Laura's Reviews > Gunmetal Magic

Review posted at Demon Lover's Books & More

This book amazed me. That’s different than “this book is amazing” (although it is, that). What I mean is that I didn’t expect to be so wowed by it. The world, the characters, the storyline, all of it was so vividly built that I had no trouble at all picturing the Kate Daniels World.

I can’t get over how seamlessly the writing flows, at how darkly beautiful the world is, and how well-written this book is. I almost can’t even write my review because I am still a bit stunned from the book.

I haven’t caught up on my Kate and Curran, so I wasn’t so sure I could read it without being confused, but I absolutely think it can stand alone.

I won't go over the plot, since the back cover copy does that, but I will let you know that Raphael and Andrea are/were mates, but pride has gotten in their way. The scene where Raphael brings his new girl into Andrea’s office was so messed up. But the worst part in the entire book was where he told Andrea that he did it on purpose. It’s one thing to know, but to have him say it to her? That was harsh and cruel.

Their road to HEA was the dark and realistic kind where it isn’t as easy as the alpha saying “You’re my mate,” and the female saying “Yay! Let’s have the sex now!” This was a twisted road where you have the power to hurt the one you love the most because you know where to aim the barbs. Once Raphael realized that Andrea hadn’t betrayed him and the Pack for the reasons he thought, he started to see a little more clearly and the “you hurt my feelings” goggles came off. Without the pain obscuring his view, he sees what a hard decision that was for her.

For Andrea’s part, she knows she screwed things up, she knows this and tells him this, but he hurt her purposely. That is so hard to get over. She grows up, she looks at things differently, she understands that love isn’t always enough. They both have to work at it, not just say “I love you, my mate” and have life be sunshine and rainbows.

They worked their butts off for their HEA, and they earned it, no doubt. But in the meantime, the romance is intertwined with the horrific plot of someone trying to raise an old god from the dead. And it’s baaaad news.

Andrea is investigating the murder of some of Raphael’s employees and at the same time trying to figure out what may (or may not) have been stolen from a previously unknown vault. She and Raphael have to work together, and they have to deal with their break-up but in the mean time they are fighting to save the world.

It’s an intense book that will grab your from the first word and hold you in its grip until the last word.


***ARC courtesy of Ace Fantasy