Genre: Urban Fantasy
Subgenre: vampires, weres, magic
Age Appropriate: Older teen+
Recommended for my sister: YES
"Here, kitty-kitty." - Kate
In a post-apocalyptic world, magic has returned half-force. Every minute of the day could be a time when there is magic, or there is none. When the "tech" is up, typical machines work - phones, cars, microwaves, and when the magic is up nothing mechanical works but the possibilities are endless for those with magical powers and know-how.
Kate Daniels is a mercenary who deals with complex magical situations. Similar to a bounty hunter, she picks assignments she wants and moves out to deal with the problem, sometimes even with another partner. Her stressful, but seemingly regular, existence ends when her guardian is found dead. Her need for investigation puts her in strange position with the other supernatural species in the area, as well as at the beck and call of the leading formal magical police force. Thus begins her story, and the deeper it goes, the scarier her secrets become.
Kate is hiding a deep secret from those who have become close to her. As her new friends slowly figure out what she's hiding, she finds herself in a position she never wanted to be in - namely having friends in the first place. She's been raised as a weapon, a solitary fighter who needs no one and is expected to dispatch anyone who might catch on to what she's hiding, until the time comes for her to use that training. Her newfound personal developments put everything she's been protecting at risk, but she consistently throws it to the wind of chance in order to protect the people around her. The only question is: When will it finally bite her in the ass?
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This is probably one of my newer favorite series. I've read them over and over, lately. I appreciate that there is little to no sex, which is actually a bit rare in the female urban fantasy genre. There actually isn't any sex until the fourth book, and even then it's not a focus at any point. I really enjoy the character development, and I'm really excited to see what will happen next in the drama.
I find the storyline to be a bit unique actually. Sure, there are some pretty standard themes, particularly independent, strong woman who kicks butt - with a sword no less. Even the romance portion is fairly typical, but her reasons and actions apart from those reasons is a little new. I mean, it's a book, so it's pretty standard that she's the heroine, but the author makes her a little more human given the other properties in Kate's life. I think it was fairly successfully done. If nothing else, I'm very upset at how much longer I have to wait for the next installment. It's very frustrating, only tempered by the fact that there is at least a release date now. Highly, highly recommended.
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Meow: Heralds of Valdemar - Mercedes Lackey
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