The main character had potential but was just annoying. She didn’t seem all that bright even though it was indicated that she was supposed to be bright. Worst was how I just wanted to push Kate off a very tall building every time she opened her mouth.

I was willing to give it a try much longer than normal because sometimes this type of character has to have a moment of clarity/wake up call. I thought she was going to have one when they went to check the human out but the entire scene made no sense. Then she goes and gets drunk and whiny…blech.

And the medieval feeling of the Knights didn’t work for me (but admittedly I hate standard sword and sorcery fantasy). The modern world would be much stronger of an influence even if the Knights are a kind of hereditary class.

To sum it up: Can’t stand to wait for new books from Ilona Andrews

I missed the pre-existing relationships, too, but I viewed Kate as very much a loner whose pedigree necessarily insulated her. But I also hope that, over time, there is growth in that area.

As for the other elements – I actually liked the familiarity of the Pack construct. I don’t know that you could do a Pack too differently since the idea is that they are grounded in the original beast forms. All Pack books seem to have a generally similarity which doesn’t seem to bother me.

Anyway, I am glad you shared your thoughts. I makes me examine what I liked and what I didn’t and why it worked.

My primary response to “Magic Bites” is definitely more about the reader than the book. I have a hard time with paranormals – a paralyzing fear of the dark. But paranormals dominate the landscape at the moment so I’ve tried many and have only 2 keepers: “Sunshine” and “Benighted”. I love McKinley but I refused to read Sunshine until this year. My loss, it is a wonderful book. And I found “Benighted” (originally and deliberately titled Bareback) by Kit Whitfield deeply disturbing and impossible to forget. In the middle of this book the heroine crosses the line and for a moment becomes evil. The progress to that point and the struggle forward from that point is riveting. This has very little to do with “Magic Bites” but everything to do with my reaction to it.

What I like about Magic Bites – the heroine is strong, imperfect, and likeable. The humour is engaging in the dialog and in the narrative. The re-invention of vampires is original. The plot works. The descriptions are strong and immediate.

But. The world is too close to Wen Spencer’s Tinker – this made me uncomfortable. The words of power are acquired too easily and used with too little cost despite the written disclaimers. Don’t tell me that the first 2 words were acquired perilously – show me the peril now. And I am obviously conditioned by far too much fantasy – magic blood, a magic sword and words of power? Kate lives in the city where she grew up but has no visible friends except for the new relationships developed during the story and a relationship with her foster mother which might be explored more in a later book (and her a relationship with her foster father but he is killed in the opening pages). I miss the pre-existing relationships and wonder why they are absent. The vampires are original but the shapeshifters follow the old cliche – why are the forces of evil more interesting than the forces of good? And pack humans don’t work for me.

My biggest problem with “Magic Bites” is a problem I have with all open-ended series (except for the mystery genre which is a different animal). If a series has a definite story arc, this shows in the writing. The development of the characters, the struggles they must undertake, the revelation of questions and answers may take place over several books but they are organic and build towards an ultimate resolution (which may be open-ended – that doesn’t matter). On the other hand, indefinite series tend to behave more like a television series. There must be unanswered questions so that the reader will tune in to the next book. I find these annoying. To me “Magic Bites” reads like an episode in a television series and that doesn’t work for this reader.

This is far too long but you did ask.

Thank you so much for the review. But more importantly, thank you so much for the conversation. For the very first time in my writing career I’ve experienced what it’s like to speak to someone about my work, someone who comes to it from a reader’s point of view.

I belong to an online workshop and have several friends who are writers (that’s why my acknowledgements are a mile long), and they had reviewed and critiqued my work many times. I’m deeply grateful to them for all their help. But being able to have a real discussion about your book with a reader is truly in a class by itself.

I will always remember it. Thank you.