Kitty Rocks The House (Kitty Norville #11) Review

Kitty Rock The House (Kitty Noville #11)

Carrie Vaughn

Publisher: Tor Books

On the heels of Kitty's return from London, a new werewolf shows up in Denver, one who threatens to split the pack by challenging Kitty's authority at every turn. The timing could not be worse; Kitty needs all the allies she can muster to go against the ancient vampire, Roman, if she's to have any hope of defeating his Long Game. But there's more to this intruder than there seems, and Kitty must uncover the truth, fast. Meanwhile, Cormac pursues an unknown entity wreaking havoc across Denver; and a vampire from the Order of St. Lazaurus tempts Rick with the means to transform his life forever

The Kitty series is much bigger than I thought it was – eleven book already! I have to admit the series has had its up and downs – some books are better than others but what keeps me interested is Kitty herself. She’s not your typical alpha heroine – ready to kick butt with leather outfits and a dozen men at her beck and call. Kitty prefers to avoid fights and talk her way out of them - if possible, she’s happily married and would rather be in comfy jeans and a tank top. Yet, she is alpha material and is balancing her responsibilities as a sister and daughter, wife, alpha of the local werewolf pack, her secret war against Roman and the Long Game as well as her job as DJ of The Midnight Hour. In this book those responsibilities start getting too much for Kitty...

This is very much a home-ly story with Kitty going about her routine and people disrupting her life. As a result there are many separate parts to the story with new werewolf joining Kitty’s pack, the Catholic Vampire visiting Rick and the loss of her grandmother all making life tough for Kitty and Ben – not to mention Cormac teaming up with Detective Hardin.

The writing is as easy to slip into as fresh cotton sheets and it’s always nice to catch up with one of my favourite werewolves. The story is a little piece-meal and isn’t one of the strongest entries in this series as Kitty mostly keeps secrets and runs around reacting rather than being proactive. But it is a quick read and perfect for a summer commute to work.

Recommended for fans of Nancy Holzner and Kayalna Price. 7.5 out of 10

Kitty Steals The Show Review

Kitty Steal The Show (Kitty Norville #10)

-       Carrie Vaughn

Publisher: UK - Gollancz

Kitty has been tapped as the keynote speaker for the First International Conference on Paranatural Studies, taking place in London. The conference brings together scientists, activists, protestors, and supernatural beings from all over the world—and Kitty, Ben, and Cormac are right in the middle of it. Master vampires from dozens of cities have also gathered in London for a conference of their own. With the help of the Master of London, Kitty gets more of a glimpse into the Long Game—a power struggle among vampires that has been going on for centuries—than she ever has before. In her search for answers, Kitty has the help of some old allies, and meets some new ones, such as Caleb, the alpha werewolf of the British Isles. The conference has also attracted some old enemies, who’ve set their sights on her and her friends. All the world’s a stage, and Kitty’s just stepped into the spotlight...

Kitty comes to London! I was very excited when I heard that one of my favourite werewolves was going to cross the pond and visit my home town. Even better she was bringing Cormac and Ben with her as she headed for an international conference on all thing supernatural. Unfortunately as well as some old and new friends, Kitty also runs into some enemies...

Kitty is a loud-mouth talker, not a fighter. She has changed so much since the start of this series but her first instinct is to try and talk her way out of trouble rather than fight, but that doesn’t mean she won’t get dirty on occasion. It’s quite refreshing having a heroine who isn’t a bad-ass fighter. While Kitty may have werewolf reflexes and rapid healing she doesn’t have the skill or the training to compete with fighters, but she still manages to punch above her weight when it comes to facing the bad guys and leading the good guys. I loved seeing her talking to the European werewolves and Vampires – putting them in their place and offering them choices. And for once she gets some answers...

I loved visiting different parts of London with characters I’ve known for so long – especially the non-touristy areas. The part of London where the conference is held is close to where my industry conference is each year so I felt like I could picture it perfectly – and most of the conferences do happen in similar style to what is described here. A couple of niggles – Ben doesn’t really do much apart from follow Kitty around and act like a safety blanket her Kitty and in the wider scheme the Roman plot doesn’t move forward in any major way but Kitty and co do manage to set the cat among the pigeons and discover some new allies. However, this is never less than entertaining and manages to set up some interesting situations for future instalments. A fun and engaging read.

Recommended for fans of Charlaine Harris and Jess Haines. 7.5 out of 10

 

**PS - It's the last day to enter my UF Giveaway - Check It out here!**

Guest Review: Kitty Raises Hell

Kitty Raises Hell (Kitty Norville 6)
- Carrie Vaughn

Publisher: UK - Gollancz

Sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas.
Kitty and Ben flee The City That Never Sleeps, thinking they were finished with the dangers there, but the sadistic cult of lycanthropes and their vampire priestess have laid a curse on Kitty in revenge for her disrupting their rituals. Starting at the next full moon, danger and destruction the form of fire strikes Kitty and the pack of werewolves she's sworn to protect. She enlists the help of a group of TV paranormal investigators - one of whom has real psychic abilities - to help her get to the bottom of the curse that's been laid on her. Rick, the Master vampire of Denver, believes a deeper plot lies behind the curse, and he and Kitty argue about whether or not to accept the help of a professional demon hunter - and vampire - named Roman, who arrives a little too conveniently in the nick of time. Unable to rely on Rick, and unwilling to accept Roman's offer of help for a price, Kitty and her band of allies, including Vegas magician Odysseus Grant and Kitty's own radio audience, mount a trap for the supernatural being behind the curse, a destructive force summoned by the vengeful cult, a supernatural being that none of them ever thought to face.

So I’m back again, with another Mel-borrowed-book review, this time for the sixth installment in Carrie Vaughn’s werewolf-featuring UF ‘Kitty’ series – Kitty Raises Hell. These books star the eponymous Kitty, a werewolf pack-leader and DJ, who has fought her way through the series thus far from underdog to alpha, often using wit and guile over teeth and claws. She’s a feisty, often smart-mouthed heroine, who describes the sensations attributed to life as a werewolf better than any I’ve read.

Kitty Raises Hell follows straight on from the Vegas-based happenings in Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand, with our heroine and her pack truly beginning to experience the repercusions of angering a vampire priestess and her lycanthrope underlings. An invisible, but deadly force, preceeded by the smell of fire and brimstone, deals out death and destruction in its journey to its ultimate prize – Kitty herself. Throw in tv-show paranormal investigators, ghosts and a human stalker, and it’s another cover-to-cover read from Vaughn.

What I love most about these books, other than the wonderful insight into life as a werewolf, is the way that Kitty’s world has expanded. We, like Kitty, started off knowing only of werewolves and humans, but through what she has experienced first-hand, heard about during her radio show, and pondered in her ever-questioning mind, the world has expanded slowly, intriguingly, and wonderfully.

I’d recommend this series to all fantasy readers, but particularly those who enjoy Karen Macinerney's Urban Werewolf, 8 out of 10.

Same Book/Different Cover: Kitty and the Midnight Hour

This is an occasional feature where I compare different covers of the same book...what I'm particularly interested in are re-issued covers for the same book and recently foreign editions.
This time around I'm looking at the different covers for another of my favourite UF series - Kitty and The Midnight Hour. I love this series as despite being a werewolf and a DJ, Kitty is just so normal - no unique powers, no special destiny - just a regular werewolf. :-)


US Cover



UK Cover







  




German Cover

 

French Cover



Spanish Cover











US Cover: This is the cover I own. I love the wolf and the moon, but I'm not so keen on Kitty model - she looks very kick-ass, but as anyone who has read the book knows, Kitty isn't really very feisty in this book! That comes later. :-) 

UK Cover: The model here captures how I think Kitty looks much better - sort of vulnerable, but I don't really like the colour scheme - too orangey!

German Cover: This cover is ok, but I find a little boring. It makes it look a little YA to me - and reminds me of some old Christopher Pike covers!
French Cover: I hate this cover! The blood moon and girl/werewolf face make it look a little tacky. To be honest I would probably never pick up a book with a cover like this!

Spanish Cover: I like the patterns around the edge of the of the cover and the wolf howling at the moon in the background. Even the guy in the background looks good to me, but I'm not sure again about the model for Kitty...

My Verdict - The Spanish cover wins overall as it's the prettiest and most striking of the covers - but can I have the UK model for Kitty on it...? :-)

What do you think the best cover is?





Kitty's Big Trouble Review

Kitty’s Big Trouble

-       Carrie Vaughn

Publisher: UK – Gollancz

Kitty Norville is back and in more trouble than ever.  Her recent run-in with werewolves traumatized by the horrors of war has made her start wondering how long the US government might have been covertly using werewolves in combat. Have any famous names in our own history might have actually been supernatural?  She's got suspicions about William Tecumseh Sherman.Then an interview with the right vampire puts her on the trail of Wyatt Earp, vampire hunter. But her investigations lead her to a clue about enigmatic vampire Roman and the mysterious Long Game played by vampires through the millennia.  That, plus a call for help from a powerful vampire ally in San Francisco, suddenly puts Kitty and her friends on the supernatural chessboard, pieces in dangerously active play.  And Kitty Norville is never content to be a pawn. . .

This book could easily be called Kitty Goes To San Francisco as she spends most of the time in Chinatown trying to beat Roman to a powerful magical artefact. As usual I enjoyed my time with Kitty. Over the course of the series so far, she’s grown in strength – yet remains practical about what she and can’t do. She – and her inner wolf have no qualms about running away when the enemy is more powerful. She remains a regular werewolf – not an all powerful, world saviour. It is this element of Kitty that I love – especially having read so many Urban Fantasy series where our heroine is unique/the only one of her type. (Not that this is bad but it makes a nice change!)

This was the first time in many books where we had Ben and Cormac with Kitty at the same time – and it was the first time I understood Kitty’s choice of man. It seemed much more natural than before – and while I’m sure there will be many who would like Kitty to change her mind, I don’t see that happening. Not least because of the changes that have occurred to each man since the series beginning – I doubt any other choice is possible now! However, I did enjoy the banter between them and their little ‘pack of three’ – although I think it should be a pack of four now!

However, something was missing for me with this instalment. I felt like Kitty didn’t really do much. She got lost in tunnels and ran away. She didn’t really drive the story much, but simply reacted. As such, this isn’t the best in the series, but still a really enjoyable instalment in one of the most easily readable Urban Fantasy series.

Recommended for fans of Patricia Briggs and Nicole Peeler. 7 out 10.

Guest Review: Kitty Takes A Holiday (Kitty Norville 3)

Kitty Takes A Holiday (Kitty Norville 3)

- Carrie Vaughn

Publisher: Gollancz

Kitty Norville's established herself as a DJ, with her midnight talk show Kitty's Midnight Hour, been forced into revealing herself to the nation as a werewolf and testified to the Senate about the supernatural denizens of the USA, but now it's time to lay low in a remote Colorado cabin and work on her memoirs. Her plans get derailed when sexy werewolf hunter Cormac Bennett shows up with her lawyer, Ben O'Farrell, who's been bitten and is about to turn into a werewolf himself. But Kitty's hideaway is neither as peaceful nor as secret as she hopes, for barbed-wire crosses start showing up all over the place, and, worse, gruesome animal sacrifices are left at her door. Someone wants them gone, and it's up to Kitty and Cormac to find out who's stalking them - before someone gets really hurt . . .

It's great having Mel as a good friend - not only do I get to write book reviews part time, I also get to raid her extensive library whenever my TBR pile gets too small!  It's because of her that I'm reading the Kitty series by Carrie Vaughn, and thoroughly recommend you do too.

Kitty is a werewolf and a DJ with her own paranormal-based show in which she gets to explore the supernatural world in which she lives, help other supernaturals with their issues, and sometimes even convert the normal person into a believer.  She has also, over the course of the three books I've read so far, got herself into a heap of trouble!

Kitty Takes a Holiday (I love the titles of these books, so simplistic, like kiddy books, but with definitely adult content!) concerns the premise that Kitty has finally had enough of being attacked, insulted and questioned and has retreated to a cabin in the wilds to lick her wounds and write a novel.  However, as with all Kitty books, solitude and quiet never hang around for long...

This story has some fascinating developments for Kitty, and a very intriguing love triangle (it's not very often I truly can't decide who I am rooting for!).  The reaction of ordinary people to Kitty never ceases to amaze or anger me too, although it also makes me question how I would respond if the creatures from my favourite books came knocking at my door.  At times the pace of the book slows a little too much for my comfort, and there are moments I could cheerfully shake some of the characters for their stupidity or stubbornness, but overall this is an engaging, thoroughly readable, intriguing book that definitely has me determined to steal book 4 from Mel's groaning shelves! 

For those who love Karen Macinerney's Urban Werewolf books, 8 out of 10.

Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand

Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand
- Carrie Vaughn

Publisher: US – Grand Central Publishing

Why I picked it up: I’ve been following Kitty’s adventures over the last year and this the latest one I hadn’t read yet

Back Blurb: Kitty Norville, the country's only celebrity werewolf, thinks she's finally got her life sorted. Her radio show is as popular as ever, and she and her cute lawyer boyfriend are the alpha pair of Denver's werewolf pack. Now she and Ben plan to tie the knot human-style - by eloping to Vegas. And just to make things more fun, she's going to do her midnight radio show live from Vegas - and on television. In between getting wed and going live on TV, she's also planning on sipping fru-fru drinks by the pool while she works on her tan. So what can possibly go wrong? Well, their hotel is the venue for a werewolf-hating bounty hunter convention. Elsewhere on the Strip, an old-school magician might just be wielding the real thing. The vampire community is harbouring a dark secret . . . and the irresistibly sexy star of a deeply suspicious animal act is determined to seduce Kitty. Sin City has never been so wild, and Kitty has never had to fight harder - to save not only her wedding, but her very life.

What I thought: What I’ve always liked about the Kitty books is just how ordinary Kitty is. In comparison to a number of other heroines in the Urban Fantasy genre she has no big over-arching storyline. She has no mysterious past to repent off and no secret destiny to prepare. She’s not the only one who can save the world – again and again and again. She’s just happens to be a werewolf and a radio host. Kitty is breathe of fresh air in the crowded fantasy genre and Carrie Vaughn makes it seem how ordinary it can be to be a werewolf. That ordinariness both works for and against the series at times. In Dead Man’s Hand – Kitty and Ben run off to Las Vegas to get married and end up tangled with magicians, lycanthrope stage shows and rigged poker matches. Considering the number of extra-ordinary things they find in Vegas, it’s amazing how ordinary the book is. Not much happens and there is little to connect the threads unless you include Kitty herself. However, some interesting things are brought up and it ends on a bit of cliff hanger. And as ever the most ordinary Kitty book is still miles better than the best book of some other authors.

Recommended for: Kitty & Kelley Armstrong fans. Fans of Patricia Brigg would also enjoy it.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Kitty and the Silver Bullet Review

Kitty and the Silver Bullet
- Carrie Vaughn

Publisher: UK - Gallancz

Why I picked it up: I’ve been following the Kitty series for a while and always look forward to the next one.

Back Blurb: Kitty's radio show, Kitty's Midnight Hour, is as popular as ever, and now she has a boyfriend who actually seems to understand her. Can she finally settle down to a normal life? Not if this is just the calm before the storm. When her mother falls ill, Kitty rushes back to Denver -- and right back to the abusive pack of werewolves she escaped a year ago. To make matters worse, a war is brewing in the vampire community as Denver's two oldest vampires vie for the city, threatening the whole supernatural community. Though she wants to stay neutral, Kitty is once again drawn into a world of politics and violence. To protect her family, her lover, and herself, she'll have to choose sides . . . and maybe become what she hates most about her kind: a killer.

What I thought: I loved it! The last Kitty book (Kitty Takes a Holiday), while adding to the main character’s growth and responsibilities seemed to end without a denouement – it just ended. This book is far richer as Kitty returns home to Denver and confronts the Alphas who killed her best friend in the first book and exiled her from Denver. It really showed how much Kitty has grown since the start of the series and there were some great revelations regarding vampires, werewolf pack dynamics and interestingly Kitty’s relationship with her human family. This had a lot of action in as well as enough intelligent plot to make you want more and I galloped through the book in a couple of days. The only thing missing was a focus on Kitty’s relationship with Ben, her mate but this was simmering in the background and I jumped for joy towards the end as it was resolved.

Recommended for: Werewolf fans everywhere

Rating: 9 out of 10