Audiobook Review - Kitty Steals the Show (Kitty Norville, Book 10) by Carrie Vaughn (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: July 31, 2012
ISBN: 978-0765365668
Stand Alone or Series: 10th book in the Kitty Norville series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is the 10th book in the Kitty Norville series. I thought this book was a bit weaker than previous books, it was nice to see Kitty expand to the international stage...but she deal with the same issues as have been dealt with before. I really don’t have a ton to say about this book; it was okay.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was really well done. The narrator did an excellent job with distinguishing between voices and giving the characters a lot of emotion when they spoke.

Kitty and Ben travel to London to attend the first international paranormal conference. While there Kitty end up embroiled in local vamp/werewolf politics. The tension surrounding the 2000 yr old vampire Roman is rising and the long game is coming to a head.

There is nothing really all that surprising in this book. It mainly served to build up tension in the upcoming war between Roman and his enemies.

Kitty does many of things she has done in many recent books in the series; she gets in trouble and then proceeds to talk her way out of it. Neither her, nor Ben have a ton of character growth in this book and they were both kind of vanilla. Honestly I found both of them to be pretty boring.

Cormic is the interesting character in this book. We get glimpses into how he is coping with having Amelia sharing head space with him. Comric does change and grow a lot in the story, but he seems to do a lot of this off screen. I kind of wish we had gotten to follow his story a bit more. Although it is a bit creepy at times how he has a woman stuck in his head.

The plot mainly focused around Roman and the Long Game. There is a lot of posturing between vamp and were groups on either side. Lots of talking between groups and choosing sides. Again, it was pretty boring. I am getting a bit sick about hearing about the Long Game over and over but never really knowing what it is or really having much happen with it. I feel like it’s high past time to move on to something new.

Overall an okay addition to the series. The writing is solid but the characters and story felt a bit old and boring to me. I don’t know if I am just getting bored with Kitty or what. At this point I am on the fence about whether or not I will read the next book in this series. There are just so many excellent urban fantasy series out there; I would recommend the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire, the Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep, or the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews over this one if you are an urban fantasy fan.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Kitty's Big Trouble (Kitty Noville, Book 9) by Carrie Vaughn (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size:  307 pages

Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: June 28, 2011
ISBN: 978-0765365651
Stand Alone or Series: 9th book in the Kitty Norville series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is the ninth book in the Kitty Norville series.  It was an okay addition to the series but was nothing special.  There were some things I liked about it but mostly Kitty and friends just seemed to plod through the story.

Kitty, Ben, and Cormac get a call from Anastasia asking for help hunting down Roman.  Roman is after a special magic artifact that he will stop at nothing to acquire it.  Kitty and friends will be plunged deep into the depth of San Francisco's Chinatown Underworld in their search of the magic artifact.

Kitty and friends seem a bit tired in this book, it seems like the book was written just to write something.  By the end of the book it looks like Kitty and pack are going in a completely new direction, so maybe this is more of a transition book than anything.

The aspect of this book that I did really enjoy was the inclusion of a lot of Chinese mythology.  There isn't a lot out there on Chinese mythology and the inclusion of it in this story was interesting.  I also enjoyed watching Cormac evolve as a wizard, this made the story interesting too.

I had a lot of trouble with the plot though.  Would Kitty really take off and search for famous dead werewolves just because she was curious about it?  In previous books she has been pretty tied to her home territory so it seemed strange to have her running off on these frivolous missions in the beginning of the book.  Then when she goes to help Anastasia it again seemed a bit contrived and out of character for her to become so deeply involved.  

This book is missing a lot of our favorite characters; Kitty, Cormac, and Ben are there but no one else really makes an appearance.  For the most part the book didn't hold my interest all that well.  My favorite book in this series so far has been Kitty's House of Horrors.  Books following that book have been less and less interesting to me as the series progresses.  Given the way this book ends though maybe the next book will be more engaging.

Overall okay, but not nearly as engaging as the last couple books.  Kitty acts out of character, a lot of our favorite characters are missing, and in general the characters that do show seem a bit tired.  I had a lot of problems with the plot and why Kitty was motivated to do some of the things she did; it just seemed a bit contrived to me.  I will probably read the next book in the series, but if it is similar to this one I won't be reading any more.

This book goes to the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge

Early Review - After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 304 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: April 12, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0765325556
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: From Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars


I am a fan of Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series and have read all of the other books that she has written and enjoyed them.  When I heard that she had written a new book, with super heroes I was stoked.  I got an advanced reading copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program.  This was an interesting and very solid book, I enjoyed reading it.

Celia West is the daughter of two very famous super heroes but doesn't have any super powers herself.  As such, she is frequently kidnapped (to the point where is it almost boring) to be used against her parents.  She has tried very hard to lead a life of her own and has been fairly successful at it.  When an old foe of her parents', The Destructor, is up for trial she gets pulled into the whole mess again as she is called both to help with the trial through her work and to testify.  Celia did something when she was younger, something that was wrong, and she has been atoning for it her whole life.  Now with crime on the rise again and the Destructor's trial coming up; it looks like Celia will be in the thick of it all again...no matter how hard she tries to stay out of it.

This was a very well done book.  The characters are likable and easy to relate too.  Celia is very down to earth, yet determined to do what's right.  I was impressed with her determination and steadfastness.  The side characters in the book are well done, if not exceptional, and make for a good story.

The plot of the book was well done and has some great twists in it.  This ends up being more of a mystery than anything.  I did like how the plot has some focus around what happens to super heroes as they decline and I liked how there was also focus around how you can be a super hero without powers.

The story gets a bit cliched at points, for example using the old "radiation gave us our powers" plot device, but for this story it works. My only other issue is that at times the writing style comes across as a bit too straight-forward and simplistic for me; but that is a small quip since I still thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The story wraps up nicely and I doubt we will see more books featuring Celia; although I wouldn't rule out more books set in this world.  I have been finding that Vaughn always writes very solid books that are enjoyable reads.  They are never exceptional and never blow me away; but they are always a solid read and I am always glad I took the time to read them.

Overall an excellent read.  Loved the super hero plot elements and how Celia deals with everything even though she is powerless (so to speak).  Some nice plot twists, the characters are well done and likable.  If you like super heroes, or like reading about a normal person struggling in a world of powerful people this is the book for you.  I will definitely be reading Vaughn's future books.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 100+ Reading Challenge

 

Waiting on Wednesday - 11/3

Okay "Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week my waiting on wednesday book is: Steel by Carrie Vaugh.  So far I have really enjoyed everything I have read by Vaughn from her Kitty Norville books to her YA book; I am excited to read her next YA book which will be Steel.  See below for cover and synopsis.

Steel by Carrie Vaughn

304 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 1st, 2011
ISBN: 978-0061547911

Synopsis From Paperbackswap.com: "When Jill, a competitive high school fencer, goes with her family on vacation to the Bahamas, she is magically transported to an early eighteenth century pirate ship in the middle of the ocean."

Review - Dark and Stormy Knights Edited by P.N. Elrod (4/5 stars)

All of these stories have something in common; they feature a "knight" someone who will go to heroic measures to protect innocents (or to make some money). 

The best of the bunch is Ilona Andrews "A Questionable Client"; this is a great story in and of itself and is a great sample of Andrew's writing style.  Kate Daniels fans will love it too because it fills an important event that happened between Kate and Saiman.  My second favorite was Caine's "Even a Rabbit Will Bite" loved the characters and the irony of the story.

There were some stories that were entertaining but not outstanding.  "Even Hand" by Jim Butcher give insight into John Marcone's character from the Dresden Files.  "Rookwood and Mrs. King" by Saintcrow introduces some new characters that I hope she expands on in a series.  "Shifting Star" by Vicki Pettersson gives you a story about Zoe's Tulpa, Skamar; unfortunately if you aren't reading Pettersson's Signs of the Zodiac series I think you will be totally lost as to the meaning behind this story.

My least favorite of the bunch was Beknighted by Deidre Knight; there was a bit too much of a romance vibe going on here and the world wasn't described well...I thought it didn't really fit with the rest of the stories and the theme of this anthology.

Overall a decent anthology.  The Ilona Andrews story makes it worth reading.  The other stories provide good samplings of some of the best Urban Fantasy authors out there.  This is definitely urban fantasy and not PNR; which was awesome...it seems like so many anthologies tend towards paranormal romance (PNR).  I personally got it from the library but it might be worth buying if you are a huge fan on one of the series represented.  See below for a description and mini-review of each story.

- A Questionable Client by Ilona Andrews (5/5 stars)
We get to find out about that time Kate served as a bodyguard for Saiman.  Action-packed filled with sharp humor; it was nice to have that story filled out some.

- Even Hand by Jim Butcher (4/5 stars)
A story from John Marcone's point of view.  It was interesting to gain some insight into Marcone.  The story was entertaining but over-all nothing mind-blowing.

- The Beacon by Shannon K. Butcher (4/5 stars)
A story about a hunter who assassinates Beacons that lure evil creatures called Terraphages to earth to destroy humanity.  This was an entertaining story, I enjoyed the main character and there was a lot of action.  I am curious as to what else Butcher has written, but not curious enough to immediately pick up books by her to read.

- Even a Rabbit Will Bite by Rachel Caine (5/5 stars)
Story about a retired dragon trainer and the young trainee that is supposed to take her place.  I liked this story it was entertaining and ironic.  I love how the story wrapped up but wasn't all that surprised at the ending.  Overall a great story.  I have read some of Caine's Weather Warden series and like her okay as an author in general.

- Dark Lady by P. N. Elrod (3/5 stars)
This is another Jack Flemming story.  In general I am not a big fan of Elrod's Jack Flemming stories and this story was no exception.  I've read some short stories with Jack and the first book in the Flemming series.  This was another noir/gangster-type vampire story.  It was okay and was well-written.

- Beknighted by Deidre Knight (2/5 stars)
An artist has to pay a steep price to free a knight from his prison.  The world surrounding this story isn't very well defined and it is a bit confusing.  This is more like a romance than anything else and was my least favorite of the bunch.  There are parts of it that are a bit amusing and the idea is interesting...just not that well done.

- Shifting Star by Vicki Pettersson (3/5 stars)
If you have read all the Signs of the Zodiac book (which I have) then this story will be an interesting read for you.  It features Skamar, Zoe's tulpa, and takes place sometime after the 4th book in the series.  We get to learn more about Skamar as an individual and about what she is doing while Johanna is recovering.  Kind of interesting.  I think anyone who has not read the series will be totally lost though.

- Rookwood and Mrs. King by Lilith Saintcrow (4/5 stars)
Story about a woman named Amelia who comes to investigator Rookwood with a plea that he kill her already dead husband.  Not much world-building but there was a lot of action and the characters were interesting.  It would be great to see some books about Rookwood and Amelia in the future.  Previously I have also read Saintcrow's Dante Valentine series and liked it.

- God's Creatures by Carrie Vaughn (3.5/5 stars)
Story from the point of view of Cormac the Bounty hunter from Vaughn's Kitty Norville series.  Basically it just tells about Cormac going on a wolf hunt.  It was okay and I enjoyed reading it, but it didn't add much to the characters for me and as a stand alone story it wasn't anything special.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Review - Kitty Goes to War (Kitty Norville, Book 8) by Carrie Vaughn (4/5 stars)

This was the eighth book in the Kitty Norville series.  Last I heard there are 10 books planned for this series.  I didn't like this book quite as much as the last book "Kitty's House of Horrors" but it was still an enjoyable and engaging read.

Kitty has a couple problems on her hands.  First she is being sued by the owner of Speedy Mart stores after she does a radio show on suspicious supernatural happenings that are going on at Speedy Mart stores across the country.  Second she gets a call from the government about a group of werewolves that have returned from service in Iraq and are a bit crazy; the government is wondering if there is any hope for their rehabilitation and if Kitty will help.

Vaughn does a very good job of seamlessly juggling the two separate plot lines.  The story line about the werewolves returning from war to be integrated back into society is politically timely and interesting; it is something that is unique to consider.  Overall the book was very engaging and well written.  I enjoyed the addition of some of the new characters that were introduced with the ex-military werewolves.

The best part of this book is seeing Kitty act on her own and make decisions like a strong leader.  If you think back to the first couple Kitty books, Kitty has come a long way as a character and I really enjoyed seeing that in this book. 

The majority of the story deals with the ex-military werewolves.  The second plot dealing with the Speedy Marts was interesting but I was at a loss at what it had to do with the overall story.  It seemed like this second plot might be part of something bigger that we don't fully understand yet.  Also Cormac returns to the story, but the direction his character takes is kind of unexpected.  I am not sure I enjoyed the character changes in Cormac, but I am sure that it has something to do with the overall story.

Overall this was an excellent installment in this series.  I enjoyed it and look forward to Vaughn's future books.  Next to read by Vaughn is her new book Steel that is due out Spring of 2011.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Review- Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaughn (4/5 stars)

I got a copy of this book through Librarything's early Reviewer program.  I love Vaughn's Kitty Norville series and also enjoyed her young adult book "Voices of Dragons".  This book was an enjoyable read, but very different from other things that she has written.

This book follows the story of Evie and Sinon the Liar.  Evie's story is set in an alternate future, close to modern day.  She returns home to help care for her father who is dying of cancer.  While there she discovers that the storage room in the basement is a magical place, it is a place that stores magical items for people until the people need them again.  Evie's story alternates with Sinon's story which starts out during the Trojan War. Sinon's the guy who convinces the Trojans to bring the Trojan horse into Troy.   Sinon is captured by the god Apollo and forced into slavery for him; basically sentenced to immortality.  As political catastrophes envelope the globe Evie will need the help of Sinon and many famous others to try and keep the Goddess Hera from plunging the world into further chaos.

This work was different that Vaugh's previous works.  It is a much more complex story, with a complex world and uses a more mature writing style.  It is very creative and intriguing but because of the complexity of the world the characterization is a bit weaker than in previous novels.  Partly this is because the story line switches between so many viewpoints: between Evie and Sinon, and then sometimes to Hera or others.

What is amazing is how Vaughn blends Greek mythology, with Arthurian mythology along with other classic fairy tales to create a novel that is both compelling and all-encompassing.  She manages to connect all of these stories, histories, and myths to one place with Evie's magic storage area. 

The story is very engaging and easy to read.  I enjoyed it a lot.  Readers should beware though that this takes a little more effort to read than the Kitty novels because it is more complex.  More time is spent on a complex story than on fleshing out individual characters.  That is the only thing I found a bit disappointing; I never really felt drawn to or really cared about the characters all that much.

Overall it was a very good book.  Very interesting and creative with an incredibly interesting world.  I loved the blending of different stories and myths into one history.  Characterization was not as strong as her previous book because more time was spent on developing a believable and complex story.  I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading her next book Steel.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Review - Voice of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn (4/5 stars)

I have read all of Vaughn's adult Kitty Norville series, when I saw she has written a young adult novel I was excited to read it.  This is her debut young adult novel and it is a very good book.

During World War II the bombs that were dropped awoke the dragons and a great war ensued.  Finally a treaty was signed giving humans and dragons separate territories.  Kay lives in this world sixty years later; humans and dragons have had no contact and her home town is on the border of Dragon territory.  Then one day while out rock-climbing she falls and lands in a river and is washed up on the Dragon side.  There she meets a dragon, Artegal, who is as curious about her as she is about him.  They become friends.  But then things go wrong.  A human plane crashes in Dragon territory, and it may not have been an accident.   Are the humans trying to start a war with Dragonkind?  Can Kay and Artegal do anything to influence both races?

There are some really cool things about this book.  The characterization is excellent; the characters are likable and engaging.  Kay and Artegal are the highlight characters, but the side characters are all well done.  The history behind the Dragons is very well done, believable and creative.  Vaughn is an excellent writer, and as with her adult novels, the writing is easy to read, engaging, and personable.  There is a lot of action and a lot of thought that went into the story.  I also can't help but wonder if the story is a bit political given the whole war theme.

There are a couple things that bugged me.  First and foremost was the ending.  I guess it ended okay, but it took so much of the story to set up the relationship between Kay and Artegal that their journey felt rushed.  Then the ending leaves things wide open.  I wanted to know what Kay and Artgel did when they reached their destination.  On her blog Vaughn mentions that she has an idea for a sequel book, but that plans for the book are not in the near future.  So, for now, we will not get any further story about Kay and Artegel.

The other thing that bothered me was how much time was spent angsting over sex.  As an adult I thought it was silly how much time Kay spent debating whether or not she wanted to have sex with her boyfriend.  I also thought the pressure her girlfriend put on her to have sex was silly.  Then I tried to think back to high school/college and I realized that back then we did spend a lot of time talking about sex.  And, for me and others, whether or not to have sex was a huge decision.  I remember going through many of the thought processes that Kay went through.  So, in a way it is good that this was discussed throughout the book.  I liked that Kay had morals and was resistant to peer pressure in this area; it's a good example for young adults.  But, adults reading the book should be warned, quite a bit of the book is devoted to Kay's struggle about whether or not to have sex...as an adult I found these parts kind of boring.

Overall this was a great read, I loved the characters and the story.  I was disappointed that the set-up took so long and that the story ended abruptly.  I also rolled my eyes a few times over how much discussion was devoted to decisions around sex; but as a young adult I would've found this content interesting.  I am hoping that Vaughn writes a sequel to this because I really want to know more about what happens to Kay and Artegal.  Vaughn continues to be an excellent writer and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The Debut Author Challenge
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge
- Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge

 

Kitty's House of Horrors (Kitty Norville, Book 7) by Carrie Vaughn (5/5 stars)

This is the seventh book in the Kitty Norville series by Carrier Vaughn and it was a great addition to the series.

In this book Kitty gets invited to participate in a reality TV show. Her and a bunch of other paranormal celebrities are supposed to spend a week at a house out in the middle of nowhere. With them will be a skeptic; they are supposed to convince the skeptic that paranormal creatures exist. Of course things start going terribly wrong when people start turning up dead. It is up to Kitty and her housemates to figure out what is going on before everyone is killed!

I was worried that this story line would be a bit cheesy for Kitty, but it really worked. I loved learning more about a lot of the paranormal celebrities that Kitty has interviewed on her radio show or talked about, but never really got to know. Then of course Odysseus Grant shows up and he is a whole lot of mysterious and interesting. The subtext that goes on between Odysseus and Anastatia (a very old vampire) is intriguing and leads this book to a whole new level and potentially a whole new story arc.

The book was fast-paced and super easy to read. Vaughn's writing style is just so readable and personable; reading the book is such a fun pleasure. There were some very well done action scenes but not until later in the story. It takes a while to set up the story but Vaughn does a good job of making the setup suspenseful. The really strong feature of this novel is the characterization, there are some awesome characters in this book. Kitty especially has grown even more comfortable in her role as a leader and really steps it up in certain scenes of this book...knowing where Kitty started, it makes me proud of her :-)

Given the horror house theme of this book I was happy that it wasn't too scary. It is definitely suspenseful and creepy just not crazy scary (I am too much of a wimp to read really scary books). The story arc that is developing longer term, that deals with the vampires' "long game", is fascinating. I was so happy that we got to spend more time with Grant...he is just super intriguing to me and my favorite character. Grant gets a chance to show his human side in this book as well as demonstrate some somewhat disturbing magician's skills.

The only bad thing about this book was that it was over too soon. I can't wait to read the next book! I am also looking forward to checking out Vaughn's new young adult book "Voice of Dragons".

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Thiller and Suspense Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

News - Kitty Norville books 8, 9 , and 10

I just read on Carrie Vaughn's blog that she just signed the contract to produce 4 more Kitty Norville books!
So those of us worried that all the Kitty fun would be done with book seven can breath a big sigh of relief.
The first three books planned are books 8, 9, and 10 in the series; the fourth is a collection of short stories about Kitty.

You can read more about it on her blog here.

Until then we can all just be excited for the 7th installment. Find more information on "Kitty's House of Horrors" here.

Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn (4/5 stars)

This is book 6 in the Kitty Norville series. I thought this book was better than the last book and a great addition to the series.

In this book Kitty returns to Denver to try and live a normal life with her new husband Ben. Well, of course things don't stay normal. Kitty's pack is being hunted by a horrible, invisible, fire-loving supernatural creature of some sort and Kitty thinks it might be tied to the events that happened in Las Vegas in Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand.

This was a great addition to this series. For once Kitty is in charge; she is making smart (if not always informed) decisions and carrying out plans. Her wry sense of humor is still in force, there is a lot of action in this book and it clicks along as a super fast pace. I was happy that the storyline dealing with the Las Vegas shapeshifters was expanded on and Odysseus Rex was part of that wonderful storyline. Rick is a great character and another new mysterious vampire enters the scene.

I love that this book propelled itself forward without needing all the emotional baggage that comes along with the unstable relationships featured in a lot of paranormal series. Kitty and Ben have a happy, stable relationship and it is nice to see a good story where the characters are well-adjusted caring individuals.

The latest news I heard was that there was only going to be 7 books in this series. I am not sure if that is still true or not. Either way I am looking forward to the next book.

Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn (3/5 stars)

This is book 5 in the Kitty Norville series. It was definitely not a strong book in this series. The book really spent more time kind of setting up a new story.

In this book Kitty and Ben decide to go to Las Vegas to get married. Only things start to get complicated. Kitty's boss talks her into doing a televised version of her radio show while she's in Vegas and Rick asks Kitty to deliver a note to the Master vampire of Las Vegas. Things begin to fall apart when Kitty finds out about the local Las Vegas pack and stumbles upon new types of magic and a secret that the local vampires have been keeping under wraps.

This was an okay book in the series. I felt like Kitty spent a lot of time running around sticking her nose in where she shouldn't and in general not really accomplishing anything. It was a bit frustrating to watch Kitty not have a clue what she was doing. She even had trouble getting guests for her radio show. In general the pace of this book was a bit frantic and not in a griping and engaging sort of way. There is also a large shortage of action scenes; I think there is one action scene in the whole darn book...maybe two.

None of the characters were really developed any further. A lot of main characters from the previous books are conspicuously absent for most of this book. Even Ben is only actually present for a very brief amount of time. Overall it seemed like the sole purpose of this book was to introduce some new characters and set up some big events for the next book; so let's hope the next book is better.

Which leads me to the positive points of this book; it wasn't a total loss. Balthasar and Odysseus Grant are amazing characters. New and interesting magic elements move throughout the story. The book is a quick and still fun read. It is somewhat engaging. This is an okay book about Kitty; just don't get too excited about it. See it as a necessary read to continue on in the series and hope that the 6th book is awesome.

Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn (4/5 stars)

This is the fourth book in the Kitty Norville series and it is officially my favorite. The third book was my favorite until I read this one. This book had so much more character development and suspense than the last one did; I really zoomed right through it and enjoyed it.

Kitty is contacted by Rick (second in command to the city of Denver's master vamp). Rick thinks Arturo is loosing control of the city's vamps, he wants Kitty to side with him in a war against Arturo. Kitty doesn't want anything to do with it. Her new book just came out and is getting rave reviews, her radio show is doing awesome, and her and Ben have a pack all of their own.

Then the unthinkable happens and Kitty's mom comes down with breast cancer, now Kitty has to return to Denver. When she finds out that her old pack has sided with Arturo she wonders is she will be forced to takes sides and to confront her old pack alphas, Carl and Meg.

This book really cranked up the action a few notches, which I enjoyed a lot. It spent more time on vamp politics which were way more interesting that the werewolf pack politics dealt with up to this point. A lot of the characters were forced to face fears and develop in ways that were intriguing. I thought the pacing of the book was good, it pulled me right through the book. It was a fun and quick read. Overall my favorite in the series so far.

These books won't change your life, but they are fun reads and I am really looking forward to the next one.

Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn (4/5 stars)

This is the third book in the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. I think this was the best book in the series so far. It is the only book in the series that has actually grabbed me and yanked me right through the book. I didn't find any part of this book boring or forced.

In this book Kitty is taking a break from her radio show "The Midnight Hour" to go off into the wilderness to write a book about her experiences as a werewolf. She is having a rough time getting going on the writing. Things get even rougher when Kitty's bounty hunter friend Cormac shows up with Kitty's lawyer Ben who has been infected by a werewolf. Kitty is trying to help Ben cope with his change but she has problems of her own when the locals start harassing her and they find out that something dark has followed Cormac back from where Ben got infected.

This book was more suspenseful than previous books and had quite a bit of action in it. Since Ben and Cormac are my favorite side characters I really liked that the book focused on them and let the reader learn more about them. I kind of missed Kitty doing her radio show; hopefully there will be more of that in the next book.

Like the other two books in the series this book is well-written and makes for a quick and easy read. I think if you like the first two books, this one won't disappoint. The only thing that bothered me was that a lot of interesting characters from the second book were completely absent. What happened to Luis the were-jaguar? I guess I can understand not having the Vampire Mistress of Washington DC involved, but I kind of missed her too. The addition of Tony as the witch doctor expert filled some of this gap; but I still felt like some of the other characters got cut adrift.

I already have the next book in this series so I will definitely be reading that one. After that we will see if I read the next two.

Kitty Goes to Washington by Carrie Vaughn (3.5/4 stars)

This is the second book in the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. I thought the first book was okay; this book is a little bit better than okay but I didn't think it was anything extraordinary.

In this book Kitty is called to testify in front of a government committee about being a werewolf and the affect of supernaturals on society. A lot of the book is spent at the committee hearing and reading about how nervous Kitty is to testify. The pieces of the plot that were hinted at in the first book are filled out and somewhat resolved in this book; what is Flemming working on and what is the reverend that says he can cure vampires and werewolves really doing?

I felt like the author did a better job of developing Kitty's character in this book. I also enjoyed some of the side characters; mainly her lawyer and the bounty hunter. In parts this book was more interesting than the first book because you learn more about the supernatural community. I thought the pacing in this book could have used some help though. I thought the middle of the book was really drawn out and went on forever; then the last portion of the book was non-stop action.

This was a quick read. If you liked the first book you would like this book. Personally I still think that this series is too much like other series I have read. So far this book deals with similar issues to those brought up in Anita Blake (early on), Rachel Morgan series, and even the Mercy Thompson series. I also think that this series doesn't have as good of a storyline or character development as the Rachel Morgan series does or as good as the Sookie Stackhouse series.

Overall this book was okay, nothing special. If you are out of paranormal stuff to read you would probably find this book to be a quick and mildly entertaining read. I already have the next two books in the series so I will read those. After that, well I'll re-evaluate and see if I want to keep reading this series.

Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn (3/5 stars)

This is the first book I have read by Carrie Vaughn and also the first book in the ongoing Kitty Norville series. The writing style and story remind me a lot of Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series. This is more of a paranormal action/drama type of book than a paranormal romance (for those of us who are picky with the type of paranormal book we read).

Kitty Norville is a DJ. She was attacked and turned into a werewolf previously and has been trying to live normally while partaking in pack life. She has been increasingly drawn to being awake night hours and subbing in for the overnight shift at the radio station she works at suites this perfectly. One night she takes some calls about paranormal activity and this really makes her program take off. Suddenly her program Kitty and the Midnight Hour, is being syndicated country-wide. Only this is making certain people very unhappy (mainly leaders in the supernatural community). Kitty is struggling to keep her place in her werewolf pack, as well as keep her radio show running, amoungst this all there are rumors about there being a cure for both werewolves and vampirism so she is trying to figure that out too.

This was a quick read. It is well-written. It is very very similar to Patricia Briggs writing style; in fact I think I might have trouble distinguishing between them. While this was an entertaining read on the plane; I didn't find it that exciting. The action scenes are mediocre, nothing that exciting happens, and the world (thus far) is something we have seen a million times before. Vampires and werewolves don't like each other, werewolf packs are male dominent, the paranormal community is on the edge of coming out, maybe.

Kitty herself is not a very inspiring character. Maybe she will become more in a few books. None of the side characters were all that interesting either. I thought this book was okay, but mostly boring. I happen to have the next three books in the series, so I will definitely read at least the next book. Just be warned that this is one of those books that sets you up for a long series, in and of itself it is not that interesting of a book. I actually thought the Mercy Thompson series was better and I wasn't really that big on that series either. Personally I have really enjoyed Jaz Parks and the Signs of the Zodiac series a lot more.