Audible Book Review: Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn

I love this narrator and like the series.
Kitty Takes a Holiday
Kitty Norville, Book 3
By: Carrie Vaughn
Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin

Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
Release date: 10-05-09
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Werewolf
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.5.

Publisher's Summary
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.
©2007 Carrie Vaughn, LLC (P)2009 Tantor

Review:
Kitty has retreated to a mountain cabin to ‘hide’ from her exposed nature as a werewolf and to, maybe wrote a book. Someone in the nearby community begins to harass her by leaving dead animals on her porch and in her yard. The local police chief inspects but clearly isn’t too favorable to Kitty and is willing to blame her for the ‘pranks’.

While Kitty is struggling with the harassment, her ‘friend’ Cormac arrives with her attorney, Ben, who is injured. Cormac brought Ben to Kitty to help him through the injury. Cormac is upset by the increasing ugliness of the harassment and the sudden appearance of a killing beast like the one he was hunting when Ben got hurt.

Kitty and Cormac are on the edge of changing their friendship until an incident with Ben makes that unlikely. Feeling like a third wheel, Cormac takes off. But Cormac has sent a strange Native American to investigate the harassment which appears to be some type of attempt to curse Kitty. The perpetrators are exposed but they all face mauling when the red-eyed beast shows up.

Cormac reappears but runs into trouble while trying to protect his friends. Ben and Kitty do some serious investigation trying to get more information and witnesses, but it may be impossible to solve the problem that Cormac now faces.

It has been a while since I listened to the previous book in this series, and I was glad to continue with this one. I like the characters and the magic elements. Kitty struggles listening to a competitive radio host but the interaction results in allow Kitty to grow as a character. I also liked how she begins to find the benefits of having a pack. There is plenty of action and mystery that keeps the story moving. I recommend the series to fans of good (rather than evil) werewolves. .

Audio Notes: Marguerite Gavin is a wonderful narrator and I have picked up audios because she narrates them. She does a great job with this series, providing distinct voices and clear energy for the characters. The narration enhances my enjoyment of the story.

Source: March 2022 Audible Sale Purchase at $3.67. This qualifies for 2022TBR, 2022Audiobook, and 2022Alphabet goals.

Audible Book Reviews: Kitty and the Midnight Hour and Kitty Goes to Washington

A DJ werewolf who accidentally sets off trouble.

Kitty and the Midnight Hour: Kitty Norville Book 1 

• UNABRIDGED
• by Carrie Vaughn
• Narrated by Marguerite Gavin 

     Genre: Paranormal
      My Rating: 4.5

Product Summary:
Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station---and a werewolf in the closet. Sick of lame song requests, she accidentally starts "The Midnight Hour," a late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged. After desperate vampires, werewolves, and witches across the country begin calling in to share their woes, her new show 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.

Review:

This starts the series introducing a gutsy, although submissive Kitty. She accidentally gets a caller who starts ranting about Bat Boy and vampires and all of sudden she has a new call in show - The Midnight Hour. She quickly becomes a talk show success as lots of humans and other creatures are calling in.  Some are glad to have their secrets revealed but others are not. Kitty’s own pack isn’t thrilled and the local vampires are really unhappy. And someone is aiming to take Kitty off the air - permanently.

The story starts a little slowly with Kitty being an oddly submissive wolf but a stubborn human. The pace then picks up as the police seek Kitty’s help, the she convinces a would be assassin to help her turn the tables. It has mystery, humor and personal relationship dynamics.

I really enjoyed the DJ character and the details of the radio show, with the theme song “Bad Moon Rising” and the closing signature Kitty’s own wolf howl. There is also interesting, if not always congenial, interaction in the werewolf pack family. The narrator does a god job as a late night talk show DJ host as well as presenting the story through Kitty’s experience. There was some explicit, but not vulgar, sex and the bad language was limited. This is an engaging plot and an enjoyable listen.

Kitty Goes to Washington: Kitty Norville Book 2

• UNABRIDGED
• by Carrie Vaughn
• Narrated by Marguerite Gavin

Genre: Paranormal
My Rating:  4.25

Product Summary:
The country's only celebrity werewolf, late-night radio host Kitty Norville prefers to be heard, not seen. But when she's invited to testify at a Senate hearing on behalf of supernaturals, her face gets plastered on national television. Kitty has been in hot water before, but jumping into the D.C. underworld brings a new set of problems - and a new set of friends and enemies, including the vampire mistress of the city; a super-hot Brazilian were-jaguar; and a paranoid, 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.

Review:

Kitty has broken from her pack and taken her radio show on the road to hopefully lay low and avoid trouble. But don’t you know that trouble comes calling as she is subpoenaed to speak before congressional hearings in Washington. It looks like Kitty will have to face a Senate "witch hunt."

As soon as she hits town she is stopped and escorted – er invited - to meet the local Vampire Queen. Kitty doesn't want to take a leadership role but she sure is being pushed into being a spokesperson for the Supernatural community. She just has to survive a kidnaping by an unscrupulous scientist (the bad side of animal testing) and a fanatical politician. Meanwhile she also gets to deal with the self proclaimed religious healer from the first story. At least she gets a sexy brazilian were-jaguar to romp with during her visit.

This book introduces some new and interesting support characters, but also has Kitty’s attorney, Ben, and the dark and brooding Vampire hunter, Cormac, stepping in to give a little back up.
Again, there is some pretty steamy sex and occasional foul language. There is plenty of action and an interesting look at fear, prejudices and discrimination against those who are different. Although this could be read alone, I recommend reading the stories in order. I plan to continue with more in the series as I get some new Audible credits.