Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels World #1
Published by ACE
Published on: July 31, 2012
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
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Includes a free bonus: a Kate Daniels novella, "Magic Gifts"
The New York Times bestselling Kate Daniels novels have been hailed as “top-notch urban fantasy” (Monsters and Critics). Now, Ilona Andrews delves deeper into Kate’s world, and reveals its untold stories…
After being kicked out of the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, Andrea’s whole existence is in shambles. She tries to put herself back together by working for Cutting Edge, a small investigative firm owned by her best friend. When several shapeshifters working for Raphael Medrano—the male alpha of the Clan Bouda, and Andrea’s former lover—die unexpectedly at a dig site, Andrea is assigned to investigate. Now she must work with Raphael as her search for the killer leads into the secret underbelly of supernatural Atlanta. And dealing with her feelings for him might have to take a back seat to saving the world…
I’ve always enjoyed Andrea’s character in the Kate Daniels series but other than her gun fetish she comes across as being a little too tame to be able to be a bona fide Urban Fantasy heroine. In Gunmetal Magic, we see an entirely different side to her because now she’s free from The Order’s rules and trying to embrace her beastkin blood. I loved watching Andrea come to terms with her new life while in the midst of an impossible battle against a God and a hilariously crazy hyena courtship with Raphael. Ilona Andrews’ remarkable storytelling and trademark sense of humour are out in full force which pretty much guarantees that readers are going to enjoy the Kate Daniels World spin-off series just as much, if not more, than the original.
Even though I’ve been following Andrea’s story for quite a while now in the Kate Daniels books I still felt like I was meeting her for the very first time. Her new found freedom from The Order definitely agrees with her and the fact that she’s also finally accepting her Bouda half helped too. I loved everything about this new and improved Andrea, from her Texan drawl right down to her f#@k it attitude about sporting fur in public. I was also happy to see that in spite of her willingness to now use her claws in a fight; her weapons of choice were still her guns. Andrea undergoes a remarkable amount of personal growth in this first installment and I enjoyed watching her work through her issues with The Pack, Raphael and her past.
I won’t even bother trying to attempt to explain the explosive, action-y side to this novel’s plot line; for those of you who are familiar with Andrews’ writing, you know that us mere mortals can’t possibly do it justice with words. Just know that it was epic. Amidst all of the bloodshed, creative insults and one-liners fly, which makes this book as comical as it is entertaining. I loved Roman, the supposedly evil yet hysterically funny volhv who has a crush on Andrea. Raphael’s mating frenzy definitely doesn’t help matters either but the best by far was the purple shag carpet incident. Payback is a b*tch but payback hyena-style is something else entirely!
I’d recommend reading the Kate Daniels books before diving into this one in order to get the full experience but rest assured that once you visit Ilona Andrews’ Atlanta you’ll never want to leave. In Gunmetal Magic Andrea makes her debut as a full blown Urban Fantasy heroine in and it is something truly awesome to behold.
Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. Avid book reader, snowboard bunny, video gamer and Supernatural fan. I love all things paranormal, werewolves especially. Oh, and I’m Canadian, eh!
After listening to this one I almost like Andrea more than Kate. O.o
She can hold her own that’s for sure. I hope we get more of her within Kate’s books.
Only one book and you’re already jumping on the Andrea bandwagon? You’re so easy. 😉
I liked her in the short story too
I loved the purple shag carpet prank (and what came after). I didn’t have a real high opinion of Raphael. He came off as spoiled and bratty (which he is) but he became a lot more likeable to be after this book.
Yes, I agree, Raphael grew a lot as a character in this installment. I wasn’t a huge fan of his either.
Oh my gosh you so have me wanting to read it now. I love Kate and Curran but haven’t picked this one up yet for some reason. It sounds fantastic though. Glad to hear she turned out to be an awesome heroine. I’m really liking that the cover seems to fit her new attitude and love of guns 🙂
Great review Carmel!
You should read this pronto! Especially with Magic Rises right around the corner!
The purple shag carpeting was so awesome!!! I really enjoyed Andrea’s growth and acceptance of her Bouda side in this one. Can’t wait to see more of her 🙂
Best. Prank. Ever,
Awesome review!! This book is just sitting on my shelf waiting to be read! I really need to get to it now that I’ve caught up on the Kate Daniels series!
I enjoyed this one as much as the other 4 books, I really liked Adrea, but you got remember, it was a long time in between books, so by the time I got this one I was already dying to be in this world again.
Great review, I also loved this book Carmel! And that pink carpet, awesome! I am really looking forward to the next books.
I liked this book, but nowhere like Kate and Curran. Fanatic here! Haha! But I did love learning more about Andrea and her past and I love Aunt B! So it was awesome! =)