Intoxicated Literature Podcast
A podcast with books, alcohol, and lots of laughter. Daniella and Evelyne are sisters who have always shared book recommendations with each other. Join us while we drink and discuss books in the paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and epic fantasy genres!
Intoxicated Literature Podcast
Burn for Me
Evelyne and Daniella discuss Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews. They discuss the importance of a solid support network for the FMC and things get weird when Daniella keeps confusing the character "Mad Rogan" for another "Mad" character from a completely different story.
Announcer:
This is Intoxicated Literature.
Evelyne Crowe:
Hello, and welcome to Intoxicated Literature. I'm Evelyne Crowe.
Daniella Drake:
And I'm Daniella Drake.
Evelyne Crowe:
How exciting, we're doing video this time.
Daniella Drake:
It's so exciting! It's weird.
Evelyne Crowe:
It's so weird!
Daniella Drake:
It feels weird.
Evelyne Crowe:
It feels a little weird.
Daniella Drake:
But I like it, I think this is working for us.
Evelyne Crowe:
Is it?
Daniella Drake:
We've got the virtual backgrounds, because our respective homes are not video friendly.
Evelyne Crowe:
Oh, no. It's so not video friendly. These are my actual books, though.
Daniella Drake:
Yes, mine too. These are my actual, I own all of these books.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah.
Daniella Drake:
It's just that they're in a different place.
Evelyne Crowe:
These are rotated.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
I have one bookshelf.
Daniella Drake:
You own way more books than I do. I'm proud and jealous of your collection, to be honest.
Evelyne Crowe:
I have gone to book signings, so a lot of these are signed.
Daniella Drake:
That's true. That's true.
Evelyne Crowe:
But yeah, these are just rotated out, and then mine. We are intoxicated.
Daniella Drake:
We are intoxicated! So, if you have not listened to Intoxicated Literature before, we literally drink and talk about books, because that's what we like. Today-
Evelyne Crowe:
We should do a spoiler warning.
Daniella Drake:
Oh yeah, I know, I was going to say what book it is first, and then we can do spoilers? Yeah, because that's what we... Right?
Evelyne Crowe:
Sure. Today we're talking about Burn for Me, which is actually one of my favorite books of all time.
Daniella Drake:
This is by Ilona Andrews, who, fun fact, is a writing duo of a husband and wife team, which I love. I think that's adorable. It's Ilona and Andrew Gordon. Love it.
Evelyne Crowe:
I love it.
Daniella Drake:
I think it's so cute.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yes.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah. So yes, spoilers ahead. We will ruin the entire book, and maybe more of the series, because sometimes we forget what's in the book.
Evelyne Crowe:
Again, intoxicated.
Daniella Drake:
There's no filter.
Evelyne Crowe:
So, I've read the entire series, so I don't know. I know what's not in this book when it refers to her sisters, but I don't know what is her arc in this book, necessarily.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, I'll help you because I just re-read it because I had to refresh myself.
Evelyne Crowe:
I did look at it. I do notes. I do, see? I do prepare.
Daniella Drake:
No, I know, I know. I just literally finished it two days ago because I was like, "I don't remember."
Evelyne Crowe:
I don't remember.
Daniella Drake:
I don't remember.
Evelyne Crowe:
But it is really good.
Daniella Drake:
Yes. So, spoilers. We also swear like sailors, so if you don't like swearing, this is probably not the space for you. What else? Sexy times?
Evelyne Crowe:
Not so much in this one.
Daniella Drake:
Not really, huh?
Evelyne Crowe:
It's very, very, very slow burn. Such a slow burn that it's over books.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, it doesn't happen in this first one. So, yes. What are we drinking? Because-
Evelyne Crowe:
It's a Mage's something.
Daniella Drake:
Mage's Fire, which is appropriate for this book.
Evelyne Crowe:
Exceptionally appropriate for this book, actually.
Daniella Drake:
It's just unfortunate that it is so-
Evelyne Crowe:
Gross.
Daniella Drake:
... gross. So, listen, when I found the recipe, I got super excited, because it was literally called Mage's Fire, and it's purple, and it looks so awesome.
Evelyne Crowe:
It does look really awesome. It probably looked... We were talking about it, and first of all, she sent me the recipe, and it said it needed to age for 30 days. And it's straight hard alcohol. And I'm like, "What? It's already aged."
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, when I read it, my brain literally read it as 30 minutes, because I was like, "That's insane."
Evelyne Crowe:
I'm like, it's already aged, it's hard liquor. There's no reason why it would need to be aged for 30 days. What is this, Polyjuice Potion? What's going on? Are we making it under the full moon? What's happening? We're not witches. We don't need to do that.
Daniella Drake:
That would've been fun, though.
Evelyne Crowe:
It would've been, yes. But it's not that. So, we don't need to do that.
Daniella Drake:
No.
Evelyne Crowe:
And Danielle was immediately like, "Wait, what?"
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, it's cinnamon schnapps, which is really intense.
Evelyne Crowe:
It's basically liquefied Red Hots.
Daniella Drake:
That is exactly what it tastes like. Yeah. And it's-
Evelyne Crowe:
And looks like.
Daniella Drake:
... not pleasant. It doesn't look like Red Hots, it's purple.
Evelyne Crowe:
No, the cinnamon schnapps, looks like [inaudible 00:04:10]-
Daniella Drake:
Oh, the cinnamon schnapps? No, yeah. This tastes like liquid Red Hots, though.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah.
Daniella Drake:
It tastes like burning.
Evelyne Crowe:
There's vodka, there's blue curacao, or however you say that.
Daniella Drake:
Curacao?
Evelyne Crowe:
Curacao? There is an accent on there.
Daniella Drake:
Yes.
Evelyne Crowe:
Curacao. And cinnamon schnapps.
Daniella Drake:
Cinnamon schnapps.
Evelyne Crowe:
Which is hard to say when you're intoxicated.
Daniella Drake:
It really is. And man, to be fair, though, it does say that this is supposed to be a shot, which makes sense, because it's all alcohol. But also I feel misled by the recipe, because the guy said that it tastes really good, and it should be sipped. Or it could be sipped.
Evelyne Crowe:
He also said it tasted like orange and cinnamon.
Daniella Drake:
Orange! What is he talking about?
Evelyne Crowe:
There is no fucking orange in here.
Daniella Drake:
No, it tastes like burning!
Evelyne Crowe:
And I think it should have been. I think you're right. I think it should have been one to one to one, instead of one to one to two.
Daniella Drake:
I absolutely agree. It's two parts cinnamon schnapps to one part vodka, one part blue curacao.
Evelyne Crowe:
There's too much cinnamon.
Daniella Drake:
And honestly, it's too much cinnamon. And we only let it age 24 hours.
Evelyne Crowe:
Age. The fuck is that? And there's supposed to be some sort of magical coloration happening?
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, I don't know what he's talking about, he's full of shit. I don't know who this guy is, but I'm not listening to him about anything else.
Evelyne Crowe:
No, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, stranger on the internet, this is not happening.
Daniella Drake:
No, it's not good.
Evelyne Crowe:
No.
Daniella Drake:
It's not good. So this, it's-
Evelyne Crowe:
As a shot? Yes.
Daniella Drake:
Yes.
Evelyne Crowe:
As a sipper? No.
Daniella Drake:
I think as a shot, yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah, sorry.
Daniella Drake:
So, it was a miss. That was unfortunate.
Evelyne Crowe:
It does get me intoxicated.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
So, there is a pro.
Daniella Drake:
When I first made it, I literally texted you and said, "This is going to fuck me up."
Evelyne Crowe:
Yes.
Daniella Drake:
Because it's just all alcohol.
Evelyne Crowe:
Mm-hmm, yeah.
Daniella Drake:
So yeah, so, we're ready to record now that we're drinking this. It's going to be awesome. So, let's get into it.
Evelyne Crowe:
All right, so, Burn for Me, Ilona Andrews. So, I don't know if... We like urban fantasy. I don't know if you know this about us? If you have listened to any of our other podcasts, we like urban fantasy, it's one of our favorites. And this is urban fantasy all the way with romance.
Daniella Drake:
I love Ilona Andrews, all her series. All their series-
Evelyne Crowe:
Their series.
Daniella Drake:
... I should say, yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
100%. Absolutely. This is different from Magic Bites. Now, Magic Bites gets a lot of hate for being really slow.
Daniella Drake:
Really?
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah. If you read the reviews-
Daniella Drake:
I love that series, though.
Evelyne Crowe:
I know, I adore it. But if you read the reviews, everyone's like, "Oh, it's so slow." But it's the first book in the series! It's a lot of world-building. This book, however, is not slow.
Daniella Drake:
No. No, it is not.
Evelyne Crowe:
It just goes right into it. And I love it because a lot of Ilona's... So she has... They have. I say Ilona Andrews and say she because the name sounds feminine.
Daniella Drake:
I know. I get it. I do the same thing.
Evelyne Crowe:
They have their two major series, and both of them have a female main character on their own. And this series stands out because it's not. There's a family, a very solid family unit.
Daniella Drake:
I love this family unit, because it reminds me of our family.
Evelyne Crowe:
Oh my God, there's so many women!
Daniella Drake:
It's so many women, but it's also something happens, and Nevada's in trouble, and everyone drops everything and converges on the house.
Evelyne Crowe:
Absolutely.
Daniella Drake:
And that's exactly what our family would do. Drop everything and converge on the house, we'd like-
Evelyne Crowe:
It's so true.
Daniella Drake:
There would be no hesitation, we wouldn't even think about it. Be like, "Where am I? 50 miles away? Doesn't matter, everyone show up."
Evelyne Crowe:
Everyone plays to their strengths, and everyone just knows what they're supposed to do. Everyone has a role, and that's exactly how it plays. It's so true.
Daniella Drake:
Loved it. I loved that there is such a support network for her, because I feel like a lot of the time, in urban fantasy especially, outside of Ilona Andrews, even, that's kind of the way it is, where it's just this badass female main character who's just out there on her own.
Evelyne Crowe:
I know. It's so true.
Daniella Drake:
So, it's so nice to see a support system in place.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yes! And with a parent still alive. And not only a parent, a grandparent.
Daniella Drake:
Yes, I love that there's... And she's a badass!
Evelyne Crowe:
I know!
Daniella Drake:
Working on tanks and shit.
Evelyne Crowe:
She's a mech mage.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, I love it, I love it. I love the world-building in this series.
Evelyne Crowe:
So, it's interesting because it's a play on aristocracy, but with magic.
Daniella Drake:
Yes. I was going to say it feels very... Because it's set in Houston, where you have all these different magical Houses kind of vying for power. It feels very feudal, medieval Europe. The setup feels very much like that, where they're all vying for power constantly, but also trying to take care of the little people.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah, it really is like that. It's so true. Absolutely.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah. But she does it so well. They do it so well.
Evelyne Crowe:
I know! It's just going to be us correcting from she to they.
Daniella Drake:
I know! Goddamn it.
Evelyne Crowe:
It's absolutely true. And it takes place in Houston, so every one of their series takes place in the South. We got Atlanta, we got Houston, and I think the Sweep series is also in Texas.
Daniella Drake:
I think it might be.
Evelyne Crowe:
I want to say in Houston or Dallas, or one of those places.
Daniella Drake:
I thought it was in a smaller... Was it not in a smaller area? It's been a long time since I've read it, so I'm probably completely wrong.
Evelyne Crowe:
It might be.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, I can't remember.
Evelyne Crowe:
But it's definitely a smaller town, but on the outskirts of one of those major cities. I think. I can't remember now.
Daniella Drake:
I know! It's been too long. I love that series.
Evelyne Crowe:
It's a good series!
Daniella Drake:
It's more of a cozy kind of-
Evelyne Crowe:
It is.
Daniella Drake:
... vibe.
Evelyne Crowe:
I like that one. But so the South is kind of their comfort zone, I can tell. Which is fine. It's fine.
Daniella Drake:
Sure, yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
So, you have Nevada. Great name.
Daniella Drake:
Great name.
Evelyne Crowe:
Love it.
Daniella Drake:
Actually, all the names in this, I thought, were really good.
Evelyne Crowe:
I love it. So, you have Nevada, and she has sisters, Arabella and Caitlyn, and-
Daniella Drake:
Catalina!
Evelyne Crowe:
Catalina. I saw it just now. I wrote it down.
Daniella Drake:
Who's Caitlyn?
Evelyne Crowe:
I don't know. But part of the fun is reading my own notes! So, Catalina. And then you have Penelope, who's her mom, who is a vet and a sharpshooter. So, that's her mage power, is she can sharpshoot, and she is also disabled. Then we have cousins who were adopted into the family, for various reasons. We have Bernard and Leon. And their powers come out later, and Leon is crazy.
Daniella Drake:
Yes. I love Leon, actually.
Evelyne Crowe:
Leon is fabulous, but when his powers come out, everyone kind of freaks out, and it's really funny.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, it's so true. And then, okay, so Nevada, her dad has passed away, and so that's why it's mostly the women kind of in charge. And she's taken over his business. She's a PI.
Evelyne Crowe:
And it's unfortunate because their dad had cancer. And as we know, in today's lifestyle, when you have a long-term illness like that, the medical bills are insane.
Daniella Drake:
Astronomical.
Evelyne Crowe:
So, they had to mortgage their business to a bigger business. And so this bigger business owns them, essentially. And part of the contract that they made, and I don't think their dad knew about this, I think they made this behind their dad's back, because he would never have countenanced this. He would've been like, "What the fuck are you doing?" Is they just have to do what this business tells them, or they can-
Daniella Drake:
Which hasn't been a problem, up till now, because they've just kind of been ignoring them. They're like, "You're too small to even deal with."
Evelyne Crowe:
Because Nevada's power is just like she can tell the truth.
Daniella Drake:
Well, they don't even know that she has powers.
Evelyne Crowe:
Oh, that's true. They're really on the DL.
Daniella Drake:
She's kept it secret, because her form of magic is so rare that it's really in demand. So, if they found out that she had these powers, they'd be like, "Great! Now you're working for us. We own you, essentially." And she's like, "Can't let that happen."
Evelyne Crowe:
They're on the down low. And so they've just kind of been like, "You're useless, why would we even bother? Sure. Okay." Enter Mad Rogan.
Daniella Drake:
Well, no, Adam Pierce starts it.
Evelyne Crowe:
I guess that's true, oh God, Adam.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
He's such an ass.
Daniella Drake:
He's such an ass. So, having reread this book, he is just the most entitled, rich, bored man.
Evelyne Crowe:
Every time they go and talk to one of these aristocracy Houses, every time they go into one of them, anytime they go and talk to one of them, I'm always just like, "Ugh."
Daniella Drake:
Absolutely 100%. They're just gross. And he is like a fire mage. He is a Prime, which is the highest ranking you can possibly be, so he's super powerful, and he's just wreaking havoc on this town. Which is not... It's a big no-no. You're not supposed to do that. As a Prime, you're supposed to protect the city, right?
Evelyne Crowe:
Because that's what they teach the aristocracy. You're supposed to look out after the peons, you know?
Daniella Drake:
Exactly! Exactly.
Evelyne Crowe:
You're better than everyone, and you're supposed to protect everyone.
Daniella Drake:
Exactly.
Evelyne Crowe:
That's your job. And so you're supposed to marry other Primes to make other Primes, and you're supposed to take care of all of the little peons who are running around without magic. And that's your job.
Daniella Drake:
Yep. That's your job.
Evelyne Crowe:
Sorry.
Daniella Drake:
No, that's fair. That's a fair reason.
Evelyne Crowe:
It's just so gross. And so he's running around, just going amuck, because gee, I wonder what happens when you give a guy who's had privilege his entire life just insane power.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah. It's bad. It's real bad.
Evelyne Crowe:
Just complete and unstoppable power.
Daniella Drake:
Yep. And I love it because Augustine Montgomery, who's at the House Montgomery, and owns this giant private investigation firm, which happens to own the Baylor investigation firm, it's like, "I don't want to put my people on this, because they're all going to die, and they're going to fail, and I don't want to waste the resources. So, Baylor, you're up!"
Evelyne Crowe:
"Sorry! I'm calling in your debt."
Daniella Drake:
And he doesn't even pretend, she knows exactly what's going on, he knows exactly what's going on. It's very much out in the open. There's no secret that he's doing it because he doesn't want to lose his resources, essentially. Which, gross. And this is where Mad Rogan comes in.
Evelyne Crowe:
Now, I do believe there was some mistaken identity in this book, correct?
Daniella Drake:
Was there mistaken identity?
Evelyne Crowe:
I can't remember.
Daniella Drake:
He kidnaps her.
Evelyne Crowe:
That's true. He does torture her.
Daniella Drake:
He tortures her because he thinks that she's Adam Pierce's, I don't even know, side piece, I guess?
Evelyne Crowe:
"You know more than you're letting on!" And she's-
Daniella Drake:
Or like... Yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
And it's so funny because this was one of the... Usually Ilona Andrews isn't quite so obvious and into tropes as this, but this is one of those cases where the female main character stands up to the male main character, and it's the first time this has ever happened in his life. And he's like, "That's really hot."
Daniella Drake:
Yes.
Evelyne Crowe:
I really like that.
Daniella Drake:
And listen, I actually like the way that this played out, because there's a reason that he's called Mad Rogan. He's like the ultimate Prime. He is more powerful than anyone has any right to be. He's a billionaire. He is ridiculously masculine and attractive. It's kind of disgusting how attractive he is. And she's just looking at him going, "I don't have time for this bullshit, my family is in danger. I don't care who you are."
Evelyne Crowe:
For real. She's like, "I have a job to do, and you're wasting my time!"
Daniella Drake:
Exactly, exactly. And he's like-
Evelyne Crowe:
And he's literally like-
Daniella Drake:
... "Figure it out!"
Evelyne Crowe:
... "What's happening right now?"
Daniella Drake:
Yep! Which is so funny. I love it, the entire book, she's very afraid of him. And should be, but she's also constantly going, "You need to stop. What is wrong with you? You need to calm down. I need you to not do that."
Evelyne Crowe:
"This is not okay."
Daniella Drake:
Exactly. And that's like their whole relationship. This entire book is just like her going, "Can you not?"
Evelyne Crowe:
Seriously, it's amazing.
Daniella Drake:
It's so good.
Evelyne Crowe:
And him going, "I really like being put in my place by this person."
Daniella Drake:
And just randomly at one point he's just like, "We should have sex." And she's like, "What the fuck? We just barely survived this horrible event. What are you talking about?"
Evelyne Crowe:
There's this whole heat building, heat building, and him leaning into it, leaning into it, and her going, "No. Danger, Will Robinson, danger." And him going, "Don't care."
Daniella Drake:
Exactly.
Evelyne Crowe:
"Must fuck right now."
Daniella Drake:
Exactly. And he's also got that Tactile... What is it called? Oh, I should have written it down on my notes, but I didn't. He's like-
Evelyne Crowe:
But he can do things to her without touching her.
Daniella Drake:
He's like a Tactile telepath?
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah.
Daniella Drake:
So, he can make her feel things without actually touching her.
Evelyne Crowe:
Which would freak me the fuck out!
Daniella Drake:
I know. She's talking about how hot it is, and I'm sitting there going, "I don't think I would like that."
Evelyne Crowe:
It would freak me the fuck out.
Daniella Drake:
I can agree.
Evelyne Crowe:
If I'm across the room, and then something happened to me without anyone being near me, would freak me the fuck out!
Daniella Drake:
Yeah. I feel like it's... Yeah, I don't... Yeah, I'm not a fan. Yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
No.
Daniella Drake:
No, thanks.
Evelyne Crowe:
No, thank you. I tried to get behind that. I really did. But-
Daniella Drake:
I know. I know. Yeah, I don't know how I feel about it.
Evelyne Crowe:
Maybe it's a play on the vibrators that you can put in and have the... But there's still a physical thing that someone's in control of.
Daniella Drake:
Right, yeah. Well, he's in control of it? I don't know. I don't know. I don't-
Evelyne Crowe:
Maybe it just feels like there's a lack of consent issue. Maybe that's it.
Daniella Drake:
That's fair. Except that there were multiple times where he asked.
Evelyne Crowe:
That's true. I don't know.
Daniella Drake:
Consent is a big deal.
Evelyne Crowe:
I don't know.
Daniella Drake:
I don't know either.
Evelyne Crowe:
I don't know.
Daniella Drake:
I don't know if I would like it or not.
Evelyne Crowe:
I think I would have to try it.
Daniella Drake:
It sounds hot. When you're reading it, you're kind of like, "Well, maybe."
Evelyne Crowe:
I know. Again, I think it's something you would have to experience.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, I think so, too.
Evelyne Crowe:
And since no one has this power, you can't really experience that.
Daniella Drake:
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I don't know. But I will say that the world-building in this, and the characters, and especially Nevada, I feel like, everyone is complex, everyone is interesting, everyone is dynamic. I loved Madmartigan. Madmartigan?
Evelyne Crowe:
Madmartigan? We're going all the way back to Willow now. I give you points, because Madmartigan is hot as fuck, so, go Val Kilmer.
Daniella Drake:
I cannot believe that I said Madmartigan! That's so embarrassing.
Evelyne Crowe:
You pulled that all the way out from some fucking memory.
Daniella Drake:
Because when I think, I've never known any other character that's called Mad anything, so like-
Evelyne Crowe:
Maybe that's what they were thinking of when they wrote it? We don't know. Oh my God, Danielle, that is hilarious.
Daniella Drake:
I know!
Evelyne Crowe:
Madmartigan.
Daniella Drake:
I meant Mad Rogan!
Evelyne Crowe:
Uh-huh.
Daniella Drake:
I don't even remember what point I had, to be honest, because Madmartigan is now in my brain.
Evelyne Crowe:
Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Daniella Drake:
Listen, I had the hots for Val Kilmer as Madmartigan.
Evelyne Crowe:
I think Madmartigan unlocked something in a lot of us in our childhood.
Daniella Drake:
Right? I'm just saying! I'm not upset about it.
Evelyne Crowe:
He wore a dress, and he was the non-toxic masculinity that a lot of us were looking for.
Daniella Drake:
100%. 100%. Yes. Anyway.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yes.
Daniella Drake:
Mad Rogan. I don't remember what point I was going to make, honestly.
Evelyne Crowe:
I don't know either, but this was amazing.
Daniella Drake:
It's gone. That was really funny. Goddamn it. Okay, let's talk about Mad Rogan for a minute though, because-
Evelyne Crowe:
Oh, my God.
Daniella Drake:
... he is a billionaire, but he spent time in the Army fighting, because there was this whole thing where Mexico invades Belize because they wanted more power, and they had to be stopped, right? Okay, but Mad-
Evelyne Crowe:
This brings to questions, did they have to be stopped? This is like-
Daniella Drake:
So, this is the thing. Having reread it, because I went in thinking, "I remember this being a thing, I don't know." But it was like a balance issue, because Mexico already has so much power, so much magical power, I guess, in this universe? And so they invaded this tiny little country, Belize, and everyone was like, "We don't want you also having all of their power, because you're already overpowered, and we need to protect our interests." I'm not saying necessarily that it was correct, I'm just saying that that's what the book said.
Evelyne Crowe:
Okay.
Daniella Drake:
So, feeling patriotic, and being 19 years old-
Evelyne Crowe:
As you do.
Daniella Drake:
... Mad Rogan, yeah, enlists. Plus, I think he was trying to stick it to his family a little bit, because he did not like his parents at all, which is fair.
Evelyne Crowe:
Oh no, you don't join the Army-
Daniella Drake:
Yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
... when you're a magical aristocracy person, because you don't need to.
Daniella Drake:
Exactly. Exactly. So, he was trying to get the fuck out of dodge. So, he has this name where he's like The Hurricane, right? He just wreaks havoc and destruction, and it's just chaos. And I don't think that he particularly enjoys it. He knows that that's who he is, and he's accepted that's who he is, but it's not necessarily something he's proud of.
Evelyne Crowe:
Everyone thinks he's proud of it.
Daniella Drake:
Right, because he doesn't talk about it, right?
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah.
Daniella Drake:
He doesn't really have close friends. But what he does do, and this is where it's important, because all throughout the book, you are making assumptions. It's kind of Pride and Prejudice, where you're like, "This guy is one way." And then later you find out, "Oh, it's something completely different." Where he's gathering veterans who are hard on luck, and they are at their wits' end, and he's like, "You can come work for me. I will buy off your debts, you're going to be solvent again, but I need you to do exactly what I say, and this is how it's going to be." And it's just like he is trying to give them a second chance. And so you start to look at him and go, "Oh, you're not what I thought you were." But even in this book, Nevada's questioning his motivation, because it's like now you own these people. Now, of course they'll do whatever you want, because you own them. But there's a loyalty to it where it's like, "This person saved us, he's my hero."
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah, because she's coming from a place where someone owns her. So, she's bringing her own prejudices and her own biases into this, because someone's owning her, and pushing her into this investigation. So, she's bringing her own biases into this. So, you have to read it and go, "Okay, but wait."
Daniella Drake:
Exactly. And that's kind of what happens; as you start to get to the end of the book, you're like, "Hold on a second. This is not playing out the way I thought it was going to at all."
Evelyne Crowe:
Exactly.
Daniella Drake:
And you learn too, she accuses him of not trying to support his family or whatever, and at the very end, you learn that he did try. He was trying to pay for his little cousin's college, and his mom was like, "No, fuck off. I don't want anything from you."
Evelyne Crowe:
The more you learn about his family-
Daniella Drake:
Because she hates him, apparently. Where'd that come from?
Evelyne Crowe:
He joined the Army.
Daniella Drake:
I don't know! Because it's part of this overarching conspiracy, right? And she's fully invested. And you don't find that out until the end, obviously, and the rest of the series deals with it. But you're just like, "What the fuck? Why? Who are you? Why do you care?" Very strange.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah, I don't get it.
Daniella Drake:
I don't get it. But I really liked Mad... I almost said it again, oh my God!
Evelyne Crowe:
I think you really did like Madmartigan.
Daniella Drake:
I really liked Madmartigan. That is one of my favorite movies, I'm not going to lie. Willow is-
Evelyne Crowe:
It's a fabulous movie. And we should just talk about it one day.
Daniella Drake:
We should. We should. Why not? It's a book.
Evelyne Crowe:
It is!
Daniella Drake:
It is!
Evelyne Crowe:
I read it. All right. So, is this book romantasy?
Daniella Drake:
I would say this book is urban fantasy with romance.
Evelyne Crowe:
They don't get together.
Daniella Drake:
No.
Evelyne Crowe:
There is heat and there's lust, but there isn't a lot of... They do not get together.
Daniella Drake:
No. And even in the subsequent books, I think it becomes more romantasy as the series progresses, but in this book specifically, if you're looking for romance, you're going to have to wait, because it doesn't happen in this book.
Evelyne Crowe:
No. And I think it's not until book three.
Daniella Drake:
I thought that it was-
Evelyne Crowe:
Maybe book two.
Daniella Drake:
I feel like it's halfway through book two.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah, book two, they finally get together, and I think book three is the culmination-
Daniella Drake:
I think so too.
Evelyne Crowe:
... of the happy ever after.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that's how it plays out.
Evelyne Crowe:
But it takes a while-
Daniella Drake:
Yes, it does.
Evelyne Crowe:
... for that to happen. Which is fine. As long as there is one, then it counts as a romance. So, I think it's a three book arc, for sure. And with this book, no.
Daniella Drake:
No.
Evelyne Crowe:
This book alone is not.
Daniella Drake:
But it's still, I would say because, and I know that I've said this before, but because fantasy, the first book is always devoted to world-building, and they do such a good job with the world-building in this book, that I think that by the time you get to the end, you're like, "Okay, I'm ready now to be in it, and I understand what's happening, I understand who the players are. Now we can move on to the romance, because I know everything that's going on." Because a lot of the time when you have these fantasy books, you need that understanding before you can really get fully invested, I think. So, yeah, I'm trying to think of any other urban fantasy series that really just jumps right into romance in the first book, and I'm not sure I can think of one.
Evelyne Crowe:
Urban fantasy, no.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, I'm saying urban fantasy specifically, because I know that romantasy in epic fantasy and the fantasy genre is a little bit different than urban fantasy specifically.
Evelyne Crowe:
So, specifically romantasy itself, you have paranormal fantasy, which is like boom.
Daniella Drake:
Yes, yes.
Evelyne Crowe:
Urban fantasy takes a while. Fantasy, epic fantasy can take a while.
Daniella Drake:
Takes even longer.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah. I think just the paranormal fantasy is the only one that really just jumps into it.
Daniella Drake:
I think so too. I'm thinking-
Evelyne Crowe:
Omegaverse jumps into it.
Daniella Drake:
I'm thinking Nalini Singh, that kind of thing, where you know exactly what you're getting. You're jumping into it and it's about the... But this is the thing, too, is I don't think that they necessarily started this as a romance series at first, because this book doesn't feel like that.
Evelyne Crowe:
I think this book, coming after Magic Bites, and even, I think it's concurrent with the Sweep series, which they did a lot of with their newsletter, falls right in with the surge of popularity of romantasy.
Daniella Drake:
I think so too.
Evelyne Crowe:
And they were like, "Hmm, we got to write to market, and people are really wanting more romance in their fantasy." Which isn't bad!
Daniella Drake:
No, that's not to say-
Evelyne Crowe:
And they're good writers.
Daniella Drake:
... that they don't do a good job, because they absolutely do.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yes.
Daniella Drake:
I feel like this book in particular does not have that same vibe.
Evelyne Crowe:
Right. No, and that's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying that they started a series that feels very much like Magic Bites part two with different characters, and then kind of turned the corner in a good way. This is not a bad thing. I really like this series, because it is different from Magic Bites.
Daniella Drake:
No, I absolutely agree. I thought it was a great series. I've read the whole thing.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah. And I do like that there are more characters to choose from, and that it doesn't just follow the same one throughout.
Daniella Drake:
No, I absolutely agree. I love that. I think that's really smart, yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah, because it gives a different point of view, you don't have the same one the entire time, and you find out all the powers.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, you do.
Evelyne Crowe:
Which is awesome.
Daniella Drake:
It's so good.
Evelyne Crowe:
It's so good. Yeah.
Daniella Drake:
No, I definitely agree. I think that when it started, when this series started, that it was not necessarily intended to go the direction it went, but I'm not upset about where it went. I think they did a great job. I love this series. I've recommended it to multiple people. I think that it's really, really fun.
Evelyne Crowe:
Yeah, I agree.
Daniella Drake:
And part of that is just because their world-building is so good. It's fascinating to me that they've come up with the rankings of the magical people, they've got the different types of magic, you've got the elementals, you've got the mental magic, like telepathy and-
Evelyne Crowe:
God, there's so many.
Daniella Drake:
So many. And then you've got the arcane, because nobody knows, even the people that have it don't really understand it, right?
Evelyne Crowe:
There's so many.
Daniella Drake:
So many.
Evelyne Crowe:
I actually went and looked, like there's a wiki, and I looked at all the different kinds, and I'm just like, "Okay, there's too many to even list on my notes. I don't even want to do that." There's so-
Daniella Drake:
Exactly.
Evelyne Crowe:
... many.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
And so they definitely did a lot of thinking and put a lot of thought into this. Now, contrary to popular belief, neither one of them were intelligence officers. If you ask people, they will always say, "Oh, they were in the CIA." Look, CIA officers are not going to go around telling people they were CIA officers.
Daniella Drake:
No. If you were in a bar and some guy is telling you that he's a CIA operative, no, he's not.
Evelyne Crowe:
No, he's not. I'm sorry.
Daniella Drake:
I'm sorry.
Evelyne Crowe:
There's a whole meme about... It's not a thing.
Daniella Drake:
It's not a thing.
Evelyne Crowe:
Don't believe somebody if they come up to you and be like, "Oh, I'm in the CIA." No, he's not, sweetie.
Daniella Drake:
No, he's not.
Evelyne Crowe:
Don't go home with him.
Daniella Drake:
No! He is a liar.
Evelyne Crowe:
So, yeah, no, they didn't. But one of them was in the Army, so they at least have knowledge of guns and how to fight, and they've been trained. So, they have that.
Daniella Drake:
And I do feel that that comes across. You read it and you're like, "Wow, they actually do know what they're talking about."
Evelyne Crowe:
For sure.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
For sure.
Daniella Drake:
Because I don't know anything about guns, really. Despite our grandfather's best efforts, I know nothing.
Evelyne Crowe:
No. And I've never shot one. And I'm still like-
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, he took us to the gun range, and I don't know.
Evelyne Crowe:
You point something.
Daniella Drake:
Yep. And it goes boom. It's loud.
Evelyne Crowe:
It's loud. I don't want to do it again, thank you.
Daniella Drake:
Exactly, that is about what I remember as well. So, yeah. But because Nevada's mom is a sharpshooter, she can shoot very well, even though she's never really had to. So, it's impressive, her aim, and Mad Rogan is like, "Damn!" I did like the way that she handled, or they handled, the overarching conspiracy of it all, because it feels very much like Adam Pierce is the problem.
Evelyne Crowe:
For real.
Daniella Drake:
And then suddenly you start going, "Wait, he's way too impulsive, he's not going to be thinking things through." He just wants to burn shit, that's his whole identity. And then he's stealing stuff? And why? What is he doing? And it's not until the very end that you start to go, "Oh, shit, this is going to be a problem." There are way more people involved than we thought.
Evelyne Crowe:
You don't even realize that there's another problem until the last quarter of the book.
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, it's like the very end. Yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
And you start going, "Wait."
Daniella Drake:
Yeah. They do kind of sow the seeds. They do start to say, "Adam's not smart enough for this. Adam doesn't have the patience for this. Someone's controlling Adam." They do plant the seeds, but it's not until the end.
Evelyne Crowe:
But at the same time, you're like, "Okay, but-"
Daniella Drake:
Right. Yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
"... he could."
Daniella Drake:
And it's not until the end that you start to feel that it is much bigger than even they thought, right? Yeah. Which was great, because it made me want to read the whole series.
Evelyne Crowe:
Oh God, I devoured the series.
Daniella Drake:
Yes, I read it so fast. I thought it was so good.
Evelyne Crowe:
And then the last book wasn't out yet, and I'm like, "Motherfucker."
Daniella Drake:
I think I read the series right as the last book was coming out, so I scored.
Evelyne Crowe:
I had to wait a month and a half, and I'm like, "Why?"
Daniella Drake:
Yeah, I really enjoyed this book, this whole series. Ilona Andrews is one of my favorite authors. If I see that there's a new series, I'm going to read it.
Evelyne Crowe:
Insta-buy.
Daniella Drake:
Yep. Yep. 100%.
Evelyne Crowe:
Insta-buy.
Daniella Drake:
Love it. Love it. Her Magic Bite series got me started on Ilona Andrews, and I've never looked back. So, I think I've hit the end of my notes.
Evelyne Crowe:
I have as well. So, I think we need to talk about what we are reading next. Holy crap, this drink.
Daniella Drake:
So, next time we're going to do something a little bit different, because it's our one-year anniversary.
Evelyne Crowe:
We're going a little crazy, you guys!
Daniella Drake:
We're going to read a couple of novellas. The first being Her Pastry Shifters by Mia Harlan.
Evelyne Crowe:
We're going to see some interesting English usage, and it's actually one of my favorite phrases that has been created in the English language, and I've used it just ironically since then.
Daniella Drake:
And then we're also going to talk about Unhinged by Vera Valentine, which... Yeah.
Evelyne Crowe:
It's one of my favorites, actually. She's one of my favorite authors. She's really fun. I like her.
Daniella Drake:
It is very fun. And I will have a lot of puns. So-
Evelyne Crowe:
So many.
Daniella Drake:
... I'm looking forward to that.
Evelyne Crowe:
So many puns.
Daniella Drake:
So, join us for our one-year anniversary next time.
Evelyne Crowe:
Woo-hoo!
Daniella Drake:
Can't wait to see you. I am Daniella Drake.
Announcer:
Thank you for joining us for this episode of Intoxicated Literature. Drink well, friends.
Evelyne Crowe:
And I'm Evelyne Crowe.
