Magic Strikes

Be still my heart!

I am absolutely in love with this series.  In book 3, Magic Strikes, Ilona Andrews returns us to Kate Daniels' alternate Atlanta, and she has done a remarkable job of including many more styles of mythical creatures from other cultures, such as Viking, Hindu, Japanese and Chinese.

When Derek returns on the verge of death from a secret mission involving a fighting group called The Reapers, Kate takes a personal affront to it and demands vengence.  In order to get her revenge, she must fight in an underground tournament called The Midnight Games - a pasttime which Curran has strictly forbidden all shapeshifters from becoming involved in.  When Kate and Jim investigate The Reapers, they discover that they are rakshasas - born warriors who are masters of illusion and have no problem eating human flesh.  The rakshasa have also teamed up with Roland to destroy The Pack, with the aid of Hugh d'Ambray, past apprentice of Kate's dad.

Now Kate has the double worry of keeping her friends alive in the ring as well as keeping her identity a secret from Hugh - and by extension, Roland.

Kate is remarkable.  She cares so much about her friends that she is willing to impale herself on a sword to save her friends and destroy her enemies.  When Derek finally pulls through, Kate is so emotional that she dry heaves with relief.  She is also willing to step in to a ring and potentially face discovery, just so her friends don't have to fight short-handed.

Kate is reckless, impulsive and has authority issues; but she is also funny, protective and willing to put on airs so her ward will no longer be alienated at school.  She also has a cool head - when she stops to use it.  Despite the electricity flowing between her and Curran, she refuses to give, since she is convinced that Curran only wants her because she refused him.  And I love that aspect.  Eventually she'll give in, but she's making him work hard for it and it's fun to see her deny any sort of mutual attraction - even to herself.

I can't wait to read Magic Bleeds, and see what sort of fun Ilona will come up with next!