Review: Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work. 

Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she's trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.

Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?

As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.”

Hugh and Elara may do both.

ebook.

Full-length novel.

Hugh and Elara.

No.

Tricky... Technically, no. The book could standalone.
However, I strongly believe that the book was so freakin' awesome because of the wealth of knowledge and history that comes with having read the Kate Daniels series. 

No.
There is a lot left unexplained but that's because it's book one of three. However, the story arc of this novel was resolved.

Not really applicable. More like, all's okay for now.

No.
Yes, Hugh sleeps with someone else after meeting Elara but it's with Elara's knowledge and at that point they have NO romantic feeling towards each other at all.
Once they are married (and still have no romantic feeling towards each other, lol) there is no one else.

Nope.

Oh yes...

I have no thoughts.
My brain is empty of any and all thoughts.
I bow to the authorlords and worship at their keyboard.
Ilona Andrews are magicians.
Wizards. Enchanters.
They suck you into fantasy realms and they make you lose all sense of reality.
They make crazy, violent, magical worlds so much better than the real world.
They make you love bad people.
They make bad people lovable.
They promote equality and diversity.
They write loyal characters who are a little bit broken but absolutely perfect.
I love their books.

And I LOVED this book.

Hugh D'Ambrey is a bad guy in the Kate Daniels world but he's a bad guy I've loved to pieces - no matter the messed up crap he pulls - and seeing him in this one... Oh my god. He's still Hugh. He's off his rocker, he's freaky intelligent, powerful, lethal and ruthless.
A complete bad ass.
But he's also achingly beautifully human.

Elara... Well, she was a new character to this world and I'm not going to lie and say that I liked her. For most of the book I really didn't.
However, as the book progressed, I think I came to understand her a bit better and that made the prickly bitch a bit easier to handle.

I loved the combination of Hugh and Elara together. They may be married but this is no love match. They ARE going to fall and fall bloody hard - it's starting to happen already - but love isn't the point of their marriage. They are partners and allies and they compliment each other beautifully.

I loved how the events here are going to have a massive impact on the events in the last Kate Daniels book, Magic Triumphs.
This book was freaking everything I wanted in a Hugh book and I can't wait to see what more unfolds in this trilogy!

It pains me to say it but I hate it.
I hate the cover.
It's the models. More specifically Hugh's model. It's all wrong.

“The last time we met, he tortured me,” Ascanio said.
He what? Could this get any worse?
“You’re still alive,” Hugh said. “Clearly my heart wasn’t in it.”

💬

“Some people in the world only saw in black and white. They were driven by fear. They had learned how to survive in their little corner of the world and they saw any change as a threat to their survival.”

💬

“Good people didn’t hate without a reason, so they grasped at any pretext, no matter how small, that gave them permission to hate. A line in a holy book. The color of a person’s skin. The brand of their magic. They were not in the habit of taking a second look or giving chances. Their fear was too great and their need to defend themselves too dire. They always lost at the end. Life was change. It would come to them, as inevitable as the sunrise, despite all their flailing.”