Many thanks to IA and Mod R for the review ARC! Some spoilers for KD series but very limited spoilers for Magic Claims.

I sat with this book for a little while because I wanted to think about how this installment reorients or maybe resets the Kate Daniels world for the readers. Magic Triumphs was the final Kate novel set in Atlanta, and it ended the series beautifully, tied up a lot of plotlines and left some people in very different places. You know, as life does. But Kate and Curran were solid, Conlan was safe, and their family was poised for a timeout from Pack drama and multiple apocalypses. 

But IA returned to that world in Iron and Magic and again in Blood Heir, and of course, no one, especially Kate, can stay in timeout indefinitely. Life goes on. Erra makes that point quite forcefully in chapter 1 to Kate that her rest time is up. And Kate being Kate- she will never turn away people who need her help, and Curran being Curran, he will always have his charisma drawing powerful people to him. And he will always want a fort or two with a moat. Neither Kate nor Curran can deny their powers or that of their son. So while Magic Tides got us started on their life looked like years after the battle of Atlanta, Magic Claims makes it clear how they will live with their power going forwards while still being a puzzle box of a plot. I honestly had no idea by about chapter 7 of what was really going on or how the Lennarts were going to resolve this mess.

Things I loved about this story included the multiple POVs we get, the hints and tie-ins to other characters' activities off stage, the found family feels, the alliances, the insanity of the plot, the ingenious battles, and the realization for both Kate and Curran that rest time is over. And Conlan. Very much Conlan.

Great story here, and it just feels so good to be back in this world. Read it, talk about it, and don't miss the outrageous: pun? Reference? Meta? towards the end. I'll conclude with the war cry of the BDH, Thank you and more, please. LOL.

It's been so long since we've seen Kate. Here's a review of her new adventure.

“Is he challenging me?” Robert’s eyes sparkled.

I put my hand over my face.

“rawrwrawr!”