Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews

Title: Magic Tides

Author: Ilona Andrews

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Wilmington Years #1, Kate Daniels World

Paperback, 156 pages 

Publication: January 17, 2023 by NYLA

Source: Personal library
Buy|Amazon|

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!

 

 

 MY THOUGHTS

The book lord has heard our pleads and have finally given us an additional story in the Kate Daniels’ world! Magic Tides is a novella that takes place approximately 10 years after book 10, Magic Triumphs and before Julie’s book, Blood Heir. I love being back in Kate’s world and seeing what Kate, Curran and Conlan been up to since we last saw them. Kate and the family moved away from Atlanta to a small town in North Carolina, trying to stay under the radar to live a simpler life. But its Kate we’re talking about. She may not look for trouble but trouble will find her regardless. During a home renovation, the relative of Kate’s contractor’s son is kidnapped. Kate doing what she does best and never one to turn a blind eye takes it upon herself to retrieve the young man.

It was an absolute blast to return to Kate’s world and although us readers been a way for a couple of years, it felt as if we’ve never left. Reading this felt effortless despite the 10 year break in the story. The authors did an amazing job at summarizing what we missed while we were gone, at the same time introducing us to new locations and characters. There was just the right amount of backstory. Everything was explained easily without feeling like info-dumping. With this book being a novella, the authors utilized every single word and space given. There was a lot of moving plots and characters but never once did I feel lost or rushed.

I loved Magic Tides! It oddly didn’t feel too short like the usual novellas, but I certainly wished there were more! It was great visiting old characters we’ve come to know and love but this new group of characters were just as fun and interesting and I can’t wait to see more of them! You can expect everything you love about the Kate Daniels series in this recent addition such as; snarky banter, kick-butt action, humor and just overall great and engaging storytelling. I am looking forward to more stories from Kate’s world, hopefully we won’t have to wait another couple of years!

 

 

Kingdoms of Death by Christopher Ruocchio

Title: Kingdoms of Death

Author: Christopher Ruocchio

Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy

Series: The Sun Eater #4

Hardcover, 544 pages

Publication: March 8, 2022 by DAW

Source: I received a review copy in exchange for honest review.
Buy|Amazon|B&N|

Hadrian Marlowe is trapped.

For nearly a century, he has been a guest of the Emperor, forced into the role of advisor, a prisoner of his own legend. But the war is changing. Mankind is losing.

The Cielcin are spilling into human space from the fringes, picking their targets with cunning precision. The Great Prince Syriani Dorayaica is uniting their clans, forging them into an army and threat the likes of which mankind has never seen.

And the Empire stands alone.

Now the Emperor has no choice but to give Hadrian Marlowe--once his favorite knight--one more impossible task: journey across the galaxy to the Lothrian Commonwealth and convince them to join the war. But not all is as it seems, and Hadrian's journey will take him far beyond the Empire, beyond the Commonwealth, impossibly deep behind enemy lines.

 MY THOUGHTS

Kingdoms of Death is perfectly named in the fourth installment of the Sun Eater series. The book starts exactly where Demon in White ended, with Hadrian captured by the Cielcin. The title foreshadows what readers can expect, and its as morbid and dark as the title implies. The Sun Eater series is one of my all-time favorite Science Fiction Fantasy ever and each book gets outdoing its predecessor. And while I enjoyed Kingdoms of Death I found the pacing a lot slower than all the previous books, with little to no action till three-quarters of the way through.

For majority of the book, Hadrian is held prisoner as the Cielcins try to extract information about the Empire and the Emperor’s whereabouts. At this time readers are giving an in depth look behind enemy lines and learn about the Cielcin Hierarchy. And to no one’s surprise like all empire or military structure, there are always cracks and unrest amongst the people.

I normally never have an issue with length. Kingdoms of Death clocks out with over 500 pages, but of those 500+ pages, 350 pages felt very stagnant and too long of a build-up. It wasn’t until we were closer towards the end did the story pick up. As I mentioned before, the title of the book was quite fitting as we saw MASS casualty. I was in complete shock at the turn of events and the destruction of the Red Company and many other soldiers. With how it all ended, I’m not sure what to expect next. The Sun Eater Series writing, and storytelling is the crème de la crème when it comes to this genre but what made this series extra special to me are the characters. With most of the characters gone, I’m not sure I want to continue. Although, I know I shouldn’t be surprised since from the very first book, from the very beginning Hadrian did say this wasn’t a story with a happy-ending.

Kingdoms of Death was a solid installment to the series. I will probably take a break to see if I’ll continue. In my opinion this wasn’t the strongest book, but the series as a whole is without a doubt a five+ star series. If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend the first book in the series, Empire of Silence.