Get the audio book here! Publisher: ACE
Release Date: First published April 1, 2007 / Audio unabridged edition released January 12, 2009 by Tantor Audio
Format: MP3
Pages: 260 pages (Mass MarketPaperback) / Audio Length: Approx 9 hours
Narrator: Renée Raudman
Source: Library Borrow via Overdrive
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Date: March 19, 2014
Rating: 3 bookmarks
Synopsis: When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.
Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles.
The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate's guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she's way out of her league—but she wouldn't have it any other way…
Release Date: First published April 1, 2007 / Audio unabridged edition released January 12, 2009 by Tantor Audio
Format: MP3
Pages: 260 pages (Mass MarketPaperback) / Audio Length: Approx 9 hours
Narrator: Renée Raudman
Source: Library Borrow via Overdrive
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Date: March 19, 2014
Rating: 3 bookmarks
Synopsis: When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.
Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles.
The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate's guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she's way out of her league—but she wouldn't have it any other way…
Now that the Cat and Bones series is all wrapped up, I'm on the hunt for my next audio book series. I decided to check out Magic Bites for a few reasons. First, I really enjoy urban fantasy, so I wanted to stick with that. Second, I had read many good things about this book. Combined that with all the high ratings and I just knew it would be awesome. Lastly, who doesn't love a good story about shape-changes and magic? So, I gave it a try. Clearly I'm in the minority because I don't think that it was that good.
Overall it was entertaining enough, but I found it lacking in some ways. For starters, if you enjoy your urban fantasy reads void of any heat between the love interest...then this is for you. Personally, I like my urban fantasy when it's a close cousin to paranormal romance. I don't want insta-love, but I have no problem with insta-lust! The relationship obviously isn't the primary focus in Magic Bites, but it's still there. Maybe it'll become a larger component as the series moves forward.
The story is set in Atlanta, sometime in the future, but it's not clear when. It's a world where magic and paranormal beings are just as common as technology. Kate Daniels hunts paranormal beings for money. She's clearly is a strong heroine and she backs down to no one. Kate's only father figure has died under some murderous circumstances and she's out to kill who killed him. In her quest to find the killer she ends up in an alliance with the King of the shape-changers, aka the Beast Lord, Curran. Ironically,his character isn't really appealing to me at all. He's bullheaded, aggressive, controlling and not even the least bit like the brooding, protective hot guy that most book heroes are.
I found that the further along I got into the story, it reminded me of the earlier books of the Anita Blake series. Very tough heroine who is very powerful, with two possible suitors. One very powerful and and leader of a large group of supernatural beings, Curran. Then there's Crest, the human. He's cute, and for the most part just a regular guy, aside from his condescending manner. In the Blake series, that human guy turns out to be not so human after all. Similarly, there's already been a hint that Crest may be more than he appears. On the other hand, his character was so odd, and almost unimportant. I'm unclear at this point if his character even continues on in the series. If not, I'm sure there will be someone else to fill the empty space in the love triangle.
To me the similarities to the Anita Blake series are blaring. They were so obvious to me, I couldn't stop myself from making a chart just to point it out. It's totally plausible that this is really just the base formula for these types of books, but I don't like that it's so close. The obvious difference was the lack of relationship heat, as I mentioned earlier.
I listened to this on audio, so I must comment on the narrator, Renée Raudman. She did a good job overall, but personally, I don't think I liked her voice. The narrator's performance and voice is a major contributor to the audio book experience. Honestly, it took some getting used to for me. She has a southern twang with a slight lisp, like someone with ill-fitting dental work. If you're a regular audio listener, then you already know that 9 times out of 10 you either click with the narrator voice or you don't.
Will I continue on with this series? Maybe. I say maybe because I hear that Kate has some amazing character growth going on in the next few books. So...I may just have to check it out for myself. Maybe the narrator will grow on me. Who knows. I do know that I've got other audio books to listen to and this has been pushed to the bottom of the list for now.
Have you read or listened to Magic Bites? Do you like the Kate Daniels series? If so, please share with me! I'd like to hear if you think I should continue with the series.
Happy Reading and Listening,
~Tamara
Will I continue on with this series? Maybe. I say maybe because I hear that Kate has some amazing character growth going on in the next few books. So...I may just have to check it out for myself. Maybe the narrator will grow on me. Who knows. I do know that I've got other audio books to listen to and this has been pushed to the bottom of the list for now.
Have you read or listened to Magic Bites? Do you like the Kate Daniels series? If so, please share with me! I'd like to hear if you think I should continue with the series.
Happy Reading and Listening,
~Tamara
