Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

Kate Daniels is back and she's better than ever. No, really, I mean it. What to know why?

While investigating a crime, Kate stumbles across a street urchin who has lost her mother. The mom had been part of a coven trying to raise a Celtic god to give them more power but that plan sort of backfired and they ended up releasing another power bent on complete destruction. What makes it worse is that Atlanta is currently caught in the middle of a magic flare - a time every few years that magic runs rampant and intensifies. So, releasing bad gods in highly magic time = bad news. Add in the fact that the local Pack has had a very valuable set of maps stolen and we've got ourselves a rockin' good time.

Now onto the good stuff: Kate really shows her mettle in this installment. She willingly takes in a young girl even as she proclaims she's not really the mothering type, more the 'cool aunt' type. What's more she expresses her humanity that almost surprised me in her willingness to save one girl from evil that might end up slaughtering hundreds of people in the process. Her explanations to Bran on the subject were most enlightening.

I'm not usually one for battle scenes but the big fight scene in this book truly caught my attention. Kate is powerful and no one really understands how much. Maybe becuase the battle was told from her point of view or maybe it was because she totally kicked-butt and wasn't sorry about it in the least. I'm not sure, but I liked seeing a woman who could bring an entire hoard of bad guys to their knees (literally). I felt so much more connected to all the characters in this one and can't wait for more.

reading order:
~ Magic Bites
~ Magic Burns
~ Magic Strikes