Sophia Rose Reviews: Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews

 

Happy Monday all! Today Sophia Rose is reviewing Magic Tides #1 Kate Daniels The Wilmington Years by Ilona Andrews, one of her favorite author duos.
Enjoy!

Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews

#1 Kate Daniels The Wilmington Years

Urban Fantasy

Publisher:  Self

Published:  1.17.23

Pages:  163

Rating: 5 stars

Format: ebook

Source: purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads

GoodReads Blurb:

Ilona Andrews invites you back to the #1 New York Times bestselling Kate Daniels series in this exciting new long novella featuring Kate, Curran and Conlan, some familiar faces, some new friends, and all the special brand of chaos they create!

Kate, Curran and their son, Conlan have left Atlanta, vowing to keep a low profile, and are settling into a new city and new house…but some things never change! Magical mayhem is about to erupt when Kate undertakes the rescue of a kidnapped youth, while Curran guards the homefront.

It should be a simple retrieval, but with monsters on land and sea, Kate’s got her work cut out for her. Still, she's never let her blade dull or her purpose falter. And that low profile? It’s about to wash away with the raging tides!

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

What a famous good surprise to learn that this new season of Kate Daniels’ stories were coming.  Kate, Curran, and young Conlan after a few years have moved to Wilmington and hope to live peacefully and low key.  Conlan will go to a school for ‘gifted’ children and Kate and Curran have bought a dilapidated fort on the sea coast to fix up as a new home.  It is through this renovation work that the first whiff of their old days and line of work returns to them.  Conlan’s little human friend who is the contractor’s son has a cousin who was kidnapped.  And, off things go for a new Kate Daniels’ adventure.

 

Though this is a new series arc and setting and it might be possible for a newbie to the series to the reader to make a go of starting here, I would advise that this is more suited to readers who have already read and appreciated the first Kate Daniels series.  There are many references to past situations and past characters that only make sense in that context.  However, for the old faithful fans, there is a spirit of newness with the setting being Wilmington and Kate having to start over making new local contacts when she goes forth to investigate this kidnapping that appears that it is way more than it seemed at first glance.

 

I loved riding along with Kate and cuddles her giant donkey as she encountered new friends, foe, and some in between types while hunting the trail of the kidnappers, but it was also neat to see Kate and Curran in an established relationship and as parents, at peace with the past and who they are.  Kate has a sit-down with the school vice-principal that gave me a good laugh.  Later, she winces over the results of a monster kill that is sure to get talked up and there goes the low profile she insisted on when the family moved to start over.  Curran has a parenting scene with young Conlan that gave me all the heart feels.  Conlan may be a gifted kid, but he’s still a kid and good ol’ dad was onto him.

 

There was action steady through the long novella, but there was some great climax moments that one has come to anticipate from this series.  I got this taste and now I want oh so much more from this new iteration of the Kate Daniels’ world.  Urban Fantasy fans who like some alt history and post-apocalyptic environment tossed in for good measure should definitely make the time for the series.

 

Author’s Bio:

“Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)

Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Texas with their two children and many dogs and cats.

They have co-authored several bestselling series, including the #1 NYT bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels, rustic fantasy of the Edge, paranormal romance of Hidden Legacy, and Innkeeper Chronicles, which they post as a free weekly serial. For complete list of their books, fun extras, and Innkeeper installments, please visit their website at Ilona-andrews.com.

 

Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

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