Magic Stars by Ilona Andrews

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The next book in the Kate Daniels readalong is Magic Stars. This is listed as book 8.5 in the series by Ilona Andrews. I'm reading the Kate Daniels series as a part of a readalong hosted by Stef, Megan and Heather! I used this to cover the prompt gray on the cover for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss. I also applied this to the prompt Murder Robe for the Heaving Bosoms' 2022 Reading Embrace.

Julie receives a case at Cutting Edge to track down a rock that's emitting magic. Derek has been tasked by Curran to look into the murder of a smithy and their family. When their cases intersect, Derek and Julie team up to take down the Warlock Adam. As they fight through various magic traps and try to figure out what the stone is, they become even closer.

Oh my gosh, if this is what we can look forward to in Aurelia Ryder, I'm all in. I loved the banter between Derek and Julie. I don't know if Derek is in the spin-off series, but I absolutely loved it. It's not said outright, but it's mentioned that Derek "belongs to someone else." I'm thinking it's Julie and I really hope so. I love them paired together. There is a slight age gap between them with Derek being 4-years older, but it's not that much and they both are definitely more mature beyond their years.

I loved seeing Derek do his thing and how he deals with the almost loupism he experienced as a child. It was really neat seeing how much Julie has learned and grown since Magic Tests. Although I'm not too sure what to think about her training with Roland behind Kate and Curran's backs. Although I'm happy that at least someone knows. I loved seeing Julie use her power and how her magic has changed since Kate saved her life and transferred her blood to her. We also learn that Julie knows more about the situation than Kate thinks, but isn't going to pressure Kate about it.

I loved this novella and it was so fun to get Derek's POV. I can't wait to see how Julie and Derek grow and evolve over the remaining books. It'll be fun to see the kind of person that Julie grows into when she becomes our main POV. I love every entry into this universe and just get more and more sucked into these characters and their lives with every word. I can't wait to read more from Ilona Andrews!

Have you read Magic Stars?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Magic Stars, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 77 pages, published in 2015, Indie published