This review contains spoilers for Magic Binds and the previous books in the series.
Read with caution if you have yet to finish the books.
I am torn.
This was an epic installment in terms of revelations. I know the series is winding up (this is book 9 of 10, I believe), and things are coming to a head. There is so much packed into this one book that I can’t help but imagine the pressure the authors must have felt in trying to wrap things up. Don’t get me wrong; I thoroughly enjoyed it. It simply had a much different feel than any of the previous books.
Let’s start with the multiple backstories that we get to find out about. We now understand more of what drives Roland, Kate’s ancestry, even more about Kate’s aunt/Roland’s sister, Erra, and Christopher’s origins (and it’s a doozy). Even more astounding is how they are presented. Non-stop crisis after crisis falls on Kate with each one revealing another character’s history. Hold onto to your shapeshifters, because this book is one explosive ride. You will not walk away with the same impressions about these characters you have come to know.
So, here we are at the point where Kate and Curran are about to finally tie the knot, but of course, being who they are, the world may end before that can actually happen. Roland cannot abide Kate’s rebellion and by kidnapping and slowly bleeding dry the ice giant, Saiman, events have set into motion the foreseeable demise of Kate’s beloved and/or the destruction of Atlanta. Just another day in the life of Kate Daniels? Maybe.
In claiming Atlanta, Kate has access to all of the land’s magic, and it is calling to her. Like her father, the urge to control everything and everyone around her is hard to resist. It begins to change her and Kate is no longer sure how she will come out in the end. Will her hunger for power be the deal-breaker for Curran? There is a deal-breaker?! The ties that bind will be stretched to the breaking point.
I think my only beef with this book is the pacing. It is carried out at breakneck speed. I barely had the chance to realize the significance and ramifications of what had just happened before the sky is falling (again). I miss the depth of emotions I usually get with a Kate Daniels book. I felt like I was alternating between gasping and picking up my jaw off the ground.
I will hold back from sharing any more details…only that more gods show up, someone is resurrected, and there are two near-deaths. No major characters get killed off so you all can breathe easy…for now.
Kate is changing, her world is changing, and I am not sure how I feel about all of it. I do know that I will see it the end, no question about that. I might wallow in unease until the final book comes out in 2017, but I have faith in the authors to make it worth the wait.
Jennie Ivins