Review: Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn

My Rating: VG, B, H

Published: 2008
Publisher: Gollancz

Author’s Website: carrievaughn.com

Purchase @ Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com

Kitty’s radio show is as popular as ever and 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, war is brewing between the city’s two oldest vampires, 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 the very thing she hates: a killer.

Kitty and the Silver Bullet is the fourth instalment in the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. If you like action and romance then this is the book for you.

Kitty is just your average DJ that wants to make something of herself and just happens to be a werewolf. The last part makes life rather difficult, especially when she wants to return home to tend to her sick mother. The Denver pack banished her when they killed her best friend T.J a year ago but some things are worth fighting for.

There were so many things that I loved about this book that I couldn’t possibly mention them all but I will tell you a couple. I loved how Kitty and Ben are now so at ease with one another now that they have established a sort of routine within their own little pack. Kitty starts to question how much of the emotions that Ben and she feel for one another; whether it’s just the pack bond or whether it’s something deeper. I for one am very happy that this issue was brought up as it shows character development between the two, it’s just not a case of them being thrown together because they are pack and that’s that, they really look into themselves and talk with one another to establish exactly what their relationship is based on. Albeit, the conversation is slow in coming around but they get there in the end.

Another thing I loved about this book was the fact that Kitty isn’t going to take anything lying down. Sometimes I think she looks for the easy life, like leaving Denver and cruising around the country, avoiding the pack that banished her. But I am so happy that she came back and was trying to make a go of it.

Overall, I have really enjoyed this book and the series as a whole so far and I can’t wait to read more. I want to know what Kitty does next. I can’t really list the questions I would like answers to as they will give away what has happened in this book. I would recommend this book and the series to anyone that enjoys a good action novel with romance and a touch of smut thrown in.

Disclaimer: I do not own this book, I have borrowed it from my local library. I have not been paid to review this book and everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.

Review: Kitty takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn

My Rating: VG, P, B

Published: 2008
Publisher: Gollancz

Author's Website: carrievaughn.com

Purchase @ Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com

After being caught turning wolf on national television, Kitty retreats to a mountain cabin to recover, and to write her memoirs. But this is Kitty, so trouble is never far behind. Instead of Walden Pond, she gets Evil Dead.

It stats when someone leaves grotesque animal sacrifices on her front porch intended to curse her, then werewolf hunter Cormac shows up with an injured Ben O’Farrell, Kitty’s lawyer, slung over his cabin – can the situation get more tense? They’ll soon find out. When a wolf-like creature with glowing red eyes starts sniffing about the cabin, Kitty wonders if any of them will get out of the woods alive...

Kitty takes a Holiday is the third book in the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. This book was full of action and had a plot twist that I didn’t see coming.

Kitty has decided to take a holiday from the radio show ‘The Midnight Hour’ and from being the official spokesperson for the supernatural. She has holed herself in a nice cabin in the woods which suits her wolf’s needs and her human need for personal space from the outside world. But things don’t remain tranquil for very long. Soon someone starts targeting Kitty by leaving dead animals on her doorstep and curses her.

I was quite impressed with Kitty’s character in this book as she has to start caring for someone who has been infected by lyncanthropy. She isn’t a lone wolf anymore, she now has a pack member to look after. I certainly didn’t expect the story to end how it did but I am not itching to read the next book in the series to find out how Kitty sorts it all out. Lawyer, Ben, and supernatural assassins’, Cormac, history becomes known after they spend some time with Kitty.

I think the story was very well written and the information flowed relatively smoothly. The action scenes were full on and I sometimes wondered if the characters and our heroine would come out alive.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and have enjoyed the series so far. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and find out what Kitty gets up to next.

Disclaimer: I do not own this book, I borrowed it from my local library. I have not been paid to review this book, everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.

Review: Kitty Goes to Washington by Carrie Vaughn

My Rating: G, B, L

Published: 2006
Publisher: Fantast, Warner Books

Author's Website: carrievaughn.com

Purchase @ Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com

The country’s only celebrity werewolf, late-night radio host Kitty Norville. Prefers to be heard, not seen. But when she’s invited to testify at a Senate hearing on behalf of supernaturals, her face gets plastered on national TV. Kitty’s been in hot water before, but jumping into the D.C. underworld brings a new set of problems. And a new set of friends and enemies, including the vampire mistress of the city; an uber-hot Brazilian were-jaguar; and a paranoid, Bible-thumping senator who wants to expose Kitty as a monster. Kitty quickly learns in this city of dirty politicians and backstabbing pundits, everyone’s itching for a fight.

Kitty Goes to Washington is the second book in the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. This book is full of mystery, fun and death. What good book doesn’t’ have these elements?

Kitty is currently hosting her talk show in many locations as she left her pack, who also run her out of town, in Denver. This is the first time hat Kitty has been on her own since becoming a werewolf. The pack gave her the feeling of family, stability and made her feel safe. Now she is out in the big old bad world by herself. Trouble seems to follow Kitty wherever she goes, although this time she was subpoenaed into it. She has to go Washington D.C. to testify to a committee on the subject of paranatural biology.

During her stint in D.C. Kitty meets some interesting characters. First there is the scientist called Dr. Paul Flemming, the Mistress of the local vampires, Alette, a werejaguar named Luis who is also Kitty’s love interest of the week, a werewolf named Ahmed who owns a very special club called Crescent that has a very unique and restricted clientele and a psychic called Jeffrey Miles who can see people’s auras and speak to dead people.

Some mysteries unfurl in this book. We find out who Elijah Smith is. The scientist’s hidden agenda is unveiled. A vampire’s underhandedness is found out but he causes a trail of destruction behind him before his maker finds out. Also, we find out more about Cormac and Ben and how they came to know one another.

My favourite part of the book was when Kitty, Jeffrey and a news reporter, Roger Stockton, go on a reconnaissance mission to find out more about Elijah Smith. They get more than they bargained for and come up against a horde of vampires and werewolves. This is how we find out who Elijah Smith really is and then we get to see Kitty get her hands dirty with help from her comrades.

I think there is more to come of Kitty in this series. She is only just beginning to develop as a character. In the first book she was finding her feet and beginning to stand up for herself. In this book she is standing up for others who are not known to the humans. These creatures keep themselves to themselves and they have let Kitty speak for them – not that she had much choice in the matter. But Kitty does the job in a business-like and graceful manner. Kitty is just beginning to breach the surface of her potential as a radio DJ with her talk show. She has a lot more talent that I think we have yet to see.

Overall, I enjoyed this book even thought I couldn’t read it as often as I wished so when I picked it up I did get a bit confused as to where I was. Once I found my place I was able to enjoy the adventures that Kitty was on. I liked the fact that she found others like herself and felt like she was part of something and that she wasn’t just the lone wolf.

Disclaimer: I do not own this book, I borrowed it from my local library. I have not been paid to review this book and everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.

Review: Kitty and The Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

My Rating: VG, P, B

Published: 2005
Publisher: Warner Books

Author's Website: carrievaughn.com

Purchase @ Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com

Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station – and a werewolf in secret. Sick of lame requests, she accidentally starts ‘The Midnight Hour’, a late-night talk show for the supernaturally disadvantaged.

After desperate vampires, werewolves and witches across the country begin calling into share their woes, her new show is raging success. But it’s Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf hunter and a few homicidal undead on her trail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew…

Kitty and The Midnight Hour is the first novel in the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. This book covers Kitty’s journey from the pack cub to a more dominant, self reliant woman/wolf.

Before Kitty became a werewolf she was a DJ and this is a job she still does. On an off night the talk turns to the supernatural and this causes Kitty’s DJ career to sky rocket over night. The pack leader and master vampire of the area aren’t happy and want her to quit the show but Kitty is happy with what she does as it’s something she enjoys and it’s all her own, and she won’t quit for anyone. You will see the constant struggle she has with the alpha of the pack to gain some independence. But is it all worth it?

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT)

Anything I say in the following paragraph could be deemed a spoiler, but I don’t think so but I added this in just in case.

I thought this book was well written and quite creative. This is the first book I think I have read that the main character is a werewolf. Everything else I have read, the main characters are mostly vampires or humans. The pack dynamic is slightly different from other packs in other novels I have read. The pack in this story are very touchy feely as it gives them a ‘safe’ feeling. I think this is transferred from their human side and isn’t just a wolf trait. A lot of people feel safer when they are being touched by someone they love and trust. The pack is just like that except they feel like they have to touch another to feel safe and have to touch each other all the time. The alpha has a mate, but can still sleep with all the females of the pack. I think this is wrong on so many levels but essential to this story.
(END OF SPOILER

Kitty isn’t the strong heroine we all expect her to be at the beginning. She grows out of her submissiveness and becomes the heroine we are all waiting to read about. It’s a slow journey but eventually she manages to gain her independence but at a huge cost. We see her constant struggle between her and her wolf all throughout the book. Kitty doesn’t want to like what her wolf likes. But who wins in the end? I’m not telling, you will just have to read the book for yourself.

I think my favourite part of the book was the first time we meet Cormac. This part in the book was very anti-climatic and had me sitting on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen. There was also a moment near the end of the book when Kitty meets with Arturo the Master vampire of the family in Denver. The description of Rick’s face had me literally laughing out loud.

Overall, I think this book was pretty good. It had a good plot line, a strong female character alongside many very strong male characters and was action packed. There was always a macho display going on and this isn’t just within the wolf pack. This book would be suitable for teenagers upwards. There’s nothing sexually explicit in this book but there are a few descriptive violence scenes but I’m sure it’s something a teenager can handle.

Disclaimer: I have not bought this book, I borrowed it from the library. I have not been paid to review this book and everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.

In My Mailbox...(3)

In My Mailbox is a meme that is hosted by The Story Siren every Sunday.

Having recently lost her dad and stepmother, Betsy Sinclair (nee Taylor) is adjusting to rather more than just married life. Their untimely deaths have left her and Eric as sole guardians of her little brother. Two vampire parents – albeit vampire royalty – for a decidedly human baby. Still, Betsy is more than up for the challenge. If only everyone would stop being so nervous around her, given her sudden recent burst of power. Betsy most emphatically Does Not Want To Discuss It, and for the moment everyone is following her lead.

But then the ghost of Betsy’s stepmother turns up at their house. And as stubborn and insufferable as she was in life, she’s even more annoying in death – especially as she regards her demise as all Betsy’s fault!

It wasn’t hard to follow the scent of blood to the living room where the fae had been killed. It had been a violent death, perfect for creating ghosts.

Mercy Thompson enjoys being a mechanic, but life is never simple given her increasing closeness to the local werewolf pack, and her ability to change into coyote form at will. And when a member of the fae community calls in a favour, needing her skills for a covert murder investigation, she jumps into the hunt.

But the dangers multiply and she clashes with shadowed creatures of great power. When her old boss Zee is charged with a brutal assassination, Mercy finds herself fighting alone. There are those who love her, who would keep her safe, but she is way and holds her freedom precious. Until, that is, she has nothing left to lose but her life…

Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station – and a werewolf in secret. Sick of lame requests, she accidentally starts ‘The Midnight Hour’, a late-night talk show for the supernaturally disadvantaged.

After desperate vampires, werewolves and witches across the country begin calling into share their woes, her new show is raging success. But it’s Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf hunter and a few homicidal undead on her trail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew…