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lynseyisreading's review against another edition
4.0
A much, much, much better read than book one. The mystery was better, the characterisation of Kita and Nathaniel (aka The Hermit) was better and focused on more, the plot twists, turns and drama were all really good and the sexual tension has me bouncing up and down waiting for the next book.
I like slow developers. I like to be teased and tantalised by the mere possibility of a love connection over several books. Insta-love has its place when I'm in the mood for it, but those are not the pairings that stick with me long after I finish a series. I need time to grow to love the characters as they grow to love each other. But, having said that, I'm glad to confirm I was at least given some nice crumbs in this book. In book one you might have been forgiven for wondering if you were imagining the tension (If you are not an expert at spotting it like me:)). But in this one we got....some good scenes, shall we say.
More now please! But not too much more, only a little. And then maybe take it all away again for a while just to torment me and make me that much happier when you give it back again.
I'm a glutton for punishment, I know.
The plot is a kind of 'whodunnit' affair and it involves Nathaniel and Kita having to appear in front of the vampire council. This all reminded me a bit of Anita Blake, only back when Anita Blake was good and before she became a ho-bag. And for those who know how much I now detest Trampita, you'll know I don't make that comparison lightly, but you've gotta hand it to Robocrotch, when she was good, she was good. She is, after all, the original and very first UF heroine.
The vampires in this series remind me of those same types. They've lived a bit too long and are a bit too bored to be safe around humans. You've got the rare ones who are decent and good (like Nathaniel) but even he isn't totally tame; ones who are bad but maybe a little bit good if the situation calls for it and it suits them; and then there are the just plain bad; and lastly, the scariest of them all: the complete headcases. 'Cause you just can't reason with the crazies.
So, to sum up, I'm now very glad I started this series and am glad to see it's been re-released and had its third book confirmed for august 2012. I will be one of the first in line to buy it. Jolly good stuff.
4 Stars! ★★★★
I like slow developers. I like to be teased and tantalised by the mere possibility of a love connection over several books. Insta-love has its place when I'm in the mood for it, but those are not the pairings that stick with me long after I finish a series. I need time to grow to love the characters as they grow to love each other. But, having said that, I'm glad to confirm I was at least given some nice crumbs in this book. In book one you might have been forgiven for wondering if you were imagining the tension (If you are not an expert at spotting it like me:)). But in this one we got....some good scenes, shall we say.
More now please! But not too much more, only a little. And then maybe take it all away again for a while just to torment me and make me that much happier when you give it back again.
I'm a glutton for punishment, I know.
The plot is a kind of 'whodunnit' affair and it involves Nathaniel and Kita having to appear in front of the vampire council. This all reminded me a bit of Anita Blake, only back when Anita Blake was good and before she became a ho-bag. And for those who know how much I now detest Trampita, you'll know I don't make that comparison lightly, but you've gotta hand it to Robocrotch, when she was good, she was good. She is, after all, the original and very first UF heroine.
The vampires in this series remind me of those same types. They've lived a bit too long and are a bit too bored to be safe around humans. You've got the rare ones who are decent and good (like Nathaniel) but even he isn't totally tame; ones who are bad but maybe a little bit good if the situation calls for it and it suits them; and then there are the just plain bad; and lastly, the scariest of them all: the complete headcases. 'Cause you just can't reason with the crazies.
So, to sum up, I'm now very glad I started this series and am glad to see it's been re-released and had its third book confirmed for august 2012. I will be one of the first in line to buy it. Jolly good stuff.
4 Stars! ★★★★
snarkymotherreader's review against another edition
5.0
First of all, the cover for Twice Dead by Kalayna Price is hot, hot, hot! The model looks like a sultry Maggie Gyllenhaal wearing the leather outfit Tatius picked out for Kita during the foreign dignitary’s visit. It perfectly sets the scene for the novel—the darkness, the sensuality, the sense that there is more going on than meets the eye.
Second of all, I could not put this book down. Er, I mean, tear my eyes from the computer screen. Kita is stepping into her role as Nathaniel’s companion with surprising ease. Yes, her trademark sarcastic wit is in full-force, but she understands the consequences of her actions and truly tries to do the right thing, even when Tatius tries to claim her for his own and she is set up for murdering a whole slew of people.
Full review available here: http://www.bittenbybooks.com/23065/twice-dead-by-kalayna-price/
Second of all, I could not put this book down. Er, I mean, tear my eyes from the computer screen. Kita is stepping into her role as Nathaniel’s companion with surprising ease. Yes, her trademark sarcastic wit is in full-force, but she understands the consequences of her actions and truly tries to do the right thing, even when Tatius tries to claim her for his own and she is set up for murdering a whole slew of people.
Full review available here: http://www.bittenbybooks.com/23065/twice-dead-by-kalayna-price/
kirkw1972's review against another edition
3.0
I've had this book in my netgalley downloads for a while but only just got around to it. And it wasn't a bad book. I haven't read the first one so I didn't really have the background of the series but I still enjoyed it.
The characters are interesting but there are a lot of them so not as well developed as I would have liked. There's a lot of promise for the series and I'll try and look out for the first and subsequent books.
The characters are interesting but there are a lot of them so not as well developed as I would have liked. There's a lot of promise for the series and I'll try and look out for the first and subsequent books.
ivy_skye's review against another edition
5.0
Kalayna Price has a style of writing that appeals to me. Her Haven series is interesting and uses a lot of supernatural beings: Vampires, Shifters, Mages, etc. This second book in the Haven Series follows the path of Kita a shifter from Firth. No spoilers here, if you want to know you should read it. If you like Grave Witch you like this one as well.
book_hoarding_dragon's review against another edition
5.0
In life there are those small little coffee shops that have the best pastries in town and know how to make a mean mocha. Well, Kalayna Price's writing is the equivalent of that.
Her plots are original, fresh, and just plain awesome.
The story opens with Kita literally stumbling across a body who has been decapitated. Apparently it was a human of a visiting vampire known as the Collector (one guess as to why she's named that); she leaves the city when one of her own vampires gets a case of headlessness. Tatius attempts to take Kita away from Nathaniel but of course the Collector kidnaps the two a.k.a. whisks them away as her special guests. But alas another decapitated body appears but this time it's another vampire *the plot thickens music*.
This book is more of a continuation of the second book in regards in Kita's search to see if others had been tagged, her relationship with Nathaniel, and dealings with Tatius. It can be read as a standalone but to truly appreciate the progress Kita's progress with you should read Once Bitten. I'm excited for Third Blood since it will explore Firth.
Her plots are original, fresh, and just plain awesome.
The story opens with Kita literally stumbling across a body who has been decapitated. Apparently it was a human of a visiting vampire known as the Collector (one guess as to why she's named that); she leaves the city when one of her own vampires gets a case of headlessness. Tatius attempts to take Kita away from Nathaniel but of course the Collector kidnaps the two a.k.a. whisks them away as her special guests. But alas another decapitated body appears but this time it's another vampire *the plot thickens music*.
This book is more of a continuation of the second book in regards in Kita's search to see if others had been tagged, her relationship with Nathaniel, and dealings with Tatius. It can be read as a standalone but to truly appreciate the progress Kita's progress with you should read Once Bitten. I'm excited for Third Blood since it will explore Firth.
bluehairedlibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
First off, I have to admit that this took me four months to read. Part of it was that it was an ebook, so I couldn't read it for long spans of time. Even if I had been able to, I don't think I would have wanted to. I was very unimpressed with this book. There was very little character growth and even less world building.
Main character Kita is originally a shapeshifter who turns into a small cat, but in some vaguely described incident that occurred in the first book, she is now also a vampire. A very whiny, Mary Sue vampire. Despite trouble following her around, everyone seems to be fascinated with her and almost all of the main male characters want her. She's whiny and petulant like a child, and yet you're supposed to be on her side. At the same time, you have Nathaniel, her sire, who is the strong silent type. And that generic stereotype is about all we know about him. All the other characters who are given any amount of page space to make an impression are similar stereotypes - the maniacal, possessive Tatius, the quietly possessive Collector, the scheming china doll-esque Elizabeth. Then there are all the interchangeable characters who are just around to hate on Kita because her life is so. hard.
Bland two dimensional characters would be palatable if they lived in a vivid well-structured world, but these don't. Maybe there was more world building in the first book of this series, but in Twice Dead, I couldn't tell if this was supposed to be an Earth-like world, an alternate version of Earth, or something completely different. Humans were very minor elements, so is the world primarily full of supernaturals? How does this world relate to Kita's original home of shapeshifters? Is that in another dimension, on another planet, etc. Mostly you're life to assume this world is just like ours with a supernatural underlining so fill in the blanks yourself. Except there are so many supernatural elements that it doesn't make sense how it could run any entire city/council underneath the humans without anyone noticing.
I readily admit I never read the first book, so some background was definitely lacking. Any subsequent books in a series should still give a brief overview of what has happened before so that the plot makes sense in context. The references to rouges and judge's marks were not fully explained and I'm still not quite sure what the point of the mage was other than to be a convenient way to get Kita in and out of trouble. And finally, the book ends and then continues until the new sequel is setup like in a movie with a brand new character appearing out of nowhere with one or two lines of dialogue, except that doesn't really work in a book.
Underneath all this, there might have been a pleasant plot, but too many of the large elements did not work. There was one moment, in the middle of the novel, where I couldn't put the book down, but I think that was more because it was so much fun to read on an iPad than my computer. Wouldn't recommend it though I've read worse.
Main character Kita is originally a shapeshifter who turns into a small cat, but in some vaguely described incident that occurred in the first book, she is now also a vampire. A very whiny, Mary Sue vampire. Despite trouble following her around, everyone seems to be fascinated with her and almost all of the main male characters want her. She's whiny and petulant like a child, and yet you're supposed to be on her side. At the same time, you have Nathaniel, her sire, who is the strong silent type. And that generic stereotype is about all we know about him. All the other characters who are given any amount of page space to make an impression are similar stereotypes - the maniacal, possessive Tatius, the quietly possessive Collector, the scheming china doll-esque Elizabeth. Then there are all the interchangeable characters who are just around to hate on Kita because her life is so. hard.
Bland two dimensional characters would be palatable if they lived in a vivid well-structured world, but these don't. Maybe there was more world building in the first book of this series, but in Twice Dead, I couldn't tell if this was supposed to be an Earth-like world, an alternate version of Earth, or something completely different. Humans were very minor elements, so is the world primarily full of supernaturals? How does this world relate to Kita's original home of shapeshifters? Is that in another dimension, on another planet, etc. Mostly you're life to assume this world is just like ours with a supernatural underlining so fill in the blanks yourself. Except there are so many supernatural elements that it doesn't make sense how it could run any entire city/council underneath the humans without anyone noticing.
I readily admit I never read the first book, so some background was definitely lacking. Any subsequent books in a series should still give a brief overview of what has happened before so that the plot makes sense in context. The references to rouges and judge's marks were not fully explained and I'm still not quite sure what the point of the mage was other than to be a convenient way to get Kita in and out of trouble. And finally, the book ends and then continues until the new sequel is setup like in a movie with a brand new character appearing out of nowhere with one or two lines of dialogue, except that doesn't really work in a book.
Underneath all this, there might have been a pleasant plot, but too many of the large elements did not work. There was one moment, in the middle of the novel, where I couldn't put the book down, but I think that was more because it was so much fun to read on an iPad than my computer. Wouldn't recommend it though I've read worse.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Another great book! This book was more vampire then the first one, given the Vampire Council and all. Really enjoyed it, and I hope book 3 comes out soon!
felyn's review against another edition
3.0
This book was doing so well until about 75% in. At that point, it was like the author started writing another book entirely, one that wasn't nearly as good as the first.
We are introduced to more vampire politics, customs, and powers in this second installment, but I'm really wondering why Nathaniel isn't bothering to actually teach Kits anything. He leaves her to fumble along, and I truly believe that's half the cause of her troubles.
At least Kita has largely stopped whining in this book.
We are introduced to more vampire politics, customs, and powers in this second installment, but I'm really wondering why Nathaniel isn't bothering to actually teach Kits anything. He leaves her to fumble along, and I truly believe that's half the cause of her troubles.
At least Kita has largely stopped whining in this book.
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