A Short History of a Fan:

Is that your book boyfriend in the distance or his enemy?

By Thio Isobel Moss

As I have just completed an extremely unlikely item on my writer bucket list — reviewing two new releases by the same author on consecutive days, I decided to lean into my own excess of admiration and write this post. Let the Ilona Andrews Extravaganza begin!

Once upon a time (2009), I became friends with another girl in my philosophy class while working toward my BA. She was an urban fantasy fan and introduced me to Laurell K. Hamilton. As a sheltered church kid, this was wild stuff, and I wasn’t really certain how I felt about it, but something clicked. I started looking for other authors and found Magic Bites.

As Ilona Andrews’ fans have discussed extensively, the editing in Magic Bites was perhaps a little overzealous, and a part in the second half didn’t really make sense as a result. As such, it wasn’t my favorite book ever, but I enjoyed it. My search continued, but after sampling a small fortune in books, I eventually circled back and tried On The Edge. This book changed everything, and I have read everything they’ve written ever since.

A few years down the road, I was in a tight financial situation, and my book budget was all but non-existent. I decided that I could do without new books and survive on my existing library, with the exception of House Andrews’ releases. It was the right call, and today, my reading diet is once again resplendent in variety. However, Ilona and Gordon Andrews will always be an auto-buy.

My Favorite Series (in a futile attempt to adult and display some restraint):

(Apologies in advance if you’re not familiar with Ilona Andrews. I highly recommend reading this husband-and-wife duo.)

1.     The Edge:

The worldbuilding is fantastic. Rose’s life in the Edge has the realism and grit I associate with Charlaine Harris — raw and relatable. Her determination to flash white — and the consequences that followed — are so human and believable. Even years later, now an adult, she works so hard, and the rewards are so very bitter. This is contrasted sharply with the knowledge and skill Declan demonstrates, produced by a gilded upbringing. The sharp contrast of reality and fairytale with demented monsters is sooo good. Bayou Moon is my favorite; I have a weak spot for William Wolf, and I love the family dynamics of the Marrs.

2.     The Kinsmen:

Again, the worldbuilding. Pink wine and raspberry cones? Sounds like romance to me. I love sci-fi/space opera, and there’s something delightful about ultra-violent Utopian civilizations with old-world restaurants on terraces and an obsession with dahlias that just thrills me to my core. It’s beautiful, luxurious, and lethal. Silver Shark is my favorite here; Silent Blade comes close, but the logic surrounding the arranged marriage always threw me.

3.     Innkeeper:

This warms the cockles of my interior design-loving heart. It’s almost Cozy, without being precious, and House Andrews’ skill at using tropes in unexpected ways is on fire. The characters are outrageous in the best way, the romance is just right, and there’s that constant thread of darkness — the mystery of Dina’s missing parents and childhood home — lurking in every delicious meal and happy moment. I love the breadth of Dina’s powers and their proximity limitations. Gorgeous contrast.

Now I’m debating what to close with. I knew this was futile. I love Hidden Legacy and what Roman is to Mod R (that pic was totally real; no extra AI arms or anything. IYKYK), Mad Rogan is to me. Move over, Nevada. However, I have to consider the Iron Covenant and Aurelia Ryder. No doubt this is controversial, but while I absolutely love Kate Daniels, her series isn’t one of my top 4 favorites. I know, I know. It’s brilliant; I love it, but I love the others more.

Okay, time for my big girl pants.

4.     Ryder:

This one has a special emotional tie for me. I couldn’t afford an editor for Blind Spot so I did my own development/content edits (kind of like a doctor diagnosing themselves; generally a bad idea), and my dad did some light content edits and the bulk of the copy edits. He is not familiar with urban fantasy and wanted to get an idea of what he was signing up for. I handed him Blood Heir. He enjoyed it, which surprised both of us. He’s not into magic, as a rule.

I also have a print of Luisa Preissler’s cover hanging on my wall.

So, why do I rank Ryder higher than its parent series? In large part because it stands on the shoulders of Kate Daniels, benefitting from familiar characters and a world where I already know the rules. The added worldbuilding could have been minimal, and it still would have been rich because of the work put into KD. However, that’s not how Ilona and Gordon roll.

Julie (spoiler: Aurelia) has become her own person and made some hard choices, but she’s still our Julie! Learning what she and her grandma have been building and why, understanding this new crazy evil, and the threat it poses, and seeing how Atlanta has changed creates an overlay for the world we were already familiar with. It’s still dark and gritty, Desandra still has a dirty mind, and crime-scene investigating wizards are still awesome. Instead of chocolate, this is chocolate on chocolate on chocolate with a side of chocolate.

My Favorite Extra: A Mere Formality

Its origin story tickles me, and I enjoy a relationship that begins with honesty.

The Elephant in the Room: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me

Even though it isn’t out yet, I am already considering This Kingdom my favorite of Ilona and Gordon’s works. They have always been skilled at taking a trope and twisting it into a new shape. Now they’ve taken the realism (a character from the modern world) and checked her into a gritty, vicious, primitive world with nothing but her encyclopedic knowledge of the story it sprang from. Even the existence of toilet paper is a question! We’re immediately given the history of the major players, because Maggie the superfan knows all, without a heavy lore dump.

I read and reviewed the extended preview. The Gardens do feel a bit like the Temple of Desire to me, but the differences in proprietors added a new flavor. And the men! Okay, I like my heroes to keep one foot on the ground with the rest of us mortals, but there is no denying that a cast that includes multiple martially gifted men with dark histories is an embarrassment of riches. I don’t know who to ship, and I likely haven’t even met all the options yet!

And Tor are evil geniuses to give us the amount they did — cutting it off right there. I applaud them, even though we still have to w**t for the rest. So smart.

I don’t know… Maybe it’s Maggie’s determination that has me hooked. I’m glad she didn’t have everything figured out the instant she woke up, but I’m also glad that she proved equal to meeting this twist with resilience and a hard kick up the backside. I would not do well in Kair Toren, but I will always advocate for hard work being rewarded!

This concludes my Short History of a Fan — at least this chapter of it; now go read something that transports you to worlds and delights yet unknown!