Kitty Rocks the House (Kitty Norville Book 11) (utgåvan 2013)

This continues to be a go-to read for those times when I just need comfort. Sure, it's about maintaining pack-leader status as the Denver Alpha werewolf, but I REALLY DON'T CARE. Protecting what's yours and revisiting old (and interesting) characters is a treat if they're very interesting.

You know, like Catholic Vampires who believe. Little details like that usually spark my interest. :)

Let's dethrone the queen, shall we? Nope. She has all the might of right on her side. Family, doing the right thing and protecting the innocent? Nothing can beat that, right?

Again. This is a comfort read and I'm quite happy to take comfort where I get it. :)

Then again, that cliffhanger is awesome. I want to see the series go in this direction. So fun! ( )

While this instalment of the Kitty Norville series didn't really rock my house, it was an entertaining read.

I think that part of the problem is that Kitty as a character and as a person, works best on personal, small scale things. She's only the save the world type if the world can be saved by her being brave enough to do the right thing about the problem in front of her with the help of people that she trusts to stand with her. This is actually what I like about Kitty but it makes it difficult to maintain momentum when the series story arc is being propelled by "The Long Game" which will result in a war with a megalomanic group of vampires. I just can't see Kitty as the leader of the opposing army. Then again, neither can Kitty, which is part of why I continue to enjoy these books.

The things I liked most in "Kitty Rocks The House" were that her talk show featured strongly and she finally paid attention to leading her pack.

I love the way Carrie Vaughn writes and Marguerite Gavin narrates, Kitty's "The Midnight Hour" talk show. It's a splendid mix of humour, compassion, and snark, tackling themes from the truly scary to the mindbogglingly stupid. If I could get "The Midnight Hour" on my radio, I'd listen every week.

Kitty became the alpha of her pack in the fourth book of the series, "Kitty And The Silver Bullet". In the six books in between, it seems to me that Kitty's paid very little attention to her pack and has seldom seemed comfortable in her role as alpha. Even if she did achieve her position by challenging and killing the previous alpha pair, Kitty is a talker, not a fighter and she has struggled to reconcile this with a role that is typically achieved and maintained through physical dominance.

In "Kitty Rocks The House" Kitty is made to confront her leadership responsibilities and decide on the kind of alpha she wants to be. I enjoyed that the problem is first highlighted when one of Kitty's pack calls in anonymously to "The Midnight Hour" because its the only way that he can get her attention. Kitty is hoisted with her own petard when she describes the caller's benignly indifferent alphas as "...the kind of parents who buy the beer for their children's parties - cool but not responsible..." and only then realises who she is talking to. Later in the book, Kitty's leadership is challenged by a werewolf pair that are stronger than Kitty and her mate and Kitty has to decide how to respond: run? fight? talk?

I really enjoy watching Kitty work her way through these problems; trying to do better and trying to keep the emphasis on Were rather Wolf. Kitty may stumble from time to time but that just shows her to be human and gives value to her successes.

I was much less engaged in the next segment of "The Long Game" plot, even though it included a vampire priest working for the Vatican and the emergence of a new kind of enemy. The ideas are good but they are not at the heart of the books or, perhaps, not at the heart of what I enjoy about the books. ( )

Not enough action and it seemed a little melancholy. I still love the story but there just wasn't enough going on for me. Sad about Rick but I know he'll be back. ( )

This is quite a bridging novel, where Kitty learns more about what's going on in the world and her place in it and how to balance werewolf life and her friends learning more about their lives. She has to learn more about the Long Game and the problems about it.

It's interesting and adds to the world and the characters who are going to be pivotal in the next novels. ( )

Kitty’s having a hard time — Rick is distracted, a newbie is challenging her authority, her pack is clamoring for her attention, Cormac is killing the good guys, and her sister is having a mid-life crisis.

I don’t always pay attention to some of the more literary devices that may be used in my entertainment fiction; but, I felt that Kitty Rocks the House has such a strong theme, it’s hard to miss. It is, however, a little hard to define.

Kitty is experiencing how both her sister and one of her pack mates, Trey, is suffering because Kitty is spending her time pursuing the things she feels are important — namely her show and the war against Roman–rather than her familial or pack obligations. In turn, Kitty suffers because Rick, Master Vampire of Denver, chooses to pursue something he feels is important–namely the validation of his continued belief in God in spite of being a vampire — while ignoring some of his responsibilities. So, perhaps the theme is either being true to yourself, or something about responsibility. Do you pursue what you believe is right in spite of the damage it may cause others?

This is what Cormac and Detective Hardin so when they poke at Father Columban’s wards. Because they are curious — and think they are doing the right thing — they get a (supposedly good) vampire killed and cause Rick to leave Denver, leaving Kitty alone to deal with the city and the Long Game. I’m really surprised Kitty doesn’t get more upset about this, or even try to explain to Cormac and Hardin what they are doing. She just stands by and watches the chaos unfold. I don’t really understand her lack of reaction in that particular scene. I want to yell at both of them, to be honest.

The pack has argued with Kitty before about taking care of them, their pack, over trying to take care of the world’s problems, of Roman or the vampires. I think this is a good argument and one many people with responsibilities have to face. Someone has to tackle the big problems, stand up in the big fights; but, often it’s done at a cost, usually to the people around you and your responsibilities to them. Which do you choose? ( )