Magic Binds (Kate Daniels #9) by Ilona Andrews

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Date Finished: October 18, 2016

I originally came into the Kate Daniels series very reluctantly and was skeptical that I would enjoy it. And yet, despite the romance section which I tend to avoid, I found myself really drawn in by the characters. There are very few series that I will keep reading this long (or at least keep enjoying). If I don't give up by book 2 or 3, I will sometimes continue but not enjoy the books as much. This series, on the other hand, has always done a good job of maintaining.

Now, after everything that has happened in this book comes the inevitable show down with her father. And while this is just one battle it what will most likely prove to be a long war, if they lose this battle it's game over. 

It all starts when Kate it showed a vision of the two possibilities for the war. In one version Curran dies, and in another, their son dies. And so Kate is desperate to make sure that neither one of those happen. 

For the most part Kate continues to be her same old self but the people she care about begin to doubt her. Mostly her ability to control her powers rather than letting them control her. And so, in order to learn to control her powers she does a crazy thing and resurrects her aunt. Granted, her aunt is only resurrected in spirit form but let's be honest, no one is overly happy to see her again. But she is able to convince her aunt to help and begins training to control her powers.

Now, I will say that there is a lot more planning and talking in this book than actual fighting so it can get a bit slow at times. And my only other complaint is that the ending of the battle seemed to be a little too easy. Now, I will admit that there was lots of planning that went into it and they had allies that her father couldn't have planned for, but her father is so much stronger than her and in the end he could have used his power to just flatten all of them instead of fleeing. Again, I understand the factors that affected that decision and I understand that this was just one battle of a long war but I just expected a little bit more from her father.

Either way in the end they are able to save the city and Kate and Curran finally get married. There are definitely some interesting things coming up for the next book and I must say I am interested to see a pregnant Kate because for some reason I don't see her being the glowing, cheerful type of pregnant woman. And I'm sure Curran's protective side with definitely cause some interesting relationship issues. 

And on a bit of a side note, can I just say that I am really excited about Christopher! He was always kind of a fun, quirky side character but now that he is whole again, I just can't wait to see that all play out!!!

Silence (The Queen of the Dead #1) by Michelle Sagara

Overall Rating: 4 Stars

Date Finished: September 16, 2016

I absolutely love the Chronicles of Elantra series by Michelle Sagara. I love the characters and he world building and it is a series that I will keep reading as long as it lasts (and it’s already been going for a while). So, of course when Michelle Sagara comes out with her first YA series, I have to read it.

Now, I have to admit that I was really bored through the first half of the book. and at one point even thought of not finishing. I found the main character boring and uninteresting. Nothing was really happening (despite all the vague threats that something would happen) and there was mostly just a lot of talking. Both of the main characters are still caught up on their exes and so there is no real romance building and not a whole lot developing with the necromancy either so it was a bit frustrating.

And then they go to a random party and a necromancer shows up looking to recruit Emma and things start to pick up. From there things start to move faster and there are clear goals set so even most of the down time is planning or researching. Emma finally starts using her powers and the book comes to a big closing.

I will say that I was very surprised at the end with how much I found that I had enjoyed the book. I was more than prepared to give this book a very low rating and yet, things really turned around and left me excited for the next book.

By the end I really began to like all of the characters, especially Michael. I can't remember ever reading a book with an Autistic character. I have known a few people with Autism and I felt that the author did a great job of capturing the reality for many highly functional Autistic people and the challenges for those who care for them. And what I liked the most is that she did not make him a helpless character, she gave him strength and intelligence and he of all people was able to see what others couldn't. I was so glad with his inclusion in everything and what a great, realistic character he was!!

 I also really liked the growing relationship between Emma and Eric, and the fact that it isn't romantic makes it so much more real. By the end I was surprised with how much I ended up liking the book and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Strange and Ever After (Something Strange and Deadly #3) by Susan Dennard

 

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Date Finished: August 16, 2016

I just didn’t have time to sit down and really read this as I would have liked so I ended up reading it little by little over a couple of days. There was a lot going on in this book but most of it was actually good. That being said, there a couple of things that frustrated me.

The first thing that frustrated me was Eleanor’s personality/relationships. In this book she spent a lot of time pushing everyone away. Usually they’re stupid and do that in the second book but come back better in the third book. In the last book Eleanor and Daniel were struggling to come to terms with her power and whether they would be together. And in this book they express their love and desire to be together, and yet they still spend most of the book pushing each other away.

Towards the end of the book things finally started to come together and Eleanor finally started to really pull herself together. Eleanor’s relationship with everyone started to improve, but that also created another small issue. As her relationships improved, that included her relationship with Oliver. There was so much hinting and vague comments that is started to seem like Oliver had fallen in love with Eleanor, which was a frustrating turn of events considering she was finally mending things with Daniel.

As we reach the climax there was a lot going on. There’s plenty of fighting and action but there is also a lot of important things that all happen very quickly and there were a lot that happened in that final battle that left me feeling unsatisfied.

Oddly enough it wasn't for the reason that most people were. Rather than how things ended with Daniel, I was frustrated with how things ended with Oliver. I understand why most people fixated on Daniel, but there was a lot of relationship building with Oliver, and not necessarily in a romantic sense. At the end when she released him they had a communion of sorts and came to understand one another and Eleanor felt so empty and lost without him. And yet, when he came back and gave up everything to help, I never felt like that relationship really reunited in a satisfying way. I don't mean that it has to be romantic, obviously she still loves Daniel, but not all love has to be romantic and there was clearly love between them and a tender relationship that I feel like kind of disappeared after he left which was very disappointing. He could never take Daniel's place, but he was dear to her as well and there should be some joy at having him back, rather than just sorrow for everything else.

Having said all that, overall is a was a good book, there were just a few things that left me wanting more.