Kitty and the Midnight Hour

Title: Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville, book 1
Genre: Urban fantasy
Published: 2005

Recommendation: Pick this one up if you enjoy urban fantasy in the style of early Anita Blake.
Rating: 7/10

Summary: Kitty is a night DJ on a local radio station and was turned werewolf a few years back. She is trying to get her life together when she begins discussing supernatural life on the waves. From then on, her show takes off, but not everyone is happy about that...

Reactions: I picked up this novel because I've read a few blog posts by Carrie Vaughn awhile back and while I don't entirely agree with her thoughts on the genre, I thought her books might be worth trying. Overall, Kitty and the Midnight Hour was a fun read. I read it pretty quickly and it was satisfying: well-moving plot, interesting characters, a nice mystery resolution, and a hook for the next book.

At the same time this book seems very heavily influenced by the Anita Blake series. Carrie changes the main character enough to suit her own tastes (the main character is blond and doesn't wear stilettos on her arms), but there are plenty of similarities. Kitty does investigations in a style similar to Anita's, she consults for the police, she develops a friendship with a werewolf/vampire hunter so much like Edward in Anita series I'd have trouble telling them apart. Carrie also gets caught up in Vampire/Lycanthrope politics and befriends people on both sides of the fence.

While there are plenty of similarities to Anita Blake series, I like the fact that Kitty is much easier to relate to in her struggle than Anita. Her transformation from very passive to aggressive is a little forced and I felt the author gets her out of some situations a little to easily, but overall I find Kitty quite likable and realistic. Her unusual profession is also a plus in my books.

To sum it up, Kitty and the Midnight Hour is a well-paced book taking traditional urban fantasy tropes. If you enjoy urban fantasy, chances are you will enjoy this book. I will probably pick up the next book in the series.