BOOK REVIEW: Kitty Rocks the House by Carrie Vaughn
Title: Kitty Rocks the House
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville (Book 11)
The following review has some spoilers for previous Kitty books. There are no real spoilers for Kitty Rocks the House.
Recently returned from London, Kitty's latest challenge comes from an unexpected place: regular life. That is, regular life for a werewolf alpha. Kitty struggles to maintain a balance between the radio show, her position of leadership in her pack, and her often neglected family, all while dealing with the ever present threat of the vampire Roman, and The Long Game. To complicate things even more, a new vampire has arrived in town, offering Denver master Rick the one thing that's always been denied to him as a vampire, faith.
Kitty Rocks the House is the first of two Kitty books to be released in 2013 (the second, Kitty in the Underworld, will be out in late July). There was a lot I enjoyed about Kitty Rocks the House, although what worked for me, and what didn't always work for me kind of surprised me. It's not the vampire storyline but Kitty's life that really drew me into this book. As someone that struggles (and sometimes fails) to find balance in life, it's kind of satisfying to see that Kitty struggles with it too. Over the past couple of books, Kitty has gotten so caught up in The Long Game that she's begun to neglect her pack, something that becomes apparent when a confident new werewolf comes to town and shakes things up. Kitty Rocks the House does a great job in showcasing Kitty in her role as alpha, which is something that we haven't seen for a while. This means that we get to spend more time with her packmates, which I really enjoyed.
The vampire storyline in Kitty Rocks the House is pretty good, although it felt a little underdeveloped at times. I was excited to see Rick play a more active role in the series, so I was kind of disappointed to discover that he spends much of this book off screen. The storyline ends in dramatic fashion, introducing some lasting consequences for the series, which I really appreciated. At the same time, I came out of the book kind of angry at Cormac. He makes some decisions near the end that will have serious consequences for Kitty in the future (on top of putting her life in danger for that particular scene), and his unapologetic response , while true to character, really rubbed me the wrong way. Let's just say that after reading Kitty Rocks the House, I was very happy that Kitty decided to be with Ben instead.
Final Thoughts: Kitty Rocks the House is another solid addition to the Kitty Norville series. Although the series doesn't shine quite as brightly as it did in earlier volumes (Kitty Goes to Washington, Kitty and the Silver Bullet and the more recent Kitty's House of Horrors are examples of really strong books), I still found Kitty Rocks the House to be an enjoyable page turner. The plot line for Kitty in the Underworld, sounds really appealing to me so I'll be sure to check it out once it's released. Four Stars
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville (Book 11)
The following review has some spoilers for previous Kitty books. There are no real spoilers for Kitty Rocks the House.
Recently returned from London, Kitty's latest challenge comes from an unexpected place: regular life. That is, regular life for a werewolf alpha. Kitty struggles to maintain a balance between the radio show, her position of leadership in her pack, and her often neglected family, all while dealing with the ever present threat of the vampire Roman, and The Long Game. To complicate things even more, a new vampire has arrived in town, offering Denver master Rick the one thing that's always been denied to him as a vampire, faith.
Kitty Rocks the House is the first of two Kitty books to be released in 2013 (the second, Kitty in the Underworld, will be out in late July). There was a lot I enjoyed about Kitty Rocks the House, although what worked for me, and what didn't always work for me kind of surprised me. It's not the vampire storyline but Kitty's life that really drew me into this book. As someone that struggles (and sometimes fails) to find balance in life, it's kind of satisfying to see that Kitty struggles with it too. Over the past couple of books, Kitty has gotten so caught up in The Long Game that she's begun to neglect her pack, something that becomes apparent when a confident new werewolf comes to town and shakes things up. Kitty Rocks the House does a great job in showcasing Kitty in her role as alpha, which is something that we haven't seen for a while. This means that we get to spend more time with her packmates, which I really enjoyed.
The vampire storyline in Kitty Rocks the House is pretty good, although it felt a little underdeveloped at times. I was excited to see Rick play a more active role in the series, so I was kind of disappointed to discover that he spends much of this book off screen. The storyline ends in dramatic fashion, introducing some lasting consequences for the series, which I really appreciated. At the same time, I came out of the book kind of angry at Cormac. He makes some decisions near the end that will have serious consequences for Kitty in the future (on top of putting her life in danger for that particular scene), and his unapologetic response , while true to character, really rubbed me the wrong way. Let's just say that after reading Kitty Rocks the House, I was very happy that Kitty decided to be with Ben instead.
Final Thoughts: Kitty Rocks the House is another solid addition to the Kitty Norville series. Although the series doesn't shine quite as brightly as it did in earlier volumes (Kitty Goes to Washington, Kitty and the Silver Bullet and the more recent Kitty's House of Horrors are examples of really strong books), I still found Kitty Rocks the House to be an enjoyable page turner. The plot line for Kitty in the Underworld, sounds really appealing to me so I'll be sure to check it out once it's released. Four Stars