Kitty and the Silver Bullet (Kitty Norville)

I just finished the fourth book in the Kitty Norville series earlier today. The first two were a little slow for me, and I couldn't put down the last two! I was very interested in Kitty's growth from vulnerable follower to independent individual to strong leader, and this series has not let me down. As for the book... the homecoming, the family story, the paranatural war, and the relationships kept me entertained. Kitty's personal issue was unexpected, and it also added depth to the book. There are a couple of things that took away from the good storytelling. Although I have a degree in English myself and understood the narrator's literary allusions, I still found them a bit pretentious for commercial fiction. Even if you understand the references, in my opinion, they disrupt the flow of the story and immersion in the world of the Kitty novels for the reader. I also noticed a few typos (which should have been caught in editing); this is minor, however, as many novels these days are unapologetically littered with them, so one or two typos is nothing at all. While this can be either a positive or a negative quality, this novel was formulaic; for me, this was positive and made the novel more enjoyable. The Return Song is a popular story-pattern in oral-derived literature, consisting of an absence, devastation in the absence of the hero, the hero's return, retribution or restoration of order, and... well, I'll leave out the last one since it's a spoiler. :o) I was pleasantly surprised by its use when I finished the novel. This series ranks as one of my top favorites in the Urban Fantasy genre. If you haven't read it already, do yourself a favor and read it! Thank you, Ms. Vaughn, for the hours of entertainment you have provided me with, and I look forward to your next novel!

Kitty has been on the run after escaping a confrontation with her evil alpha in the first book, now her mother's illness draws Kitty home into a Denver on the verge of a vampire turf war with her old pack leader and his dirty tricks firmly supporting the status quo. While the apparent loss of control over the vampires of the city by current vamp leader is the reason for the attempted coup, it is the deterioration of Kitty's former pack that draws Kitty into the battle. The last time Kitty battled her alpha, she was firmly entrenched in her submissive role as low wolf in the pack and barely left with her life. Now her wolf has grown up and though her human half is still a little slow in catching up, when Kitty tries to aid an abused new wolf Jenny to escape from the pack, Kitty finally grows a spine and becomes the alpha her wolf knows she can be. I loved this latest installment in Vaughn's Kitty Norville series and really all the books leading up to this one have served the purpose to develop Kitty's character and support group to bring her to this point prepared to take the final steps that complete her growth and strengthen Kitty's resolve. I loved how Kitty's transformation brings closure and clarity to so many areas of her life, including her relationships with Ben and Cormac, and now I can't wait to see where the new and improved Kitty goes from here. Vaughn does a great job of bringing this character and series to life. The books have such a 'reality' to them that it seems like I should be able to tune Kitty in at midnight and hear her give common sense advice to 'weres' and 'vamps'. I am glad Kitty finally took some of her own advice here. If you haven't read the rest of the series don't start here, while the book stands alone pretty well, you'll want to witness Kitty's transformation and growth yourself, so go back to the beginning. Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville Series, Book 1) Kitty Goes to Washington (Kitty Norville Series, Book 2) Kitty Takes a Holiday (Kitty Norville Series, Book 3) And if you've already read these and are looking for another series, while no other series I can think of is quite like this one, if you like female shapeshifters and this kind of urban fantasy feel give Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson (werecoyote) a try: Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1) Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 2) Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 3)

Kitty Norville, werewolf and radio talk show hostess, seems to be doing very well. Her new book "Underneath the Skin" is just about to be released, her radio show "The Midnight Hour" is still a big success, and she's now got her own boyfriend--and built in pack in Ben. Then she gets the call from her Dad. Her Mom's got breast cancer and is due for surgery. She and Ben drop everything and head back to Denver. The old saying "you can never go home" is literally true for Kitty. Her old werewolf pack, led by Carl and Meg, is in Denver. If she returns, Carl will consider it an invasion of his territory and act accordingly. Add to that, Kitty's approached by her friend Rick the Vampire. Rick's planning on taking over the city of Denver from the current Master Vampire, Arturo. Will she take sides with him in exchange for protection? As usual, Carrie Vaughn has created a pageturner. "Kitty and the Silver Bullet" kept me up til 2:00 AM to finish. In my opinion, Ms. Vaughn does some of the best world-building in urban fantasy today. She's taken very logical steps with cause and effect to generate some very plausible scenarios in how a post-paranormal world would develop. In "Kitty and the Midnight Hour," Kitty's radio show introduced the world to paranormals. Following in logical order, "Kitty Goes to Washington" has Kitty lobbying Congress to get vampirism and lycanthropy acknowledged as diseases to obtain research funds and help for sufferers. In this book, she carries that to its next logical step. Denver, CO is going to have a Paranormal Division in its Police Department and Detective Hardin is going to head it. Her character development is also stellar. Kitty starts out as a beta wolf, abused by her pack leader, Carl. Now, she's a strong woman, capable of helping other victims and taking care of a pack of her own. Plotting--well, let's just say you need to have the time to finish the books when you sit down to read them because they're hard to put down. Ms. Vaughn puts very likable characters into some serious situations and makes you want to know what's going to happen to them. "Kitty and the Silver Bullet" is the 4th in the series. What I particularly like is each novel is stand alone in relation to a particular issue, but there are continuing life issues for Kitty and the other characters. Below is a list of the three previous Kitty books in order. They are all well worth the read. Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Book 1) Kitty Goes to Washington (Book 2) Kitty Takes a Holiday (Book 3)

Kitty is back again! In this new novel Kitty finds herself dealing with problems from her past and fighting for her life and trying to keep her pack of two safe. But this time vampire politics are also involved. When Rick asks her to come help fight a "war" in Denver Kitty declines, but almost immediately goes to Denver anyway when her mother falls ill. Kitty hides herself as best as she can while in Denever but the people from her past already know she's there. Kitty doesn't know who she can trust. All the tension between Kitty and others, such as Ben, Rick, Arturo, Carl and Meg lead up to a big battle. Two really since there's one with the vamps and one with Carl and Meg. Kitty will have to do the one thing she'e never wanted to do before and that is kill. But she will have to kill or be killed when Ben and her friends are threatened. This was a fabulous read and the Epilogue was extraordinary! We're talking of one fantastic ending!! Look for the next Kitty novel later this year where the surprise at the end continues!

I started reading the "Kitty" series on a whim because I liked the concept of a late night radio show that focused on the supernatural. What an original idea. It's also very logical. If the supernatural did exist it could not stay secret in our information rich modern world. The first book also had an original ending (it's not your typical Hollywood ending) that kept me coming back for each book in the series. The latest book continues with logical storylines and character growth and behavior. While Kitty is the heroine she feels just as real as any of us. She gets scared and confused and uncertain. Things happen that are out of the characters' control and they can't plan for. Very well written and very real and believable and for a long time reader such as myself the ending is *very* satisfying.