The second novel, Magic Burns, pretty much continued in the same fashion for me. Kate is somewhat coerced into taking a job from the Pack. Retrieve a set of maps that were stolen, maps that if the wrong hands could harm the Pack. However, nothing can ever go smoothly for Kate. While searching for the missing maps Kate comes upon a young girl looking for her mother. Kate relates to this young girl, Julie, as a person who has lost her own mother and is determined that the same will not happen to Julie. 
 When Kate finally catches up to the thief she learns that because of a magical flare about to hit the world, a God and Goddess are both battling to get through a portal and into their world. Neither of whom would be a good thing walking down the street. Kate does begin to grow as a character in Magic Burns, with the help of a few friendly relationships. The girl Julie for one, and surprising the thief who may not be such a bad guy and I found myself actually rooting for. Maybe it was because he annoyed Curran so much? LoL Curran and Kate have a bigger interaction in this novel when Curran's ex-lover asks Kate for help in convincing Curran to allow her to marry Kate's own ex-boyfriend. Talk about your awkward moments! Though again this second novel was a struggle for me, maybe because of the lack of a romantic involvement, I still found myself not being about to put it down. 
 A full series review can be found at: http://readingbetweenthewinesbookclub...