Kitty Takes a Holiday

Kitty Norville, Book 3

By: Carrie Vaughn

Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin

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

Critic reviews

"Strong on characterization, Vaughn creates characters worth visiting time after time in this compelling world." ( Booklist)

Better written books with great narrator

As a whole, steps above most of what we find as far as quality of writing, use of language and writing skills and execution of the story by the narrator. Enjoyed it more than most audiobooks. Has something for the intellect on the conveyance of emotional positioning as far as understanding what it is to be alpha or not. Has sociological study value.

A great escape...Kitty takes a holiday!

The title of the book makes it sound less serious than the book actually is...but Vaughn does a imaginative and thorough job describing the fictious werewolf culture and other paranormal subjects. Characters are well developed, and Kitty is really likeable. The mystery in the story is captivating. It is another great escape for readers in the Kitty series. Recommend reading in order to see the development of each character. Narrator is great.

Back west we go...

My rating: Teen (violence)
Favorite character: Tony

Okay, so Kitty is taking a break from the limelight, and after what happened to her in DC, who could blame her. She feels violated, and the first half of the book deals with her complacency and insecurities, but it also deals with the growing idea that someone doesn't like her much.

Cormack and Ben play a bigger part in this book, and honestly, it's hard to say which character has the more exciting role. Between the changes in Ben and the changes in the life of Cormack, both guys add spice to the sauce, so to speak. There is some romance in this book, and I'm happy to say that it doesn't take over. Carrie Vaughn has a very tasteful way of writing about sex; it doesn't get graphic, and it doesn't go on and on (which is easier to deal with on paper than audio).

We get a little local color and some Navajo heritage mixed in during this episode, and that's where my favorite character (for this book) comes in. Tony is a curandero,, and he shows up to offer his advice on some town issues.

Marguerite Gavin is still offering a good narration in this book as well. She may not have the absolute most talented voice out there, but her natural voice is so easy to listen to, and her voice for Kitty is wonderful. She differentiates between characters well, and I really liked her voice for Tony. I'll be looking for her more often.

This book is obviously buiding up to something more.... You can see that there are other storylines, other plots unfolding on the horizon. Looking forward to more.

Today’s Werewolf Struggles

I love how Kitty and her friends have to learn their new roles in the pack and their lives. Will definitely be continuing the series!!!

Kitty holiday goes from cursed to worse

I love the Kitty Norville books but I HATE the covers. They are everything the books aren’t: clichéd, wannabe-glamorous, vapidly sexual and totally unoriginal. If I wasn’t reading the audiobook version, I’d have to add a “Don’t judge me by my cover” sticker to the front. Why do the publishers do this?

Sigh.

Underneath the cover is another good read in the Kitty Norville series about the werewolf host of “The Midnight Hour – the talk show that isn’t afraid of the dark or the people who live there.”

Except, in this novel, Kitty is taking a break from her show so she can write an autobiography, hence the “Kitty Takes A Holiday” title.

I like the way Carrie Vaughn adapts move titles for her books, it’s inclusive some how, inviting the reader to a peer-to-peer relationship based on a common culture. Or that could be nonsense that I make up when my over-used brain takes time off to write book reviews.

Don’t be mislead, this isn’t a jolly jaunt to the seaside. Kitty’s holiday starts off feeling like a self-imposed exile that isolates her from her fans and the energy and focus her show gives her.

Kitty is so bored by the countryside and so blocked in her writing that she ends up calling in to a newly established rival to “The Midnight Hour” and pretending to have a problem to discuss.

Then things get worse: curses, corpses, and a creature with glowing red eyes and very evil intentions.

“Kitty Takes A Holiday” is darker than it’s predecessors. Humour is only an accent colour here, the main palette of the book is much more sombre: power and what you or who you are prepared to sacrifice to get it; hate and fear and how they blind you, and twist you and lessen you; Irredeemable, insatiable, life-destroying evil and the strength needed to confront it and the power of belief to change not just what we see but who we become.

There is more violence and death and this book and the consequences for everyone involved are more severe. Kitty learns more about why Cormac hunts and kills werewolves and has to consider whether she can endorse the violence he brings with him everywhere. Kitty also starts to understand that her public status as a werewolf makes her a target for those who fear her power or abhor her unnatural status.

I think Carrie Vaughn took a risk by having Kitty so depressed, disempowered and unsure of herself for large parts of this book but it more than paid off in terms of making Kitty into a more rounded person who understands her own nature and is finally able to choose her path rather than just react to the actions of others.

Wanted to give it more stars.....

I gave the story itself the stars. Love smart, funny, snarky female protangonists, and there are several books in this series, a plus for me!
Unfortunately, I could not get past the narrator. The story was good enough in the first book to get past Ms. Gavin, and the character was a radio personality... Did not finish this book, and believe me that is rare! Marguerite Gavin sounds like the actress Wendy Malick, and that is the picture I got in my head, not some young (at the time of her attack), slacker girl. Ms. Gavin's narration is a bit too sophisticated for what I picture Kitty to be. Even alone in the cabin in the woods she uses the "Midnight Hour Voice," for internal dialogue. Of course we all have our own mental images... I'll give this series another try.. in print.

Great Entertainment

Kitty's story continues to evolve. The main characters are fleshed out a little more and there's a little romance thrown in. The topic of tolerance/ intolerance underlies the story. Overall, it's a fun read with enough action and personal growth to keep the story going.

I love Carrie Vaughn

Carrie brings Kitty Norvil to life in the most interesting and entertaining way
I know now that I’ll have every Kitty adventure in my library

Very good addition to the series :)

4 stars

**warning, I'm letting something slip in this review that would be considered a spoiler**

This was a very good story and addition to the series. I'm still loving Kitty as the heroine. After what happened to her in the previous book, Kitty decides to take some time off from the show and write a book. She rented a cabin in a small town so she could focus on her work but instead she just found herself drifting and doubting her ability to get back what she had lost. Ben had come to the area to meet with her and mentioned that he was meeting Cormic to help him with a werewolf hunt not too far away. A couple days later, Kitty gets a visit from a freaked out Cormic who is bringing Ben to her for help. The werewolf they were hunting bit Ben and he's turning wolf. Cormic and Ben had always agreed that if one of them got bit the other would take them out but when it came time, Cormic couldn't do it. He knew Kitty was a good werewolf and so he figured she was the right person to help Ben recover and live with his changes.

While Cormic and Ben are staying with Kitty, some issues arise. First someone starts leaving dead animals around Kitty's cabin and then something else shows up that starts killing cattle and has glowing red eyes. However, before dealing with this, the trio has to concentrate on getting Ben through his first full moon and Kitty's determined to show him how life doesn't have to be bad as a werewolf. There's another instance or two of attraction between Kitty and Cormic and I thought something would finally happen there but it doesn't work out. Instead something starts to develop between Kitty and Ben...they kind of fell into it but like each other enough that they're willing to explore it. The other issues do get resolved but Cormic ends the story in jail for saving Kitty's life. Despite this sadness, Kitty and Ben end the story doing alright and what I'd probably term as a HFN.

I enjoyed this story very much. There's one thing I both hate and love about this series, there's always some bad with the good. It both makes the story more realistic and yet a bit frustrating at times. Regardless of that, I still love Kitty and think the series is worth the read. This story was very interesting and kept me engaged from beginning til end. I'd recommend it and the series. :D

Excellent book

I highly recommend this series it's been out for a while and it stands up against all the new stuff coming out today.