Monthly Archives: March 2009

Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand by Carrie Vaughn

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Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand (Kitty Norville, Book 5)
Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand (Kitty Norville, Book 5)
Carrie Vaughn

This is the fifth book of the Kitty Norville series (one more book and I'll be caught up!) I've read and reviewed the first four books here:

The basic idea for those who haven't read my earlier reviews is that the series centers on a werewolf with a talk radio show who introduces the world to the supernatural. I'd recommend reading this series in order to understand what's going on and follow the growth of the characters.
 
Carrie Vaughn seems to have two main settings for these books: either In Denver (books 1 and 4), or Not In Denver (books 2 and 3). In Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand – it's a bit of both, but mostly it's Not In Denver. This time, Kitty travels to Las Vegas, which I guess is why the title is what it is (according to wikipedia, it's the name of a poker hand rumored to be held by Wild Bill Hickok at the time of his death).  
 
*** Spoilers for earlier books from this point on ***
 
At the start of this book, things are going pretty well for Kitty. She's working hard at her job with The Midnight Hour, living in Denver, able to see her family and enjoying time with her mate, Ben. The pack is also doing fine – Rick calls it the "honeymoon period" because as the new alpha pair, Ben and Kitty are encountering no major grumblings about their leadership.
 
At the end of Kitty and the Silver Bullet Kitty and Ben seem to be mated as wolves, and their human sides decide to make it official and get married. Of course, being the people Kitty and Ben are, after stressing over the planning for a traditional wedding (I can relate here), they both agree that a wedding in Vegas would be perfect for them. Of course, Kitty's plans to just elope don't happen, because soon her parents are coming and the radio station wants Kitty to do a 2 hour televised show the same weekend.
 
This book had a slow first half as all the players in Vegas are introduced. Kitty plans out her television show and so much of the book has her doing footwork to meet possible supernatural guests for her show. The back cover blurb describes them so I'll mention who some of them are: "an old-school magician [who] might be wielding the real thing", some of the Vegas "vampire community", and "the irresistible star of a suspicious animal act". Then of course there is the gun show going on in the same hotel Kitty and Ben are staying in, which brings in an element who aren't really werewolf lovers.
 
My thoughts: I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop in this book, but no action really seemed to be happening for the first 150 pages except me feeling paranoid as the reader that "Ok this person is hiding something and wants to do something to Kitty. Or maybe that person. Or that one!" -  Kitty gets herself into trouble a lot. Not that she's stupid, but her very nosy nature that comes along with asking questions for a living doesn't help. When the action finally does arrive though, I can't blame her for it – it's more the fault of her being a werewolf than Kitty's curiosity.
 
The relationship in this book between Kitty and Ben feels more secure to me, finally. Again, I'm paranoid (maybe it was TJ's death in book 1 that makes me so), but I hope they stay together because I really like Ben. They act like a real couple who have been together long enough to know each other enough to be partners – compromising works here.  I liked that I could recognize guys I know in real life in Ben. I do still think that in wolf terms though, Kitty is more alpha, but maybe because Ben lets her be, since she's got more experience being a werewolf than him. Hmm.
 
Overall: This book felt more like a transition book than the previous four. Although there is an ending to what happened in Vegas – it does not stay in Vegas (ha ha, sorry, but look at the next books back cover blurb, I'm not the only one saying it). It looks like things end in a small cliffhanger and we'll have to see what happens next in Kitty Raises Hell. Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand was released February, and Kitty Raises Hell a month later in March, so that works out well. Several interesting new characters are introduced and Kitty and Ben's relationship moves forward, but there was a lot of set up in the first half before the action occurred. Also, we don't really hear everything that happens to Ben in this book because it's written from Kitty's POV, which had me gnashing my teeth (I hope that information shows up in the next book too).
 

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A plethora of Kitty Norville giveaways across the web

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Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, Book 1)
Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, Book 1)
Carrie Vaughn
There are a lot of Kitty Norville giveaways going on right now. I want to post about them since I'm trying to finish catching up with this series by the end of the month (working on it, here's my reviews so far). Apparently there is also a blog tour of these books, which I missed. 😛
 

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Winner of the $15 Amazon GC

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The Anticipation
The Anticipation

I had 10 entries for the contest on both livejournal and vox. Lots of interesting books that I will now be looking at possibly adding to my wishlist too.

Random.org generated lucky number 3 as the winner. Third commenter overall was Angie from Angieville!

Congratulations!  She had listed as her top five:

  • Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
  • Tap and Gown by Diana Peterfreund
  • The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff
  • Heroes at Risk by Moira J. Moore (this is on my list too!)
  • Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier 

I'll be sending out an email shortly 🙂

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Close Encounters by Katherine Allred

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Close Encounters: An Alien Affairs Novel, Book 1
Close Encounters: An Alien Affairs Novel, Book 1
Katherine Allred
This is science fiction romance and the cover blurb compares her to Linnea Sinclair, so when the opportunity to read the ARC for this book came up, I jumped on it.  I've been very excited about this new series by Katherine Allred when it first came on my radar last year during a "you choose the design" poll at Eos books, and then I read a 20 page excerpt and wanted to read it even more (now Harpercollins has the first 20% available to browse inside).
 
This book is told from the first person point of view of Kiera Smith, a Genetically Engineered Person – someone who was created in a test tube out of various superior genes of other people. This process is extremely expensive so GEPs are usually created and paid for by a company and then throughout their lives they are expected to pay off the initial expense of their creation. Kiera however, is special even among GEPs. Rather than being made from genes spliced from Naturals (normal non-enhanced people), she was made from other GEPs. This difference is a big issue for her and she's always thinking about it. Kiera works for Alien Affairs – a branch of the government that oversees life in new planets. Basically she is one of the first people to meet a newly discovered alien civilization and introduce them to the rest of the universe. She makes sure that they aren't exploited by greedy corporations only interested in their planet's resources and is an advocate for their rights.
 
At the start of Close Encounters Kiera's vacation with her rock-cat Crigo and her AI ship Max is cut short for a special assignment. Dynatec has applied for ownership of Orpheus Two under the law that if the intelligent life living there dies off in 100 cycles, they can take over. The indigeneous people are a race of very tall, very beautiful people with hair the same color as their eyes, which the first explorers have decided to call the Buri (after a Norse god).  The new world, the technology, and the Buri was plenty of fodder for the mind's eye.  This book was very much a Tarzan meets Jane if they were both super beings surrounded by high technology.
 
This is a science fiction romance, but the romance was secondary to the main plot which was Kiera finding out why the Buri was not reproducing at the rate they should have been. The Buri don't know what Kiera is saying and viceversa so for more than half of the book Kiera can't really hold a conversation with her love interest. She doesn't even know his name and just nicknames him Thor.  Because Kiera can't really fully understand the Buri and only mostly understands their emotions, communication is minimal, and is often held through body language, gesturing, and Kiera's ability to read emotion. This means that the romance is very physical rather than cerebral, and we have the soul mate concept used to bring the hero and heroine together. 
 
I'm not a big fan of the use of soul mates, but the story was well-written and because the romance was secondary it didn't bother me much.   I did have a couple other minor problems along with this though. First of all, there were some things in here I found a bit inappropriate for a representative of Alien Affairs to do. Kiera is supposed to be their best and yet I had the feeling that if an anthropologist read this book, they'd be disagreeing with some of her actions. For example, I was surprised when I read how Kiera showed the Buri how to use shampoo.  Was it really necessary for her to get naked and then soap the leader in front of the tribe? OK it linked into the plot, but this is one of the scenes I found hard to swallow. Another issue I had was that a lot of things were too idealized. When we're first introduced to Kiera who is not only a blonde bombshell but even more enhanced than the usual GEPs. Then we're introduced to the Buri who have surprisingly almost the same super-human qualities as our main character, who live in a planet which itself is unique and full of mostly friendly, ideal flora and fauna. Kiera is extremely lucky throughout the book with the way things went for her. It was a bit too easy.
 
Despite those issues, there were a lot of interesting ideas in here. I enjoyed all the devices Kiera used in her ship for food and for temporary shelter, what she used to communicate, her knowlege of Galactic Federation law, her weapons and fighting, and all the details that descibed her techologically advanced life. A life which contrasted nicely with what she met in the new planet – the jungle, the strange creatures, the Buri costumes and their food preparation – it was all very well thought out and keep me turning the pages with curiosity.
 
Overall: From the very beginning of this book I could understand the comparison with Linnea Sinclair's writing, and I think you should definitely pick this up if you are a science fiction romance fan. This was a fun space opera read with an interesting world and characters.  I did find things a bit convenient and the main character a little perfect, but I would still recommend this for science fiction romance lovers, and I will pick up the second book. 
 
Katherine Allred's website (there's a book trailer for Close Encounters there)

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Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn

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Kitty and the Silver Bullet (Kitty Norville, Book 4)
Kitty and the Silver Bullet (Kitty Norville, Book 4)
Carrie Vaughn
Kitty and the Silver Bullet is the fourth of the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. The basic idea for those who haven't read my earlier reviews is that the series centers on a werewolf with a talk radio show who introduces the world to the supernatural.
My earlier reviews:
 
*** Probable spoilers for earlier books ***
 
The books started in Denver, and while the last couple of books did not take place there, it's Kitty's home. So it was with a sense of inevitability that in Kitty and the Silver Bullet, things come full circle and Kitty has to go back and face what she left behind. The biggest immediate problem is Kitty's old pack and the alpha pair of Meg and Carl who would like nothing more than to see Kitty dead. Of course Meg and Carl are not Kitty's only problems. The politics involving Denver's vampire Family, headed by Arturo start heating up, which means that Kitty eventually has to make some decision about her interaction with them. 
 
Kitty has done some growing throughout the series which really gets highlighted in this book. First of all, she's actually taken seriously by the various Denver factions (werewolf pack, vampire family, human police) and each either finds her a threat or possibly ally. Then in the course of this book Kitty meets someone much like she was when she was part of the pack and the contrast is surprising. Kitty left as a young, submissive cub but she's grown up, and I'm glad she has.  
 
Everything Kitty left behind the first time has to be addressed so the reader gets more details about Denver – we meet Kitty's family for instance. Before they got only brief mentions and her mother was the most mentioned family member, but this book, they play a larger role. I thought it lent a certain normality to Kitty's crazy life. There's also some interesting side character development – as part of this situation Kitty learns some things about Rick and Arturo, and I felt like I learned some more about Ben's (and maybe a bit of Cormac's) character. There was also some fascinating world building, especially in regard to the vampires. It's good to have Kitty know a lot of things regarding the supernatural, but not everything. I loved seeing how Denver fits in with the rest of the country on vampire terms and of course there are some interesting revelations!    
 
Kitty is in a relationship here but I still think that there is a large window for things changing in that relationship. I'm a bit wary of expecting Kitty to stay happy because although Kitty seems to have chosen a partner, she never really closes the door on the other person in the love triangle she's involved in.  I feel like she can easily go back to the other person if something happens with her current choice. Looking forward to seeing how things develop and expecting to be surprised somehow.  
 
Overall: It's pretty good when you think "OK, this is my favorite book of the series so far", then you read the next book and think – "OK, this one is my favorite book of the series so far!" There was a lot going on in this one, but in a good way. There was a good mix of interesting plot twists, action (lots of it!), character development, and intrigue, with a bit of relationship drama thrown in. In the end I was quite satisfied with this installment.
 

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Amusing reviews I’ve read today

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OK for some reason today is the day for things that make me snort. Two reviews for books I've read had me chortling away:

Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
Stephenie Meyer

A Twilight Review here: http://mekosuchinae.livejournal.com/39690.html

This is so snarky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and

 

Games of Command (Bantam Spectra Book)
Games of Command (Bantam Spectra Book)
Linnea Sinclair

A review of Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair here:

http://thebooksmugglers.com/2009/03/guest-dare-games-of-command-by-linnea-sinclair.html

This reviewer liked the book a lot (which is good because this is my favorite Sinclair so far) and she still made me laugh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And for good measure here's a short story that pokes fun at the idea of certain kinds of heroes: http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/2009/03/18/one-hero-doesnt-fit-all/

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Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn

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Kitty Takes a Holiday (Kitty Norville, Book 3)
Kitty Takes a Holiday (Kitty Norville, Book 3)
Carrie Vaughn

Kitty Takes a Holiday is the third of the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. In this series a werewolf with a talk radio show introduces the world to the supernatural.

My earlier reviews:
 
Because of the events at the end of Kitty Goes to Washington, Kitty is ready to take a break, so she's rented a house in southern Colorado. It's practically in the middle of nowhere, which allows her wolf half to roam and her human half to hide and write a book. Unfortunately those plans aren't going so well. Kitty hasn't written much at all and her wolf is taking over more than she'd like. Then Kitty begins to feel watched, and she wakes up to find dead animals and blood on her front porch. Local authorities are unhelpful at determining the source of the problem, and things only seem to get creepier as time goes by.
 
My thoughts: Despite the ongoing mystery of what is targeting Kitty, if I were to classify this book I'd call it the relationship book. Kitty's friends Ben and Cormac make significant appearances, and they begin to be cemented as major characters in this series. Reading back on my opinions of the earlier two books where I was saying that there was very little to no romance but I suspected a potential love triangle – well this book changes that. It actually surprised me that what happened occurred in this book when there was little prior attention to these things before, but I wasn't complaining. I found it refreshing the way Kitty addresses some of the questions that are brought up head on, but that doesn't mean things are resolved. I'm certain that things can (and will) change at any moment. I'm trying to be vague and not spoilery here so I'll just say that I really enjoyed the way things progressed.  
 
Another one of the things I mentioned in my last review was about Kitty's view of her wolf half. I'd said it was interesting how Kitty in her wolf form was written in the third person while the rest of the book was in first. In Kitty Takes a Holiday some light is shed on how Kitty views her wolf half when she talks to a newly made werewolf that helped me understand her situation some more. I really like how information in this series is not dumped all at once and instead is dispensed in the natural course of the story.
 
A third interesting thing, was this book had a very different type of plot from the other two. Rather than the last third of the book being where the action is, the action happens earlier when we discover the cause of Kitty's disturbing visitations.  The consequences of the action is what gets dealt with at the end of the book, and boy is it a doozy. Again; I was surprised.
 
Overall: This was a really good installment of the series and so far my favorite book. I was blown away at some developments and I there will be significant impacts to story arcs, so it's worth reading just to get to this point. Also of the three books I think this one also had elements that I found truely menacing, especially in one particular scene where Ben and Kitty do some investigation, even when what happened was in broad daylight! I am really looking forward to reading Kitty and The Silver Bullet, the next book in the series.
 

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Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot

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Pants on Fire
Pants on Fire
Meg Cabot

This was another library choice because I wanted to read something light for a bit. Pants on Fire is a standalone young adult. This one is typical Meg Cabot - just a fun read, but I didn't connect very well to the protagonist/narrator. Anyway, it was cute. I keep thinking this to myself after reading young adult like this: maybe I'm too old for young adult books. But then I pick up another one.

Katie Ellison lives in Connecticut in the seaside town of Eastport. Everyone there is crazy about Quahogs. That's both the bivalve and the high school football team. Secretly Katie hates the tast of quahog, and she doesn't think that football is that great either, but because she wants to keep people happy, she never voices this opinion. She's a well practiced liar and just tells people what she thinks they want to hear. Naturally she's very popular. This year she's running for Quohog Princess, while spending her free time kissing boys – either he jock of a boyfriend Seth, or the guy she's running around with behind his back, Eric. I know, she really doesn't sound very likeable, but somehow it gets pulled off, probably because Eric and Seth get painted as really only good kissers but other than that not complementary for Katie.

Suddenly Katie's life gets distrupted by the arrival of Tommy Sullivan. Tommy left town in eighth grade under shocking circumstances, and Katie can't believe he's back. She also can't believe how great he looks and how tall he is, but she's convinced he's after her for revenge.

Overall: While I had a hard time believing that Katie was actually considered a brainiac in her school what with the addiction to making out with people, and being so bubbleheaded about certain things, she was overall likeable enough for me to keep reading, and eventually Katie does redeem herself for her past actions. It was a fun story and overall the romance was cute, though I cringed in certain places (contact embarrasment)!

What happened with Tommy and why Katie is so paranoid about his return is also not fully revealed and only hinted at throughout the book. This drove me slightly batty until all was revealed near the end (hmm, very sneaky Cabot). 

Excerpt through HarperCollins BrowseInside

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