Mercenary Kate Daniels must risk all to protect everything she holds dear in this epic, can't-miss entry in the thrilling #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series.

Kate has come a long way from her origins as a loner taking care of paranormal problems in post-Shift Atlanta. She's made friends and enemies. She's found love and started a family with Curran Lennart, the former Beast Lord. But her magic is too strong for the power players of the world to let her be.

Kate and her father, Roland, currently have an uneasy truce, but when he starts testing her defenses again, she knows that sooner or later, a confrontation is inevitable. The Witch Oracle has begun seeing visions of blood, fire, and human bones. And when a mysterious box is delivered to Kate's doorstep, a threat of war from the ancient enemy who nearly destroyed her family, she knows their time is up.

Kate Daniels sees no other choice but to combine forces with the unlikeliest of allies. She knows betrayal is inevitable. She knows she may not survive the coming battle. But she has to try.

For her child.

For Atlanta.

For the world.

Only read this review, if you have read all the previous books or this book may contain spoilers.

Well this was it. The end to a wonderful series that I will treasure forever and the characters I will miss.

As always I have trouble writing a review for the last book in a series. It is hard not to spoil stuff so I will make it fairly short.

As all the other books, this book sucked me right back into Kate’s world and I had to make myself stop so I can enjoy the book more than one day lol .

The book starts off a couple years after Magic Binds and Kate and Curran are now loving and proud parents to their son Conlan. Who without giving anything away is just the best mash-up between Kate and Curran you can ask for. Things have been quiet in Atlanta for a while but Kate and Curran, know it is just a matter of time before Roland shows up. Both have grown so much since we met them both and the famous  "Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty...” Not only have they grow a ton individually, but also a couple. Though there are still things they will hide from each other for the time being… of course…

Once stuff started happening it goes fast and fast paced and multiple things are happening to them and or around them . In order to win the big fight we have been waiting for, for ten books everyone must come together. Especially since they might be fighting multiple enemies.

As they building or trying to build (some are still buttheads and to stubborn) their final army we get to see many other people from previous books and it I really enjoyed it . One big one was Hugh d’Ambray. I really liked how all the played out in the end and it all came together…. (I still have to read Iron and Magic soon…..very soon)

As with all or most Ilona Andrews books, we get plenty of humor even with this emotional last book in the series. I laughed but I also cried, it has as most previous books some heartbreaking and tender moments. But also some really surprising things happened, there were a few things I never even crossed my mind.

The final battle while awesome was a bit predicable if you know their work but overall very enjoyable. Be warned, not everyone will make it out alive and we suffer some rather big loses.

While most of the story arc was nicely wrapped up and things all came together and made sense, there were a few things I thought was just left untouched or open ended. BUT after reading the epilogue I have some sliver of hope that we will have another spin-off somewhere or sometime. Here is to really hoping. 

I can’t say all that much since I don’t want to spoil it but I’m still not 100% about my feeling with that ending.

Overall it was a fantastic ending to an epic series.  And even though I has some minor issues with some things are left untouched I can’t help to give this books 5 . Because it the end it just didn’t matter that much … I just love it too much. 5 ★

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I have to say that I am glad that I stuck with this series. When I read these first two books I was not impressed. My re-read has not changed my impression at all. The world building in book #2 needs improved. We had a lot of new characters and we get information dumps galore. Curran, still acted like an ass and we still have Kate version #1 that seems to just blunder around.

"Magic Burns" has Kate working for the Pack again to retrieve some stolen maps. Along the way she also gets involved in an investigation about how a coven of witches goes missing. She ends up meeting on of the leaders daughter's (Julie) and ends up doing what she can to keep the girl safe from harm. Include in a mysterious man that is able to disappear at will and two gods that seem to be at the center of this, and we have Kate doing what she can to keep Atlanta from being destroyed by demons. 

We still know that Kate is keeping some big bad secret about herself, and it's still not been revealed (2 books in btw). She mentions that she has stopped drinking, which it never made any sense to me why book #1 Kate had a drinking problem. Why would she even be that sloppy to put herself in harm's way if a fight breaks out? If this isn't enough, Kate sticks her nose in when her ex-whatever and Curran's ex-girlfriend want to marry. Kate does some sad story about her life and man oh man the self-pity made me roll my eyes. It doesn't even match up to what we know about Kate's early life. Also how was this Kate ever going to beat the big mysterious bad that she only alludes to in this book based on how she is acting? 

The only things I really liked was Kate's back and forth with Bran, Derek, and the Oracle. There is that smartass Kate we all know and love. I do have to say her sudden friendship with Andrea doesn't really work since this is the first book we even meet Andrea. It was still nice to meet the Bouda Clan though and we get our first looks at Aunt B and Raphael. 

I really don't like the whole way that Curran's Pack leadership was set up. He sounds like a tyrant and an asshole in the first couple of books. He isn't that way in the later books and actually listens to the other alphas and those around him. I think there is even a scene when Doolittle of all people bows to him. Slight spoiler: The same Doolittle who went HAM on Raphael's ass when he thanked him and it could have cost Andrea her life and doesn't put up with Curran or Kate's BS when they are hurt. 

Also I think in this case we have two or maybe three instances of Curran threatening to kill Curran and then telling her that she will beg to sleep with him (it was gross and awful and I wanted it to stop). He even tells her that she will thank him afterwards. Gag. 

Derek is vaguely okay in this one. Still fighting besides Kate and seems to have a mind of his own. Julie was a fool. One wonders why Kate pinged on her so hard. Julie in later books comes into her own. This one though, I went eh about. 

The worldbuilding is a bit of a mess in this one. We hear about beastskins for the first time and then we also get into the goddess Morrigan and her myths along with the Maiden, Mother, and Crone archtypes in this book too. We also still have vampires and shapeshifters running around. And this is the first time the name Roland is used and we know that the Order is worried about him. 

The ending leaves things with Curran trying to trap Kate into dating him. I don't know. I just rolled my eyes and finished this thing. 

So far the only good thing about this is that this book introduces Julie. Geez books #1 and #2 make my head hurt.

And this library borrow fits tonight's Book Shelf BINGO call of "favorites."

I'm still not a huge fan girl of this series.  But, it's had it's moments.  I'm finding Kate and Curan romance less annoying because at least there's more communication and mutual support.

That is all she wrote.... I'm not 100% sure yet what to feel