I am reading the books, short stories and novellas in the Kate Daniels Series (again) for this review as well as for my upcoming reviews for the rest. I'm a big fan and I just love LOVE this series, so don't be surprised if I may sound just a "little" bit biased in some of my assessments and comments. I promise to try to view them with fresh eyes for you.
A QUESTIONABLE CLIENTby Ilona Andrews
In a world beset by magic waves, Kate Daniels works as a mercenary. She is tired, hungry, and there is foul-smelling blood on her boots. All she wants to do is to go home, but when Mercenary Guild offers her a job she can't refuse, she finds herself protecting a man against Russian wizards.- From Goodreads
→ Title: A Questionable Client
→ Author: Ilona Andrews [Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads]
→ Genre: Urban Fantasy
→ Series: Kate Daniels Series Book 0.5 | Prequel to Book 1
→ Other Details: included in anthology Dark and Stormy Knights [Goodreads] and Magic Graves [Goodreads]
→ Free Source: read the story on the author's website [click here]
→ My Kate Daniels Series Complete Reading Order
REVIEW
The events in "A Questionable Client" happened a few months before Magic Bites; before Kate's guardian was murdered, which prompted her move to Atlanta to investigate what happened (and kick the bad guy's ass) and the whole shebang that happened after that. This short story gives us a glimpse of Kate's life as a merc and how she met Saiman aka "the pervert". It is also a perfect example of how things always seem to get hairy real fast around Kate.
Having just finished a gig, Kate is tired and smelly. Her boots stank because of the creatures that she had to deal with on her own (her part-time gig partner, Jim, bailed on her, pack business, typical...). She was assigned another gig. Bodyguard detail. Big pay. She doesn't want it but she had no choice but to take it. She needed the money. The client is Saiman. He was chained to his bed when Kate arrived and she had to resort to threats to get him to talk about who's after him and why. Turns out, Saiman stole something from some powerful people. They want it back. They also want his head, ideally, separated from the rest of him. Kate's "body" proved very difficult to guard as well as a self-absorbed major scumbag. At the end, everything did not work out perfectly for everyone, especially for Saiman (smirk). But hey, they survived and get to live and be a pervert (Saiman) and a loud-mouthed merc (Kate) for another day.
It can be quite confusing to start the whole series by reading this short story, so suggest reading Magic Bites first and then go back to this one later.
"A Questionable Client" is a real eye opener when it comes to the whole Kate-Saiman "friendship". It explains a lot about why Saiman is so hot for our favorite kick-ass heroine. In the story, Kate was her usual witty and sarcastic self. She matched Saiman intellectually and she doesn't hesitate to cut him down to the quick, so I can understand why he wants her. She is confident, knowledgeable of a lot of things that is magical, plus, she is really talented with her sword. It's sexy (no wonder why a certain bossy lion is in love).
Saiman was a really slimy character in this story (but for some reason, I still can't help but like him). A totally unapologetic egoist. It made so much sense why it's very dangerous for Kate to be in his radar.
Overall, it's a great story. A prequel that is exciting, enlightening, full of magical folklore and a great addition to the series.
TOP SHELF | WOW! VERY INTERESTING!
More please!
FAVORITE LINES & SCENES
I really like how Kate's world was described in this short story.
We lived in a post-Shift world. One moment magic dominated, fueling spells and giving power to monsters and the next it vanished as abruptly as it appeared. Cars started, electricity flowed, and mages became easy prey to a punk with a gun. Nobody could predict when magic waves would come or how long they would last. That’s why I carried a sword. It always worked. - Kate
The night belonged to monsters, and monsters were always hungry. - Kate
“What happened?”
“You fell.”
“Really? What did I fall into?”
“My fist.” - Kate & Saiman
World of Kate Daniels | Kate Daniels Series on Goodreads
TEREBOL | i ♥ great stories
