Nocturnal Book Reviews

Ilona and Gordon Andrews are my favorite urban fantasy writers. I've been raving about them for years. There are just so many things about them to love.

First of all, Ilona was born Russian (very close to my hometown) and I'll tell why I mentioned it a bit later.

Secondly, the writing gets better and better with each book. It's impeccable, explosive and military precise. Plus, Mr & Mrs Andrews have a wicked sense of humour, which is just as good in real life.

Third brownie point is that they've created one of the best couples in urban fantasy - Kate and Curran. The chemistry between them had been slowly building through the first three books until they got together, and their relationship is still fluid. They constantly find new things about each other, and it's incredibly endearing and natural.

"I’d missed him so much, it almost hurt. It started the moment I left the Keep and nagged at me all day. Every day I had to fight with myself to keep from making up bullshit reasons to call the Keep so I could hear his voice. My only saving grace was that Curran wasn’t handling this whole mating thing any better. Yesterday he’d called me at the office claiming that he couldn’t find his socks. We talked for two hours."

Ok, back to why I've mentioned Ilona's heritage. I absolutely adore how the authors implemented Slavic folklore into their books. Their vamps are Eastern European upiri, they have volhvs and baba yaga and Chernobog and Russian words and numerous little phrases relating to the old fairy tales I grew up with. For me it was heavenly.

Ilona and Gordon created a unique world, extremely rich and vivid, where all sorts of magical creatures live, not limited to one country or one part of the world. The research for each of the book must have been huge.

There is no point for me to talk about the plot. If you've never read their books before, grab the first one Magic Bites otherwise I'm not giving you spoilers. As usual, there is a huge battle, Kate finds out more about her powers and her love to Curran, fights like a Valkyrie, and the book's ending is magnificent.

All in all, long live Kate, and I so want to get the new book right now! The waiting is more and more torturous with each book that comes out, which is a testament to the authors skills.