I've been busy with my course and with life lately, so I've been spending more time reading alternative press magazines than I have actual books. In fairness, I'm about halfway through a thick book right now but with everything else that's going on I'm having trouble focusing on it.

So instead, and possibly for the next few blog posts, I'm going to share some series you might want to check out.

Today's contribution is the Kitty Goes To ... series by Carrie Vaughn. The good news, given that Ms. Vaughn seems to only release one book per calendar year, is that you don't have to wait for the first four. ;-)

This is a series with a strong female lead. Kitty is a werewolf -- but not by choice. When the first book opens, she has only been a wolf for a few short years having been bitten against her will. Throughout the series, she goes from being a submissive part of a pack led by a violent and abusive man to being a strong-minded person in her own right. She is also an online radio host of "The Midnight Hour", a call-in show for supes -- supernaturals. For those of you in Canada, think "Talking Sex With Sue" for the supernatural community.

Book 1: Kitty and the Midnight Hour
release date: November 1, 2005

From the Publisher (c/o Chapters Indigo)
Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station and a werewolf in the closet. Her new late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged is a raging success, but it's Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf-hunter and a few homicidal undead on her tail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew?



Book 2: Kitty Goes to Washington
release date: July 1, 2006

From the Publisher (c/o Chapters Indigo)
Celebrity werewolf and late-night radio host Kitty Norville prefers to be heard and not seen. So when she's invited to testify at a Senate hearing on behalf of supernaturals, and her face gets plastered on national TV, she inherits a new set of friends, and enemies, including the vampire mistress of the city; an ++ber-hot Brazilian were-jaguar; and a Bible-thumping senator who wants to expose kitty as a monster.Kitty quickly learns that in this city of dirty politicians and backstabbing pundits, everyone's itching for a fight.


Book 3: Kitty Takes a Holiday
release date: April 1, 2007

From the Publisher (c/o Chapters Indigo)
After getting caught turning wolf on national television, Kitty retreats to a mountain cabin to recover and write her memoirs.But this is Kitty, so trouble is never far behind, and instead of Walden Pond, she gets Evil Dead. When werewolf hunter Cormac shows up with an injured Ben O'Farrell, Kitty's lawyer, slung over his shoulder, and a wolf-like creature with glowing red eyes starts sniffing around the cabin, Kitty wonders if any of them will get out of these woods alive...

Book 4: Kitty and the Silver Bullet
release date: January 1, 2008

From the Publisher (c/o Chapters Indigo)
Kitty's radio show is as popular as ever and she has a boyfriend who actually seems to understand her.Can she finally settle down to a normal life?Not if this is just the calm before the storm.When her mother falls ill, Kitty rushes back to Denver--and right back to the abusive pack of werewolves she escaped a year ago.To make matters worse, a war is brewing between the city''s two oldest vampires, threatening the whole supernatural community.Though she wants to stay neutral, Kitty is again drawn into a world of politics and violence.To protect her family, her lover, and herself, she''ll have to choose sides.And maybe become what she hates--a killer.

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. More than a year. How does that happen? What have I been doing from May of 2007 until July 2008? How does a person lose a year in the blogosphere? It's not like I haven't been reading. Really.

I can tell you that I read each and every one of those books from my May 2007 post.

All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris
This is, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), a somewhat consistent type of book for Ms. Harris. I love her books. I have worked my way through all of her series. However, I have noticed that by the 4th or 5th book she seems to lose steam a bit. The writing is still good but somehow the storyline lacks ... something.

All Together Dead is no exception. In fact, I'd say it's the weakest book in the entire series.

But hey, on a positive note, in the time it has taken me to do this review the book has come out in paperback and is probably widely available through the library. ;-)

My rating: @@


No Humans Involved, by Kelley Armstrong
Now this book was MUCH better than the previous one I reviewed, above. Armstrong is a consistently strong writer and this book was no exception. There wasn't quite as much of the interpersonal, bittersweet angst that we find in some of her other books; it was also a bit darker than some of the other installments in the Women of the Otherworld series.

Have I read it more than once? No. Will I get around to re-reading it sooner or later? Possibly.

My rating: @@@


Demons Are Forever, by Julie Kenner
It's fluff. It's chick lit. It's marketed towards those Buffy (BtVS) fans who have (or are) grown up and living in the suburbs but are still thinking of adventures gone by.

With that disclaimer and attempt at literary superiority in place, here is the truth of it: I really like this series. It's part guilty pleasure and part ... nope, it's pretty much a guilty pleasure. But at least it's well-written if a little under-challenging. Works for the beach, on vacation, on a plane and even bathroom reading. Anywhere you can pick it up and put it down again without making a huge emotional or mental investment.

My rating for this book is allowing full appreciation for what it is.

My rating: @@@


The Harlequin, by Laurell K. Hamilton
Unfortunately, I just don't remember what I thought of this book. I remember it being better than the previous book, but past that ... it just didn't make much of an impression. Based on that ...

My rating: @@


Thin Air, by Rachel Caine
Such a good series. You have the romance, you have the angst, you have internal and external conflict -- and you have a female lead who kicks butt.

Don't start with this book, but do pick up this series. It's just so satisfying.

My rating: @@@@


There. It may not totally make up for vanishing for a year there, but at least it's a start.