Magic Strikes, Ilona Andrews
When I think about this book, I think about some of the pivotal scenes in the arena, and it was a bit of a surprise to read it again and realise how little fighting Kate and the shapeshifters actually do together in the arena. I mean, there are still a few battles, but I remembered it taking up a much bigger chunk of the book. It’s one of my favourite in the series so far, partly because of that strong impression about the arena, but also because there are some really funny lines (“turn your headlamps off” — in context, that’s just, ahaha).
It’s also one where things finally get really moving on the romance plot, and it becomes obvious what Curran’s intentions are. Which is the source of much of the funniness, but also a couple of really good scenes. In shapeshifter romance there’s sometimes the tendency to talk about how the instincts are stronger than anything, etc, etc, and sometimes it leads to kind of rapey stuff which is just ick. Curran, however, demonstrates really very strongly that a ‘no’ is a ‘no’, even if he thinks Kate doesn’t mean it.
Though how much does it say about her that she just has to say no, very explicitly to test his control? Oh, Kate.
Anyway, Kate continues to be both a total smartass and a total dumbass, and we also see some development for other characters like Derek, Julie, Andrea, Raphael and Jim. Speaking of smartasses, Raphael has some pretty great lines too.
So yeah, lots of fun.
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