Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews - The End of the Road....

I was fortunate to get early access to Magic Triumphs (thank you Bridget at Berkley!), with the caveat not to reveal any spoilers or do any promotion prior to publication, upon pain of death, or worse! But since today is the publication day, I can finally talk about this final book in the Kate Daniels Urban Fantasy series, and my history with these great books which began with Magic Bites in 2007. I've also loved seeing the evolution of the main character over the years through the cover art. The authors, a husband and wife writing team, are signing books in my city tonight, but, alas, I will not be able to make it. I'm sure they will have a large crowd eager to meet them and get the new book signed. 

I've reviewed other books in this series over the years, and you can find the reviews by doing a keyword search for "magic" in the box at the top. A summary of the series follows:

In their long-running Kate Daniels series, the husband and wife writing team known as Ilona Andrews, has created a truly unique world – an alternate Atlanta unlike anything we’ve seen before.  In this world, magic existed for millennia, but the rise of technology caused an imbalance in the world and magic disappeared for a long time. When magic returned to the world, it did so with a vengeance, destroying buildings and releasing all kinds of creatures and dead gods back into the world.

Kate Daniels is a mysterious character with a magic sword who works as a bounty hunter of sorts, and responds to requests to capture dangerous creatures in order to keep the citizens of Atlanta safe.  In this world, the magic and technology shift back in forth without rhyme or reason, and when the magic ascends, all technology, including guns, phones, lights, and cars ceases to work.

It’s a great world, filled with the Pack, shapeshifters who hang on to their human sides very carefully, the People, who are Masters of the Dead and control vampires created by an immortal being named Roland, as well as witches and all sorts of other magical beings, including old mythological gods. Kate and other characters in the novels have many action-packed adventures, some light romance (which gets steamier over the course of the series), and their share of triumphs and tragedies. 

In the final book, Magic Triumphs, Kate receives a mysterious box that is a threat, combined with a courting attempt, from a powerful god from another realm. Of course, Kate is happily married now to Curran and attempting to be a loving mom to her son, Conlan, a toddler who isn't quite human and is manifesting some interesting powers of his own. I don't want to give away any spoilers to those who have been anticipating reading this final book, but will say that all the characters get a chance to shine. It's a bittersweet feeling that the series has ended, as I've been reading about one book a year for over 10 years, including some novellas, too.  But I'm so happy to have been a part of this world from the beginning, and the authors have assured their fans that they are not finished writing books, just finished with this series.

I recommend this series to anyone who likes Urban Fantasy, and most of my patrons come back for more.  Do start at the beginning, with Magic Bites. It's not the best of the bunch, but it does lay the groundwork and world-building very well.


Happy Reading!