Review: Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

Iron and Magic
(The Iron Covenant #1)
Ilona Andrews
Release: June 26, 2018
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No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she's trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.

Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?

As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.”

Hugh and Elara may do both.

Review:
Oh! My giddy aunt! They did it. They actually did it. The writing duo of Ilona Andrews made me like Hugh d'Ambray. I... I didn't think that was possible even when they announced that they were for real writing this book and it wasn't another April Fools joke. Iron and Magic was everything I wanted it to be and more!

Reading this book made me realize three things: 1. There is a damn good reason why Ilona Andrews is one my favorite auto-buy authors, 2. I need the rest of this trilogy in my hands ASAP because I need more Hugh and Elara and their people, and 3. I am not ready for the Kate Daniels series to end. And preparing/setting things up for the end is one thing this book does.

I loved learning more about Hugh. I hated him in the Kate Daniels series but this book shows us that Roland's Warlord is human and has a heart under his brash exterior. He's starting to regret some of the things he's done but he accepts that those things are on his head even though he was just following orders. He is still first and foremost a Warlord and always will be. It's a part of him. And even though we get to see new sides of him, he's still kind of an asshole but I like that about him. The back and forth between him and Elara was amazing!

Speaking of Elara, that woman is bloody fascinating! She's powerful but she has a soft-heart and only does the things she does to protect herself and her people. I loved that she was willing to go head to head with Hugh frequently and didn't let him walk all over her. Elara can hold her own against one of the deadliest men in the Kate Daniels World and it is damn impressive. I want to know more about her past and her magic and why her people call her the White Lady. I'm going to be honest and admit that I ship her and Hugh hard. Their antagonistic relationship is everything! They were practically made for each other so thank heavens this marriage brought them together!

As fascinating as Elara was, I'm even more fascinated by her people. The range and variety of magic users we saw in this book has me wanting to know more. Also, I really want to know what happened that caused them to be known as The Departed. I want to know so badly! I'm equally as fascinated with Hugh's Iron Dogs. They have just as much variety in their ranks as Elara's people and I want to know more about the individuals. I found myself loving every one his Centurions and the Iron Dogs we were introduced to in this story. Their backstories are probably just as interesting as Hugh and Elara's. Let's just assume I want to know about everybody including Hugh's horse.

The plot was as action-packed and fast-paced as we've come to expect from Ilona Andrews. In my opinion, this is one of the best Ilona Andrews books I've ever read. It was amazing! Hugh. Elara. The Iron Dogs. The Departed. I loved everything about it! I can't wait to see where the story goes from here. I need book two in my hands ASAP!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

    

  5 / 5 Stars