Kitty Goes to War - Carrie Vaughn

TITLE: Kitty Goes to War

AUTHOR: Carrie Vaughn

SUMMARY: Kitty Norville, Alpha werewolf and host of The Midnight Hour, a radio call-in show, is contacted by a friend at the NIH's Center for the Study of Paranatural Biology. Three Army soldiers recently returned from the war in Afghanistan are being held at Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs. They're killer werewolves-and post traumatic stress has left them unable to control their shape-shifting and unable to interact with people. Kitty agrees to see them, hoping to help by bringing them into her pack.

Meanwhile, Kitty gets sued for libel by CEO Harold Franklin after featuring Speedy Mart--his nationwide chain of 24-hour convenience stores with a reputation for attracting supernatural unpleasantness--on her show.

Very bad weather is on the horizon. - From Publisher

REVIEW: This series continues to exceed my expectations. Whenever I go to pick up the new Kitty Norville book I always get some trepidation on whether this book will be the one that leaves me with that uncomfortable disappointment that eats at me. Thankfully it seems with each new installment Vaughn continues to keep up the pace and brings new angles to keep us readers hooked.

What I loved about this installment was that some old characters where brought back. Back in book Kitty Goes to Washington we got to meet the Doctor that exploited Kitty now he's back. While he doesn't make any face time we do get to see his 'work'. I'm so happy that Vaughn tied in previous characters and I loved that angle of using the supernatural in human wars. It adds depth to the book and I'm hoping that we go down this path more and more.

If you haven't picked up the series I highly recommend that you do. The first few books are a bit tedious to get through, however I loved them but I know other reviewers weren't instant fans of this series. Regardless, pick 'em up and enjoy the ride.

RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Voices of Dragons - Carrie Vaughn

TITLE: Voices of Dragons

AUTHOR: Carrie Vaughn

SUMMARY: On one side of the border lies the modern world: the internet, homecoming dances, cell phones. On the other side dwell the ancient monsters who spark humanity's deepest fears: dragons.

Seventeen-year-old Kay Wyatt knows she's breaking the law by rock climbing near the border, but she'd rather have an adventure than follow the rules. When the dragon Artegal unexpectedly saves her life, the rules are abruptly shattered, and a secret friendship grows between them.

But suspicion and terror are the legacy of human and dragon inter­actions, and the fragile truce that has maintained peace between the species is unraveling. As tensions mount and battles begin, Kay and Artegal are caught in the middle. Can their friendship change the course of a war?

In her young-adult debut, New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn presents a distinctly twenty-first-century tale of myths and machines, and an alliance that crosses a seemingly unbridgeable divide. - From Publisher

REVIEW: Alright, it's no secret that I love Vaughn's Kitty Norville series. I think for an adult series she's done such a good job of written character driven stories and while in her adult series there is romance it's never the sole focus of the books. So I knew going into Vaughn's first dive at a YA book that I was going to love it. And, I did!

The story starts off with giving us some general information for the book but pretty soon we are pushed into action and really, it doesn't slow down. The pace was even, spiking at certain key points and going back to a steady enjoyable stride. I loved that at no point while reading this did I get bored or bogged down. Vaughn managed to give us history and knowledge while never it turning into a history lesson and I loved that she pulled some unexpected twists.

When a story is character-driven I feel like it can't go wrong. And Vaughn has grown so much as an author that focus' on characters. Kay was the sort of girl that I'd like my daughter to read about. She was strong willed in a non-bratty way and yes, because I'm traditional I loved that she wasn't following her BFFL's lead when it comes to sex. I know it's a big topic with authors, readers & parents but I felt like Vaughn wrote it so well and really, with everything that she had going and what we knew about Kay any crazy focus on romance would have seemed out from left field.

The book had some beautiful scenes and I found the story to be extremely compelling. A delight to read and I really hope Vaughn decides to continue with this 'verse and makes a series out of it.

RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Kitty's House of Horrors - Carrie Vaughn

TITLE: Kitty's House of Horrors

AUTHOR: Carrie Vaughn

SUMMARY: REALITY BITES

Talk radio host and werewolf Kitty Norville has agreed to appear on TV''s first all-supernatural reality show. She''s expecting cheesy competitions and manufactured drama starring shapeshifters, vampires, and psychics. But what begins as a publicity stunt will turn into a fight for her life.

The cast members, including Kitty, arrive at the remote mountain lodge where the show is set. As soon as filming starts, violence erupts and Kitty suspects that the show is a cover for a nefarious plot. Then the cameras stop rolling, cast members start dying, and Kitty realizes she and her monster housemates are ironically the ultimate prize in a very different game. Stranded with no power, no phones, and no way to know who can be trusted, she must find a way to defeat the evil closing in . . . before it kills them all. - From Publisher

REVIEW: Kitty's adventures just keep getting better and better along with becoming more addicting with each book!

I feel like I often say this about every book when it comes to this series but honestly, this is one of my favorites. I loved the darker aspects of this book; by darker I mean the unleashed violence of being locked in a house of reality terror. Vaughn really struck gold with this plot. I felt like it was a brilliant way to dive deeper into some major players 'end game' that we learned about in Kitty Raises Hell without the book becoming 300 pages of Kitty researching and asking questions.

The plot was fast paced and really put Kitty in a dire situation without her mate. And I think it was another stepping stone in showing how much our beloved wolf has grown. Vaughn has developed her characters so fabulously, never have I read one of her books and thought 'wow, where did this OOC come from?'. She writes in such a way that it just slowly happens; so feel safe in knowing that in no way does this book show Kitty as a hardened veteran battling the baddies but it definitely establishes that push come to shove our girl can push back and hard.

I did miss the lack of Ben in this book. I love Kitty and Ben's interaction and they are among the few couples that were once in a potential love triangle and they actually ended up together. Normally in triangles, the pairing that occurs isn't the one I wanted. So, I love these two even more then normal because they beat the book triangle odds! Thankfully the time we did get between them was full of substance and had me smiling with glee.

This book also brought the return of a beloved character and even if the plot and tease of ones end game wasn't involved I'd still be enthralled with this new addition simply for the return.

If you haven't read any of this series I highly encourage you to pick it up. It's one series that I've loved from the start and will now be impatiently waiting the next book in this series.

RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥