Magic Stars (Grey Wolf Book 1)

When I saw that there was a new novella being released in the Kate Daniels Series, it was an absolute given that I would have to read it. I am always ready for more Kate and more Curran. Then I took another look at this book and found out that this one isn't focused on Kate or Curran and instead features Derek and Julie and I got even more excited. As soon as I saw some of my friends on Goodreads posting that it was available to purchase on Amazon, I couldn't click the Buy Now button fast enough. I put everything else aside to read this just as soon as I got the chance and I absolutely loved it. This novella is a part of the Kate Daniels series and you really do need to read this series in order. I have always liked Derek in this series. He is just an awesome character that has been through a lot but always seems to bounce back better than before. I really like just about everything there is to like about Derek and the growth of his character during the series. I have to admit that I am not as big a fan of Julie. I don't actively dislike her but I wouldn't miss her if she were suddenly absent from the series. That is until this novella. This Julie is pretty kick ass and I kind of love her a little now. I would also say that this is a novella that you will not want to skip if you are a fan of the series. There is a lot of stuff going on in the short piece that will have a huge impact in the overall story. We seriously learn a lot in this one. I am really excited about the things that happen in this novella. Getting to see this world from another perspective was very eye opening as well. Some of the things that I thought that Julie was clueless about were just wrong. Julie is a whole lot smarter than I have ever given her credit for. Another thing about this novella that is really exciting for me is the fact that it is a part of the Grey Wolf series as well. I can only assume that this means that there will be more stories that feature Derek and I can barely wait. I would highly recommend this one to all fans of the Kate Daniels series. If you have yet to read this series, what is holding you back? Stop what you are doing and find a copy of Magic Bites right now and start reading. It is so worth it. I will continue to read anything written by Ilona Andrews that I can get my hands on.

*** This review was originally published on book blog Will Read for Feels. I’m a big Ilona Andrews fan. Which is why, when I learned that a new novella set in the world of Kate Daniels was out, I knew I just had to buy it. Upon reading the description for Magic Stars, the first in a new spinoff I was even more delighted to find that this book featured two of my favorite supporting characters in the series: Curran’s right-hand and lone wolf Derek Gaunt and Kate Daniels’ adopted daughter Julie Lennart-Olsen. Both have such rich, textured, and pain-filled histories and yet there’s an obvious connection between them (even discounting Julie’s initial hero worship) that I’ve totally shipped this pairing, as they say, ever since it became a glimmer of a possibility. But if you’re a fan, before you get too hyped up by the idea of a Jurek romance, I should say that this book brings them closer together and hints at dimensions of their relationship we have yet to see, but they don’t actually have a big romantic moment yet. I love that the authors are taking their time with this couple. The slow burn of Kate and Curran made them well worth the wait, and I’m anticipating the same for when Derek and Julie eventually let themselves be with each other. I could wax eloquent about why this couple should be together, but I won’t, not just yet, as it’s only the first book in the series (and I hope to see more soon!). When I started reading this, I loved how the authors just jumped right into the action, setting the pace for the entire novella. In the first two chapters of Magic Stars, we see just as many fight scenes. Yet apart from pacing and just general awesomeness, these scenes contribute a lot toward characterization, something you might need if you aren’t too familiar with either Derek or Julie. In the first chapter, it’s all about Derek, and while you get the condensed version of his tragic history as a kind of exposition, the action-packed scene establishes him as hero material: he’s an awesome fighter and quick thinker, but he’s also principled. That his principles may not exactly be that of most people, as far as killing other people is concerned, by no means negates the fact that he has a set of rules and abides by them. Then as we’re just beginning to learn about the mystery that will be the main plot of this story, Julie comes in, and we learn things about her that Kate isn’t aware of, like the fact that she knows the big secret Kate is keeping from her thanks to her sessions with Kate’s scarily powerful dad. Better yet, we see how much Kate’s efforts to allow Julie a childhood are not quite working; Julie is all grown up and has an impressive maturity for 17. This doesn’t negate the solid foundation of care and compassion Kate and Curran have built for her, but she has been through too much to remain a child, and it’s good to see her come into her own as she does here. The feel of this novella is somewhat lighter than the usual Kate Daniels fare, and not just because the characters are 17 and 20. It’s also because the problems they face, while filled with intrigue, action, and danger, nevertheless are not quite as potentially apocalyptic as the ones Kate has to deal with. This was something I quite enjoyed because it allowed me to sink my feet into the world the authors have built, which is a truly fascinating and multilayered universe, as well as to see it from a perspective other than Kate’s first-person POV. And while I’m not entirely sure Magic Stars would be quite as enjoyable for someone who has had no grounding in the world of Kate Daniels, I’m sure the legions of Ilona Andrews fans (and I count myself among their number) will get a kick out of it.

I received an ARC of this book from the author, this does not affect my opinion of this book or the content of my review. I also bought it, that's how fantastic this is. Eeek, she got it out earlier than I had expected. Sorry for the late(r) review. Squee! We get a Derek and Julie novella! This is an independent project so YEAH for self publishing! But it is an addition to the Kate Daniels World, and while I find her novellas to be very successful for me, that may be because I am well grounded in this world. So if you are a Kate Daniels reader this is a must read, but if you aren’t, I say what are you waiting for, start at the beginning and then read through here. This is the Andrews’ version of YA/NA, and they’ll tell you it isn’t their best perspective. But with characters like this who are grounded in a larger series, they do a great job. For me at least (knowing my penchant for disliking YA/NA), what makes it work is that while these characters are 16 and 20 years old, they have had hard lives and aren’t very teen-like. Not like they are grown up characters with young ages slapped on the, their lived experiences have just aged them in a believable way, and so the teen drama is largely absent. Beyond loving these two characters and wanting to know more about them though, this story is KIILLER, just all sorts of nuggets about what is coming up next. Do you want to know what’s happening with Hugh? Yeah, that is in here. Do you want to know what is up with Kate and Julie’s relationship? In here too! Do you want to see Julie put the feminist smackdown on Derek? You’ll have to read the book. Do you have a great and terrible love for bacon? Very funny Gordon and Ilona, that one scene was priceless. I could keep going on about the things I love and that you need to read, but I won’t because I’d risk spoilers, and no one wants that. But there are myriad reasons to read this, not the least of which is seeing these two work together as a team. Don’t worry, nothing romantic, Derek very specifically closes even a hint of that right now, Julie’s too young. But they are a fantastic team. And damn, that ending, it is just that start of some sort of fairy tale. Of course not the newer fluffier version of fairy tales, no not the newer fluffier version at all. Just holy hell, this one is not to be missed. I am just flabbergasted. Probably you could read this without having read the rest of the series, but I don't’t advise it. What this mostly is, is a great big luscious Christmas present for fans, and a holy hell I can’t wait for Magic Binds. And it is listed as Grey Wolf Book 1 on Amazon, so a Derek series? Oh please I hope so!

Book number one of a one book paranormal romance dark fantasy series that is a spinoff from the ten book Kate Daniels series by the author. There are several short stories and followon books to the Kate Daniels series. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) novella trade paperback published by NYLA Publishing in 2015 that I bought new on Amazon recently. Note that “Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team. Kate Daniels's universe sucks. Forty years ago, the tech world crashed over the entire Earth and was replaced by the magic world in the form of a magic flare. Guns don't work, cars don't work, electricity and phones do not work. But magic works. Good magic and bad magic. After a week, the tech world came back to a drastically changed world. And radically fewer humans. And the magic world came back after a while. And the tech world came back after that. And so on and so forth. Each world can last a few weeks or a few hours. Derek Gaunt and Julie Lennart-Olsen have been called to a home and found the family murdered. The family had a unique object that they were safe keeping and the thieves murdered them for it. Derek and JUlie set off to find the thieves and murderers. I liked everything about the story. I especially liked the very clear distinction between the tech time and the magic time. I had never thought about it that way. The series may be inspired by "Ariel" by Steven Boyett and "Dies The Fire" by S. M. Stirling except those never interchange the tech time and the magic time, they just transitioned to the magic time and never went back.

"Magic Stars" is book 1 in the Grey Wolf Series by author Ilona Andrews. This Kindle e-book was approximately 64 printed pages and sold for $1.99 at time of writing this review. General Theme (minor spoilers) Set is a dangerous world, Derek (a shapeshifter human/wolf) and Julie (a magician/fighter) are sent to investigate a murder most foul... the slaughtering of a family. A heinous crime to be sure and committed all to obtain some strange rocks with some supposedly magical properties. But the perpetrators have no idea what they've gotten themselves into as our two heroes set out on their trail. Some thoughts on "Magic Stars"... 1.) well written and edited. Prose that flowed from the page and was a pleasure to read. 2.) Derek and Julie have a bantering conversational style, making them at once both likeable and engaging to the reader. Although this is my first contact with these two characters, by the end I felt like I've known them forever. 3.a) lots of action and encounters... graphically described. 3.b) language that was occasionally explicit but used in situations where it was appropriate. Certainly not excessive. 4.) a magic and shapeshifting system that together offered the readers a novel and refreshing approach to dealing with nefarious ne'er do wells and criminals. Impressions: I really liked this novella. It contained an intriguing tale and featured two characters that captured my interest. I'd like to read more from these authors, especially if the tales are as entertaining as this one. As it is... 5 Stars. Ray Nicholson [email protected] @ralannicholson

This 64 page novella is a spin-off of the Kate Daniels series. Fans of that series will REALLY enjoy this read, as it about two of the favorite characters - Julie, Kate's ward and Derek, a member of Curran's immediate staff. The Ives family were human, but their profession was smiths who made weapons for the Pack. Because of this, they were well-liked friends of Curran and Kate. When Derek finds the entire family slaughtered, he goes hunting for the killers. Catching up with a few, he realizes they are hired guns who were sent to retrieve a magical object - a rock that glows gold. What the rock does is unknown, but its important enough to kill over. Continuing to investigate, he runs into Julie who is also after the rock. Julie, because of her talent to detect all types of magic, can literally see the rock miles away. Derek and Julie join forces and the fun begins. For such a short story, Ilona Andrews managed to fill this novella was some BIG surprises, magic, intrigue, new monsters, fighting and subtle undertones of romance. The plot was well-developed, the writing excellent and the character development was huge. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this is Grey Wolf, Book 1, which I'm guessing means we are in for more of this luscious treat, priced at only 1.99 - what a buy! The only thing I had problems with was the character of Julie. Julie is 16 years old in this story. When we left Julie, she was showing signs of thoughtful and smart maturity, but was still an occasionally obnoxious teenager, arguing with those around her and not wanting to go to school. In this story, Julie is not only VERY adult in thoughts, action and words, but she is a gifted fighter and magician. The Andrews team was clever enough to throw in bits and pieces relating to the pasts of both main characters, so the reader was reminded that Julie and Derek both had incredibly hard lives, which had aged and matured them above their years; however, I felt off-balance almost the entire read. Julie - all of a sudden - seemed like she was 28 years old instead of 16. This is my only complaint about this book, and it is a small one to be sure. I thoroughly enjoyed the short read, and I look forward to more of the Gray Wolf series. Side note which may be somewhat spoilerish - I simply can't wait to find out Kate's reaction when she realizes that Roland and Julie have been communicating. That will be fun!

The "1" in "Grey Wolf 1" does not guarantee there will be a 2, but maybe the terrific sales and glowing reviews will help push the Author Lords in that direction if they have not already made the decision. If you are an avid KD reader, you don't need to read a review to make you decide to get this book. You will. If you are not a current reader but decided to spend a couple of bucks on this, it will work for you as a story, but you are going to miss a lot of the meaning of events and characters that were discussed. There are actually what may be considered spoilers here. There is a story here about revenge and taking down a guy who wants an object that will help him rule his roost, and does not care who dies along the way. There is a lot of violence in this story, as there is in most of the Andrews' stories, but only a hint of sex. Which leads to the question: "Will they or won't they, and is so, when?" Of course, the authors can do whatever they like, but just from what is shown here, it appears Derek and Julie care about each other and the main thing in the way is her age. Well, what is the age of consent in a post-shift world when the population is down and you are liable to be eaten by a monster any time? Julie is 16 in this story so by the time the next novel is out, she could very well be 17, which is how old Kate was when she had her first encounter. As to the age difference of 4 years, Curran is 6 years older than Kate. If a romance between them is not in the cards, so be it, but I don't think the age thing s/b the reason. Overall, another great book from this team. I know a lot of readers tend to skip the short stories in a series; I sometimes to too. But this is one you MUST read if you are a KD fan. I love the fact that it was published alone instead of an anthology For 1.99, you can't go wrong.

I love both characters from the Kate Daniels universe: I love their ability to survive unimaginable violence and sorrows, and I loved hearing the story through Derek's voice. I did not, however, believe this is the same Julie that is still 16 and an awkward teenager, defiant and obnoxious at times. She is far too grownup here, far too confident in her magical and fighting skills. And I'm sorry, but her taking lessons from Roland was just jarring. Maybe that was supposed to be the big reveal in this novella, but her character and actions here didn't work for me. At all. And Iove her character. I did think the ending with Kate and Curran was amusing, and the story flowed well in the novella format. Maybe I'm in the minority, but this just didn't seem like the street rat who has had only a few years of relative stability -- if you could call having Kate and Curran as your foster parents stable -- and any kind of education. She's acting and speaking like she's 26 or 36, not 16.

This story is very well written and it pushes you inside Kate's world immediately. It will be nice to find out what the future will give to Derek. I am sure we won't be disappointed. When I finished reading, I just wanted to read more about him, the perfect evidence that I was reading a good story.

Nach Andrea, Jim, Dali und den gelegentlichen Häppchen an Curran-POV wurde es schön langsam Zeit endlich mal etwas aus der Perspektive von Derek erzählt zu bekommen, hat dieser Charakter doch über die Bände hinweg die – meiner Ansicht nach – größte Wandlung hinter sich. Wer hier heiße Szenen und großartiges Gemetzel erwartet, wie man es aus den übrigen Büchern kennt, sollte seine Erwartungen, ein zwei Stufen runterschrauben – immerhin sind Julie und Derek erst 16 bzw 20. Trotzdem ein gewohnt unterhaltsames, magisch-komisches Spektakel und ein wahres Lesevergnügen. Die Informationen, die man in diesem Buch über Julie erhält, aber auch die Einblicke in Derek's Innenleben, sind nette kleine Krümmelchen, die Kate (aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach) nicht mehr all zu lange wird ignorieren können. Vor allem bei Julie's Erklärung, sie sei Kate's "herald", bin ich niedergebrochen vor lauter Lachen und gleichzeitig innerlich zusammengezuckt. Man hat das Gefühl, Derek und Julie fingen gerade an ihre ersten Schritte in den Fußstapfen von Kate und Curran zu wandeln.

Esta novela corta de Ilona Andrews se centra en Derek y Julie, alguien ha matado a una familia entera y entre los dos buscan quién y por qué. La verdad es que sabe a poco, te quedas con ganas de más y se va a hacer larga la espera hasta el siguiente libro de esta saga.

Un livre qui se dévore mais a l’heureuse ment se finit trop vite. Je vais reprendre la série entière de Kate Daniels.

I love Friends to Great Loves stories. Something about knowing a person, inside and out, but still being able to maintain the admiration and attraction necessary to be a couple. Julie and Derek complete each other, have each other's backs and have each survived terrible childhoods, emerging as dauntless fighters. They walk the path of true heroes and know that as long as they have each other, they have someone to rely on, absolutely. It's beautiful, really. Now, I have to go read Blood Heir for the 3rd time, obviously.