Kitty in the Underworld by Carrie Vaughn

Things take a turn for Kitty when she’s kidnapped (again!) by people who think they have a way of getting rid of their shared nemesis, Roman – and this time for good.

Title:  Kitty in the Underworld
Author:  Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville Book 12
Publish Date: July 30, 2013
Genre:  Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased

Publisher’s Description: As Denver adjusts to a new master vampire, Kitty gets word of an intruder in the Denver werewolf pack’s territory, and she investigates the challenge to her authority. She follows the scent of the lycanthrope through the mountains where she is lured into a trap, tranquilized, and captured. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a defunct silver mine: the perfect cage for a werewolf. Her captors are a mysterious cult seeking to induct Kitty into their ranks in a ritual they hope will put an end to Dux Bellorum. Though skeptical of their power, even Kitty finds herself struggling to resist joining their cause. Whatever she decides, they expect Kitty to join them in their plot . . . willingly or otherwise.

Possible spoilers beyond this point.

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Kat Mandu says…

I’m very fifty-fifty about this book. On the one hand, Kitty’s pretty much facing, by herself, a group of strangers who have taken her prisoner. No pack. No outside allies. Just taking on the fight and trying to win, and all by her lonesome. She has victories. She manages to escape once, but then turns around and goes back in (which frankly, I didn’t agree with). She even gets to know the secrets behind Roman’s history and how he evolved to the arch-nemesis he is now. She participates in a ritual that doesn’t go as planned…but when do things ever go as planned for our favorite alpha werewolf?

Roman’s creator and three others have acquired her to take part in said ritual that will supposedly end Roman’s life. But Kitty’s not all gun-ho on their methods and fights them pretty much every step of the way.

What I liked is the strange, albeit twist of an ending that’s going to lead more into the final two novels and the oncoming battle.

What I didn’t like is the setup of this one. Sure, Kitty gets to be a badass on her own without aid of her pack or anyone else. But that meant it was mostly just her and sometimes the story dragged as she repeatedly got kidnapped, trapped, or locked inside a room. And honestly, I wish the author would have allowed Kitty to walk away and escape. I think the plot would have been more exciting. She could have come back with her allies to figure things out. It would have thrown more conflict into the story and I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Not that I didn’t like that ending. Just the rest of it didn’t appeal to me. I think I was wanting more action this close to the end. The stuff building to the climax and the final battle. It was probably the one Kitty book I’ve enjoyed the least.

Still, I give it a three, so it’s not like I hated it. I am, however, eager to read on and discover what Cormac’s got up his sleeve.

Invested Ivana says…

Much like Books 05 and 06, Kitty in the Underworld is not one of my favorite in the series. It feels like a “bottle episode;” except that the majority of the time, Kitty is with previously unknown characters.

Most of the story takes place inside an abandoned silver mine — so the setting is pretty confined and uninteresting. The characters who have kidnapped Kitty don’t talk much, except in the most obscure terms. And, once again, the plot revolves around Roman without him even being around. Because Kitty is alone a lot, there is a ton of exposition. Like Kat, I wanted to smack Kitty upside the head when she found her way out of the mine, but then went back to her kidnappers. I get that defeating Roman is important, but can we say Stockholm Syndrome?

That being said, some really good things happen in this episode, like Kitty’s connection with the first Regina Luporum. A lot of this book is set-up for the last two books in the series, so you don’t want to skip it. It’s the same good writing, the same characters, the same world, and the same great audio narrator; it’s just isn’t one of Kitty’s more exciting adventures.

Our reviews in this series…

• Kitty and the Midnight Hour
• Kitty Goes to Washington 
• Kitty Takes a Holiday
• Kitty and the Silver Bullet
• Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand
• Kitty Raises Hell
• Kitty’s House of Horrors
• Kitty Goes to War
• Kitty’s Big Trouble
• Kitty Steals the Show
• Kitty Rocks the House

Other reviews…

• All Things Urban Fantasy
• Musings and Ramblings
• Under the Covers Book Blog

If you like this book…

…you might try Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series, Rachel Vincent’s Shifter series, or Eileen Wilks’s World of the Lupi series.