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renpuspita's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I'm in awe, sobs.
Also Hugh's status in my eyes just escalated from "interesting villain/antihero" to "SICK F*CK". I wholeheartly agree with Barabas, 🤣. Roland in the other side rather feel like a proud papa to Kate rather than the major villain 😆. The ending is just chef's kiss and already foreshadow from the previous books.
In the foreword, IA said that Magic Breaks is a book that finished Kate's arc but the book also not the end. Magic Breaks is more like a culmination about Kate's impending meeting (or demise, whichever you prefer) with her father, Roland. I stated in my previous comment that this is also the book that have a shifting format treatment from mass market to hardcover. I did wait for a year to buy the mass market and, ehm, 7 years later to read the book, lol. Magic Breaks begin with summary in the form of private journal written by our favorite Pack's lawyer and weremongoose, Barabas Gilliam. Heh, I like his voice, so full of sarcasm, witty remarks and dry humor, basically Kate in a male form, lel. I would love to read Barabas's own novella although the chance of its is low but girl can always hope.
Despite the "breaks" in the title, this book didn't have any break at all. A full action packed and high octane, our Kate seems like can't rest. She has her own hands full with Curran being away almost half of the book and the sick fuck, ehm, Hugh's obsession toward her is escalated through the roof. But, despite the grim situation, desperate and hopeless moment, IA manage to balance the book with humors as well. I liked that Desandra play some role and boy, she's so lewd and didn't ashamed to admit it, it's hilarious to read. I also liked that IA decide to give more spotlight to one of the Rat Alphas, Robert Lonesco. He and his husband, Thomas seems like interesting couple and I would love to read more about them. Ascanio still a crack and have some buddy cop joke with Derek although the boy wonder want to strangle the bouda every chance he got.
The actions is non-stop. We go from Kate try to prevents the war between Pack and People happen (courtesy of Hugh's sinister traps), so she go almost everywhere to solve the murder while also try to hold the Pack together because Curran is away. Then she got transported into magical prison and to finally face her own father for the first time in flesh. Finally. For 7 books we only got trivia and bits about Roland but in Magic Breaks, Roland is finally make appearance. He also have his father-daughter moment with Kate in civil manners but ofc it's happen after they try to kill each other. Heh. For a villain, Roland is way better than Hugh. Hugh was obsessed and want Kate for his bed, also he hate Curran. Roland is..difficult to predict compared to Hugh. Maybe that's what 5000 years live did to you. I looking forward to what Roland will bring to Atlanta and test Kate's patience.
It didn't complete to review Kate Daniels series without at least discuss about some yellow flag characters, because this is the series that didn't bother to "kill your darling" as IA already implement in Magic Rises. So..the casualties happen more to people that need to be killed. Like Ted Moynohan and Jennifer. For Ted, finally he got his comeuppance although his demise didn't left that much impact for me. More like, I don't care about him at all. Poor Nick the crusader, though. I would love to know how he become undercover to Hugh's Iron Dogs. As for Jennifer, I already see it coming just from Magic Slays. Daniel died in that book so Jennifer's position is already shaky to start with. Then, we got introduced to Desandra and her scene when she challenge her father already give a hint that there will be trouble for Jennifer especially when Kate decide to bring Desandra into the Pack. So her death is predictable. As for a villain, she is pretty sad characters and honestly she didn't have to become one of the antagonist if only she pick the right decision in Magic Bleeds. Kate was right that Jennifer's life is full of tragedy, but in the other side I like that Desandra now take Jennifer's place. She will become a better alpha compared to Jennifer. As for Mauro, his death is less hard to read compared to Aunt B's death in Magic Rises. Maybe because Mauro's appearance is just a few and his death scene kinda like to show how desperate and hopeless Kate was. I still think Aunt B's death is the hardest to read and accept. We don't get some of badass older female with questionable motive like Aunt B. Aunt B can totally make Victoria Tremaine from Hidden Legacy run for her money .
While Curran is away for more than half of the book, but every scene he had with Kate is always a winner. Sure he fuck up in Magic Rises, so his support to Kate in Magic Breaks kinda amend that. It's nice to read that Kate is come for a long way regarding her feeling to Curran. She's totally in love and I guess that make her a better character in my eyes. Yes, Kate still kick ass but I also see that her love for Curran is what make her get going. The scene when Curran support Kate when Roland decide to test her power is still my favorite and maybewhile Kate claiming Atlanta for her own, it's not only from her power alone but Curran's magic as well. Without Curran to support her, chance that she can't deflect the power spear that Roland throw to her and all will lose. Their sex scene is so hot, the hotter that I have read from IA books, lel. And this book is marketed as UF with romance element, but the smut didn't disappoint. I can gush more but it's official that Kate and Curran is one of my favorite alpha couple to date. Hugh can go to the side and cry more because he just didn't get it. Kate told him so many "NO" and he didn't get the memo. You can sulk in the corner, Sick Fuck.
Another winner from IA and Magic Breaks just established Kate Daniels series as one of Urban Fantasy series that I will always recommend to everyone I know. Also, this book have a mammoth donkey as a stead called Cuddles and she loved to prancing. Who doesn't love donkey, eh?
Also Hugh's status in my eyes just escalated from "interesting villain/antihero" to "SICK F*CK". I wholeheartly agree with Barabas, 🤣. Roland in the other side rather feel like a proud papa to Kate rather than the major villain 😆. The ending is just chef's kiss and already foreshadow from the previous books.
In the foreword, IA said that Magic Breaks is a book that finished Kate's arc but the book also not the end. Magic Breaks is more like a culmination about Kate's impending meeting (or demise, whichever you prefer) with her father, Roland. I stated in my previous comment that this is also the book that have a shifting format treatment from mass market to hardcover. I did wait for a year to buy the mass market and, ehm, 7 years later to read the book, lol. Magic Breaks begin with summary in the form of private journal written by our favorite Pack's lawyer and weremongoose, Barabas Gilliam. Heh, I like his voice, so full of sarcasm, witty remarks and dry humor, basically Kate in a male form, lel. I would love to read Barabas's own novella although the chance of its is low but girl can always hope.
Despite the "breaks" in the title, this book didn't have any break at all. A full action packed and high octane, our Kate seems like can't rest. She has her own hands full with Curran being away almost half of the book and the sick fuck, ehm, Hugh's obsession toward her is escalated through the roof. But, despite the grim situation, desperate and hopeless moment, IA manage to balance the book with humors as well. I liked that Desandra play some role and boy, she's so lewd and didn't ashamed to admit it, it's hilarious to read. I also liked that IA decide to give more spotlight to one of the Rat Alphas, Robert Lonesco. He and his husband, Thomas seems like interesting couple and I would love to read more about them. Ascanio still a crack and have some buddy cop joke with Derek although the boy wonder want to strangle the bouda every chance he got.
The actions is non-stop. We go from Kate try to prevents the war between Pack and People happen (courtesy of Hugh's sinister traps), so she go almost everywhere to solve the murder while also try to hold the Pack together because Curran is away. Then she got transported into magical prison and to finally face her own father for the first time in flesh. Finally. For 7 books we only got trivia and bits about Roland but in Magic Breaks, Roland is finally make appearance. He also have his father-daughter moment with Kate in civil manners but ofc it's happen after they try to kill each other. Heh. For a villain, Roland is way better than Hugh. Hugh was obsessed and want Kate for his bed, also he hate Curran. Roland is..difficult to predict compared to Hugh. Maybe that's what 5000 years live did to you. I looking forward to what Roland will bring to Atlanta and test Kate's patience.
It didn't complete to review Kate Daniels series without at least discuss about some yellow flag characters, because this is the series that didn't bother to "kill your darling" as IA already implement in Magic Rises. So..
While Curran is away for more than half of the book, but every scene he had with Kate is always a winner. Sure he fuck up in Magic Rises, so his support to Kate in Magic Breaks kinda amend that. It's nice to read that Kate is come for a long way regarding her feeling to Curran. She's totally in love and I guess that make her a better character in my eyes. Yes, Kate still kick ass but I also see that her love for Curran is what make her get going. The scene when Curran support Kate when Roland decide to test her power is still my favorite and maybe
Another winner from IA and Magic Breaks just established Kate Daniels series as one of Urban Fantasy series that I will always recommend to everyone I know. Also, this book have a mammoth donkey as a stead called Cuddles and she loved to prancing. Who doesn't love donkey, eh?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content and Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent
hanz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Definitely one of my fave installments of the series. Ghastek gets some legit facetime and we learn some of his history. Kate gets some revenge. Big stuff happens overall.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
librarymouse's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This whole book is a big change to the series while fitting in quite comfortably with the rest of the books. Hugh being a giant fuck up is great. Kate is a slow study, but a good student, and taking advantage of her and Barabbas' knowledge of human and pack law to upend Hugh's plan was wonderful!
I'm deeply upset by characters I love being used as canon fodder, but I understand the need for their deaths to convey the weight of the situations our characters are in. I spent the entire book waiting for Robert to betray Kate, but I'm glad it was more of an opportunity for readers and Kate to become better acquainted with clan rat.
I'm very excited for Andrea's future kiddos and the possibility of Julie playing babysitter and Kate once again being an aunt. I look forward to seeing what Jim does with the pack. And I look forward to seeing how this changes the dynamics in future books.
Roland is definitely a wild card character. I'm excited for whatever lore about him and anything else we'll get in the next few books.
I'm deeply upset by characters I love being used as canon fodder, but I understand the need for their deaths to convey the weight of the situations our characters are in. I spent the entire book waiting for Robert to betray Kate, but I'm glad it was more of an opportunity for readers and Kate to become better acquainted with clan rat.
I'm very excited for Andrea's future kiddos and the possibility of Julie playing babysitter and Kate once again being an aunt. I look forward to seeing what Jim does with the pack. And I look forward to seeing how this changes the dynamics in future books.
Roland is definitely a wild card character. I'm excited for whatever lore about him and anything else we'll get in the next few books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery and Abortion
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this on its own and as a climactic entry in a long-running series. It marks the first appearance of Roland, at long last, and I'm excited to see how the rest of the series plays out. Kate has changed enormously since the beginning of the series, so much so that she feels like a different narrator from the early books. She's redirected her feelings towards caring for and about the people she loves, rather than being consumed by the need to hide from her father long enough to get strong and kill him.
Kate stops being able to keep a lot of things secret, losing a lot of the reasons which were encouraging her silence. Kate and Curran are a much more unified front in this book, it feels like the conversations they had in MAGIC RISES were very good for them as a couple. A little of that is made easier by Curran being in another location for most of the book, but it was a bittersweet absence. Robert and Thomas, the Rat alphas, get more of a spotlight than they've had all series. This includes a discussion of how they keep being out of the loop which is so meta that it feels like it's doing double duty as an explanation to the readers as well as the alphas.
The worldbuilding includes more specific information about Roland, including a truly terrifying prison which he had constructed a while ago. Ghastek gets a bit of spotlight when he and Kate are forced to spend time together, he's an interesting character and I enjoyed finding out some of his backstory.
MAGIC BREAKS wraps up a few major things that were left hanging, such as whether Roland's Warlord survived their last fight. Most of the big changes have been telegraphed for a while, but are finally coming to a head. The biggest thing it addresses which I didn't expect to get resolved is the status of Ted, the extremely bigoted head of the local Order chapter (and Kate's former sort-of boss). The scenes around that are some of the tensest and most climactic in the whole book, coming midway through and setting a high bar for the second half to meet. It meets and exceeds it, though the ending is more driven by power displays than sheer gore. There is technically a new storyline because Kate is made to solve a murder that was orchestrated specifically to place her and the Pack in a situation with no escape. This isn't the last book in the series, even though it feels very climactic. It changes the status quo in some very profound ways, uprooting things that have been settled since the first book. It could make sense to start here because there is a very thorough synopsis of the series so far as a kind of prologue told by one of the secondary characters. This changes enough things that if someone wanted to read that synopsis and take the current relationships as given, the book could make sense and be very enjoyable.
This main action launches when a meeting between the Pack and the People is interrupted by an accusation that a shapeshifter murdered a Master of the Dead. As the accusation is backed up by a dead body, Kate and a small team try and scope out the crime scene, knowing it's definitely a trap. By the end, things cannot stay as they were, and both Kate and Curran have to make some difficult decisions.
Kate stops being able to keep a lot of things secret, losing a lot of the reasons which were encouraging her silence. Kate and Curran are a much more unified front in this book, it feels like the conversations they had in MAGIC RISES were very good for them as a couple. A little of that is made easier by Curran being in another location for most of the book, but it was a bittersweet absence. Robert and Thomas, the Rat alphas, get more of a spotlight than they've had all series. This includes a discussion of how they keep being out of the loop which is so meta that it feels like it's doing double duty as an explanation to the readers as well as the alphas.
The worldbuilding includes more specific information about Roland, including a truly terrifying prison which he had constructed a while ago. Ghastek gets a bit of spotlight when he and Kate are forced to spend time together, he's an interesting character and I enjoyed finding out some of his backstory.
MAGIC BREAKS wraps up a few major things that were left hanging, such as whether Roland's Warlord survived their last fight. Most of the big changes have been telegraphed for a while, but are finally coming to a head. The biggest thing it addresses which I didn't expect to get resolved is the status of Ted, the extremely bigoted head of the local Order chapter (and Kate's former sort-of boss). The scenes around that are some of the tensest and most climactic in the whole book, coming midway through and setting a high bar for the second half to meet. It meets and exceeds it, though the ending is more driven by power displays than sheer gore. There is technically a new storyline because Kate is made to solve a murder that was orchestrated specifically to place her and the Pack in a situation with no escape. This isn't the last book in the series, even though it feels very climactic. It changes the status quo in some very profound ways, uprooting things that have been settled since the first book. It could make sense to start here because there is a very thorough synopsis of the series so far as a kind of prologue told by one of the secondary characters. This changes enough things that if someone wanted to read that synopsis and take the current relationships as given, the book could make sense and be very enjoyable.
This main action launches when a meeting between the Pack and the People is interrupted by an accusation that a shapeshifter murdered a Master of the Dead. As the accusation is backed up by a dead body, Kate and a small team try and scope out the crime scene, knowing it's definitely a trap. By the end, things cannot stay as they were, and both Kate and Curran have to make some difficult decisions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
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