Mercenary Kate Daniels must risk all to protect everything she holds dear in this epic, can’t-miss entry in the thrilling #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series.Kate has come a long way from her origins as a loner taking care of paranormal problems in post-Shift Atlanta. She’s made friends and enemies. She’s found love and started a family with Curran Lennart, the former Beast Lord. … the former Beast Lord. But her magic is too strong for the power players of the world to let her be.
Kate and her father, Roland, currently have an uneasy truce, but when he starts testing her defenses again, she knows that sooner or later, a confrontation is inevitable. The Witch Oracle has begun seeing visions of blood, fire, and human bones. And when a mysterious box is delivered to Kate’s doorstep, a threat of war from the ancient enemy who nearly destroyed her family, she knows their time is up.
Kate Daniels sees no other choice but to combine forces with the unlikeliest of allies. She knows betrayal is inevitable. She knows she may not survive the coming battle. But she has to try.
For her child.
For Atlanta.
For the world.
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An extremely exciting end to one of my favorite series. Kate and Curran definitely earned their happily ever after.
My first thought after finishing this last book in the Kate Daniels series is, “it is as it should be.” The wife and husband team known as Ilona Andrews gives us the kind of ending that honors the readers. It ends in the same way it begins with incredible world building, a complex storyline, and a conflicted heroine that ends her journey to Happy Ever After.
Ironically, it is the very things that I struggled with in book one that I have come to love the most about this series. The best way for me to describe the first book is “dense.” There is an incredible amount of world-building that bogs down the pace and, in my mind, not enough reward for the undertaking. Luckily, I did not follow my own advice. What really strikes me is the clever dialogue and Kate’s courageous and refreshing boldness. (Who can forget the iconic, “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty”?) The temperature between Kate and Curran is so heated. The couple is irresistible. I learned to be patient because their relationship through the first four books is a slow burn. The stories evolve and become more and more complicated with the inclusion of shifters, vampires, wizards, warlocks, witches, gods, monsters, and fae to name a few. We are witness to births and deaths, tragedies and triumphs, and it is all glorious.
So, yes, book 10 has a lot to live up to. There is much going on in this story. Kate and Curran’s highly anticipated offspring, Conlan, is born. He is a special child being born of a mother with strong magic and a father who is the ultimate alpha shifter. As you can imagine, he is precocious and his scenes are heart-melting and precious. Kate is a loving mother and fiercely protective. She has to be. Always looming is the showdown between Kate and her father, Roland, the god. Roland wants Kate’s territory and, perhaps more importantly, he wants to bring her into his fold. It is interesting watching the evolution of Roland and Kate’s relationship over the last few books. Roland is easily characterized as megalomaniac and evil, but there are also sparks of tenderness in him as well. He never quite becomes a sympathetic character, but the authors bring this longstanding feud to a conclusion that makes sense to me. Kate’s actions fall exactly in-line with who she is and it is as it should be.
In the midst of all this dysfunctional family dynamics, there is a new god in town and he is a real baddie. We first meet this guy in Hugh’s book, Iron and Magic. This god steals whole towns, takes the entire population and boils them to steal the magic from their bones. His threat is so acute that it takes the combined power of all the good beings of Atlanta plus Hugh D’Ambray and his wife, Elara to conquer this foe. Kate and Hugh’s reconciliation is one of the best scenes in the entire book.
If I had to nitpick a criticism, I would say that I really missed Curran’s voice in this book. In the past, the authors have gifted us with Curran’s POV through a series of novellas and short stories, and I suppose, it would be out of character to embed too much of Curran’s thoughts here, but since it is the last book, I am going there. I want inside Curran’s head. I want his thoughts. A lot happens in this book and he misses the whole first quarter. I want his insights to be integrated more into the storyline. Again, I know, it is not realistic, but what can I say, the heart wants what the heart wants.
I also recommend that before starting this book, read Iron and Magic. There are important elements from that story that get built upon here. Also, if you have the time, you might want to do a reread of the whole series, or at least the last few books. Quite of few past characters show up again and I struggle to place them in Kate’s universe. As a reader, you can still follow along, but I suspect, the experience will be richer if you were more familiar with all the references from the past.
All in all, MAGIC TRIUMPHS is what I wanted to end my current journey with Kate and Curran and the rest of the Kate Daniel’s family. I am looking forward with bated breath to see where the next journey will take us.
Loved this book! Great finale to the Kate and Curran saga. So well done with action, tension, humor, and touching moments.
This book completes the Kate Daniels Series. You finally get to see all the loose ends tied up BUT the author still leaves a little opening for further stories to evolve with other characters from the stories. Let’s hope Ilona and Andrew Gordon decide to continue on with that.
Wow…Magic Triumphs delivered so much awesomeness! Kate and Curran, along with their adorably precocious son Conlan, and assorted family and friends are back and better than ever!
I was prepared for a sad goodbye. Instead, I found myself laughing, reminiscing, and waiting in anticipation for the next shoe to fall. The battle scenes delivered. Loose story threads were tied up. Plot surprises. And definitely read Iron and Magic (Hugh’s book) before reading this one to be in the know for certain situations. This was totally worth fighting a cold while reading from midnight to 4am!