Magic Bites (Kate Daniels #1) by Ilona Andrews

Amy    

fantasy

In Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews (which is, interestingly, a pseudonym for a husband and wife writing duo), Kate, a mercenary who solves magical problems, is driven to find the killer of her father figure. 

This paranormal urban fantasy had some fun elements but was overall average.  I always love reading a novel set in Atlanta. However, this magical future for the city I know so intimately seemed harder to swallow than if it were set in a less specific (or familiar) city.  Once I allowed myself to go with the setting, a future where magic is prevalent and evident to all citizens, I was interested to see how Kate would solve the murder.  I liked Kate’s personality and strong sense of self which was never serious enough for the risky job she was performing. A couple of the other characters were interesting too. However, Kate and her world didn’t grab me enough to encourage more reading in this series.  I was frustrated a few times when the author would introduce characters so briefly and then bring them back after so long that I’d forgotten who they were. 

The audiobook was narrated by Renee Raudman and I enjoyed her storytelling. Her accent is similar to Ellen DeGeneres’ but more of a worldly tone. She did a good job with different voices and a marvelous job with her voice acting.  I do believe I liked Kate as much as I did thanks to Raudman’s interpretation. I’ll give her an A.