As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate’s connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe—especially those closest to Kate.
As Roland’s long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she’ll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear…
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I, like many others, probably consider Magic Breaks the pivotal book of the Kate Daniels series. Since the very beginning readers have been wondering what the showdown between Kate and Roland was going to look like, and after re-reading the book (or parts of it) about a million times I think I'm finally ready to give my thoughts.
It was awesome.
And, thankfully for my poor little heart, it was not quite as emotionally wrenching as Magic Rises, even if Kate is obviously scarred by the previous events. Facing Roland has become so much more than what her foster father Voron wanted for her - Kate has a mate along with family and friends who are significantly more important than a magically fried dead man's vendetta. So instead of a prolonged battle between Kate and Roland, the book spends more time on the lead up to her decision about what she wants in her life, with much of it riding on how she handles Hugh and his sudden appearance in Atlanta and manipulation of the People. It results in a less violent book than some of the other installments of the series, but while it is obviously a bridge since the Roland arc kind of ends, it doesn't feel like fluff. Ilona Andrews has a deft hand in changing the direction of the series, and the significant amount of individual character development makes me really excited for what's coming next. Every part of the universe we've come to love is going to change because of the events of this novel, and while I've read some reviews where people have felt like more could have been done for this initial/final showdown between Kate and Roland, I'm happy that their acrimonious relationship is going to be fodder for future novels.
Overall Feeling - A+
Series - 5) Magic Slays 6) Magic Rises 7) Magic Breaks
