Magic Stars

Grey Wolf, Book 1

By: Ilona Andrews

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

From award-winning author Ilona Andrews, an original novella set in the New York Times number-one best-selling Kate Daniels world and featuring fan favorites Derek, Curran, and Kate's very independent ward, Julie.

Scarred, solitary Derek Gaunt has separated from his Pack and is truly a lone wolf. With no family, he answers to no one but is fiercely loyal to a chosen few. So when several of those close to him are murdered, he'll stop at nothing to hunt their killer through the magic-drenched streets of Atlanta.

Never one to be left on the sidelines and equally determined - some might say stubborn - Julie Lennart-Olsen soon joins in his pursuit, and what began as revenge turns into a race to save the city. Their search pits them against powers they never imagined and magic so old, it predates history. It may cost Derek his life, but there are things for which even he would risk everything.

©2015 Ilona Andrews, Inc. (P)2016 Ilona Andrews, Inc

Don't miss this one

This is a must have for any Kate Daniels fan. A novella from Derek's POV, including Julie, off on their own adventure without Kate or Curran. One of lIona Andrews strongest traits is how much depth they put into their secondary characters but actually having a story from the mind of one of these characters is so much more illuminating. You get to see so much more of the damage that has taken it's toll on Derek in his short life. You get to see Julie from someone else's eyes, who especially is not a parental figure. She's grown a lot. I think quite a lot of important information is divulged in this novella. It's very packed with action. It also makes you realize just how LARGE the world of Kate Daniels is. Many series, you assume nothing happens when the leads are not around. With books like this and Gunmetal Magic you realize most of the secondary characters are leading full lives while the leads are not around. Much of which we probably will never hear about if Kate or Curran don't hear about it.

The reader, Jeffrey Kafer does an outstanding job on a very demanding role. He handles Derek's damaged voice and still manages to get Julie.

There are a small handful of authors who need a ranking above 5 stars. Ilona Andrews falls in with that elite group.

Love the story

Andrews always provides a good story , and it’s nice to have more of Derek’s perspective and personality. I just wish the narration hadn’t been so one dimensional. The tone was like a1920s detective novel with dames and gats. And it never varied and was emotionally flat. I won’t trash it but I won’t revisit it often as I do with Andrew’s other works.

Fragmented

It seems incomplete. Like there are chapters missing. The book stops in the middle of conversation.

Good, a bit short and breathless

it was good because it has delivered some background to what Juli and Derek do in Daniels' world. I had missed this, some sort of rounding up the mainstream, loved it

Fantastic Short!

I have to admit that I'm not a huge Julie fan. But in her own books, she's nowhere near as annoying to me!

I really enjoyed this look into Derek and Julie's relationship when they were young.

Interesting

I like Kafer's voice but I kept feeling like the Dragnet theme music was going to break out any moment. I would hope I'd get over it with a full novel. Great story as usual. It's going to be interesting which way Julie ends up choosing.

Read all the short stories!!!

I would recommend reading all of the short stories in the Kate Daniels series. I read the main books first and went back to read the shorts and there is a lot of information and character development that you miss out on because Kate is the main focus. This story really moves Derrick and Julie forward and offers some great insights into where they are now and what they are struggling with. It was a great read.

nice story dull narrator

I liked the story, having read the Kate Daniels series but the narrator reduced the listening experience to manageable instead of enjoyable

I love this Storyworld!

Derrick is one of my favorite characters in Kate Daniel's world....but I desperately hope they choose another narrator for future books. This guy is just hard to listen to. I listened because I love the stories, and I had to know what happened to this character between main series books.

Not the best narrator

Ugh.. I'm so used to Renee Raudman! I know that this story is told from the POV of Derek, so I'm sure they thought they needed a male voice. Jeffrey Kafer, though, just didn't do the job. The sound of his voice is okay, no mouth or breath noises.. which I hate. My problem is that he isn't performing. He is just reading. I think he finishes every sentence the same way every time. Same tone of voice. I can't explain it any other way. I ended up speeding up the book just to get through it.

Please! If you need a male voice.. Try to use someone else for the next one if you continue the series! Sebastian York maybe?