...excited, anxious, angry, disappointed, devastated, amused, shocked, entertained and finally heartbroken. I've come to really care about Kate and her pack mates. So reading some of the things that happen, left me shaken and as wrung out.

This book was just ... wow. It was non-stop action and intrigue. There was relationship anxiety and angst as we see some of Kate's insecurities pop up again. It stressed me out to read. I definitely felt like punching certain characters in the face on many an occasion (no spoilers).

Kate and Curran receive word that three separate packs of European shifters want Curran to come and arbitrate a dispute. They claim that they want a neutral party to ease the diplomatic tension. It's very unusual that they would ask the Beast Lord to come all the way across the ocean and something doesn't sit right, but the lure is something neither Curran or Kate can ignore. They're offered ten drums of panacea, a cure that helps young shifters when they are fighting going loup, to mediate what has to be the shifter version of a soap opera. That amount of the panacea would be invaluable to the pack. Even the smallest chance of getting their hands on the some is enough for Kate and Curran to decide it's worth any risk.

There were so many twists and turns in this book, if the action didn't keep me glued to the page, the intrigue certainly did. Kate and Curran bring ten of their most trusted pack members with them to guard their back, but they know they are going straight into a hornet's nest. I also still love the humor and interplay between the characters. The writing style is still one of my favorites. 

The interaction with the European packs highlight many things we may have missed in earlier books. Like how unusual Curran's rule as Beast Lord is, that his choosing of Kate as his mate is controversial all over the world and that their relationship is not as steady as we thought. When Curran called Kate his Mate and demanded she move in with him, I thought that was it. No more drama. I thought everything was settled and it was jarring and painful to realize that it was not. This book really takes a look at their relationship and all the obvious and subtle differences between them and other couples. I do not want to ruin the twists and turns, but I will say that the relationship angst in this book totally stressed me out. I was getting really frustrated.

This book shows that the writing team that is Ilona Andrews is prepared to take us places that I didn't even know that this series could take us. It really highlighted the fact that we have kind of been emotionally sheltered in the Kate's world in Atlanta. We have not experienced the deep loss, trauma and frustration that other books have brought. The ending of this book was bittersweet and has one of the best (and longest) fight scene I've ever read. Holy cow!

Magic Rises totally blew me away! I did not foresee any of the events that happened. This story was not at all what I was expecting when I opened the book. There is one thing that this book really pushed home: Roland is coming. He is on the horizon and I am not sure if Kate is ready for him. I am not sure that the world understands who he is or if the pack is prepared for the fight that is coming to their door. This book, while not my favorite of the series, was everything I've come to love about the Kate Daniels series. Ilona Andrews hit it out of the park again!

    

  5 / 5 Stars!!!

My reviews of other books in this series:
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews 
Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews
Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews