I hope your holidays were quiet and peaceful. Our Christmas was low stress and chill, with lots of gifts and warm and cozy family time. I got a new toolkit, markers, and yarn. Beautiful yarn! Hehehehe.
It’s Monday. All of the previous giveaway winners have been taken care of. Their prizes have been sent or put into production and they should be receiving them shortly.
I’ve had a very frustrating morning. Our health insurer pulled out of the state exchange and so we are back to BCBS HMO, and that means trying to get a primary doctor for all referrals. I cannot even explain what a PIA that has been so far. Grrr. I finally gave up and called Jeaniene to vent.
Oh, by the way, this was not from my cousin-in-law but from Jeaniene.
I should’ve known!
Also the following dialogue had taken place just before Christmas.
Gordon: Strange package from Amazon. No specific sender.
Me: What’s in it?
Gordon: Wagyu beef lard, black garlic, and a stuffed toy French fires. Who would send us expensive lard?
Me: I have no idea. Was this misaddressed?
Gordon: I have to tell you, the idea that unknown and possibly random people are sending us packages is vaguely upsetting.
The next day…
Grace Draven, texting: Did you get an Amazon delivery yesterday?
Me: It was you!
Grace: I thought you would figure it out because of the fries.
I am in possession of gourmet lard and black garlic. I must do something with it. But the French Fries are probably the best. I’ve hugged them already. They helped.
The Last 2024 Giveaway
I promised you one more. This one will be a very simple one and will have no monetary value assigned to it. Not very exciting. There will be just one prize.
Prize:
- The winner will receive one spot on ARC list for all Ilona Andrews fiction for the year 2025. Meaning, you will get to read Maggie early and whatever else is coming down the pipeline.
Limitations:
- For the legal purposes, we might have to ask you to sign a document stating that you will not upload or share confidential files. It will not be a full NDA, as in we will not prevent you from discussing the book, but we might request that you stick to a certain time frame. We will have to coordinate with our publisher. This is not a reflection on BDH trustworthiness, but more of a standard operating procedure because there is a publishing partner involved.
Who Can Enter:
- Anyone.
How to Enter:
Leave a comment on this blog post telling us which is your favorite Ilona Andrews book and why. If you are a new reader and haven’t tried us before, leave us a comment wishing us happy holidays. You must comment here, on the blog. Not on Facebook or on Insta, on this blog post. Here is a link if you are reading the article in your email newsletter.
Deadline:
You must enter by the end of Thursday, January 2nd. Winners will be announced on Friday.
My favorite is Sweep of the Heart, because I finished it about 3 mins ago after waiting for ages to read it because I was trying not to run out of new IA books to read. Now I have to go back and start over!
Magic Bites remains my all time favorite because the book was a sensation of discovery–of the authors, the world of Kate Daniels and characters that I adored. This book prompted me to reach out for the first time to an author–I wrote to Ilona Andrews to thank them for such a wonderful story and Gordon was gracious enough to reply! It has become an annual tradition to re-read all the books in the Kate Daniels world, and I am proud to belong to the BDH (I even have the sweatshirt and magnet to proclaim it) 🙂
Iron & Magic — Hugh d’Ambray I didn’t believe you could redeem him but you (both) did a wonderful job. Thank you for the fan service book, I pushed this book on a few friends and 3 of them are now on a complete book gloom of all of your stories.
It feels impossible to pick a favorite Ilona Andrews book. My favorite two “worlds” are Kate Daniels & Hidden Legacy. I guess I’ll say ‘Magic Triumphs’ since that was the capstone of the Kate Daniels series (part I…and I’m loving Wilmington Years, Blood Heir & Roman’s Chronicles). I love all the mythology tie ins and digging into the history and mythology on my own. I knew next to nothing about Mesopotamian history and mythology so I especially loved learning some about that. I also loved how Kate started the series alone and hardened, but in ‘Triumphs’ she has a family and community. She’s still bad-ass, but she’s cuddly too. I love the humor as well, like the scene where Andrea helps Kate with Conlan when he has his first shift. Too funny! Thank you for the Giveaway💕
Burn For Me was the first IA book I ever read and I was immediately hooked! It’s still a favorite comfort read!
I love ALL the books AND I labored several hours to whittle it down. But I still have a tie. So here goes:
Fated Blades – I love that Ramona and Matias are dead solid equal bad asses… perfectly balanced as they save the day and look after their deadly but seriously dysfunctional families. This one is short but very sweet!
Clean Sweep – Because the concept of an innkeeper as the hero and a sentient Bed and Breakfast in rural Texas surreptitiously hosting intergalactic visitors is just so original and COOL! And, the secondary characters in this series are some of the most fascinating, well-developed and fun in all the BDH canon.
My favorite depends on my mood and what’s going on at a given time, but Magic Strikes was the first book of yours that I started to read after running across it at a book sale. I got about 1/3 of the way through, put it down and went to Barnes & Noble to buy the other 2 so I could read them first. Only time I’ve ever done that. I think if I’d encountered any of the other series I would have had a similar reaction. I also grew up with anime so I am particularly fond of well written fight scenes and all Ilona Andrews books consistently deliver, but Magic Strikes is a particularly fun example.
I love the Kate Daniels series but if I had to pick one it would be Magic Rises. I love Kate kicking butt especially Hugh’s. It also introduces us to Christopher who is a favorite character of mine.
I have too many favorite Ilona Andrews books, but right now my current favorite is the last Innkeeper book – Sweep of the Heart. Have to indulge my love for my fave Red Cleaver chef Oreo and the delectable food. Having donuts on demand would be wonderful.
Hands down Silent Blade. I love Meli Galdes. Forced into an engagement with a young man from a powerful family at the age of 10 then cancelled with no thought to her future when she was 16, she was an outcast to her family and society. SHE created a future for herself as an assassin until she retired under her terms. SHE created a peaceful life for herself in retirement. When given on more job, she chose the terms and method for the “assassination”. No physical violence but pure mental violence.
Also, loved the narrator.
Magic Strikes for sure! Whenever I decide to do a re-read of the series, I always begin with this book. It’s the beginnings of the metaphorical crossroad for Kate where she has to decide between the bonds friendships and self preservation. AND I LOVE IT! (Bring on the conflicting inner turmoil!) But really I’m just love a good slow-burn character development. Truly this book sold me on the series and subsequently everything else you’ve written so far.
My favorite book by Ilona Andrew’s has to be Iron & Magic. I almost never like everything an author writes, but the way Hugh came back in this book made me a believer in your power to make anything a great read!
May you have a wonderful healthy year!
My favorite is Sweep of the Blade. However, I have to say that I have not encountered one of your books that I have not loved. They are my comfort reads for trying times.
I am thinking and writing from a flu fog so it is real hard to choose since I have loved them all. I am going to go with Burn for Me. This was the first IA book I read and that led me down the Bunny Trail or Rabbit hole which ever makes sense (flu fog).
Such a tough choice! I’m going with Sweep of the Blade
Tough call, but Magic Breaks. so much happens in this book that it almost feels like its own self-contained series!
Much gratitude and a wonderful o-shogatsu to you from me and House Sachiko.
Happy New Year!
I love all things House Andrews, but my favorite is a tie between Sweep in Peace and One Fell Sweep.
I’m torn because I have a favorite (or three lol) from every series! How can I possibly choose from this enormous bounty! I am going to go with a tie between Iron & Magic (From an April fool’s joke to one of my favs! Who would have thought?!) and Burn for Me, since I have probably reread those two the most. Honorable mention goes to Magic Strikes, Sweep of the Blade, Blood Heir and Bayou Moon. Although, Magic Binds will always have a special place in my heart. I remember the exact magical date I found Kate Daniels many years & books ago. <3
Picking a favorite is impossible! They’re all so good! Sweep of the Blade has got to be right up there for me, though. Thanks so much!
I’m not sure which is my favorite. I love Dina throwing Sean out if the inn and later messing with him in the patio. I loved when Maude held her own with the vampire women. Yet I also loved the hidden legacy – ” we won’t need soldiers, I’m bringing my sisters!”. And Kate kicking ass and saying “here, Kitty, Kitty” to Curran. All have such great dialog, characters, and struggles. You want to feed Bug, eat Orro’s cooking, and go shopping with officer Mararez’s wife! I can’t even narrow it down to a series, much less a single book!
Sweep of the Heart! Every time I read it, I feel like I’m experiencing what stepping out into Baha-char would be like for the first time. It’s everything and captivating and too wonderfully vast to ever only read once. My husband and I do a themed book exchange every year; this year, I tapped into my inner Kosandion (or maybe it’s my inner George?) to carefully guide him into suggesting the genre of this year’s book exchange so that there was one perfect candidate he couldn’t veto: Clean Sweep. I chose Clean Sweep because some seeds take time to grow. I know that in a short time, he’ll have read all of the adventures of Dina, Sean, and Gertrude Hunt… leading him right to my favorite book!
Also as a first time poster: happy holidays 🙂
Oef, that’s like choosing a favourite child- obviously you like different ones more depending on your mood! But if I had to choose I’d say either White Hot (Nevada coming into her power, and getting behind Connor’s walls, so satisfying and lovely) or Magic Breaks (the mask is off, Kate finally gets to show off (and continue to discover) who she is, and she gets to kill Hibla! But needs therapy, definitely).
Ugh but also! Silver Shark! How could I forget? One of the first IAs I read, and I cannot tell you how many times I’ve reread it. A comfort read, and just…the slow peeling back of the layers and power of the heroine, one of my favourite things about IA books, was a revelation to me at the time.
I love Sweep of the Blade, because I love a vampire and it was really fun to see the galaxy through Maud’s eyes. It was wonderful to see Maud expertly navigate the challenges thrown her way and open up to Arland.
Iron and Magic, my favorite
Why? It is my favorite to reread
It’s so hard to pick a favorite, but I go back to read Burn For Me and the rest of the trilogy frequently so that must be the one.
My favorite book (a difficult choice, indeed) is Sweep of the Blade. Why? I LOVE Vampires in Space. I love Maud, Helen, and Arland. Maud is a b@d bi@ch.
Thank you for all the marvelous books. I have read them all more than once.
burn for me! because I love Nevada and Rogan!! the Hidden Legacy books are a comfort read for me.
but also Bayou Moon because I just want to hug William (also a comfort read).
and also every other book by HA… 😉
On a KD re-listen with the Graphic Audio releases, so I’ll choose Magic Strikes as my overall favorite in any format (Renée’s version is great too!) That said, I love the cool mountain air scenes when Kate gets to briefly step away from it all in KD6. Emerald Blaze and Bayou Moon are also atmospheric front-runners.
Back on Internet just in time?
My favourite of all time is probably Sweep of the Blade, because it challenges all the ‘expectations’ and, well, Ripper Cushions… which is now something my HS students say too🤪
My favorite is the first Innkeeper book because I love Dina and Sean and I love advanced science that looks like Magic and I love Inns and I love trees. And now I sound like Lady Wexyn….
Iron & Magic because it opened up the worlds of Ilona Andrews. But it’s really hard to pick between them all.
I absolutely love Magic Rises. It really gets into the depth of emotion, and to me, showing that Kate has an equal power, when she is constantly overlooked. The writing mixes humor, triumph, frustration, doubt, and sorrow that lasts until the end of the series. Plus that courtyard scene is top tier!