Title: Iron and Magic
Series: Iron Covenant Book #1
Stand Alone Title: recommended to read Kate Daniels series first
Author: Ilona Andrews
Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Blurb: No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.
Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.
Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she’s trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.
Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?
As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.”
Hugh and Elara may do both.
Favorite quote(s): “You just have to tell me which head you want chopped off, the top one or the one you usually think with.”
Thoughts: I was so leery and conflicted about starting this book. As a spin-off of the Kate Daniels series, most readers are already familiar with Hugh D’Ambray….who is the bad guy you just love to hate. I couldn’t really envision it, so I figured it would be really bad, or really, really good. I love Ilona Andrews, of course, so I was hoping it would work out. For the most part, it did.
I already liked Hugh from the Kate Daniels series….again, he’s just the bad guy you love to see pop up in the storyline. I really struggled with him as romantic lead, however, although Andrews does an amazing job with giving Hugh some humanity and encouraging reader’s empathy for him and the boy he used to be. Of course, being a ‘bad guy’, he is a bit of an a-hole at times. Elara is a kick-butt heroine, and she really is Hugh’s match. She’s not evil, but she’s not so squeaky clean either and she can hold her own against the big bad warlord. Hugh, surprisingly, really begins to have loyalty and feelings for the beautiful Elara.
The book, of course, references the events and characters of the Kate Daniels series quite frequently, so it is best to read that series first – not to mention it is one of my top favorite series and well worth reading all on it’s own!
It will be interesting to see where the next book in this trilogy goes.
Rating: A-/B+
