Book 6 in the Kitty Norville Series
Preorder: On Amazon.com
Release Date: 24 February 2009
Description: 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.
The Fangirl’s Review: A
This review has the same caveat as my review of Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand. I haven’t read the first four Kitty Norville books. I’m planning on it, having enjoyed these two, but I just haven’t had time (as is evidenced by the lack of posting around here lately; I’ve been insanely busy with work and school!). So I can’t make a judgment call on this book based on how it fits into the series as a whole.
I really enjoyed this book, more so than I did Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand. I felt like the plot was more well-developed and depended less on coincidence and randomly appearing characters, and that definitely strengthened the story.
I was a bit wary of a cast-of-thousands when the paranormal investigators of Paradox PI showed up, as I half-expected them to be a side plot that might clutter up the rest of the story, but I was pleasantly surprised when they turned out to be integral to the main plot. The team, consisting of two scientists and one woman with a very interesting secret, come to Denver to do their usual bump-in-the-night investigations and end up staying on to help Kitty with her Very Big Problem: a fiery demon sent by the cult of Tiamat, the vampire-led baddies from the previous book.
The hunt for the demon is nicely creepy; I really like the suspense that builds in those scenes, and Kitty’s wolfish fight-or-flight fear is very believable and effective. I also liked her pack’s dynamics. It’s interesting, that she’s an alpha who rules through friendship rather than intimidation or violence, but I wonder how long she’ll be able to maintain that status quo.
The subplot that most interested me was the one involving Roman, the mysterious vampire who shows up in Denver and offers to get rid of the demon–for a price. And unfortunately, the price is one Rick, Denver’s master vampire, is unwilling to pay. Roman tossed a nice little monkey wrench into the story. Should Kitty trust him? The answer to that is a resounding, “Hell no,” but the more important question is should she work with him anyway? She’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, and I was biting my fingernails, trying to figure out what she should do.
Overall, everything in this book came together very nicely, and I was left feeling like some plot elements or characters came out of the blue in a deus ex machina kind of way. I really enjoyed it, too, and can I just say that it’s very nice to be able to sit down and read a book in one sitting? I’ve been reading a lot of literary theory lately, and it’s so refreshing to be able to sit down and devour a book in three hours without worrying about highlighting and notating important passages. It’s so lovely to be able to just enjoy a book. [happy sigh]
Other Reviews:
- SciFiGuy.ca (positive)
And… [drumroll] now for a giveaway!
To celebrate the back-to-back releases of Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand and Kitty Raises Hell, I’m giving away a complete set of Kitty Norville books!
How To Enter: Comment to this entry and tell me why you want this set of books. Maybe you checked ‘em out of the library and loved ‘em to death. Maybe you haven’t read them at all and are dying to. Just tell me your reason! You must post this first comment to be entered into the contest.
You can gain an additional entry by promoting this giveway. Comment with a link to wherever you’ve pimped it out (in your blog, on twitter, on a message board, etc) AFTER you’ve commented with your reason, and get another entry! Aaand you can get one more entry by following my blog! Add The Discriminating Fangirl to your blogroll or your favorite reader, then comment to let me know that you’ve done it.
Contest Info: Each person is allowed three entries total, following the instructions above. Anyone trying to sneak more entries will be disqualified. Only residents of the U.S. and Canada are eligible, and the books cannot be shipped to P.O. box addresses (publisher’s rules). The contest will run until 10:00p.m. Central time on Friday, February 13, 2009 (appropriate, no?). The winner will be notified by email on Saturday, February 14, 2009 and must respond to that email by 10:00p.m. on Monday, February 16, 2009 or another winner will be chosen. So, be sure you enter a valid email address when you post your comments!
Related posts:
Why I Want To Win The Books:
Well, if I can’t have your babies, I should at least get some awesome books outta the deal, right? I’ve never read any Kitty Norville books, nor I believe anything else by Carrie Vaughn, but I tend to like what you tend to like and since you liked the last few books I figure they can’t be that bad.
The end.
I hadn’t heard of the Kitty books until recently and, naturally, my library doesn’t have them! I’ve put them on my Bookmooch list along with three million others and have been waiting patiently. They seem like they’d be fun reads. A little Rachel Morgan meets Anita Blake, but hopefully more towards the Rachel Morgan type than the later Anita Blake books! They do really sound like something that’s up my alley.
Just added this blog to my Google homepage, but I also follow you on LJ! :)
I am REALLY surprised I’ve never heard of this series. I mean…WEREWOLVES! IN COLORADO! How could I have not known?? Kat also recommended I read these – in fact, she just recommended them the day before yesterday, so it’s like a perfect storm of recommendations. Either that, or it’s the universe’s way of telling me I *need* to read these books!
You know I already follow your personal account on LJ, now I’m following your TDF feed there, too. :D
I posted a link to your review here in my LJ. It’s an extreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemely rare PUBLIC ENTRY! [gasp]
And, like I said, I’m now following TDF on LJ. Must. Get. Extra entries!
I would love to win these books. I’ve read them before, from the library (well, not Raises Hell), but there’s nothing like having your own set of books (especially these, which are fast becoming the literary equivalent of comfort food for me). Also, the library is getting annoyed with me because other people seem to want to read these, too, yet I have them a fair amount of the time (3-4 times a year).
Wow, these books sound amazingly good! I would love to win these books because the genre is right up my ally and I have been looking for another great author to become addicted to!
I’ve been lucky enough to read the first in the series, but my library doesn’t have the rest and I really want to see what else happens!
Well, to be honest, I’ve heard a lot about this series and what better a way to get into them than to win a full set? It’s supposed to be really good and I haven’t read enough urban fantasy to be a good judge, so this would be good for educating myself on the genre.
I blogged about this giveaway here: http://wisb.blogspot.com/2009/02/giveaways-and-announcements.html
Thanks!
Sounds easy enough to me. This is a great series, but I’ll be honest, I just want the Kitty Raises Hell novel. I already own the rest of them. :) Carrie Vaughn is one of my automatic buys!
I added you to my blogroll
To be honest, I havent read any of the Kitty Norville books. I read good reviews about it in many blog reviewers I frequented. However, it is only recently that I found out that the main heroine of the novel is a kick ass werewolf and the main reason for my sudden interest. I am a great fan of paranormal books and werewolves characters in them. Among my favorites are Curran and Derek from Magic Bites/Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews, Billy and the Alphas from Dresden Files by Jim Bucher and Elena Michaels from Bitten by Kelley Armstrong.
Thanks for offering the complete set of Kitty Norville Books!! I am hoping I can win this one! Squee!
I am following your blog via Y! reader.
I blogged about this contest at my LJ:
http://okibi-insanity.livejournal.com/3401.html#cutid1
I have never read this series but have heard good things about it. Thanks for the giveaway.
I am subscribed via google reader.
And the contest has been pimped out!
http://www.literaryescapism.com/2009/02/09/1615/
This past month I have read quite of few reviews on the Kitty Norville series, they sounds great but I have not read the series yet. It is on my TBR list. Winning the books would be fabulous!
Blog’d at: http://fantasydreamersramblings.blogspot.com/2009/02/give-away-for-kitty-norville-series-by.html
Add this blog to my Blog Roll list on Blogger.
I read book 1 from the library and enjoyed it. I checked out book 2, but I had other books to read and never quite got around to reading book 2. I’d really like to get back into this series and my current library doesn’t have them! I also added your blog to me feed reader, so I can keep up on all your posts!
I want to win because I have read all but the 2 newest and I would love to own them all. I cant wait to get the chance to read the 2 new ones.
I follow your blog in Google Reader.
I’m always looking for new authors and series in this genre, as it is my favorite!
I haven’t read the series..But I’ve been wanting to..more so after I’ve read so many great blog reviews (many is an understatement..a lot lol) from this series…
would love to win..
i havnt read any of her books, but have been dying to read them , please enter me
ive seen the other ppl talks about how good her books are
Why I would love to win these books…I have only heard amazing things about Carrie Vaughn and her Kitty series and I would love to find out how great they really are!
I got my hands on an ARC of Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand and checked out the first four from the library to read first so I’d be up to date. I love the series and really want to own all the books, and am very excited to read Kitty Raises Hell.
Also, I am subscribed to your blog through Google Reader and have you on my blogroll at http://unmainstreammomreads.blogspot.com
I’ve read the first 4 books and loved them all. Carrie Vaughn is on my short list of favorite authors. I’d be nice to own the whole set. They’d look so pretty sitting on my shelf. ;0)
Thanks!
I’m subscribed with google reader. :0)
I’ve never read any of these books but have read a lot of posts commenting on how wonderful they are and I would love to read them. I like starting a new series that is already established with plenty of books so I don’t read book 1 and then have to wait months for the next one. Thanks for having this great contest!
Hey there, I follow you on twitter (I’m GothamGal) and this is the reason I want to read these books:
1. I’ve read the first 3 of the books and I’ve loved them.
2. I think others who read will love them.
3. I want to bookcross these books, the whole series, so that after I’ve read them, I can share them with the world.
Great, very generous contest. Good luck all!
After reading your review, the books sound really interesting, so I’d love to win a copy.
Also, I subscribed with Google reader
Aaaand I Twittered about your contest. http://twitter.com/Emisi
I’ve been following this series since the first book and have recommended it to a lot of customers (I work in a bookstore). Kitty is addicting and I’d love to get my hands on the newest book and I’d share the copies I already have with a friend.
I haven’t read any of the Kitty books, but they’re all on my TBR shelf. I’m always looking for new books and authors in this genre, so I can’t wait to read them!
Thanks for the contest, DFG!
I also added your contest to MySpace!
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog
just made it phew thanks for the giveaway