Kitty and the Silver Bullet

Kitty becomes an Alpha

"Kitty And The Silver Bullet" was fun from the first page to the last. Carrie Vaughn's writing is deceptively easy to read: I found myself sliding right into the story, like returning to a favourite reading chair, yet what Carrie Vaughn writes is not light-weight. It works because she loads her books with serious, difficult issues and drives Kitty's development by her responses to them. Carrie Vaughn is never heavy-handedly didactic but her characters are always made to choose between right and wrong and to take the consequences of their actions.

Kitty, now the Alpha of a two werewolf pack, is forced by family circumstances to return home, even though the Alphas of her previous pack has banished her on pain of show more death.

This means that Kitty finally has to confront the abuse she received from the Alpha of her first pack and the scars that it left. The confrontation becomes wrapped up in the Byzantine complexities of Vampire politics: a hierarchy enforced by violence and changed only by challenge but which turns out not to be entirely in the hands of the local Vampires.

Kitty befriends a young pack member who occupies the bottom-of-the-heap, abuse-toy for the Alpha role that Kitty held. This meeting, together with the reaction of some of her former pack-mates, makes Kitty realise that the experiences of the past year have changed her from a defenseless follower into a strong leader.

I enjoyed Kitty's reluctance to become an Alpha and her struggles to try and avoid violent conflict. Perhaps it's true that power should only be given to those who don't desire it and the force is a last resort.

I was also fascinated to see Kitty trying to sort out whether she becomes more as werewolf by embracing the human or the wolf. Her reactions to abuse and murder are decidedly human. Her need to protect her pack and her pack's expectations of her are mainly wolf. Until this novel, Kitty has tended to see herself as a human who has contracted a disease that turns her into a wolf on the full moon. In this novel she accepts that that is not the whole truth. She is no longer who she was and she has now to decide who she will become. show less

Ever since her friend TJ was killed, Kitty has stayed far away from the abusive pack alphas in her home city. But a family emergency pulls Kitty back to Denver, where she has to confront the pack she left behind. Since she's been gone, it's gotten even more dysfunctional, and meanwhile the vampire Master of the city is increasing his demands of the wolves. One of Kitty's old friends asks for her help in breaking the Master's hold, but Kitty wants to stay out of the power struggle. But when the coup fails, Kitty realizes that she can't let the status quo keep deteriorating. With fewer allies and more to lose than ever before, Kitty makes a power play of her own.

This is one of the strongest books in the series, and one that kept my eyes show more glued to the page. Vaughn never gets lazy about characterization: every book, we understand Kitty a little better. I love the strategies she uses, effective ones seem like common sense but are rarely utilized in fiction. She talks to the pack, getting support and a feel for their opinions, before making grand speeches or a power play. When a submissive werewolf is in danger, she doesn't immediately start ripping throats out--she sets up a safe house (using the connections we've seen her make in the previous two books) and gets her a plane ticket. When she finds out a battle is going on, she tells the cops. They're not fully prepared for supernatural business, but at least this way law enforcement knows who to charge and how to protect themselves. She transforms into a small, not particularly strong wolf--and so instead of fighting with her claws, she starts learning how to use a gun and gets silver bullets. It was so refreshing to have a truly sensible heroine for once. Which is not to say she's overly analytical or passionless, but she's not constantly running into battle without backup or fore-thought. I also appreciated Vaughn's take on power. Heroes (including Kitty) are always going on about how they have to step up and take leadership because that's what The People Want. But much harder, I think, is to step down from power because that's what is wanted or needed. I've pretty much never seen a character relinquish power, particularly for selfless reasons, so to see it here, paired with Kitty having to accept power, was a great choice. The last few books have expanded our knowledge of the lycanthrope and human worlds, and given us a little taste of vampires. This one makes it clear how much is still mysterious, which just whetted my appetite for more. I can't wait to see what happens next! show less

After a long time away, Kitty finds herself drawn back to Denver. First it was Rick, a vampire friend trying to drag her into vampire politics, but then it was something far more personal – her mother has cancer.

Refusing to abandon her family, Kitty is forced to return to Denver where she was previously banished – instantly setting her against her old alphas, Carl and Meg. And also dragging her, against her wishes, into deep vampire politics, not just to help Rick against Arturo, the master of Denver, but also enmeshing her in even deeper webs as a new vampire visits the city and agrees to an interview.

Kitty has to decide whether to flee or stand her ground so she can be there for her family – and she has to continue to navigate show more her new relationship and new pack with Ben – a pack that is growing. And she has to decide who tom protect and who to risk – especially when her staying at all puts all of her human family at risk.

Kitty just wants to lead her own life – but she can’t abandon her family at this worst time, she can’t abandon people who come to her for help, cannot – and will not – abandon her work and will not run any more.

I think the thing I like most about this book is how it took many of the issues I had with Kitty and the Midnight Hour and fixed them. Carl is expressly labelled as abusive and a complete arsehole. His being a werewolf is adamantly rejected as an excuse or justification. He’s an abuser and treated as such. His victims are victims and treated as such (even if the rescue doesn’t go to plan) and, ultimately he gets his most glorious comeuppance.

Seeing Kitty come back, so much stronger, so much tougher, seeing things so much clearer than she once did was one of those wonderful literature moments; she left a victim and came back and refused to be controlled.

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Rating: ★★★✩✩ 3¼ stars.
Love this series and the Kitty Norville character. I have read the first three books. Some love/hate/mixed things about this one. Kitty and Ben return to Denver when her mom is diagnosed with cancer. Cormac is not forgotten. Rick and vampire politics get very interesting; so do the pack politics and there is the long awaited confrontation.

Love Kitty. And no submissive, put up with abuse stuff in this book. Something she had to work on but she did pull it off. Some interesting twists, alliances, and betrayals with all the vampire, werewolf, and paranormals in what is still delightfully fresh worldbuilding.

Mixed feelings about "character development." I still have trouble with how flat her relationship show more with Rick comes across. They do question if they would be together without the assorted traumas. I do like that the world consists of more relationships like family and friends versus just love interest(s) and over the top villains. Even Arturo got a little more complex. But this has got to be one of the most uninteresting romances ever between Kitty and Ben; it's like a switch was hit between last book with Ben more 3D and a not always easy relationship to their now acting like a very staid married couple.

The action/politics that really take off last third of book, awesome, fantastic, and cannot say too much without spoilers. Very satisfying. The amount of time spent realistically on mom's cancer and other health scares....well written but absolutely not what should be in a series I read for escapism. Great that Kitty cares about her mom, cancer a scary evil and I have all the sympathy in the world but took up way too much of book and made this my least favorite in series. And the flat romance that had them questioning if love or circumstance put them together, well, not sure book had right resolution. Spoiler (well if you have not read blurb or title of next book in series it's a spoiler) Ben proposes in the end.

I am continuing the series; but, sincerely hope author lets Kitty's character and her paranormal world take center stage versus letting bulk of book be suited to a Lifetime channel movie. Escapism and fantasy; not women's fiction. show less

I was honestly a little surprised at how much I liked this book. I'd remembered enjoying the series, but it'd been so long that I couldn't really remember why and I couldn't figure out what was so special about Kitty Norville. I also remembered her hooking up with Ben in the last book, and how I'd been displeased with it. Ben had always seemed dry and boring to me, but maybe I'm just remembering him wrong, because in this book he was awesome.

Aside from the brilliant characters, the plot is actually really good too. Political intrigue with both vampires, werewolves, and cops. Sneaky, backfiring plans. The vaguely pacifistic and cowardly main character who goes all badass. Let me tell you, Kitty really did me proud in this book. And show more honestly, I can't wait to read more. show less

I was more than ready to dive into Carrie Vaughn's next Kitty Norville book after finishing Kitty Takes a Holiday. The mood was right and I was not quite ready to say goodbye to the characters just yet, however temporary. I wasn't disappointed.

Kitty and her new mate have settled in Pueblo, Colorado, far enough away from Denver not to cause problems, but close enough to continue with her radio show at KNOB. Her talk show is one of a kind. She reaches out to supernatural beings and others who want to learn more about them. When her mother is diagnosed with cancer, Kitty rushes home to Denver and finds herself in the middle of a power struggle between two powerful vampires. Despite her best intentions to stay neutral, Kitty is forced to show more choose sides. Her former pack leader wants her dead and will not rest until she is. With the werewolves and vampires on the brink of war and a powerful werewolf out for her blood, Denver is not the safest place to be--not even with the new supernatural police unit lead by Detective Hardin on the case.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and entertaining. Kitty is coming into her own as an alpha wolf, still struggling with her former life and her new one. She is not a violent person and would prefer to talk things out, but even she realizes that the ideal is often not the reality. Kitty must make some very difficult decisions, and she isn't quite sure she is up to being the one to make them. Her insecurities come to the forefront in this novel.

I am still not quite sure how I feel about her love interest. I like him very much as a character, and perhaps my hesitation to fully accept them as a couple comes from the fact that I am not sure the sparks between she and another man from her past have fully had a chance to die out. Still, her current relationship makes more sense for practical purposes, and I do hope they will be happy together.

One of many things I like about Carrie Vaughn's series is that it is dark and a bit on the gritty side, while at the same time remaining easy reading. Carrie Vaughn is one of my comfort authors. show less

Wow! This story seemed so much more personal to Kitty. Her own health, mom's health and relationship with her sister are all put to the test. On top of pack and vampire political issues. Sheesh! What a ride! 4 Stars