Magic Burns, by Ilona Andrews.

This is the second Kate Daniels book, coming out on April 1^st. The first one, Magic Bites, came out last year.

As a rule, first person narrative irritates me. By its own nature, it requires the author to make sure every single thread of the story comes back to the narrator—or initiates with her—in order to keep the reader up to date with all the developments in the specific world. This is difficult enough in itself; when done in an alternate universe, it tends to translate into a few too many unlikely coincidences for my taste.

Added to this, I happen to be rabid-about internal consistency within fantasy and science fiction stories. Nothing will yank me out of the story quicker than breaking the rules.

And finally, short books usually leave me wanting—the list of writers who, in my opinion, can pull off world building in short stories or novellas is in the single digits. At 260 pages, this one doesn’t quite meet my needs as a reader.

With that said…

Here’s the back cover blurb:

Down in Atlanta, tempers—and temperatures—are about to flare…

As a mercenary who cleans up after magic gone wrong, Kate Daniels has seen her share of occupational hazards. Normally, waves of paranormal energy ebb and flow across Atlanta like a tide. But once every seven years, a flare comes, a time when magic runs rampant. Now Kate’s going to have to deal with problems on a much bigger scale: a divine one.
When Kate sets out to retrieve a set of stolen maps for the Pack, Atlanta’s paramilitary clan of shapeshifters, she quickly realizes much more is at stake. During a flare, gods and goddesses can manifest—and battle for power. The stolen maps are only the opening gambit in an epic tug-of-war between two gods hoping for rebirth. And if Kate can’t stop the cataclysmic showdown, the city may not survive…

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