Review: Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels World)

*Minor Spoilers Ahead*

Out of the frying pan…

After being booted from the Knights of Merciful Aid for the ‘sin’ of simply being a shapeshifter, Andrea Nash refuses to sit back and lick her wounds. Everything she’s worked for may have vanished, but if Life hands you lemons, Andrea is ready to make lemon grenades. So, while she pulls herself back from the brink, she’s working for her best friend Kate Daniels’ investigative firm, Cutting Edge.

Into the inferno…

But when shapeshifters who work for Raphael Medrano, the male Alpha of Clan Bouda – and Andrea’s former lover – are killed unexpectedly, Andrea lands the worst case of her life. To capture the mysteriously powerful killer, Andrea and Raphael must work together—and avoid killing each other before their target does. But what’s a little sacrifice when you’re saving the world?

Paperback.

Full length novel.

First person.

Andrea suffered physical abuse as a child. 

The descriptions are brief but could be very upsetting especially if sensitive to the topic.

Yes. 

Despite this book not focusing on Kate, I believe that you still need the knowledge from previous books.

Yes.

Even though this series is Urban Fantasy I believe this is Andrea and Raphael's HEA. They'll crop up in other books, I'm sure, but this was their moment. 

This'd be a spoiler if I answered... But by saying even that am I spoiling? Argh!

Lets just say yes, no, maybe. No. No.

As above.

Yes, no, maybe... No.

Yes.

(Honestly, I think the answer to this should be an 'of course!' for this series...)

What I Liked: 

Andrea is a kick-ass character who deserved own book and the book was as kick ass as the lady herself! 

I've liked Andrea as a character since her first outing in book 2 of this series. I sympathise with her struggles to fit in and understand her reasons for not embracing her bouda half but I am so glad to see her finally accept all that she is in this one! It was fantastic watching her throw caution to the wind and embrace it and what I loved more than anything about the entire situation is that she didn't do it for Raphael. He was a catalyst, or more accurately his shitty behaviour in reaction to her shitty behaviour, was a catalyst and the resultant reaction was perfect! 

The trademark snark and humour of these books was as strong as ever, the crazy action was as full on, the mythology theme continued (Egyptian this time) and we got to see LOTS more of Roman the - dare I say it - sexy volohv first introduced in Magic Slays; He is hilarious and stole the show for me. 

Another thing I really liked about having a book in this world told from a different characters pov was that you got to catch up with all your favourite characters but through someone else's eyes. You got to see different elements of their personalities and I enjoyed that. 

What I Didn't Like: 

I didn't like the way Raphael played Andrea in the beginning. Yes, I know he was hurting and trying to hide that fact - and salvage some pride - with a bimbo shield but I felt Andrea's pain and wanted to shoot him in the dick. 

The fact that it was all resolved in an 'acceptable' manner is irrelevant. It hurt.

That said - and I hate to admit this but - the hurt made the romance in this book sooo much better. 

Other Thoughts:

The Kate Daniels series is Urban Fantasy and I'd say that while Gunmetal Magic ticks many of the 'UF' boxes it was more of a paranormal romance, which is fine by me!

Also, for those who are nervous about this not being a Kate book, don't be. You'll see Kate, Curran and all the favourites from the main series and I do think that it helps to further the plot of the series in many respects.

“Did those nice church ladies come by again?" 

He nodded. "I asked them if a man died and then the woman remarried, and then the three of them met in heaven, would it be a sin for them to have a threesome, since they were all married in God's eye. And they decided they were late to be somewhere else.”

💬

“You will not pass!” Roman thundered.

Great. Now he had decided he was Gandalf.” 

💬

"Bad days, good days, ‘I’ll cut you if you look at me the wrong way’ days. I’ll take them all.” 

💬

“Your favourite volhv showed up half an hour ago, complaining about his lack of sleep and stupid gods. He says he brought his Batman belt.”