Manga Maniac Cafe

4.5 stars

May Contain Spoilers

This volume of the Kate Daniels series started with a huge bang. After a navigator loses control of a vampire, Kate has to head off a blood-thirsty vampire before it wreaks havoc near her office. This adventure will seem tame after she’s hired by the Red Guard to locate a missing inventor that they had snatched from their protection. They don’t know what he working on, but the proto-type was stolen too. Oh, and can Kate keep a lid on her investigation? If word gets out that the Red Guard had a client kidnapped out from under their noses, they will obviously lose face – and lots of business.


I am addicted to this series. I enjoy all of the characters, and look forward to making new acquaintances. Since Kate is no longer part of the Order, she has a tougher time taking care of business. Without her Order credentials to force doors open for her, she has to do things by the book, and that’s not always easy. Especially after the Order tarnished her rep after the fight with Erra. She doesn’t really want to take the Red Guard job, but since it’s her first case in a month, she doesn’t have much choice.

Turns out that the missing inventor was working on a machine that obliterates magic – and kills everyone with magic within its operational radius. Desperate to find the machine before the terrorist group who have stolen it can wipe out Atlanta, as well as the Keep, Kate grabs at any lead she can find, but they always turn up empty. When Julie is attacked by a shifter and starts going loup, the case takes an even more personal turn.

I liked getting an inside glimpse at the People, and would like to know even more about them. As Kate’s powers are revealed, little by little, I wonder what else she can do. She takes several emotional blows in Magic Slays. She discovers that her mother might not have been the loving, compassionate woman she thought she was, and that Voron may not have had her best interests at heart. Voron’s true intentions for her struck a stinging blow that I don’t know if she can overcome. He set up her greatest weaknesses, the inability to trust others or ask for help, and I don’t know if it’s possible to forgive him the final endgame he had in store for her.

Book 6 is on my hold list at the library. Hopefully it comes in quickly!