Tabs’ review of Magic Binds (Kate Daniels, Book 9) by Ilona Andrews
Urban Fantasy published by Ace 20 Sep 16
Post-apocalyptic-magical-sword-wielding-mercenary-and-private-eye Kate Daniels and her crew of shape-shifters, mercenaries, demi-gods, witches, and more are back! In the this latest entry, Kate and Curran are headed to the alter, Kate and Roland are headed to a major confrontation, and a deadly fate hangs over Kate’s future. Can Kate make it out with her humanity and her loved ones all intact or will she lose everything that matters?
The last book ended with the reveal of a terrifying prophecy that pretty much tied my stomach in knots. Understandably, Kate’s still reeling and trying everything she can to alter her fate. For now, she’s keeping things from Curran, but she knows that won’t last long. They’re a team and he can read her too well for her to hide for long, and she wouldn’t want to anyway. She just needs a little time.
Prophecies and trying to thwart them can get really dicey, but it’s done strongly here. The witch oracle isn’t saying that things will definitely turn out the way she’s seeing them, but that things are aligning so that it’s becoming more and more likely to happen.
“The future is fluid. But when it’s this close and this certain, you have to do something really big to change it. Something that will alter everything. Something nobody would expect.”
Roland gets a lot of time in this book, both in flashbacks and in present day. It gives the reader more context for his history and shows how he’s become the nightmare he is and how far he’s strayed from where he started. Kate takes on an unexpected and extremely powerful ally who is very acquainted with Roland’s history, and it’s awesome. It’s more than time that he be taken out, and Kate’s the only one who can do it.
As Kate’s power increases, she’s majorly struggling with the grey areas between right and wrong. Having the power of life and death over all of the citizens of Atlanta is a heavy weight to bare. Having to fight the kind of nigh-immortal-megalomaniac her father is takes hard choices, and they aren’t always pretty. Watching Kate make bad decisions and good decisions alike is one of the best things about her character. She’s not flawless, but she cares deeply about others and feels the repercussions of her actions.
“I hadn’t crossed the line. I’d ridden an elephant up to it and run back and forth along its edge while a mariachi band played in the background, but I hadn’t crossed it.”
Everything’s not dark and twisty, though. Because this is a Kate Daniels book, though the present is grim, there’s always small moments of fun to be had. We’ve got Kate writing “Nuke my dad.” on a to-do-list, dark druids going wedding crazy, Curran making a hilariously quotable speech about how Kate collects killers like some women collect cats, and lots of witty quips on the table. Basically, Ilona Andrews once again delivers everything a Kate Daniels fan could want from a Kate Daniels novel. I don’t believe that the authors have stated definitively whether or not the next Kate Daniels book will be the last in the primary series, but whether it is or isn’t, it still promises big things and I am totally ready for them. Kate and Curran more than deserve their happily-ever-after in their big farmhouse, and I can’t wait for them to get it.
Grade: A
Summary:
Mercenary Kate Daniels knows all too well that magic in post-Shift Atlanta is a dangerous business. But nothing she’s faced could have prepared her for this…
Kate and the former Beast Lord Curran Lennart are finally making their relationship official. But there are some steep obstacles standing in the way of their walk to the altar…
Kate’s father, Roland, has kidnapped the demigod Saiman and is slowly bleeding him dry in his never-ending bid for power. A Witch Oracle has predicted that if Kate marries the man she loves, Atlanta will burn and she will lose him forever. And the only person Kate can ask for help is long dead.
The odds are impossible. The future is grim. But Kate Daniels has never been one to play by the rules…
Other books in this series:
