Published By: Berkley , Penguin
Released: Available Now
Details: Paperback from library, 326 Pages
RATING: 5 JIM & DALI STARS
Reviewed only Magic Dreams from this paperback.
Magic Dreams originally appeared in the anthology Hexed.
From New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews comes a tale of darkness, desire, and werecats.
Alpha Pack leader Jim Shrapshire has always been the strong, silent type. But something has come over him--a magic force currently residing in one of the Pack's headquarters. Were-tigress Dali Harimau has always wished she could get Jim's attention--but now he needs her help.
Stricken with a magic-sickness, Jim needs Dali's flair for magic. And to save him, she must challenge a powerful, dark being to a battle of wits.
Includes an excerpt of Ilona Andrews's upcoming novel in the world of Kate Daniels, Gunmetal Magic, available in August 2012.
BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:
This is one novella you don't want to miss.
Well done Team Andrew's.
Stricken with a magic-sickness, Jim needs Dali's flair for magic. And to save him, she must challenge a powerful, dark being to a battle of wits.
Includes an excerpt of Ilona Andrews's upcoming novel in the world of Kate Daniels, Gunmetal Magic, available in August 2012.
BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:
This novella should not be missed in the Kate Daniels series. I absolutely loved Dali and Jim in it. This actually felt like a full sized read instead of 68 pages.
It could quite easily have been written into a full sized read. It was over too quickly.
I wanted more... and more...
Dali is such a great character. I am so glad this writing team took the time to give us this novella.
I am going to be honest and say that I thought Dali almost out did Kate from the early books in this series.
Yes. I went there.
Dali does not see herself as attractive, she is half blind, but she is brilliant. She is so attractive to read.
Jim needs help and he needs it BIG TIME.
Wrong place at the wrong time.
I really enjoyed Dali’s mum. She is a bit of a crack up.
“You do realize that you’re going to die?” My mother shook her head.
“Yeah, I’ve got the dying part.”
“You found some sort of zombie instead of a man.” My mother pointed at Jim. “Look, he isn’t even concerned.”
I poured the tea. “He’s concerned, Mother. He just doesn’t panic, because he’s in charge and if he panics, everybody else will panic.”
“I can jog around the room pretending to scream if you would like,” Jim offered.
My mother raised an eyebrow. “You’re working so hard to dig your own grave, you might work yourself to death. Simmer down.”
Jim drew back as if she’d smacked his hand with a ruler.
Oh my gods. The alpha of Clan Cat just got smacked with a rolled-up newspaper. “Mom!”
She pointed at me with the newspaper. “Do not shame me.”
I clamped my mouth shut. When she pulled out the shame card, it was all over.
The one thing I said in my last review of Magic Bleeds is I wanted to see Kate do without Doc Doolittle and see how she handles that. No healer on hand.
I got that in Dali’s novella. Doc Doolittle wouldn’t have been able to do anything , anyway. But it added so much more to the story for Dali to be the one to use her gifts to find a solution.
Loved this!
Dali has her hang ups about her looks so she likes to race Rambo, her ’93 Mustang on Buzzard Highway. Only thing is, she can’t see that well so she usually ends up crashing.
No harm done. Takes a bit to kill a white tiger.
Kasen to the rescue, a were-rat who I think has his eye on Dali. Dali just doesn’t see it because she only sees herself as not attractive to the opposite sex.
It could quite easily have been written into a full sized read. It was over too quickly.
I wanted more... and more...
Dali is such a great character. I am so glad this writing team took the time to give us this novella.
I am going to be honest and say that I thought Dali almost out did Kate from the early books in this series.
Yes. I went there.
Dali does not see herself as attractive, she is half blind, but she is brilliant. She is so attractive to read.
Jim needs help and he needs it BIG TIME.
Wrong place at the wrong time.
I really enjoyed Dali’s mum. She is a bit of a crack up.
“You do realize that you’re going to die?” My mother shook her head.
“Yeah, I’ve got the dying part.”
“You found some sort of zombie instead of a man.” My mother pointed at Jim. “Look, he isn’t even concerned.”
I poured the tea. “He’s concerned, Mother. He just doesn’t panic, because he’s in charge and if he panics, everybody else will panic.”
“I can jog around the room pretending to scream if you would like,” Jim offered.
My mother raised an eyebrow. “You’re working so hard to dig your own grave, you might work yourself to death. Simmer down.”
Jim drew back as if she’d smacked his hand with a ruler.
Oh my gods. The alpha of Clan Cat just got smacked with a rolled-up newspaper. “Mom!”
She pointed at me with the newspaper. “Do not shame me.”
I clamped my mouth shut. When she pulled out the shame card, it was all over.
The one thing I said in my last review of Magic Bleeds is I wanted to see Kate do without Doc Doolittle and see how she handles that. No healer on hand.
I got that in Dali’s novella. Doc Doolittle wouldn’t have been able to do anything , anyway. But it added so much more to the story for Dali to be the one to use her gifts to find a solution.
Loved this!
Dali has her hang ups about her looks so she likes to race Rambo, her ’93 Mustang on Buzzard Highway. Only thing is, she can’t see that well so she usually ends up crashing.
No harm done. Takes a bit to kill a white tiger.
Kasen to the rescue, a were-rat who I think has his eye on Dali. Dali just doesn’t see it because she only sees herself as not attractive to the opposite sex.
Attractive comes in many forms.
Kasen sighed. I’m trying to make a point here. I’ve been watching this race for six years now and I’ve never seen anyone crash as much as you. You’re my number-one customer. You can barely see, Dali, and you take stupid chances. No offence.”
Pooki the Plymouth Prowler is Dali’s usual form of transport. She makes it back to her place and finds a sleeping Jim in her bedroom.
Something isn’t right.
He looked so peaceful here. Usually Jim scowled, just to remind people that he was Serious and Important and would Kick Your Ass if Necessary. But right now, with his head tilted back and his face relaxed, he was beautiful. I wanted to sit on the floor next to him and snuggle up into the crook of his arm. It looked like the perfect spot for me. Instead, I sighed and touched his forehead with my finger. “Hey, you. Wake up.”
He didn’t move.
Dali has it bad for Jim, but she doesn’t think he sees her.
“My point is, I would never hurt you or your family.”
I raised my chin to him. “If you tried to hurt my mother, I would totally kick your ass.”
“Aha.”
“Yes. You would be lying on the ground, crying, ‘No more, no more,’ and I would be kicking you in the stomach, wham, wham, wham!”
He laughed softly. He was so terribly handsome. Here we were sitting two feet from each other, and we might as well be on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean.
I love the banter between Jim and Dali. It is cute and endearing.
Jim pondered the little piece of paper. “You want me to go back into that house protected by a magic sticky note?”
“Don’t even start,” I told him. “It’s working. If it weren’t working, you couldn’t drag me into that place.
“What did you write on here? ‘Don’t die’?”
“No, I wrote, ‘Don’t be an a-hole!’” I headed for the house.
“On yours or mine?”
“On yours.”
“Well, in that case, your magic isn’t working. I’m still an asshole.”
I loved watching Dali shine in her area of expertise and magic. She really is a most awesome character. She is not your norm. She doesn’t pull the stunning card, she can’t see properly, she wants more from her physical appearance but she knows it won’t happen.
Kasen sighed. I’m trying to make a point here. I’ve been watching this race for six years now and I’ve never seen anyone crash as much as you. You’re my number-one customer. You can barely see, Dali, and you take stupid chances. No offence.”
Pooki the Plymouth Prowler is Dali’s usual form of transport. She makes it back to her place and finds a sleeping Jim in her bedroom.
Something isn’t right.
He looked so peaceful here. Usually Jim scowled, just to remind people that he was Serious and Important and would Kick Your Ass if Necessary. But right now, with his head tilted back and his face relaxed, he was beautiful. I wanted to sit on the floor next to him and snuggle up into the crook of his arm. It looked like the perfect spot for me. Instead, I sighed and touched his forehead with my finger. “Hey, you. Wake up.”
He didn’t move.
Dali has it bad for Jim, but she doesn’t think he sees her.
“My point is, I would never hurt you or your family.”
I raised my chin to him. “If you tried to hurt my mother, I would totally kick your ass.”
“Aha.”
“Yes. You would be lying on the ground, crying, ‘No more, no more,’ and I would be kicking you in the stomach, wham, wham, wham!”
He laughed softly. He was so terribly handsome. Here we were sitting two feet from each other, and we might as well be on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean.
I love the banter between Jim and Dali. It is cute and endearing.
Jim pondered the little piece of paper. “You want me to go back into that house protected by a magic sticky note?”
“Don’t even start,” I told him. “It’s working. If it weren’t working, you couldn’t drag me into that place.
“What did you write on here? ‘Don’t die’?”
“No, I wrote, ‘Don’t be an a-hole!’” I headed for the house.
“On yours or mine?”
“On yours.”
“Well, in that case, your magic isn’t working. I’m still an asshole.”
I loved watching Dali shine in her area of expertise and magic. She really is a most awesome character. She is not your norm. She doesn’t pull the stunning card, she can’t see properly, she wants more from her physical appearance but she knows it won’t happen.
Her insecurities are rather in vain because she is more beautiful than she realizes.
Dali has spunk in bucket loads.
Dali has spunk in bucket loads.
She has intelligence in bucket loads.
I would want Dali on my team. She is selfless and brave.
“It’s cute of you to think you can stop me, Jim. Usually you order me around and I do what you say. I might gripe and I might make a fuss, but I will do it, because you are my alpha and I respect you. On this, you get no respect. You know nothing about this world. Your rules don’t apply here, but mine do. You will follow my lead and you will let me save you, Jim.”
Because thinking about you dying makes me hurt.
“And if the surgery did work, when would you stop having it?” he asked.
“When I walked into the room, and men turned their heads to look at me. I want to be beautiful. I want to be a knockout. I would trade all of my intelligence and all of my mystic tiger magic for that.”
The green glow back lit his irises. “And be what? A pretty idiot?”
I liked listening to Dali’s inner thoughts on Jim.
Jim had this funny long-suffering look on his face, and then his eyes sparked. “So does she grill every guy you bring home?”
I don’t bring guys home, you stupid, stupid man.
“It’s cute of you to think you can stop me, Jim. Usually you order me around and I do what you say. I might gripe and I might make a fuss, but I will do it, because you are my alpha and I respect you. On this, you get no respect. You know nothing about this world. Your rules don’t apply here, but mine do. You will follow my lead and you will let me save you, Jim.”
Because thinking about you dying makes me hurt.
“And if the surgery did work, when would you stop having it?” he asked.
“When I walked into the room, and men turned their heads to look at me. I want to be beautiful. I want to be a knockout. I would trade all of my intelligence and all of my mystic tiger magic for that.”
The green glow back lit his irises. “And be what? A pretty idiot?”
I liked listening to Dali’s inner thoughts on Jim.
Jim had this funny long-suffering look on his face, and then his eyes sparked. “So does she grill every guy you bring home?”
I don’t bring guys home, you stupid, stupid man.
I just totally dug this novella. It was funny, playful, dangerous and Dali...well... you are gonna have to read it to find out about her and Jim J
Michelle
Wonderful review Michelle, I recently picked up book one of this series and will be sure to add this one, I love that you trhought Dali outshone Kate a little. I love when there are strong secondary characters that really appeal to the readers. Like Vlad from Cat and Bones...LOL
ReplyDeleteI am aiming to get all the novella's to read. I am trying to locate the #3.5 via my library it's in an anthology. It is Raphael and Andrea. It took me to around book # 3 to totally see why this series is so popular. I am onto Magic Slays now, halfway through and it is dark , dangerous and I am really enjoying it :D Ahhh yes VLAD!! Bones is such an awesome character. Love that series too with a passion!!
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