Today, we’re excited to offer something very cool, in the form of a flash giveaway. If you’re like Thea, you freaking love Kate Daniels. You’ve been waiting anxiously for the newest book in the series, Magic Rises. If this describes you, then you’re in luck because we’ve got an early copy of Magic Rises up for grabs!
About The Book:
Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost.
Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.
Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap…
You can read more about the book online HERE, including an early excerpt of the book.
About the Authors:
Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. author2smIlona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)
Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Texas with their two children, and many dogs and cats. They have co-authored two series, the bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels and romantic urban fantasy of The Edge.
You can find out more about Ilona Andrews on the official website, blog, and follow Ilona on twitter (@Ilona_Andrews) and on facebook.
You can check out Ilona Andrews on tour, too, if you’re lucky enough to be in one of these locations!
July 31: Murder by the Book – Houston, TX @ 6:30pm
August 1: Book People – Austin, TX @ 7pm
August 3: Mysterious Galaxy – San Diego, CA @ 2pm
Giveaway Details:
We have a copy of Magic Rises and Magic Bites up for grabs! The contest is open to addresses in the USA and will run until Sunday, July 21 at 12:01am. To enter, use the form below. Good luck!
90 Comments
Angie Outland
July 14, 2013 at 2:03 pmI looove your books! Thank you for sharing your wonderful work with us!
Amanda
July 14, 2013 at 2:22 pmSuch a great Give away! Thanks for all your hard work! Love your reviews!
Serenity
July 14, 2013 at 2:28 pmMy experience with Urban Fantasy has mostly been limited to YA. Izzy Lightwood from Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series is one of my favorite YA Urban Fantasy characters. I’ve heard great things about the Kate Daniels books, and I can’t wait to try them!
Make Kay
July 14, 2013 at 2:49 pmMercy Thompson, because of all the ways she tweaked Adam when they first met and she was trying to resist mating him
Laura E
July 14, 2013 at 2:51 pmI am so very excited to read the next in this series! Love all the characters. Ilona and Gordon are such great writers. Thanks for the giveaway. I can’t wait to read your reviews.
Liz
July 14, 2013 at 2:51 pmIt’s a pretty close tie between Mercy Thompson and Harry Dresden. Both are great protagonists. Thanks for the giveaway!
Lee
July 14, 2013 at 2:53 pmMercy Thompson because I like her loyalty, her heart, and her scrappiness; and Jane Yellowrock because she is so bad*ss but also vulnerable, conflicted, and, in many ways, lonely.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Lesley D
July 14, 2013 at 3:07 pmMy favorite UF hero is Harry Dresden because he’s Gandalf on crack. Thanks for the giveaway!
Mims
July 14, 2013 at 3:07 pmKate Daniels with Mercy Thompson as a very close second. Both series are so well written and each book advances the overall story arc, but can stand on their own.
Shauna
July 14, 2013 at 3:08 pmI have to say my favorite UF herione would have to be a tie between Kate Daniels and Merit from Chicagoland Vampires. Mac from The Fever Series is another favorite as well.
Thanks so much for the giveaway! 🙂
Eileen
July 14, 2013 at 3:09 pmMercy Thompson all the way! Love her!
Natalia
July 14, 2013 at 3:16 pmThe first that came to mind are the Goodnight women in “Spirit and Dust” and “Texas Gothic” by Rosemary Clement-Moore. These are recent reads of mine and I love that the goodnight women are smart, snarky and red-headed. Their magic based powers are neat but they are not perfect or uber. Also they have a loving supportive yet weird family. They are not full of the angst and woe. That strong seeming but inner wounded type so prevalent in urban fantasy has started to wear on me. Back in the day I loved Anita Blake (the first 5 books) but now not so much with it being basically erotica.
Angie
July 14, 2013 at 3:16 pmKate & Mercy. Tied. Because they know how to love and how to fight. And they both have such wonderful senses of humor.
Mary
July 14, 2013 at 3:18 pmI love the Kate Daniels books. I have just done a re-read to get ready for the new book.
draconismoi
July 14, 2013 at 3:37 pmFranny Healey from the InCryptids! Though she is in the past….that might not be urban fantasy.
In which case I’d have to go with Kate.
Lashawn
July 14, 2013 at 3:49 pmMy current favorite is Kate Daniels, I just read the series this year and I LOVE her!
Allana
July 14, 2013 at 3:50 pmI think Mercy Thompson is still my favorite protagonist, but Kate Daniels is close second.
Jacqueline
July 14, 2013 at 3:52 pmBesides Kate, I love Mercy Thompson of Patricia Briggs’s series. While her willingness to throw herself into impossible situations can be frustrating, I love seeing how she’ll manage to win in the end considering that she’s so weak when compared to the other supernatural beings in the series.
SarahDF
July 14, 2013 at 4:02 pmIt might be a tie between Kate Daniels and Mercedes Thompson. They’re both such strong characters who grow as their series progress, but don’t change in ways that are uncharacteristic. They’re strong women who can take care of themselves but aren’t so arrogant that they can’t accept help, and aren’t defined by their love interests.
Hannah H
July 14, 2013 at 4:03 pmThere’s the process of elimination at work here- I really like UF main characters. My favorite internal genre of UF is paranormal P.I.s. The more noir-like, the better for me. Out of the series I read constantly, Felix Castor has the worst life and outcomes. I don’t know why I like characters to suffer, but I do. Besides, the magic system is by far the coolest as well.
Kelly
July 14, 2013 at 4:05 pmKate! I love her sense of humor.
Sylvia
July 14, 2013 at 4:07 pmI love the InCrypted heroine Verity (or Val, in her long red wig)
Also her g.grandma Francis Brown, knife-thrower extroidinaire
Greg
July 14, 2013 at 4:13 pmIts a toss up for me but I have to say I dig Joe Sunday the heel come hero of City of the Lost by Stephen Blackmoore….. There are many close seconds but well Blackmoore just clicked for me…
Jae Lee
July 14, 2013 at 4:13 pmJane True is probably my all-time favorite but Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson round out my top 3.
Experiment BL626
July 14, 2013 at 4:15 pmSince the Kate Daniels is my favorite Urban Fantasy series, the answer would of course be Kate Daniels. Eric Carter from Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore is a close second.
Alea
July 14, 2013 at 4:19 pmThis is one of my favorite series.
Krista
July 14, 2013 at 4:21 pmI love the Kate Daniels series! Kate and Curran are great characters and really manage to mix the laughs with the drama.
Allison
July 14, 2013 at 4:24 pmThe first protagonist that came to my mind was Aislinn Foy from Wicked Lovely. She was smart, loyal, and very well-written and fascinating to read about
Julia
July 14, 2013 at 4:37 pmKate Daniels ROCKS!!!
Ruth
July 14, 2013 at 4:40 pmI love this series. So excited about the new book
Rylie
July 14, 2013 at 4:44 pmMy favorite UF protagonist is Kate Daniels. She’s an engaging character, whom I enjoy reading about.
Anonymous
July 14, 2013 at 4:49 pmMy list would go: 1. Mercy Thompson, because hers was the first UF series I’ve read, and 2. Kate Daniels, because she’s fiercely independent. Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
Judy
July 14, 2013 at 4:57 pmAnna Latham from Patricia Brigg’s Alpha and Omega series has great internal strength.
bn100
July 14, 2013 at 6:04 pmhaven’t read any; don’t have a fav
Kris
July 14, 2013 at 6:37 pmI love Shia from H&W Investigations. She’s passionate and rough around the edges, and you can trust her to have your back.
Marie
July 14, 2013 at 6:37 pmOkay so this is never a common answer for this question, but I really like Anita Blake’s character (from Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series). Many of the complaints with her character/personality is that she’s just a bitch. I tend to like traits that resemble bitchiness in a character. I view her as being a strong, capable, honest, and somewhat (okay very) abrasive woman. I am not a people lover in general and am no stranger to “strong” language so it’s easy for me to relate to the harder side of her. She’s just being herself-and that’s okay with me 🙂
Barbara Elness
July 14, 2013 at 7:08 pmMy favorite UF protagonist is Jennifer Estep’s Gin Blanco because although she’s an assassin, she has a heart of gold and helps those that are being bullied and harmed despite great danger to herself. 😀
Linda W
July 14, 2013 at 8:15 pmKate is great, but so is Harry Dresden. I also like the changing heroes and heroines in Ilona Andrews’s The Edge series (like Declan who is swoon worthy).
Bethany C.
July 14, 2013 at 8:37 pmI like October Daye. She has supernatural advantages but retains some mortality- I think she’s a great mix of strong and vulnerable both physically and emotionally.
Rebe
July 14, 2013 at 8:40 pmKate is one of my favorites, but I also like Mercy Thompson and Anna Cornick.
Christina
July 14, 2013 at 8:43 pmRachel Morgan from Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series.
JenM
July 14, 2013 at 8:45 pmWell, of course, I love Kate, but like many others in this thread, my other favorites are Mercy Thompson and Anna Cornick. I think they are my favorites because they never give up, and they always try to protect others who are weaker than them.
Lexi
July 14, 2013 at 9:01 pmKate Daniels, Mercy Thompson, Rachel Morgan are all great characters because they refuse to let things happen to them or let others decide their path, even when the result can be less than splendid.
Mary Anne
July 14, 2013 at 9:06 pmKate and Mercy, like so many others. I like their toughness and their humor, though I have to admit that I’m getting a little tired of Mercy being destroyed and hurt up one side and down the other so often. I have also recently come to like Edie Spence (Night Shifted etc), probably because she resonates for me (night shift nurses unite!)
Becky C.
July 14, 2013 at 9:26 pmKate Daniels!
Jen B.
July 14, 2013 at 9:50 pmMercy Thompson is amazing! She is strong and smart while still being female. She loves Adam and she needs Adam but he needs her more. Mercy could feel sorry for herself but instead she assesses her situation and moves forward. The can either love her or hate her. Gotta love a strong woman!
Jbst
July 14, 2013 at 9:59 pmDon’t really have one favorite UF heroine.
DianaJH
July 14, 2013 at 10:17 pmI’m really looking forward to this book! 🙂
janicu
July 14, 2013 at 10:43 pmFavorite UF protagonist is a toss up between Kate Daniels and October Daye. Love them both.
Danielle @ Ladybug Literature
July 14, 2013 at 10:44 pmAnita Blake. She is one tough chick, which is what I love in a protagonist. 🙂
Christine
July 14, 2013 at 11:15 pmKate Daniels! Or Mercedes Thompson. Both are awesome urban fantasy series!
Jordan R.
July 14, 2013 at 11:37 pmI think Kate and crew qualify as favorite for both character and series. I love how I can go from swooning to biting my nails in suspense to snorting in laughter to crying from something that touches me deeply in a single book. Well done!
Katie
July 15, 2013 at 12:57 ammercy thompson. she has a great sense of self.
Anonymous
July 15, 2013 at 1:36 amProbably Kate Daniels, actually. She’s tough and smart, brave and self-sacrificing, and does her best to be a good “parent” to the child she never expected to have. Second would be Kitty Norville, a fellow lit major who prefers talking to fighting and runs a great radio show.
erinf1
July 15, 2013 at 1:36 amKate Daniels!!! Cuz she’s strong, confident and can do magic 🙂
Kate Traylor
July 15, 2013 at 1:39 amEek! Anonymous above (Kate Daniels/Kitty Norville) was me. So excited I forgot to fill out the form…
pam f.
July 15, 2013 at 5:01 ami love magic series i own them in paper and audio book
Tim R
July 15, 2013 at 8:18 amHarry Dresden, and lots of Charles de Lint characters
elyse l
July 15, 2013 at 8:46 amKate Daniels because I love the way she’s evolved over the course of the series.
April V.
July 15, 2013 at 10:09 amI’m going to have to say Harry Dresden though Mercy and Kate are close runners up. I like Harry because he is funny, interesting, smart and always chooses to do the right thing, even when it hurts.
MarieC
July 15, 2013 at 10:58 amOOO! tough question, but both Mercy Thompson and Kate Daniels are my faves. Both are strong women, but have not lost any sensitivity or sensibility when doing what they believe is right. I also love that they both ‘fess up when they’ve don’t wrong!
Katrina T.
July 15, 2013 at 11:03 amMacKayla Lane from the Fever series. I love how she’s so pink, bright and bubbly but at the same, tough and strong.
Lindsey
July 15, 2013 at 11:18 amKate Daniels is my favorite. Although, Mercedes Thompson is up there and so is Tinker from Wen Spencer’s Elfhome books
CrystalGB
July 15, 2013 at 11:39 amKeri Arthur’s Riley Jensen is my favorite urban fantasy heroine. She is a kick butt gal. 🙂
Lozza
July 15, 2013 at 11:49 amLike everyone else, I love Kate Daniels (and Andrea Nash!), as well as Mercedes Thompson- those are usually my first recommendations to folks new to the genre. However, I also really love Jeri Smith-Ready’s WVMP series, which has a new and interesting take on vampires, and the main heroine Ciara is a refreshing change from the “do the right thing, no questions” common UF heroine in that she’s admittedly self-serving.
Justine
July 15, 2013 at 12:18 pmSookie Stackhouse because I’ve had the most exposure to her.
Krista
July 15, 2013 at 1:30 pmRachel Morgan. I love how she never gives up and how she is always there for her friends. And her smart-mouth 😉
Jen
July 15, 2013 at 1:52 pmI actually have to say that it is a toss up between Kate Daniels and Mercedes Thompson, they are both awesome ladies.
Angela
July 15, 2013 at 3:07 pmI love Kate Daniels! Mercy Thompson is great and was my gateway into the genre, but Kate is definitely my favorite.
Helen
July 15, 2013 at 3:26 pmI have to pick just one! Umm, I would say Stacia Kane because I love me some Terrible!
Tina
July 15, 2013 at 3:39 pmKate Daniels, definitely! Wit, strength, determination, a sense of humor… and plenty of sass!
Kelley
July 15, 2013 at 3:52 pmDefinitely Kate Daniels because she’s sarcastic, smart and loyal to the extreme–in addition to being kick ass!
Katharine
July 15, 2013 at 8:28 pmHarry Dresden, but I don’t have very many to compare him with. Planning on taking the first Kate Daniels to Cape Cod with me in a couple weeks!
scribe kira
July 15, 2013 at 10:21 pmi’ve never read urban fantasy. #awkward
Collette
July 15, 2013 at 11:47 pmYikes, that’s a tough one. I love Kate Daniels, Gin Blanco (Jennifer Estep), Mercy Thompson…oh, I think I could go on. Is Jane Yellowrock by Faith Hunter UF?
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Jennifer Allis Provost
July 16, 2013 at 7:02 amLove this series!
Halley
July 16, 2013 at 7:40 amKate Daniels b/c she is confident and kickass
Mary Wood
July 16, 2013 at 9:38 amMy favorite UF character hands down is Kate Daniels because she runs into situations to save someone or to right a wrong because no one else will step up and she does it knowing that she probably won’t come out the other side. A close second would be Toby Daye, for pretty much the same reasons.
whitewolfreads
July 16, 2013 at 1:06 pmKate Daniels is definitely one of my favorites but so are Elena Michaels from Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series and Rachel Morgan from Kim Harrison’s Hollows series.
Van P.
July 16, 2013 at 7:23 pmKate is BY FAR my favorite UF heroine! I love her kick-butt and snarky attitude.
Amanda @ Late Nights with Good Books
July 16, 2013 at 11:10 pmI haven’t read many urban fantasies, to be honest (something I intend on fixing soon!). If you count Holly Black’s Tithe, then I’d say Kaye. Once I continue with the Kate Daniels series, I can see Kate becoming one of my favorite uf protagonists too. 🙂
Thanks for the giveaway!
Jen K
July 17, 2013 at 1:51 pmOf course, Kate Daniels. The books keep on getting better and better throughout the series. Plus she is awesome. 🙂
xenu01
July 17, 2013 at 2:14 pmI love Kate Daniels, although I must admit that Kitty Norville is my current favorite.
My only beef is that they seem to be giving her the “oh so exotic looking but still a white girl” treatment (Almond shaped eyes, etc)at the moment, which totally pisses me off because why not just make her a POC, then? See: Andrea’s physical description of Kate in Gunmetal Magic.
Serena
July 17, 2013 at 3:46 pmMercy Thompson, for me.
Ana
July 17, 2013 at 9:29 pmFavorite UF protagonist is def Kate Daniels. Can’t wait for this book!
Brendle
July 17, 2013 at 10:46 pmMy favorite UF heroine is definitely Mercy Thompson, but I am awfully fond of October Daye as well
Aman
July 18, 2013 at 10:57 pmKate in Kate Daniel series (of course!) and Mercy in the Mercy Thomson series by Patricia Briggs
Katya
July 19, 2013 at 11:37 amI had to think long and hard about this one, because it’s so hard to pick one favorite. And interestingly enough, I’m pretty sure my favorite *protagonist* is not the one from my favorite *series*. Since the question is about protagonist, I’ll have to go with Mercy Thompson from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. (If I were asked for my favorite urban fantasy *series*, though, I’d probably say the Kate Daniels series.)
Runners-up: Kate Daniels, Harry Dresden, and Verity Price from the Discount Armageddon series by Seanan McGuire.
(And like I said, I had to think long and hard about this, and it was a very close call.)
donnas
July 20, 2013 at 1:31 amCat and Kate. Both are strong and self reliant