Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

As it always seems to happen, mercenary Kate Daniels is more than ten hours into her shift, her jeans are covered in lizard spit, and she has yet to eat lunch or dinner.  Working as a rep for the Order with Friend of the Pack status keeps her busy and in demand.   Right when she thinks she can’t handle anymore sleep and food deprivation, she’ll get a call from telepathic secretary Maxine who through her mind-reading will ask Kate if she can take one more job.  And knowing Kate, she never says no. This time it’s a murder at the border bar The Steel Horse.  What she knows is the attacker was caped and bred fear and violence in his wake before killing one man and turning his body into a ticking disease epidemic. With all the blood, guts, and monsters Kate has seen, this may be her grossest and most mysterious crime yet.  Racing from new attack and infected victim, Kate only barely manages to prevent massive outbreaks and struggles to amass any clues to his identity while trying to avoid the Beast Lord Curran at all costs. Curran, who stood her up and hadn’t come by since.  Kate’s personal and professional life collide when she discovers the possible involvement of her family and the dire threat this poses to the Pack, Curran, Julie, and all she cares about.

I was a squeeing fangirl in my need and anticipation for Magic Bleeds after the absolute awesomeness which was Magic Strikes.  There was never any doubt in my mind that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations.  What unsurprisingly remained constant and a stand out for me is the extremely witty, laugh-out-loud first person sarcasm and oneliners of Kate. There’ll always be a dozen that stand out and require restraint not to quote. What I didn’t expect was to be blown out of the water by the unpredictable, action-filled plot and the depth and integrity of the characters.  The main plot arc surrounding Kate and her hidden identity, the romance between Kate and Curran, and the inner politics of the Order, the Pack, and the People developed in ways I couldn’t have seen but that were so much more gripping and astonishing then I could’ve imagined and made so much sense. What a relief that this series is in the hands of the adroit husband/wife writing team that is Ilona Andrews.  That it was so hard and so many impossible choices and sacrifices were involved for all the characters was something I didn’t anticipate.  As you know, in Kate’s mind it’s not a possibility to endanger all those she loves with her parentage getting closer and closer to being uncovered by the outside world.  She’d sever all her relationships and surrender her life just to protect those people rather than choosing her own happiness.  There are absolutely no compromises for Kate and Curran but also for Andrea and Raphael, Jim, and painfully honest Saiman (whom I love, scheming immorality and all).  Moral and ethical dilemmas abound but the characters remained true to themselves and ever the more intriguing and beloved because of it.  There’s nothing more to say really than to apologize to the non-fangirls for my exorbitant giddiness and declare my love for Ilona Andrews.  She has definitely earned favorite author and auto-buy status with this book.

Reading Order: Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, Bone Crossed, Silver Borne

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