Kitty and The Midnight Hour

Kitty Norville, Book 1

By: Carrie Vaughn

Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin

Length: 7 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station---and a werewolf in the closet. Sick of lame song requests, she accidentally starts "The Midnight Hour," a late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged. After desperate vampires, werewolves, and witches across the country begin calling in to share their woes, her new show is a raging success. But it's Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf hunter and a few homicidal undead on her tail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew.

©2005 Carrie Vaughn, LLC (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Fresh, hip, fantastic.... Don't miss this one. You're in for a real treat!" (L. A. Banks, author of he Vampire Huntress Legends series)

STORY FIZZLED OUT---

This book seemed out of proportion--lots of emotional issues and gory wolf fighting, not enough intrigue and mystery-solving. It went from interesting, to so-so, to a boring finish. The heroine was likable and several good subplots were introduced (fanatical preacher, government agent, power-hungry vampire, etc.) but most of them were left underdeveloped and generated no real interest. The "big finish" was a bust as there was absolutely no time or effort spent on developing it--like an announcer stating a game had begun, then next claiming it was over with a player down (for no apparent reason) and another ejected from the stadium but with no description of the determination or struggle involved to link the reader. In the end, nothing was resolved and the heroine was left in a boring limbo.............What this story did mainly consist of were the emotional issues for werewolves and vampires (hence the talk show aspect) and the heroine's own personal growth from being the (annoyingly) subservient groveling newest member of the pack who let the (quite lame) dominant members abuse her physically and sexually to finding her inner strength. Frankly, I would have preferred more mystery-type action and less emotional turmoil. Have no real interest to go on to book 2. Narrator's voice fit the story well.

No spoilers

This is the first book I've read/listen by this author and must say not bad not great but not bad. Loved the premise. There was action, light mystery. As far as the narrator MS Gavin she's the best you will always get a fantastic read. Voices of all the characters are done top notch a story told with feeling and emotion. In fact MS Gavin was the main reason I got the book. I feel MS Gavin can take a so so book and make you want to hear more. Highly recommend but it has to be audible version.

Pretty epic!

An interesting take on a traditional Urban Fantasy novel. That ending line had me giggling though.

A good paranormal series starter

I read this book years ago. The narrator just wasn't the voice I imagined reading the books. Nothing against her, she did great at inserting personality, inflections and character shifts. I would've enjoyed it more with a different narrator. I probably would like this narrator for a different series.

“Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry”

Double the awesome

I have the books and loved them so when I was looking through the selection to find something to listen to I saw that Marguerite Gavin was narrating. I didn't even bother listening to the sample, I had to get it. I was listening to Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series and loved her voice. I was not disappointed in hearing her as Kitty. I will be buying this series too.

Just ok, worth a credit or on sale

Got the 1st two books on sale, they were ok. Not fabulous, but ok. I enjoyed them and I'm glad I bought them, but, for me, they just aren't super special. A good transition book if y our going from one great series, before you head into the next. Narration was a bit dry for me, but it didn't keep me from enjoying the book.

Great creation of another species

I love Kitty and the way Carrie Vaughn has depicted her. I read lots of fantasy fiction (if werewolves and vampires fit into fantasy - do we really know after all?) and I know how difficult it is to create a world, true to all of it's own premises but "Pack" life is just that. If I didn't know better I'd think this was a bit autobiographical.
Kudos!

LOVED IT!!!

I love the narrator and I like the story a whole lot!! I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of the series. just a note. I used to hate the narrator, couldn't get past her voice because she spoke so fast but really, push through..she has a gift and it fits this type of story perfectly!

Sucked in by the performance!

Where does Kitty and The Midnight Hour rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The first installment in the series, if the rest of the Kitty Norville series can compare, the entire series could rival some of the best in fantasy fiction.

What other book might you compare Kitty and The Midnight Hour to and why?

Bits and pieces of this book made me think of Sookie Stackhouse. The main characters are strong willed women with differences that cause them not to fit into their own worlds exactly as they think they should.

Which character – as performed by Marguerite Gavin – was your favorite?

Ms.Gavin does a fantastic job as Kitty, a late night DJ. Her voice is particularly well suited for this role. The listener can almost picture her in the booth talking to callers. A well done performance!

Any additional comments?

I am looking forward to listening to the next book!

Pleasantly surprised

Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I went into this expecting a cookie-cutter urban fantasy. I was pleasantly surprised. Though this predates many of the current genre standbys, it manages to avoid many of the tropes that have made some aspects of the genre seem tired.

Kitty Norville is a radio DJ on KNOB. She's also a werewolf. One night, she wonders aloud about Bat Boy, the tabloid staple, and asks people to call in with their stories. Calls pour in, and her boss asks her to make it an ongoing theme. Soon, she's syndicated across the country, doling out advice about dating a werewolf, and pissing off the local vampire and werewolf leaders.

The werewolves in this series are about more than just furry animalism. The pack politics that make it so hard for her to disobey her higher-ups highlights several points in our world about consent, power, and bullying. Carl, her pack leader, is adamant he doesn't want her to continue doing the show, because to do so shakes the very foundation of his authority. But she continues, because she needs the show as much as the callers need her to continue putting it on.

Kitty's strength isn't always in her fighting, though she does make a point to take a self-defense class so she can take care of herself. The two most tense moments in the book are defused through her words.

The book sets up a lot of subplots for later exploration, but that's also a weakness. So much of the book is setup, with so little payoff, that it's hard to feel invested in any of the plots at all. The ones that end up getting addressed this book weren't the ones I would've guessed.

I plan on listening to the next book in the series. I'm looking forward to hearing what else Kitty can get up to.

I listened to this book on audio, narrated by Marguerite Gavin. She has an excellent radio voice, and I could believe that Kitty would have her husky alto. But her cadence was sometimes off, changing the meaning of some of the dialogue, and I'd have to mentally fix it.