Addicting as any potato product on the market, Ilona Andrews' intensely-enjoyable Kate Daniels series welcomes another success with MAGIC SLAYS. For a while now, I've enjoyed Andrews' stories of fiery ex-mercenary Kate Daniels, her paramour (the intimidatingly titled "Beast Lord") Curran, a host of evil-doers, lycanthropes, witches, druids, and a unique and particularly horrifying "breed" of vampires (which are about as far from Brad Pitt's hunky "Interview With a Vampire" as creatures of the night can get). The whole gang is back for this newest installment of the series and I for one could not be happier. The reappearance of Grendel, the black, over-sized, extremely smelly, shorn "attack-poodle" actually elicited a squeal of joy from me and a revitalizing of my resolution to name a pet (be it fish, bird or guinea pig) with the same literary zest. No slouch on the plot front, Andrews has Kate dealing with feral vampires, a runaway ward, a SWAT team mad with bloodlust, a hefty debt to the shapeshifters Pack, and some seriously ineffective weaponry; all while being a new small-business entrepreneur. And that's just in the first few dozen pages!

In the recent pandemic of paranormal/urban fantasy that's rolled onto shelves, it can be tough to know what book-with-scantily-clad-heroine-in-leather-on-the-cover to pick up. Do I read the one with a wolf superimposed over the moon or the one that has a man in a large cloak looking dangerous and seductive? The one about a bounty hunter with a need for retribution or the one about the mercenary with a thirst for vengeance? Described in a spoiler-free manner, the Kate Daniels series doesn't sound like anything new. It's a dystopian reality, with magic and werewolves and vampires and of course someone is usually getting stabbed with a sword or anything else that is handy. I can only tell you that each book is a truly fun read and that despite superficial similarities to its compatriots, it is a step above the rest. If you've enjoyed Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series or novels by Rachel Vincent, this series is going to appeal to you.

For those who have had the pleasure of already reading the earlier novels, I can promise that you won't be disappointed with MAGIC SLAYS (nor will you get any sleep until you've read it cover-to-cover). For those who have not yet experienced an Atlanta, GA that is ravaged by invisible and unpredictable waves of magic and "tech", I recommend starting with the first novel, MAGIC BITES, as Kate's story really needs to be experienced in its entirety and, most definitely, in a chronological order. Get ready for blood, guts, glory and, above all, some serious literary magic.