lynseyisreading's review
3.0
This was a pretty good start to an urban fantasy series. I admit to being slightly put off by the covers; they're not the greatest, especially when compared to those of Kalayna's other series, The Alex Craft series. But you know what they say about judging books by their covers..
I just wanted to highlight a couple of things about the series that I found quite unique. Firstly, the history of Kita's shapeshifter race. They are not from this (the human) world. They each have an animal spirit and they are split into clans by type, i.e. canids (including the wolves, jackals, hyenas, coyotes, foxes, and domestic dogs.) and felines (cats, lions, leopards, and cheetahs etc.) but there's no saying what type of animal you will become. Kita, for example, is a domestic calico cat.
Like so:
Her teeny tiny stature compared to that of some of the lion shifters in her clan is the reason she feels she is unsuitable for her role as the next leader of the Nekai clan once her father passes, and why she has been in the human world hiding/running away for the last five years at the beginning of the book.
Now I liked this aspect but it wasn't explained nearly enough. There was very little exposition given on the different worlds, different clans and different branches of supernaturals (of which there are shifters, vamps and mages so far), so although I'm picking it out as a highlight, I feel it was poorly explained. However, I've now read book two and know that book three takes us to the other world as its primary setting so we will get a much better insight then, but that doesn't help us during the reading of this book.
Another highlight is the non-typical male characters. There are two, one a vamp, one a fellow shifter. It's not a love triangle but it is very interesting because the shifter, Bobby, (a bob cat *snort*) has been her friend since childhood. They are/were extremely close and wanted to turn it into more by becoming mated/married, but her father wouldn't allow it. Bobby has since mated/married someone else back home, either during or just before her departure. I'm sure this also played a part in Kita's decision to stay away. It made for some very uncomfortable scenes between them upon their reunion in this book.
The other male character is a vamp as I mentioned and I really liked how he wasn't your typical suave, sophisticated, power-hungry master vampire. In fact he's been leading such a solitary life before Kita came along that the rest of the vamps call him "The Hermit". He has no interest in the games and power plays of the vampire court, even though he is powerful, so no matter how much they try to persuade him to join the council so they can utilise his skills, he refuses. I liked both him and the developing sexual tension between him and Kita very much. :)
My main problems, and the reason it's only getting a 3 star rating, is the lack of world-building mentioned above, and the lack of emotional connection from Kita. I liked Kita a lot as a main character, however, I don't feel she expressed enough feeling throughout. She goes through some major, MAJOR life changes in the first couple of chapters of the book and yet she displays almost no reaction, asks no questions, nothing. In the end someone has to say to her words to the effect of "So, do you want to know what happened to you, or what?" I mean, it's not like I want her to be moaning and whingeing throughout and being all woe is me, but after what happened I would gladly have forgiven her for flipping out, temporarily at least. I know I would have.
Another shame was the lack of characterization of Gil, the scholar mage who ends up tagging along. She sounds so quirky in her pink clothes and Wellington boots, but sadly she fell a little flat.
At the time of writing this I have already read book two and can happily confirm the emotional connection is not a problem in the next instalment, the tension and drama is amped up significantly and the developing relationship with a certain character is very compelling making it well worth the read. I would urge UF fans to take a chance on this series, and with book three coming out in a month's time, now would be as good a time as any!
3 Stars! ★★★
I just wanted to highlight a couple of things about the series that I found quite unique. Firstly, the history of Kita's shapeshifter race. They are not from this (the human) world. They each have an animal spirit and they are split into clans by type, i.e. canids (including the wolves, jackals, hyenas, coyotes, foxes, and domestic dogs.) and felines (cats, lions, leopards, and cheetahs etc.) but there's no saying what type of animal you will become. Kita, for example, is a domestic calico cat.
Like so:
Her teeny tiny stature compared to that of some of the lion shifters in her clan is the reason she feels she is unsuitable for her role as the next leader of the Nekai clan once her father passes, and why she has been in the human world hiding/running away for the last five years at the beginning of the book.
Now I liked this aspect but it wasn't explained nearly enough. There was very little exposition given on the different worlds, different clans and different branches of supernaturals (of which there are shifters, vamps and mages so far), so although I'm picking it out as a highlight, I feel it was poorly explained. However, I've now read book two and know that book three takes us to the other world as its primary setting so we will get a much better insight then, but that doesn't help us during the reading of this book.
Another highlight is the non-typical male characters. There are two, one a vamp, one a fellow shifter. It's not a love triangle but it is very interesting because the shifter, Bobby, (a bob cat *snort*) has been her friend since childhood. They are/were extremely close and wanted to turn it into more by becoming mated/married, but her father wouldn't allow it. Bobby has since mated/married someone else back home, either during or just before her departure. I'm sure this also played a part in Kita's decision to stay away. It made for some very uncomfortable scenes between them upon their reunion in this book.
The other male character is a vamp as I mentioned and I really liked how he wasn't your typical suave, sophisticated, power-hungry master vampire. In fact he's been leading such a solitary life before Kita came along that the rest of the vamps call him "The Hermit". He has no interest in the games and power plays of the vampire court, even though he is powerful, so no matter how much they try to persuade him to join the council so they can utilise his skills, he refuses. I liked both him and the developing sexual tension between him and Kita very much. :)
My main problems, and the reason it's only getting a 3 star rating, is the lack of world-building mentioned above, and the lack of emotional connection from Kita. I liked Kita a lot as a main character, however, I don't feel she expressed enough feeling throughout. She goes through some major, MAJOR life changes in the first couple of chapters of the book and yet she displays almost no reaction, asks no questions, nothing. In the end someone has to say to her words to the effect of "So, do you want to know what happened to you, or what?" I mean, it's not like I want her to be moaning and whingeing throughout and being all woe is me, but after what happened I would gladly have forgiven her for flipping out, temporarily at least. I know I would have.
Another shame was the lack of characterization of Gil, the scholar mage who ends up tagging along. She sounds so quirky in her pink clothes and Wellington boots, but sadly she fell a little flat.
At the time of writing this I have already read book two and can happily confirm the emotional connection is not a problem in the next instalment, the tension and drama is amped up significantly and the developing relationship with a certain character is very compelling making it well worth the read. I would urge UF fans to take a chance on this series, and with book three coming out in a month's time, now would be as good a time as any!
3 Stars! ★★★
snarkymotherreader's review
4.0
Once Bitten by Kalayna Price took me a while to get into. The heroine grated on my nerves with her whining and her treatment of the people in her life. Nathanial and Bobby, her bobcat childhood friend, seemed one dimensional and typecast to play the warring love interests.
Then a magical thing happened. Kita began to—gasp!—develop as a character. She learned from her mistakes, realized maybe she was being rough on the people trying to help her, and even admitted to feeling emotion.
Full review available here: http://www.bittenbybooks.com/23067/once-bitten-by-kalayna-price/
Then a magical thing happened. Kita began to—gasp!—develop as a character. She learned from her mistakes, realized maybe she was being rough on the people trying to help her, and even admitted to feeling emotion.
Full review available here: http://www.bittenbybooks.com/23067/once-bitten-by-kalayna-price/
avid_reader_sf_and_f's review
2.0
Kita, the main character so frustrating and I nearly turned the book off a number of times. If I was her vampire master, I would have probably offed the two of us to end the misery. She excels at ignoring everything told her or running away from any conversation that conveys information she doesn't want to hear. She makes bad decisions. She is upset about being a vampire, fairly I would say, but she needs to snap out of it! Seriously.
Keeping in mind all of the above, Nathaniel, her vampire master, is no winner either. He never explains anything to her and really, a lot of her bad decisions could have been avoided with a conversation.
I don't know if I will continue listening to the later books or not. I found the premise interesting and I really enjoyed the Alex Craft books. I just kept hoping the story would get better and that the character would start to grow. None of that happened in the first book and review don't give me much hope for the rest of the series.
Keeping in mind all of the above, Nathaniel, her vampire master, is no winner either. He never explains anything to her and really, a lot of her bad decisions could have been avoided with a conversation.
I don't know if I will continue listening to the later books or not. I found the premise interesting and I really enjoyed the Alex Craft books. I just kept hoping the story would get better and that the character would start to grow. None of that happened in the first book and review don't give me much hope for the rest of the series.
karinajean's review
2.0
this book has a neat premise, but it could have narinated for a while longer. not sure if I'm willing to read the 2nd one to see if its improved.
blood_rose_books's review
3.0
In her debut novel Price introduces to new the reader to a new urban paranormal world centered in a city called Haven. Let’s just say the city does not live up to it`s name.
Kita, is a werecat, but not the normal lion, tiger or panther, Kita’s other form is a calico cat. Kita is also the heir to her pride, but as a calico cat, she believes that she would not survive any challenges to leadership, so she has run away. She has been on the run for five years, living on the streets or in stranger`s home as a stray cat. But her time on the run is about to change, her clan) has decided that they want her back and has sent the Hunters after her. She is now on the run from the hunter of both the cat clan and wolf clan and the train to the town called Haven, sounded like a good idea at the time. However, the town is overrun with Hunters looking for Kita, with some who want to return her to the Firth (her home land) and others who believe she is responsible for creating a Rogue were. A demon judge has determined that Kita will die if she is unable to prove her innocence within three days times, but this does not mean that the hunters will stop looking for her or help her. While eluding the Hunters, Kita runs into a Clanless were who attacks her with silver to try to kill her, thinking that she is the rogue. Nathaniel, a vampire, who while trying to save her from the Clanless, is forced to turn her. Kita wakes up in a strange room, with a strange woman, and cannot find the cat inside her anywhere. Nathaniel has taken away Kita’s ability to be a cat, and turned her into a vampire but can that save her, from not only the hunters but also the rogue were and the judge too, good thing she has nine lives of a cat (well at least she hope she still does).
I enjoyed Price’s debut novel, granted there are some slow spots within the book that did not hold my attention too well but I was able to get past them, so overall this is a really good debut.
I enjoyed Kita as a character, though at times I wanted to strangle her for just wanting to run away from her problems but someone cannot always be a hero. The emotional process Kita goes through within the book was very well written, and supportive. Price did a good job of showing Kita`s emotional and in a sense growing up process from turning from a possible coward and living for herself, to finding out that maybe she is worthy of something better and maybe can be worth something to someone other than just a heir or stray cat. Additionally, I liked how her cat personalities came out in her human form and her hair. It was a nice twist to have a Were that did not turn into a hunter animal but something as small as a calico cat.
I was also very entertained by Gil, the scholar and I believe witch who has been sent to the Human Domain to study Kita and her methods to prove her innocence. Gil, is the comic relief in the book with her naivety of how things are done in the Human World. There is also some good tension between Nathanial and Kita, which will appeal to those who like some romance in the books that they read. I also liked Price`s ideas of having the Human world, the Were world and the magical world separate yet the vampires live hidden among the humans (I guess due to the need to feed on humans) and the worlds do not interact very often. I believe that Price was purposely ambiguous on some of the aspects within the book such as the Firth and Vampire council in order to pique a reader’s interest for the next books; I know that it worked for me.
This book is an urban paranormal book, there is some action, dark aspect, humour, mystery and a hint of romance, but they all just weave together well to form a good urban paranormal book that, I believe, will have you asking for more.
Enjoy!!!!
Kita, is a werecat, but not the normal lion, tiger or panther, Kita’s other form is a calico cat. Kita is also the heir to her pride, but as a calico cat, she believes that she would not survive any challenges to leadership, so she has run away. She has been on the run for five years, living on the streets or in stranger`s home as a stray cat. But her time on the run is about to change, her clan) has decided that they want her back and has sent the Hunters after her. She is now on the run from the hunter of both the cat clan and wolf clan and the train to the town called Haven, sounded like a good idea at the time. However, the town is overrun with Hunters looking for Kita, with some who want to return her to the Firth (her home land) and others who believe she is responsible for creating a Rogue were. A demon judge has determined that Kita will die if she is unable to prove her innocence within three days times, but this does not mean that the hunters will stop looking for her or help her. While eluding the Hunters, Kita runs into a Clanless were who attacks her with silver to try to kill her, thinking that she is the rogue. Nathaniel, a vampire, who while trying to save her from the Clanless, is forced to turn her. Kita wakes up in a strange room, with a strange woman, and cannot find the cat inside her anywhere. Nathaniel has taken away Kita’s ability to be a cat, and turned her into a vampire but can that save her, from not only the hunters but also the rogue were and the judge too, good thing she has nine lives of a cat (well at least she hope she still does).
I enjoyed Price’s debut novel, granted there are some slow spots within the book that did not hold my attention too well but I was able to get past them, so overall this is a really good debut.
I enjoyed Kita as a character, though at times I wanted to strangle her for just wanting to run away from her problems but someone cannot always be a hero. The emotional process Kita goes through within the book was very well written, and supportive. Price did a good job of showing Kita`s emotional and in a sense growing up process from turning from a possible coward and living for herself, to finding out that maybe she is worthy of something better and maybe can be worth something to someone other than just a heir or stray cat. Additionally, I liked how her cat personalities came out in her human form and her hair. It was a nice twist to have a Were that did not turn into a hunter animal but something as small as a calico cat.
I was also very entertained by Gil, the scholar and I believe witch who has been sent to the Human Domain to study Kita and her methods to prove her innocence. Gil, is the comic relief in the book with her naivety of how things are done in the Human World. There is also some good tension between Nathanial and Kita, which will appeal to those who like some romance in the books that they read. I also liked Price`s ideas of having the Human world, the Were world and the magical world separate yet the vampires live hidden among the humans (I guess due to the need to feed on humans) and the worlds do not interact very often. I believe that Price was purposely ambiguous on some of the aspects within the book such as the Firth and Vampire council in order to pique a reader’s interest for the next books; I know that it worked for me.
This book is an urban paranormal book, there is some action, dark aspect, humour, mystery and a hint of romance, but they all just weave together well to form a good urban paranormal book that, I believe, will have you asking for more.
Enjoy!!!!
slc333's review
2.0
I love the Alex Craft series and fully expected to enjoy this one. Sadly I struggled to get through it and ended up skimming a good portion. The world building was haphazard with nothing clearly explained. What/ where is Firth? How does it relate to earth? Why do the big cat shifters who seem not to be overly accepting on equality for females want a female house cat to lead them? Why have they sent hunters to force Kita back? What happened between Bobby & Kita in the past? And why does the judge have the right to condemn Kita to death without evidence or a trial? I was so frustrated by the lack of answers to these and other questions that I just couldn't get into the story.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic book, loved the world, the characters, the mystery, and of course, the writing! Awesome book and I can't wait to read more about Kita and the rest!