I really enjoy the Kitty books, and this one was no exception. However, it felt like there was something lacking from this book, although I can't put my finger on what.

Holy crap was this utter trash. I somehow ended up with only book 9 in this series. Complete rubbish, honestly. But on the other hand, a fan action romp with werewolves, vampires and various characters from Chinese mythology. So I guess it could have been worse.

This installment in the Kitty Norville series was top notch. Kitty's inquisitive nature gets her pulled in to another life or death adventure, and she is introduced to a whole new type of supernatural being. We get to learn a little more about Cormac and Amelia and also meet a new family of vampires. Kitty is traveling in this book, so we don't get to see as much of her pack back home, which is regrettable, but the new characters are interesting enough to make up for that. This series only seems to get better with time and shows no signs of getting stale like some other long series have.

Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads

“Werewolves are all about instinct, emotion. They’re so full of passion. Makes them fascinating, don’t you think?”

It’s like meeting back up with old friends when a new Kitty book hits the shelves. Whether she likes it or not, Kitty always finds herself in the middle of the action and while she might hope for a nice, quiet life with her husband, Ben, trouble seems to find her (or she it) more often than not. After asking many questions about werewolves throughout history and who might have been a famous shapeshifter, she ends up getting a call from the vampire Anastasia asking for “help” in retrieving the Dragon Pearl, an object of massive power that if in the wrong hands, namely Roman’s, would be devastating. Kitty agrees to help and her pack of 3, Ben, Cormac and herself head west to San Francisco. What starts out as a hunt to find the Dragon’s Pearl, turns into far more than anyone saw coming and battling other werewolves, being brought in to see the local vampire Family, facing off against Roman and even coming face to face with Gods, is all in a nights work for Kitty and Co.

All I could think when reading this book was, Kitty is having one hell of a rough night. The main story takes place during one long day and the majority of scenes are in underground San Francisco, not any underground that would be on a map however. The world is a new one to Kitty and to readers and has a very dreamlike quality to it. Are things really what they seem? Are the people? In a big way, it was an introduction in that we don’t know what all is “out there” and there’s no way to get the answers to everything, even though that will never stop Kitty from asking the questions…any question:

“It’s rude, asking vampires about their age,” said Boss.
I shrugged. “Yeah. I keep doing it anyway.” I was getting my groove back. I came as close as I could to staring at him without looking him in his hypnotic eyes. He had a slight hook in his nose, “I have some questions. You’ve been running San Francisco for almost a century, so you were here during the sixties. Summer of Love and all that, right? You ever meet Janis Joplin? Jerry Garcia? Country Joe? Any of those psychedelic guys?”
“What if I said yes? What do you expect me to say about any of them that hasn’t already been said?”
“Maybe I just wanted to see if you had any concert bootlegs.”

One thing I really enjoyed that stood out most for me was this was a story that showed Kitty’s main pack in action. She, Ben and Cormac were together pretty much from cover to cover and I loved seeing their new dynamic at work. There are still so many questions about Cormac and his "other" side, and we’re slowly seeing how he’s changed and I’m hoping that he has a short story in KITTY’S GREATEST HITS that explains a little more about what happened when he was in prison. Not everything’s all roses and rainbows for the trio though because even though Cormac knows Kitty and Ben, he’s still weary of their werewolves and while Kitty does trust him to have their backs in a fight, I don't know if they 100% trust him to not take one or both of them out if he thought they were a threat. I’d like to think he wouldn’t, but there are just enough references to his weary looks at them, or how he holds his weapon that makes me wonder just what’s going through his mind.

While this book didn’t have a big showdown with a clear cut finish or ending, it set up the next book and the future of Kitty and her potential “army” vs Roman and whatever this Long Game is that will no doubt run right through Kitty – or she’ll run through it! In the short term, Kitty won’t have her calm, quiet life, but that’s not really her to begin with. She finds herself in the middle of everything and this is why I’m a Ben fan – he’s her safe place. When everything was going to hell and back in this story, all Kitty needed to do was touch Ben to calm down and get centered. Their relationship has been one of my favorite things about this series from the start. It’s not really the norm to have a series centered around a heroine in a committed relationship, but Kitty needs the solid, steady presence of Ben (as he does with her) and I love the team they’ve become and it just gets stronger with each book. I hope that Cormac can find his place in their pack, Kitty and Ben want him there, and if the ending of KITTY’S BIG TROUBLE is any indication, Cormac is getting more comfortable with life on the outside again, and is realizing that he’s a part of the “we” when Kitty and Ben talk about hitting the road for another adventure.

Overall, this is another very entertaining Kitty adventure. The story flows so well and the ending leaves me wanting the next book now!

Loved it! New players in The Game, integrated without feeling contrived, and renewed connections with allies, with a whole new setting and quest. Love it. :)

Kitty Norville is back and in more trouble than ever. Her recent run-in with werewolves traumatized by the horrors of war has made her start wondering how long the US government might have been covertly using werewolves in combat. Have any famous names in our own history might have actually been supernatural? She's got suspicions about William Tecumseh Sherman. Then an interview with the right vampire puts her on the trail of Wyatt Earp, vampire hunter.

But her investigations lead her to a clue about enigmatic vampire Roman and the mysterious Long Game played by vampires through the millennia. That, plus a call for help from a powerful vampire ally in San Francisco, suddenly puts Kitty and her friends on the supernatural chessboard, pieces in dangerously active play. And Kitty Norville is never content to be a pawn. . . .

I just got back on this series and I have several books to catch up on. This one was good and starts her off on two quests at the same time. So she and her small pack of 3 (told you it was small) start one quest by helping her ally she now has 2 quests. I really enjoyed this one. It had familiar beings with a surprising new one which I will not give away.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Another fun episode in the saga of Kitty. Looks like things are going to ramp up even further in her world.

As for the audio book narration, I typically love Marguerite Gavin. However, the beginning of the books sounded almost as if she were a little tipsy or medication. It was strange.

Another good book in the series. I enjoyed the use of Chinese mythology in this one.

Maybe it's because it's been a while since I read the last book in this series, but it seemed like a really quick read and I wasn't all that invested in the conflict. It was entertaining, don't get me wrong, but it didn't draw me in the way others have.

3.9. Not my favorite book in the series, but I like the exploration of a whole new (to me) mythology.