Review - Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, Book 4) by Ilona Andrews (5/5 stars)

This is the 4th book in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews.  Right now there are seven books contracted for this series.  Believe it or not, this book was even better than Magic Strikes, book 3.  These books keep getting better and better...I mean just wow!  I absolutely loved this book.  I listened to this on audio book and the audio books are very, very well done.

Kate gets a call for help from a bar.  She arrives to find that there a shapeshifter dead and infected with a virulent disease.  As she tries to track down the magic user spreading the disease she finds out that this is no ordinary bad person.  Someone from Kate's family is in town and they want to bring down Kate and all of Atlanta with her.  Kate's position in the Order becomes shaky as the lead Knight of the Order forces Kate to choose between saving lives and following protocol.  Things are also especially tense between Kate and Curran; especially when Curran fails to show for a special dinner date.

This was an awesome book.  The Andrews (husband and wife writing team) do an excellent job with characterization, action scenes, and plot.  The writing is darkly humorous, sardonic, engaging, and just all out fun to read.   There are some pretty steamy scenes in this book and the Andrews do an excellent job capturing characters' vulnerable sides as well as their kick-ass attitudes.

So what was the most awesome part of the story?  Well basically all of it.  We learn a ton about Kate's family and past.  Kate's new enemy is unbelievably powerful and brings along four excellent sidekicks in a mission to destroy Kate.  It was wonderful to learn more details about Kate's childhood and crazy past.  We also learn a lot about Curran's past; where he came from and what made him who he is.

The action scenes are spectacular and creative.  The undead mages that Kate fights, fight dirty and Kate uses a lot of creative techniques to deal with them.  This book helped fill out the world as a whole and tied a lot of things together.

Of course I have to mention the relationship between Kate and Curran.  There relationship...matures a lot in this story.  They still drive each other nuts, but I was happy to see how realistically and practically they dealt with the problems their relationship (or lack of one at points) causes.  It was so nice to have two great characters compromise in ways that leads to a solid, if troublesome, relationship.

At the end of the book the main storyline in nicely wrapped up.  There is still the overlying story-arc of Roland and what he will do if/when he discovers Kate is alive.  I have been very happy with how these novels are done.  They are well done, well planned, and have excellent characters.  I enjoy the humor, action, and engaging plot.   If I have one small complaint it is that Kate can get a bit melodramatic at times and approaches fights with a kind of "OMG we are all going to die attitude."  She does this quite often and, being how many fights she's survived, I wish she had a bit more confidence in herself :-)

Overall loved this book.  It is perfect.  Can these books keep getting better and better?  Well I will have to wait for book 5 to find out and I am eagerly,desperately waiting for book 5.  Meanwhile I will have to settle with reading the Edge book, Bayou Moon, which is out in September.  Also check out Silent Blade if you haven't.  It is more of a romance than the Kate Daniels series but still an awesome story.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge