Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews – a Review

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iTunes

Description:
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.

Review:

Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews is the 1^st book in their new The Iron Covenant series.   I looked forward to reading Hugh’s story, especially after he was no longer part of the Kate Daniels series.   Frankly, I will read anything and everything by our illustrious duo, Ilona and Gordon Andrews.  There has never been a book that has not enthralled me, and Iron and Magic is no exception.

Iron and Magic brings us back into the world we know from the Kate Daniels series, and the man we loved to hate…Hugh d’ Ambray.  I hated Hugh in that series, and had mixed feelings about him being redeemed.  Amazing though, as we got to spend the entire book with him, by the end, I found myself liking him much better, though he was still nasty, self-centered, and sarcastic.  But Hugh has met his match in Elara Harper “The White Lady”.  Elara turned out to be such a fantastic heroine, who was able to stand up and match Hugh at every turn.

Hugh had been exiled by his god, Roland, with it shattering him totally.  His Iron Dog army continues to be loyal to him, and they manage to bring him out of his funk.  Hugh and his army need a base to train and live.  He accepts an offer to bring his men to a land they can be safe and part of; allowing them to have shelter, food, and living spaces.  All Hugh needed to do was marry Elara, the leader of their land and castle.  She needed someone to help protect her people, and Hugh has his army, and an alliance between two people who immediately hated each was built. It was fun to watch the nasty snarky banter between them, as Elara was all ice, and Hugh was simply a bastard.  There were a few dingers between them that had me laughing. But make no mistake, they were married to present a united front, but behind the scenes they were enemies.

What follows is an exciting, wild and violent adventure that will have them working together to fight off the evil vampires and monsters killing the local villages, as well as Roland’s preceptor, Landon Nez coming to destroy them.   This was nonstop action all the way, and I loved so many of the secondary characters that were part of either Elara’s group or Hugh’s Iron Dogs.  I also loved Hugh’s stallion, Bucky.  lol

A slow build romance will begin to start between Elara and Hugh, though I expect to see more of that in the next book.  Elara, thinks of herself as an abomination, besides her being a white warlock; her hidden powers are awesome, which we get to see as she is the leader of the Departed (which we will learn more about in the future).   Hugh learns to deal with his guilt over what he did for Roland, and he remains a master at leading the battles with his Iron Dogs. 

With the final book of the Kate Daniels series Magic Triumphs forthcoming, I expect to see Hugh and perhaps Elara play a part in the finale.   There will be two more books in The Iron Covenant series that will follow in this trilogy.  Iron and Magic was a fantastic story, which we come to expect from Andrews.  I have read every single series by Ilona Andrews duo, and have loved them all.  If you have not read Kate Daniels or the other wonderful series, you are missing gems.

Reviewed by Barb