My Need to Read

Whoo! I probably should've reviewed this book before having continued onto the next book, because they're all so dense, full of information and action galore.With the huge chunk of world building done in Magic Bites, this installment was able to get right off to a fun and satisfying start. There's a few months' distance between books one and two, so Kate is able to process and go through a few stages of grieving over her late mentor, Greg. This means she's a bit more light and bouyant in tone; not too much, of course, but enough to give even more depth to the an already intense character.If one has any familiarity and/or interest in the various mythologies and folklore out there, there's quite a bit laced into the story. You may recognize figures from Russian, Celtic, Nordic, and Greek mythos. It was fun to recognize some and learn about others, and all are weaved expertly into the story here.Now, I'm usually a much bigger fan of compact tales than I am those that involve "saving millions of people!" or "keeping the world safe!" ^_^. There's an element the latter here, introduced as a result of an approaching "flare," or worldwide overload of magic. Think valiant battles and "doom-for-all" scenarios in addition to the expected "police" procedural element. Given that, I was quite pleased with how personal and fresh the story was. The characters introduced in this book were perhaps the biggest reason for this (Julie brought out the softer side of Kate, and Bran brought very resonant "sublime pathos").By the end of the book I had complete tunnel vision for the next book. lol Rock on.