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

Unclean Spirits Review

Unclean Spirits (The Black Sun’s Daughter 1)

-          M.L.N. Hanover

Publisher: UK –Orbit

Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Jayné Heller thinks of herself as a realist, until she discovers reality isn't quite what she thought it was. When her uncle Eric is murdered, Jayné travels to Denver to settle his estate, only to learn that it's all hers -- and vaster than she ever imagined. And along with properties across the world and an inexhaustible fortune, Eric left her a legacy of a different kind: his unfinished business with a cabal of wizards known as the Invisible College. Led by the ruthless Randolph Coin, the Invisible College harnesses demon spirits for their own ends of power and domination. Jayné finds it difficult to believe magic and demons can even exist, let alone be responsible for the death of her uncle. But Coin sees Eric's heir as a threat to be eliminated by any means -- magical or mundane -- so Jayné had better start believing in something to save her own life.
Aided in her mission by a group of unlikely companions -- Aubrey, Eric's devastatingly attractive assistant; Ex, a former Jesuit with a lethal agenda; Midian, a two-hundred-year-old man who claims to be under a curse from Randolph Coin himself; and Chogyi Jake, a self-styled Buddhist with mystical abilities -- Jayné finds that her new reality is not only unexpected, but often unexplainable. And if she hopes to survive, she'll have to learn the new rules fast -- or break them completely.

Unclean Spirits is the first in a new (to the UK) Urban Fantasy series which has a different take on the supernatural world. All vampires, werewolves and other creatures are caused by ‘riders’, demon spirits from another dimension who possess people. This was a nice twist on the typical UF set up. Jayné, our young heroine is a naive and slightly lost young woman who suddenly finds out that she has inherited her Uncle Eric estate – several million pounds, a number of properties around the world and a fight against evil.

Jayné is an easy character to like – she is young and struggles at first to accept these supernatural happenings and certainly in the first half of the book she tags along with others, leaving them to make the decisions. However, she soon starts to come into her own, taking charge and organising others. She isn’t afraid to question both others and herself and struggles with the blinkered upbringing.  She lacks the snark that so many lead characters have and this makes for a refreshing and less defensive character. In addition, Jayné is surrounded by a large cast of colourful characters who spend a lot of time explaining the nature of the threat and helping her. I enjoyed the way they interact together as a proto-family, although Jayné still feels like she has yet to find herself – but as she is only in her early twenties that’s understandable!

There is a lot of potential with this series – a likeable heroine who isn’t afraid to make the first move, a solid cast of support characters, an intriguing mythology, exciting fight scenes and hints of ongoing mysteries. There are a lot of unanswered questions, not least of which is why this series is called The Black Sun’s Daughter! Jayné’s fighting skills, what the riders really want and who Jayne’s uncle really was, are hopefully areas that will be explained more in future books – all of which I am looking to picking up soon!  

Recommended for fans of Jennifer Estep and Kelley Armstrong. 7.5 out of 10.

Early Review: Enchanted Again

Enchanted Again (Mystic Circle 2)

-          Robin D Owens

Publisher: Luna – Published on 27^th December 2011

E-Arc courtesy of netgalley and Luna

Magic has a price—and for Amber Sarga it's days and years off her life. Each curse she breaks ages her—and the bigger the curse the bigger the cost, and not only to her. That's why she hides away and has vowed not to get involved again… That's why she hates looking in a mirror… And then an ill-fated stranger arrives. Rafe Davail doesn't believe in curses—not even knowing that in his family every first son dies young. Amber offers guidance but she won't break the curse. Still, as she grows closer to Rafe and discovers the secrets of their pasts, she wonders if for this time, this man, she should risk it all...

Amber is a curse-breaker, but for every curse she breaks she and those she loves the most, age: Sometimes a few months – sometimes years.  This was nice quirk of using magic meaning there was consequence for Amber – even if she was doing good by breaking curses.  The male lead, Rafe wasn’t one I could warm too – he seemed too rich, too arrogant and when he accepted magic was real, he just moved into Amber’s house without much discussion or thought! If a character has enough charm then these faults can be overlooked but as far as I could see Rafe was fairly charmless and condescending towards Amber, calling her squishy all the time!

I didn’t realise until I was over half way through that this is actually the second of a series! (Unlike some I try to read series in order... J)  However, as the characters are just getting to grips with magic and their own abilities there wasn’t really a need to have read the first book so I was able to start reading and pick up what was happening at the same time as the characters. However, as the story progressed I got continually frustrated to the frequent references to a character, Jenni – who was off-stage that I never met. Presumably she was having the adventure the first book detailed, but as I didn’t know her and never met her in the book I was just annoyed but how often she was ‘missed’ by the characters I did know!

I liked the idea of magic in this world though – the major and minor light races and the melding of magic with technology was intriguing. I loved Amber and how she held onto her humanity and grew as she learnt more about her past. The magical characters introduced were great – I loved the Brownies and the fire spirits who were all addicted to chocolate! I have to admit that I would often be craving some myself while reading. These characters had some great warmth and banter to the story and I always wanted to see more of the Brownies. However, I struggled to truly relax into the story. Perhaps it was me, but I was always aware I was reading rather than being swept up by the story. However, I am interested enough to want to know more about the world and would consider reading more in this world. And I love the cover – it’s so pretty and different from most of the paranormal romance out there at the moment!

Recommended for fans of Majorie Liu and Yasmine Galenorn. 6 out of 10.