Magic Triumphs opens with the birth of Kate and Curran's son, Conlan. Then it fast-forwards to over a year later, with their son growing and the family settled into their home. Curran is away when Kate is contacted by Teddy-Jo about a man who's disappearance he was asked to looked into. He has found some of the remains but it's confusing. Now, for readers with weak stomachs, there are going to be some challenging points in this book for you. Kate and Teddy-Jo find a mass grave- an entire village of 200 people, without any bones in it. The remains have been boiled together.

It is bittersweet reading the last book in the series. We know that Kate's father, Roland, would do anything to get his hands on his grandson and turn him into his pet. He doesn't have an issue with Kate dying for that to happen; conversely, Kate can't kill him without dying herself. Kate has become more isolated since taking over protection of Atlanta; instead of seeing Kate, she is the In-Shinar. Kate is all too aware of what sacrifices may be coming to save those she loves. There is a lot of reflection on the choices she's made - everything from choosing to marry Curran (and take his name; it's really the Kate Lennart series now) to her choices for Julie, for the pack, for her son, to how she uses her powers. There are also reflections upon other character's past and current choices in the book but for spoiler reasons I am not going to discuss them.

The book starts with birth and has death throughout it; not just deaths of characters in the book but to life as they know it. For readers of Iron and Magic, the big bad has returned and decided to go after Kate (because she doesn't have enough on her plate?) Magic Triumphs reflects on what has happened to Kate, Curran, and those surrounding them throughout the series, to what has brought them to where they are now and ties them together. It is a strongly woven and intense story that will enrapt readers. A strongly satisfying conclusion for Kate and Curran, though I hope this is not the last we'll see of stories set in their world.

Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews is the 9th and final book in her fantastic Kate Daniels series. I am sad to see this series end, though we have been prepared in the last few books that the resolution was forthcoming. I will say that I loved Magic Triumphs, and our Ilona Andrews duo (Ilona and Gordon Andrews) have done a masterful job of bringing this series to a wonderful and satisfying conclusion.

Kate is now the In-Shinar, who protects and rules Atlanta. She is the mother of the most adorable child, Conlan, who only recently shifted to a baby lion. Raaar…. Lol Conlan is growing up fast, and not even a year old. He shows so much promise that shocks both Kate and Curran. He almost steals the story.

Kate Daniels has come a long way, and now is almost as powerful as her ultra-powerful god like father. The two have an uneasy truce, which Kate and Curran expect will end soon in an all-out war. Over the course of this series, Kate has made many friends and enemies, and now she must bring them together to fight Roland, who still wants to take full control of the world. But first there is a new danger from a powerful ancient legendary god, who wants to destroy their world and humans, not to mention kill Roland. With supernatural destruction, and horrific deaths, Kate must bring together unlikely allies; pack, vampires, witches, druids, Hugh & Elara (from Iron and Magic ), and Roland to team up and fight an enemy that is indestructible. We get to see all the recurring characters that we have come to love; Julie, Derek, Rowena, Dali, Doolittle, Erra, Saiman, Roman & Christopher to name a few. Will they survive? Will Roland help? Can they trust Roland?

It is always wonderful to see how much Kate and Curran love each other, and how far they will go to protect one another. The addition of Conlan makes this bond stronger, as they are even more protective of him; especially with knowing that her father will betray them at some point.

Magic Triumphs was an amazing story that is not only intense and exciting, but with so much pulse pounding action from start to finish that makes this an epic adventure. Even if she can defeat this god, will she be able to stand up to her father and win? There is so much happening that you cannot blink even for a minute. I do not want to give spoilers, as it would ruin the story for you, and this being the finale, it would be an injustice. I had to go back and read this again, since I wanted to be sure not to miss a thing.

Magic Triumphs was a wonderful and epic conclusion to this series. Kate Daniels is a fantastic heroine, and I for one will miss her and Curran. Though this story was her swan song, I do hope that in future books (novellas ) in this world, we will possibly get glimpses of them.

I cannot say enough about the Ilona Andrews duo, who once again blows it out of the park. They have given us everything we could possibly want in a finale, and then more, and I bow down to their fantastic expertise. Magic Triumphs is a must read, especially if you are a Kate Daniels fan. Bravo to Ilona Andrews.

Wow...just a. wonderful ending to this series. Love these authors and highly recommend the series. Kate finally has her showdown with her father, but not like you expect. The whole book has a lot of unexpected twists, which all mostly get resolved. Buy this book!

What a perfect end to the Kate Daniels series. Seriously, if you haven’t read the books don’t start here. Sad that the series had ended but we’ll hopefully visit with other characters in the future. I always buy multiple copies for me & my library. Now I’m going to go back & start at the beginning. :)

I stayed up half the night to read this book! A perfect ending to a great series! Ilona Andrews creates fantastic worlds and has really developed the story throughout this entire series. I'm terribly sad to let Kate, Curran, and all of the other characters go.

(a full review will post closer to the release date on Goodreads and online)

I'm going to miss this series so much. But I finished Kate's journey with a huge smile on my face and a tear or two that got wiped away. Well done Ilona Andrews, well done. A hugely satisfying end to a series I've loved from book 1. It defied the 'book series' odds and got better and better with each installment and it's a series that is truly going out on top, which is very rare to find these days.

Now bring on the spin offs - any character, any story line, as long as I can have random peeks into this world again, I'll be a happy reader! 5 huge stars.