2 Bloggers 1 Series - Iron & Magic

This month Stormi and I continued on with the Kate Daniels series....sort of.  Several of our followers told us we really needed to read Iron and Magic, a spin-off, before reading the last book.  So despite the fact that neither of us cared much for Hugh, we took the plunge.  Read on for my thoughts and then go check out Stormi's  @  Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

Be forewarned, you might be spoiled if you continue on.

TITLE: Iron and Magic (Iron Covenant #1)

AUTHOR: Ilona Andrews

PUBLISHER: NYLA

PUBLISHING DATE: June 26, 2018

FROM GOODREADS: 

No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work. 

Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast. 

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she's trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.

Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies? 

As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.” 

Hugh and Elara may do both. 

MY THOUGHTS: So let's get this out of the way - I didn't like Hugh at all when I picked up this book.  While I found him somewhat more tolerable at the end of this book, I still don't like him much.  Also, that cover!  That's not what I expected Hugh to look like.  I kind of feel like the covers don't stand up to the those on the Kate Daniels' books.

So Kate's Dad no longer has any use for Hugh.  And since that's all that Hugh has ever known, he's pretty much struggling.  Luckily some of his Iron Dog soldiers impress upon him the importance of not looking for answers in the bottom of a liquor bottle so they head out to form an alliance which might just keep them all alive.

Enter Elara Harper.  She runs a community in Kentucky rumored to be filled with witches.  Her group needs help defending their land so a shaky alliance comes together when Hugh and Elara marry.  We are also visited by Clan Bouda in this book and Hugh has to finally answer for some of the despicable things he did in the past.  I think this needed to be done if Hugh is to ever be redeemed as a character.

Moving on.  So I REALLY like Elara.  She is smart and snarky and she throws some of the best put downs toward Hugh that I've ever heard. She is not happy about the union between them even if it does make sense and she has no plans on making Hugh's life easy.  Now on to Hugh.  I will admit I did see some character growth during the book but when you start out at rock bottom, it's hard to move up.  There were a few touching scenes with a small rescued girl and he did save a dog/dire wolf during one part of the book.  The dog then attaches himself to Hugh so I'm assuming he senses some good qualities in the man.

So overall I am glad I read this and I am anxious for the next Iron Covenant book.  Maybe Hugh will continue to grow on me but the pressing question after that ending is "What the heck is Elara???"  I do believe Hugh finally met his match!

RATING: 4 PAWS