Review: Bad Kitty by Eliza Gayle

Title: Bad Kitty
Series: Southern Shifters #1
Author: Eliza Gayle
Published: Sept 10, Gypsy Ink Books
Format: NetGalley

If you think you've lost everything. Think again.

Kitty lost her father, her home and her clan. Clinging to what's left of her pride, she's forced into the neutral zone, the supposed safe haven for half-breeds and outcasts. An attack forces her to the wrong side of the treaty line and into an even more dangerous situation. Determined to greet death with the last of her dignity, she is suddenly rescued by a tall, gorgeous...wolf???

As the next alpha leader of his pack, Rafe Comyn has more than enough to handle with pack politics and precarious treaties. The last thing he needs is a pissed off feline landing in his lap, especially when her scent triggers his overwhelming drive to mate. While the daughter of a former rival is quite a conquest, she's both forbidden and dangerous.

But as the heat of desire threatens to consume them, their differences escalate and Rafe must keep his own pack from killing the one woman he can't live without.

 Here Kitty Kitty.... Sorry, couldn't resist.


Bad Kitty by Eliza Gayle, it's not a bad read.  Kitty is a cougar shifter, which is very awesome in and of itself. The story starts with her arriving in the neutral zone. You get bits and pieces of why, but not really as much information as I would like.  It kind of felt like Bad Kitty should either have a prequel novella, or possibly even be book two in the series.  It seems Kitty also almost had a relationship with a cougar named Kane that I felt could have been explored more.  At this point, it felt like it was added just for the heck of it.

She'd learned a hard lesson that begging a man for his love and affection was what weak women did and she refused to be that woman anymore.  When it came to her currently non-existent or future love life, she had no more tricks up her sleeves or any devious plans to get what she wanted. 

So like I said, Kitty is banned to the neutral zone (for reasons I will not spoil), between cougar territory and wolf territory.  When she gets to her new home, she quickly realizes she is not alone.  A quick and action packed series of events forces her to run, and unknowingly run into wolf territory.  That bit of action I did find to be very exciting and drama packed.  But again, I would have liked to meet these other people before this scene happened, just so it didn't feel so out of the blue.

While in the new territory Kitty meets Rafe.  This was played out in an intriguing way, but it also really drew your attention to Rafe.  I felt like right off the bat he could be trusted, and I knew Kitty would be safe with him.  Initially while Kitty is with Rafe very little happens.  You discover exactly what Rafe thinks of Kitty, and then that evolves.  The evolution of their relationship is quite quick and very interesting.  But hey, they are shifters, and things tend to happen quickly for them.

I found the main characters to both be very pleasing, but my favorite was Kitty.  This alone was awesome for me, because I usually love the man more.  But in this book I found Kitty to be this bad-ass cougar who is just coming into her own.  She's a wildcat in more ways than one, and I loved watching her self-awakening.

For a few long seconds he stared at her as if he saw straight through her.  The vulnerability that look created threatened to overwhelm her.  She wanted to blink or look away, but found it impossible to break eye contact.  For a moment she forgot about the pain, the differences of their species and the fact she needed to get away.  She focused only on the foreign sensation of being mesmerized.  Her head and body betrayed her with a sharp longing for more of the man sitting in front of her who'd awakened something inside her with a simple touch to her cheek. 

There is certainly a lot of drama, especially since wolves and cougars aren't normally friendly.  There were a few action scenes, which I love.  It really lent itself to the "wild animal" feel.  However, there were several aspects which I just felt were out of place (like the previous almost-relationship of Kitty's, for instance).  There were also some issues I would have liked to see a better explanation of- like some of the pack dynamics within Rafe's pack.

All in all, I enjoyed Bad Kitty.  To be honest, I was expecting something a little different, and some parts of the book were a bit predictable, but it was still an enjoyable story.  If you enjoy books like the Preternaturals series by Zoe Winters, or really any shifter romance, I think you will enjoy this book.  As for me, I'll check out the rest of the series when it's released, but it probably won't be at the top of my list.

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Review - Vampire Awakening

Review: Bad Kitty by Eliza Gayle

Title: Bad Kitty
Series: Southern Shifters #1
Author: Eliza Gayle
Published: Sept 10, Gypsy Ink Books
Format: NetGalley

If you think you've lost everything. Think again.

Kitty lost her father, her home and her clan. Clinging to what's left of her pride, she's forced into the neutral zone, the supposed safe haven for half-breeds and outcasts. An attack forces her to the wrong side of the treaty line and into an even more dangerous situation. Determined to greet death with the last of her dignity, she is suddenly rescued by a tall, gorgeous...wolf???

As the next alpha leader of his pack, Rafe Comyn has more than enough to handle with pack politics and precarious treaties. The last thing he needs is a pissed off feline landing in his lap, especially when her scent triggers his overwhelming drive to mate. While the daughter of a former rival is quite a conquest, she's both forbidden and dangerous.

But as the heat of desire threatens to consume them, their differences escalate and Rafe must keep his own pack from killing the one woman he can't live without.

 Here Kitty Kitty.... Sorry, couldn't resist.

Review, Pride Unleashed by Cat Kalen

Title: Pride Unleashed (A Wolf's Pride #2)
Author: Cat Kalen
Published: February 2012
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy, YA
Format: Ebook provided by author for review

Seeking revenge, Pride is headed back to the compound where she was once nearly broken to the will of an evil master. She’ll stop at nothing to free the enslaved wolves still caged in the estate’s underground prison. Knowing there is only one way back inside the fortified mansion, Pride allows herself to be captured.


Armed with a plan, she finds herself back in her cage but when things begin to unravel, she once again finds herself at the mercy of her former master. This time, however, she knows she has two wolves on her side, Logan and Stone—powerful alphas who will both fight to the death to free her.


Except the compound hides secrets that threaten both her heart and her identity and when bonds are tested and bloodlines are revealed, Pride realizes if she completes her mission she’ll be releasing her pack into a world where no one, least of all Pride, is safe.

Pride's Run - Review

Cat Kalen - Interview 

Wow, I am really loving this trilogy.  Pride Unleashed is book two in the A Wolf’s Pride series.   In the first book we saw Pride escape her Master’s clutches and the compound and go on the run with Logan, the rogue wolf she was tracking.  Pride Unleashed takes place three weeks later, with Pride and Logan, and some of his pack back at the compound with a plan for rescue and release of the other wolves.

Oh, Pride, if only it were that easy. *sigh*.  Ok, I love Pride.  She is such a good role model for teen girls…heck, for everyone.  She has flaws, she has doubts, and she has very real fears.  But she presses on because she knows what’s right is right, and the things that are wrong she tries to make right.  Pride had freedom in her paws; she was out and in Canada with her mate.  She could have lived her life out and had some beautiful little puppies and no one could really fault her.  But she knew The Master was still abusing and neglecting wolves at the compound.  She had to go back.

For those who may not have yet picked up on Cat Kalen’s wolves, they are very much more wolf than human.  When they are in their human form they are constantly in touch with their wolf, and the wolf inevitably wants to show themselves and take control of every and all situations.  When you read her books you don’t feel like this is the story of a hot girl and a hot guy who happen to change in to wolves.  Nope, you really feel these are wolves that happen to change into human form.  I really love that.  There’s a very natural and real feel to all of the wolves in this series.

At the end of Pride’s Run, Stone lead the Paranormal Task Force away from Pride so that she can escape.  In book two she is ecstatic to find out he is alive – and saddened to see he is in the compound.  I totally understand this.  I flip flop between Logan and Stone, I want her to clone herself so each version of her can have each of these guys.  I did see another review that said something about wanting to see more history on Stone.  I totally agree!  He is such an awesome character, there is such a story behind all of his actions, and we are just not getting it in the Pride series.  Cat – when you see this, let me tell you the people are asking for a spin off series!  Ha-ha J  Nothing like pressure, right?

So Pride is back at the compound and just nothing is going the way it was planned.  And there is an addition of a new type of shifter that I find incredibly interesting, and I would love a second spin off series about them.  But I am not telling you who they are, that would be a spoiler (wink).  Cat, I think you are going to be very busy!!

The first book was about freedom and realizing her true potential.  This book is more about her history, and what has been kept and hidden from her.  There are some huge secrets in this book that come out, some things I totally did not see coming.  And I also loved the edge-of-your-seat moments.  There were definitely moments where I was ready to curse the written word if this or that happened ha-ha.  The bottom line is this book has several really great characters that are rich with personality and history, and you can’t help but want to get to know them all.  May I also suggest a third spin-off series of Logan’s pack here?  I can’t help it! I want to know more!  Cat Kalen’s style of writing really clicks with me, and I love the flow.  There was no point where I got bored or felt like skimming pages. I was interested and invested in this story right from the first page.

So if my gushing hasn’t convinced you yet, let me be blunt – start reading this series.  It’s a great blend of Paranormal and YA, on top of a great mystery and just a lot of fun to read. 

***Stalk Cat***

www.catkalen.com

www.yabeyond.com

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Also, Pride’s Run just got 4.5 stars TOP PICK from Romantic Times Magazine!!

Pride's Pursuit comes out later this summer - so make sure you add it to your TBR!

Pride's Run - Cat Kalen

Title: Pride's Run
Author: Cat Kalen

Format: Ebook provided by author for Book Tour Review

From Goodreads:
Seventeen year old Pride is a tracker—a werewolf with a hunger for blood. Taught to trick and to lure, she is the perfect killing machine. 

Kept leashed in the cellar by a master who is as ruthless as he is powerful, Pride dreams of freedom, of living a normal life, but escape from the compound is near impossible and disobedience comes with a price.

When she learns her master intends to breed her she knows she has to run.

Pride soon learns if she is to survive in the wild, she must trust in the boy who promises her freedom, the same boy she was sent to hunt.

With life and death hanging in the balance the two find themselves on the run from the Paranormal Task Force—officers who shoot first and ask questions later—as well as her master’s handlers.
Can Pride flee the man who has held her captive since birth and find sanctuary in the arms of a boy who has captured her heart? Or will her master find her first? 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I really enjoyed this story.  It was refreshing to get a wolf shifter story from a completely different point of view - a teenage girl.  

Pride is a young girl, an orphan, who lives in captivity.  She is forced to track and hunt for her master, while given only the basic necessities in life.  Failure to follow the rules is a painful price.  But there isn't a moment that she isn't planning, watching, and waiting for her chance to escape. 

And there are a couple things that stand in her way.  One, she has a tracking gps chip, two, there is a government group called the Paranormal Task Force that hunts her kind and will not hesitate to kill her if they find her.  So when she sees the opportunity to escape, she does.  But suddenly she has a "partner in crime"  - Logan, the subject of her latest assignment from her master. 

I really thought the two of them made a great pair as they  made their escape.  He was an alpha, seemingly knowledgeable about what was happening and the best course of action.  She was a young girl, wise beyond her years, full of fire and a strong sense of whats wrong and right.  

There was a lot of action in this story, and the scenery was perfect.  I really loved the scenes where they were in wolf form.  As I've said in the past, I love shifter books because its like getting two stories in one.  And the way the author wrote from the wolf's point of view in Pride's Run really made me feel like I was seeing things as a wolf.

And we can't forget Stone, the alpha wolf at the compound whom Pride is sure hates her.  Stone seems like a Grade A Jerk for the most part.  And I really loved the little twist that his character brings to the story.  

All in all I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves wolf shifter stories.  It has a lot of action, some romance, and a lot of promise for a great series!  The sequel, Pride Unleashed, comes out in February 2012.  

Author Bio: 

Cat Kalen is a multi published author in the romance genre under two pen names, Cat is a wife, mom, sister, daughter, and friend. She loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (she never says no to a brownie) pizza and watermelon. She has two teenagers who keep her busy with their never ending activities, and a husband who is convinced he can turn her into a mixed martial arts fan. Cat can never find balance in her life, is always trying to find time to go to the gym, can never keep up with emails, Facebook or Twitter and tries to write page-turning books that her readers will love. 
A maritime native and former financial officer, Cat has lived all over Canada but has finally settled down in her childhood hometown with her family. 

Links

www.catkalen.com

www.yabeyond.com

Twitter: @catkalen

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