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Kate Daniels

by Ilona Andrews

The Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews has 19 known books (19 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Small Magics (2015). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Magic Claims.

Books
19 known books (13 novels + 5 novellas + 1 collection)
Published
19
First published
2007
Status
ongoing
Shelved under
Fantasy
Last checked

Start here: Small Magics (2015) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of Small Magics

Small Magics (2015)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Small Magics

    Collection

    Small Magics, published in 2015, is a short-story collection best read early, close to book one -- it's numbered 0.5 in the Kate Daniels series and sets up the post-apocalyptic Atlanta where waves of magic and technology take turns ruling the city, well before the main ten-novel saga's mythology-driven endgame kicks in.

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  2. Magic Bites

    Novel

    Magic Bites, published in 2007 at 260 pages, opens the Kate Daniels series and introduces its mercenary heroine navigating a post-apocalyptic Atlanta where magic waves knock out cars and guns and wake up gods, vampires and shapeshifters. Written by the husband-and-wife team publishing as Ilona Andrews, it sets up Kate's hidden heritage and her entanglement with the Beast Lord Curran's Pack.

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  3. Magic Burns

    Novel

    Magic Burns reached shelves in April 2008, taking its place in the Kate Daniels series after Magic Bites. It continues Kate's relentless case-of-the-book plotting -- another contract that goes sideways -- while pulling her deeper into Atlanta's supernatural power structures, from Curran's shapeshifter Pack to the necromancers of the Order.

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  4. Magic Strikes

    Novel

    Magic Strikes, published in 2009, continues the sequence between Magic Burns and Magic Bleeds. As in the rest of the series, Kate's mercenary work keeps colliding with the agendas of the Pack, the Order, and the vampire-controlling cabal called the People, all of whom want something from a woman who keeps proving more dangerous than she looks.

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  5. Magic Bleeds

    Novel

    Magic Bleeds, published in 2010 at 384 pages, picks up after Magic Strikes in the Kate Daniels series. It carries forward both the case-of-the-book plotting the series is known for and the slow-burn romance between Kate and Curran, one of the two threads Ilona Andrews builds toward the saga's real ending.

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  6. Magic Mourns

    Novella

    Magic Mourns, a novella positioned at 4.5 in the Kate Daniels series, was released in 2010. Like the series' other novellas, it mostly follows a side character rather than Kate herself, enriching Atlanta's magic-and-tech-wave world without being required to follow the main ten-novel plot.

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  7. Magic Dreams

    Novella

    Magic Dreams, published in 2011, is one of the Kate Daniels world novellas, slotting in chronologically between the numbered main novels. Like the others in the sequence, it turns the spotlight on a side character rather than continuing Kate's own arc directly.

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  8. Magic Slays

    Novel

    Magic Slays, published in 2011, is the fifth main-sequence Kate Daniels novel. Four books in, it continues the series' tight worldbuilding logic -- the magic/tech wave mechanic has real consequences every book -- while advancing the mythology-driven endgame about Kate's father that pays off across all ten main novels.

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  9. Gunmetal Magic

    Novel

    Gunmetal Magic, published in 2012 at 443 pages, continues the sequence between Magic Slays and Magic Gifts. It's one of the longer world novellas in the series, following a side character from Kate's supporting cast rather than Kate herself, enriching the Atlanta setting without breaking the main plot.

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  10. Magic Gifts

    Novella

    Magic Gifts, published in 2012 at 179 pages, picks up after Gunmetal Magic in the Kate Daniels series. Like the series' other novellas, it slots in chronologically between the numbered main novels and mostly follows side characters rather than Kate.

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  11. Magic Rises

    Novel

    Magic Rises, published in 2013 at 370 pages, sits between Magic Gifts and Magic Breaks in the Kate Daniels series. It continues the sharply funny first-person voice and the slow-burn Kate-and-Curran romance that Ilona Andrews builds toward the saga's real ending across the ten main novels.

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  12. Magic Breaks

    Novel

    Magic Breaks, published in 2014, is the seventh main-sequence novel in the Kate Daniels series. It carries forward the series' relentless case-of-the-book plotting alongside the mythology-driven endgame about Kate's hidden heritage that runs through the whole saga.

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  13. Magic Steals

    Novella

    Magic Steals reached shelves in November 2014, taking its place in the Kate Daniels series after Magic Breaks. Like the series' other novellas, it mostly follows a side character rather than Kate, enriching Atlanta's magic/tech-wave world between the numbered main novels.

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  14. Magic Shifts

    Novel

    Magic Shifts, published in 2015, continues the sequence toward Magic Stars. Eight books into the ten-novel main saga, it keeps advancing the endgame about Kate's father while Kate's own power structure entanglements -- with Curran's Pack, the Order, and the vampire-controlling People -- keep deepening.

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  15. Magic Stars

    Novella

    Magic Stars, published in 2015 at 83 pages, picks up after Magic Shifts. Like the rest of the series' world novellas, it mostly follows a side character -- Andrea, Curran's wolf, Derek, or Ascanio -- rather than Kate herself, and can be skipped without losing any of the main plot.

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  16. Magic Binds

    Novel

    Magic Binds, published in 2016 at 328 pages, sits between Magic Stars and Magic Triumphs -- the penultimate entry in the ten-novel main sequence. It continues building toward the mythology-driven endgame about Kate's father that Ilona Andrews pays off in the series finale.

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  17. Magic Triumphs

    Novel

    Magic Triumphs, published in 2018, closes out the ten-novel main Kate Daniels sequence, delivering the payoff to the mythology-driven endgame about Kate's father that had run through the whole saga. Ilona Andrews built the series as a complete, well-plotted story with a real ending rather than an endlessly extended series.

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  18. Magic Tides

    Novel

    Magic Tides, published in January 2023, is the first entry in Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years, the continuation Ilona Andrews wrote after Magic Triumphs wrapped up the main ten-novel saga. It picks up Kate and Curran's story years later in a new setting, intended to be read after the main sequence rather than before.

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  19. Magic Claims

    Novel

    Magic Claims, published in June 2023, continues Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years after Magic Tides. Like its predecessor, it follows Kate and Curran's story into a new setting years after the main ten-novel saga concluded with Magic Triumphs.

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About the Kate Daniels series

Magic and technology take turns ruling post-apocalyptic Atlanta -- waves of "magic" knock out cars and guns and wake up gods, vampires, and shapeshifters, then recede and let electricity work again, in an endless, destructive tug of war. Kate Daniels is a mercenary who takes on the jobs nobody else wants, hiding a dangerous, mysterious heritage she'd rather nobody notice. She gets pulled into the city's supernatural power structures anyway: the Beast Lord Curran and his shapeshifter Pack, the necromancers of the Order, and a vampire-controlling cabal called the People, all of whom have their own agendas for a woman who keeps proving more dangerous than she looks.

Written by the husband-and-wife team publishing as Ilona Andrews, the series pairs relentless case-of-the-book plotting -- Kate takes contracts, and things go sideways -- with a slow-burn, fan-favorite romance between Kate and Curran, and a mythology-driven endgame about Kate's father that pays off across all ten main novels. It's known for tight worldbuilding logic (the magic/tech wave mechanic has real consequences every book), a sharply funny first-person voice, and a supporting cast that gets just as fleshed out as the leads. Readers who want a complete, well-plotted saga with a real ending -- not an endlessly extended series -- and who like their urban fantasy heavy on competence-porn mercenary work and pack politics are the target audience.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Kate Daniels series?

The main series is 10 novels (Magic Bites through Magic Triumphs), plus six world novellas and the Small Magics story collection. The story continues in the two-book Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years spin-off (Magic Tides, Magic Claims), for 12 novel-length entries total.

What order should I read the Kate Daniels books in?

Publication order, starting with Magic Bites. It's one continuous saga, and the novellas (mostly following side characters) slot in chronologically between the main novels without needing to be read for the main plot to make sense.

Is the Kate Daniels series finished?

The main 10-book arc concluded with Magic Triumphs (2018) and has a definitive ending. The story continues in the Wilmington Years spin-off (2 books so far, 2023); Ilona Andrews haven't announced a further installment as of mid-2026.

Do I need to read the novellas like Gunmetal Magic and Magic Mourns?

No. They mostly follow secondary characters (Andrea in Gunmetal Magic, Derek in Magic Mourns) and add texture and side-plots, but the ten main novels tell Kate's complete story without them.

What is Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years?

A direct continuation of the main series, set several years after Magic Triumphs with Kate, Curran, and their son in a new coastal city. Read it after finishing the original 10 books.

Reading order last verified .