Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

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Copied from Kate Daniels thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

This is a binge read for everything Ilona Andrews, running from April to December 2024.

(I was going to wait until Iron Druid Chronicles thread was closer to ending, before making the thread, but everyone around here is so overbooked right now, they'd rather make things official and get it on their trackers, so I'm making it now...)

With this Auther / Collection of Series, I think I might make new threads for different series, as we go along, since there are plans for some people to join for specific series, and not everything, but I'm just going to make this first thread for now, and put the schedule here at the top:

April 2024 = Kate Daniels 1-4
(view spoiler)[#0.5) A Questionable Client -- (included in Small Magics)
#1) Magic Bites -- April 1st
#2) Magic Burns -- April 8th
#3) Magic Strikes -- April 15th
#3.5) Magic Mourns
#4) Magic Bleeds -- April 22nd
#4.5) Magic Dreams -- (Dali's 1st story)
#X) Curran POV -- mostly takes place during all 4 books -- (included in Small Magics)
(hide spoiler)]
May 2024 = Kate Daniels 5-7
(view spoiler)[#5) Magic Slays -- May 6th
#5.4) Gunmetal Magic -- May 13th -- (Andrea's story)
#5.5) Magic Gifts -- overlaps Gunmetal Magic (I think it's bundled, even on audio... I know it is in the ebook)
#5.6) Magic Tests -- (included in Small Magics)
#5.7) Retribution Clause -- (included in Small Magics)
#6) Magic Rises -- May 20th
#6.5) Magic Steals -- (Dali's 2nd story)
#7) Magic Breaks -- May 27th
#7.5) Curran POV -- last 2 parts, including Jim's POV -- (included in Small Magics)
(hide spoiler)]
June 2024 = Kate Daniels 8-10
(view spoiler)[#8) Magic Shifts -- June 3rd
#8.5) Magic Stars -- (Juli's story)
#9) Magic Binds -- June 10th
#9.5) Iron and Magic -- June 17th -- (Hugh's story)
#10) Magic Triumphs -- June 24th
#10.5) Small Magics -- Of Swine & Rose, and Grace of Small Magics are standalones set in KD World... only 2 short stories not read, by this point...
(hide spoiler)]

July 2024 = Edge 1-4
#1) On the Edge -- July 1st
#1.1) George and Jack in School -- https://ilona-andrews.com/george-and-...
#2) Bayou Moon -- July 8th
#3) Fate's Edge -- July 15th
#4) Steel's Edge -- July 22nd

August 2024 = Hidden Legacy 1-3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
#1) Burn for Me -- August 5th
#2) White Hot -- August 15th
#3) Wildfire -- August 25th
(There's some flash fiction floating around, like some Rogan POVs, but nothing officially released, the way it was in the KD series)

September 2024 = Innkeeper Chronicles 1-4
#0.1) Gerard Demille and Helen Meet
#1) Clean Sweep -- September 2nd
#2) Sweep in Peace -- September 9th
#3) One Fell Sweep -- September 16th
#4) Sweep of the Blade -- September 23rd -- (Maud's story)

October 2024 = Innkeeper Chronicles 4.5-5 + Kinsmen
Innkeeper Chronicles
#4.5) Sweep with Me -- October 7th
#5) Sweep of the Heart -- October 14th
Kinsmen -- novella series
#1) Silent Blade -- October 21st (included in The Kinsmen Universe)
#2) Silver Shark -- October 21st (included in The Kinsmen Universe)
#3) Fated Blades -- October 28th

November 2024 = Hidden Legacy 4-6 -- Catalina Trilogy: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
#3.5) Diamond Fire
#4) Sapphire Flames -- November 4th
#5) Emerald Blaze -- November 11th
#6) Ruby Fever -- November 18th
(Again there's some flash fiction floating around. Snippets, deleted scenes, Arabella POVs)

December 2024 = The Rest
Aurelia Ryder / Julie Lennart-Olson / etc
#1) Blood Heir -- December 2nd
Wilmington Years
#1) Magic Tides -- December 9th
#2) Magic Claims -- December 16th
#2.1) Purpose -- https://ilona-andrews.com/purpose/
#2.2) No Heroes -- https://ilona-andrews.com/no-heroes/
#X) Sanctuary -- Roman Serial -- releasing Summer 2024 -- https://ilona-andrews.com/category/bl...

Ilona Andrews is one of my favorite authors, and can't wait to share it with some new readers and old re-readers like myself...

EDIT: Updated plan for clarity/straggler discussions... we'll use this thread primarily for the Kate Daniels content in April/May/June/December...

I'll make new threads as the BR Club progresses in July (Edge thread), August (Hidden Legacy thread), and September (Innkeeper Chronicles + Kinsman Universe thread)... sometimes we'll be alternating between threads each month (especially Hidden Legacy in November and Kate Daniels revisit in December)...

The Edge, to me, feels like a series Ilona Andrews wrote without much of a plan ahead of time, maybe?...

Book1 introduces you to a whole set of characters and worldbuilding...

Book 2 introduces another set of characters in another location (and has a real Hatfield & McCoy vibe)...

Both introduce some typical OP Ilona Andrews magic characters...

Books 3-4 explore the magical world hinted at in the first 2 books, and gives a more connected overarching narrative to it all, from what I remember...

It ends at a point where it's not terrible that there's no more books in this world, but it's great that the authors got to re-use so many of the characters in Innkeeper Chronicles 2+

If you're curious who carries over into the Innkeeper Chronicles, (view spoiler)[it's all the kids... Jack, George, Gaston, and the girl from book 2 whose name I forget... (hide spoiler)]

Okay I'm a few chapters in and I love when books are set near where I live! Even if it's like a fantasy version and might as well be set anywhere lol

Erin wrote: "Okay I'm a few chapters in and I love when books are set near where I live! Even if it's like a fantasy version and might as well be set anywhere lol"

My lazy imagination, sometimes maps alot of house interiors to my apartment, lol...

WHAT?!?

It's been years since I re-read these, and I think the first time since reading Agatha Heterodyne, Girl Genius... first time I noticed the reference, at the comic book store...

Comic books:
Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank
Agatha Heterodyne and the Airship City
Agatha Heterodyne and the Monster Engine
Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus of Dreams
Agatha Heterodyne and the Clockwork Princess
Agatha Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite
Agatha Heterodyne and the Voice of the Castle
Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones
Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm
Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse
Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell
Agatha Heterodyne and the Siege of Mechanicsburg
(There's 8 more comic book volumes, but these 12 cover arc 1 of the story, and the 4 novelizations to date)...

Novelization/Audiobooks:
Agatha H and the Airship City
Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess
Agatha H. and the Voice of the Castle
Agatha H. and the Siege of Mechanicsburg

Overall, I'd say the characters in this are pretty classic Ilona Andrews archetypes, if the world is low-magic here in the first book or 2...

(view spoiler)[poor MC, taking care of some kids sooner than later...

Arrogant love interest, better off financially, and in magical knowledge... good with kids, tho, and that allows for a bridge in the romance...

As things develop, the MC and romantic interest prove to be pretty evenly matched in power, despite initial appearances... because the female MC has hidden magical depths or untapped potential...

Etc etc etc... (hide spoiler)]

There's a reason I gobble it all up, tho... it's eminently readable...

Just started #1 The Edge and through Chapter Four (view spoiler)[am really hoping the asshole blueblood who demanded she breed with him and asked for challenges to prove himself is not the love interest. I like the comic-book guy better... though they could end up being the same person... that would be a twist... I doubt it after she runs into him later and thinks there's no spark.

Still, I really do NOT like arrogant alphahole love interests. That still really bugs me about Curran. (hide spoiler)]

I like the pop-culture references--I grew up with Inuyasha--and I love the line in the first paragraph or so--something like we'd have to go to WalMart--I grabbed my gun.

Alphaholes are gonna be a problem in general, if you continue reading all the Ilona Andrews with us... I struggle to think of any love interest that doesn't start as an alphahole and mellow a bit over time... it seems to be their preferred character introduction...

Curran, Declan, Rogan, Sean, Arland, Alessandro, Hugh... even Roman a bit when you get the full backstory with the future love interest near the end of Sanctuary...

I can still enjoy the story, but I'm not going to love them like y'all do... I hate that the FMCs sacrifice their pride for an alphahole even if he turns out to have a softer side. I have personal issues with people being claiming that they know me better than I know myself, and that I am lying and they are right when it comes to myself... They aren't psychic. They have no way of knowing what is inside anyone's head. Maybe it's similar to gaslighting? So when an MMC shows up ordering people around and saying "you will sleep with me and you will love it"--the only thing I feel is a burning desire for scissors. And I don't know that there is anything that an MC can do to make that up to me as a reader, without completely changing who they are.

Meanwhile, through Chapter 18... definitely parts that remind me a lot of the Innkeeper series--Declan reminds me of the not-vampires, and there's aspects that remind me of Caldenia (sp?) as well... (view spoiler)[I'm glad that it turns out he isn't a blueblood set on kidnapping her as a broodmare, but I still don't like him.

I also don't like how a woman heatedly defending her own home and honor is told that she's acting childish. That's as bad as telling a woman she's "being emotional" just because she doesn't lie down and do what a man tells her to do. So yeah, this is ticking all of my anger points.

Yes, he apologized. Yes, he's trying to set things up so that she can take care of her sibs and was trying to protect the neighborhood. I wish the MCs well of each other. He will never have me swooning over him. (hide spoiler)]

For a long time, I've been here and in UF/PNR in general, for the UF aspects more than the PNR aspects... I had a few years where I read alot of PNR and romance and saw alot of irredeemable Alphaholes that were 10x worse than what's seen here, and the romance happens because Fated Mate BS was involved, and the woman had basically no choice in the matter... so I guess I let alot slide, as long as things mellow out and are too too bad in the first place (just some misunderstandings, usually)...

You should rank/sort the MMCs by how tolerable they are, across all series :D

I’m generally of the opinion Paranormal Romances happen too fast, because the Urban Fantasy plotline puts them on a short deadline to deal with an imminent threat… so MCs have like 1-7 days to fall in love… contemporary romances can span months and slow burn in the background of other books in the series before taking center stage…

I'm about 2/3 of the way through (thorugh chapter 18) and it's just fine for me. The world is pretty intriguing but I'm not super into any of the characters or the plot itself in this one

Excited to start these after I finish Kate Daniels :)

Erin wrote: "I'm about 2/3 of the way through (thorugh chapter 18) and it's just fine for me. The world is pretty intriguing but I'm not super into any of the characters or the plot itself in this one"

The most important aspect are the kids... they're what carry over into Innkeeper Chronicles...

My favorite part is late in the story... (view spoiler)[when Jack tries to soothe William the way big sister Rose soothes him, with candy and safety... (hide spoiler)]

Hm.. Tier List of MMCs sounds fun. Possible tiers:

S Tier (Will divorce A Tier for you, may even be persuaded to have children if there is a uterine replicator around):
A Tier (Marry me):
B Tier (we can date):
C Tier (we can be friends):
D Tier (I'll put up with you because my friends like you):
F Tier (Scissors):

Right now, most Ilona Andrews MMCs are in the C to D tier. The MMCs tend to start out at F and work their way up, but they'll never get out of the friendzone for me....

What do y'all think?

Finished #1 On the Edge yesterday and enjoyed it. (view spoiler)[I enjoyed seeing how Declan went about solving Rose's challenges--like approaching them sideways instead of straight on, in ways that showed he was thinking and listening. His approach for teaching George the necessity of death was interesting.

My favorite scene was the epilogue at the end, meeting his family.
He can be C Tier. He seems like he'd be a good friend to have. Too many dick moves to be any higher. (hide spoiler)]

I *think* I remember George in the Innkeeper series... (view spoiler)[one of the cosmic police people? Troubleshooters? I forget what they were called... did he work with the Innkeeper's brother? I don't remember Jack.

I'm very curious how George gets from sickly child to badass though. (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "Hm.. Tier List of MMCs sounds fun. Possible tiers:

S Tier (Will divorce A Tier for you, may even be persuaded to have children if there is a uterine replicator around):
A Tier (Marry me):
B Tier (..."

Love it, love the scissors (I get that reference ;)...

question: is it a hard and fast rule you can't move up more than 2 tiers?... or is that just for F to C?... obviously you can tank if you do some shit later on and move down all the way to the bottom, I imagine...

Nirkatze wrote: "Finished #1..."

(view spoiler)[George is an Arbitrator... Jack & Gaston are his underlings / teammates... the events of the arbitration allow him an opportunity to get Dina to open a portal to his world to retrieve the girl from Edge book 2 he loves, that's good with a flash sword similar to Rose... later in the Innkeeper series, this girl conquers some Amazon planet and George is her consort... he lounges around half the year, Persephone-style, and the other half of the year he does Arbitrator Stuff... (hide spoiler)]

You get to see Jack & George grow up in the background/interludes in the stories of books 2-4 in the Edge series... they get up to hijinks, and get schooling...

Book 2 is William's book... (view spoiler)[by the end, I think William & Declan are fully patched up as friends/family, making the characters of book 2 and Jack/George pseudo-cousins?... (hide spoiler)]

I think the MMC from the second sister in Hidden Legacy series isn't very alphahole? I don't remember much about him though lol

Tonari no Emily wrote: "I think the MMC from the second sister in Hidden Legacy series isn't very alphahole? I don't remember much about him though lol"

I think there's the usual misunderstandings... (view spoiler)[at first glance, Allessandro is a lothario player, traveling around and seducing women, I think?... but is secretly a spy/agent, trying to get his family sorted from destitution or sabotage?... (hide spoiler)]

Arbitrator! That was the word, thank you @Iain... I don't remember any of those extra details, so looking forward to the reread.

As for moving up the Tier list, there's no hard and fast rule to how much people could move up, but rather anyone with any alphahole tendencies will never be higher than C to me. So either they'd have to have so much character growth that they are no longer the same person, or it would have to be shown that they didn't actually believe the alphahole statements/actions they made on first impression and were acting or something.

The only non-alphahole in the Kate Daniels series (imo) was Derek... He could be B-tier, but as in "I'll let you date my daughter" rather than I would date myself... Kristopher and his boyfriend also not alphaholes, but still firmly C Tier... I don't think I could handle Kristopher's tenuous hold on sanity as well as he can...

Barnabas

Timelord Iain wrote: "Tonari no Emily wrote: "I think the MMC from the second sister in Hidden Legacy series isn't very alphahole? I don't remember much about him though lol"

I think there's the usual misunderstandings..."

Ah yeah that's fair... But still not very alphahole to my memory

Yea... I think they ease off on that trope after awhile...

I'm still reading Kate Daniels but hoping to get to Edge soon.

Same. Finished Iron Magic last night. I really loved it my first time around but this time not as much. Still liked it but I’m no longer attracted to Hugh. The attempts to make him the hero no longer worked on me. Still an enjoyable read but I was no longer smitten by the villain turned hero. Starting Magic Triumphs tonight.

Just finished up with On the Edge and I thought it was just okay. The thing I mostly liked about it was the world which I thought was interesting. But I didn't particularly care about the main characters and the plot didn't really intrigue me until the second half. Not sure if I'll continue this series or not, but this has not hampered my desire to continue with other Ilona Andrews series since I've heard this is kind of their least well liked series among fans

I finished Magic Triumphs today but decided to go for She Who Became the Sun first for the next audio because apparently I want to get more behind 🙃

Erin wrote: "Just finished up with On the Edge and I thought it was just okay. The thing I mostly liked about it was the world which I thought was interesting. But I didn't particularly care about the main char..."

I'm trying to sell reading everything, but The Edge is definitely skippable, if you really don't care to bother with The Edge...

The top reason I try to sell the series is how many characters cross over into Innkeeper Chronicles, using the multiverse option (4-5)

Yeah I've heard about the crossover and it's the one thing keeping me as a maybe on the rest of The Edge series

I read On the Edge last week and forgot to post. I actually enjoyed it, (view spoiler)[liked the characters especially the brothers, thought they were cute and not annoying like can sometimes happen in books. I liked how Declan wooed Rose even though he didn't start out with that intention. (hide spoiler)]

I am looking forward to continuing. I will try to catch up on the initial series at some point too but Iain assured me I should be okay reading this series now :)

I read Edge #2 Bayou Moon the other day and can see what @Iain was saying about this being not very planned... other than the crossover character (this being William's book) there's very little connection to the first book... Kinda reminds me of some of the Kate Daniels shorts which have no overlapping characters, just to expand the world. It was an ok read, but forgettable.

I’m still reading Magic Triumphs but am also listening to the Edge books for maximum Andrews 😅 Finished On The Edge. I really liked it but apparently really didn’t remember it because everything came at a surprise to me lol. Started Bayou Moon on my over night trip last night. Hoping to finish it this weekend.

Nirkatze wrote: "I read Edge #2 Bayou Moon the other day and can see what @Iain was saying about this being not very planned... other than the crossover character (this being William's book) there's very little con..."

William avoids Alphahole tendencies, for the most part, I think... probably because he's so insecure about his viability as a mate/husband, in the first place... just some miscommunications, along the way...

Timelord Iain wrote: "Nirkatze wrote: "I read Edge #2 Bayou Moon the other day and can see what @Iain was saying about this being not very planned... other than the crossover character (this being William's book) there'..."

I’m half way through Bayou Moon and I love William so much. He’s just this insecure puppy. I just want to hug him.

Gaston & Sophie/Lark are the last 2 carryover characters to Innkeeper Chronicles, along with Jack & George... everyone is technically pseudo-cousins, I think, given William & Declan's relationship, after William & Cerise end up together...

Last 2 Edge books are about Calder Mar and Richard Mar doing spy stuff, (view spoiler)[and continuing to deal with The Spider... I don't think The Spider is dealt with, once and for all, until the prologue to Sweep in Peace, to tie off the series for good, before bringing George into the Arbitrators in the Innkeeper series (hide spoiler)]

I did like WIlliam as a person--I liked him more in #1 too--was also thinking on how he was the first non-alphahole MMC we've seen so far...

@Iain--William & Cerise? Does that mean something happens to Sophie?

Sophie is Lark, the girl that thinks she’s a monster… Cerise/Cherise is the POV of book 2… I think you’re confusing characters because of audio pronunciations?

Just finished Bayou Moon. Liked this one better cuz I like William better. IA needs more sweet male characters.

I finished Bayou Moon the other day, I liked it, again the characters were what grabbed me, especially William. Will be getting to the third likely after the book I am reading now.

Timelord Iain wrote: "Sophie is Lark, the girl that thinks she’s a monster… Cerise/Cherise is the POV of book 2… I think you’re confusing characters because of audio pronunciations?"

Ah, nah, I'm confusing them because it's been a week since I read it and I didn't know any of the character names in the first place, lol... glad that there isn't any switch-ups! Did not realize Lark had another name...

Nirkatze wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Sophie is Lark, the girl that thinks she’s a monster… Cerise/Cherise is the POV of book 2… I think you’re confusing characters because of audio pronunciations?"

Ah, nah, I'm ..."

It's mentioned once or twice in the book... Lark/Sophie changed her name after (view spoiler)[her kidnapping, time in the pit, and the implication that she resorted to cannibalism to survive, using the corpse of the attempted rapist she killed with her magic thing (the white light / lightsaber technique common in this series)... (hide spoiler)]

I remember that incident, just not the name change... or if I did, I forgot... almost time to start #3...

Just finished On The Edge.. I like how readable this was, but I really didn't like the romance here... (view spoiler)[ I know the whole broodmare thing was Declan playing on Rose's expectations, but it still irked me... And then I felt like they fell in love so fast, so I was like wait yall barely know each other!

Absolutely LOVED the scene with Jack and William. Can't wait to get to his book. (I also don't like when two characters feel like they don't have a "spark". To me that just feels like they don't have instant lust for eachother.. How about try to get to know each other and see what happens? Go on a few dates? Idk that bothered me...)

I also did really like the ending when she accidentally stumbles upon the Duchess (hide spoiler)]

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Just finished On The Edge..,..."

I’m nodding along to everything you said. On my first read through I loved it so much but on my reread I had issues with the romance. But all of these are such quick romances. I just finished the 3rd book and it was seriously a 180 from I hate you to I love you let’s get married. I think the entire span of the book is 9 days. Like slow your roll there buddy. And Willam is still my favorite MC and I don’t get why Rose would reject him based on basically just looks alone. Makes me think of her as shallow and I don’t like that.

I finished Fate's Edge earlier and liked it a lot. The same as the prior 2 books I liked the characters and I loved how much (view spoiler)[George & Jack (hide spoiler)] were in this book. These have been fun, easy reads which is a welcome break!

Ann-Marie wrote: "I finished Fate's Edge earlier and liked it a lot. The same as the prior 2 books I liked the characters and I loved how much [spoilers removed] were in the book. These have been fun, easy reads whi..."

Clarifying my comments. I still love the books. They’re all 4/5 star books for me. These are easy, fun reads. They’re def not perfect but they hit the spot when you need something light to detox from the heavy books.