Diplomacy was never my strong suit and my patience had run dry. I crouched and called out, “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”

Two golden eyes ignited at the opposite wall. A shape stirred with the darkness and rose, carrying the eyes up and up and up until they towered above me. A single enormous paw moved into the moonlight […] A whisper of power pulsed through the room, tugging at my senses. If I did not know better, I would say that he had just changed.

“Kitty, Kitty?” asked a level male voice.

As a self-professed geek, I have to admit that I love the new-ish field of urban fantasy. Modern day tech combined with magic, vampires, shapeshifters and a teensy bit of romance? Catnip! The granddaddy of this field is Jim Butcher with his Dresden Files books, however, I would like to heartily recommend the wife/husband writing team of Ilona Andrews and their Kate Daniels Series.

In the first book of the series Magic Bites (SF Andre.I Magi), Kate Daniels is a gun for hire. Her mentor has just been messily murdered. While trying to keep her own secrets, Kate is determined to solve the case, putting her on a collision course with the local powers that be, including shapeshifters & local crusading knights/police.

The world-building in Magic Bites is fabulous and entirely unique. In Kate’s Atlanta, magic ebbs and flows like a tide. When it is up, technology doesn’t work. When the tide is out, technology works again. Of course, there are also the traditional elements of urban fantasy: shapeshifters, magic users and vampires, but, be warned, Andrews has a very interesting take on vampires.

The best part of the Kate Daniels series, however, is the sense of humor and great character building. The authors have said, in interviews, that they take turns trying to get the other one to laugh and it shows in their writing. So, if you like urban fantasy or urban fantasy romances at all, check out Magic Bites!