Review: Twice Dead by Kalayna Price

Twice Dead by Kalayna Price

Twice Dead by Kalayna Price 
Haven, Book 2
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: Paperback, 266 pages
Published: 02/12/2010 by Bell Bridge Books
ISBN: 978-0984325672
Received From: Bell Bridge Books as an eARC

Summary:

Kita is adjusting to her new liquid diet--an adjustment she rather resents. Not that everything was chocolate and sunshine before (though both were possible before the sexy but infuriating Nathanial sank his fangs in her business). Kita's ability to shape shift into a kitten when her peers shifted into lions and tigers complicated her life, to say the least, but getting stuck in one form--that of a human shaped tick, a.k.a. a vampire--sucks, literally. Her adjustment period is violently interrupted when she discovers a headless corpse during a party for a visiting vampire council. But, the headless dancer won't be the only corpse she encounters.

Kita's involvement draws the attention of the Collector, an ancient vampire with an inclination to acquire two things: power and oddities. As a pureblood shifter turned vampire, Kita ranks high on the collectability list--not a safe place for anyone who values her freedom, and Kita is not the only one on the list. But with the body count rising, there is more at stake than freedom. A killer is slithering through the underbelly of Haven's vampire community, and with the supernaturals dealing in unnamed favors, it's a bad time to be a kitten who can't slip her skin.

My Ramblings:

Twice Dead is the second book in the Haven series, and it has upped the ante on this series with a suspenseful storyline filled with many “seat on the edge of your seat” moments. The plot moved at an exciting but much smoother pace and a lot more was explored in the vampire realm along with a healthy dose of mage magic thrown in.

Kita is only several weeks into her new life as a vampire, trying to adjust to it and the fact that she may not be able to shift anymore. If that isn’t stressful enough, it seems she has attracted the attention of two very powerful vampires. One is Tatuis, the head of the vampires in Haven and the other is known as the Collector, who is the head of vampires visiting from another region. The Collector likes to collect unique and rare individuals, and what could be rarer than a pureblood shifter turned vampire? But things don’t bode well for Kita when she discovers a headless and bloodless harlequin from the Collector’s entourage, and must be presented to the Collector for questioning.

This time around, I found Kita is be more my type of Urban Fantasy heroine. She seemed more pliable and opened to the friends surrounding her. I also found myself enjoying her sarcastic brand of humor. And I could only admire her fierce need for independence. The romantic tension between Nathanial and Kita revives up a notch but only to a level that Kita is at least willing to recognize it. I think the romance here will be dragged out a bit and I can only hope that it will pick up in future books.

There were several memorable character but one I really liked was Gil. Gil is an apprentice mage, who has made Kita her pet project for class and she kept popping in on Kita at the most inopportune moments, which livened things up quite a bit. Gil’s whimsical personality and her aptitude to rub Kita wrong, in funniest of ways, lighten the dark mood of novel in the best of ways.

I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series. I tried to find some information on it but unable to find any specifics other than there will be more novels in the Haven series.

Twice Dead is fine, fast-paced follow up Once Bitten in the Haven series and I can see this series moving fast into being a favorite among Urban Fantasy readers.

My Rating: Really Liked it

Places you can Find Kalayna: Web Site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Haven Series:

  1. Once BittenMy Review
  2. Twice Dead
  3. TBA

Other Ramblings:

11 comments:

Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

Great review! This is a new series to me. I think I may have to go check this one out. Thanks for the heads up!
Hope you have a great weekend and a Happy Easter!

misskallie2000 said...

Great review. I love the fact that Kita can shift into a calico kitten. I never heard of kitten shifters. I can't wait to read these books as I have not read them yet. I do have them on my wish list.

Happy Easter

misskallie2000 at yahoo com

Chris said...

The most appealing thing about this series is how it sounds like there are a few new twists to old tricks.

Blodeuedd said...

Next book this fast, then it must be good.
I hope you will find some more info on the 3rd

Lola said...

Great review! I will definitely be checking out this series in the near future! :)

Mardel said...

I've been seening this book and Grave Witch mentioned here and there. I read an excerpt for Twice Dead, and it sounds very good. Going to look for them asap.

Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...

This sounds like a great series. I didn't realize it was a series until now. Thank you for the great review, I am going to have to look into this series as well.

A Buckeye Girl Reads said...

I hope you had a Happy Easter! Your review makes me want to read this series right now! Going to check to see if my library has it.

Sophia (FV) said...

Oh another series to add to the list. I'm getting in early on this one LOL. :) Nice review Donna.

Donna said...

Cecile - Thank you! I hope you had a nice Easter too. :)

MissKallie2000 - Yeah, kitten shifter is different.

Chris - That's a good way to put it. That's definitely the case here.

B - Same here, hopefully Ms. Price will update us soon.

Lily - Yes, do that. :)

Mardel - Grave Witch looks very interesting and I really like the cover they created for it.

Melissa - I think there are to be a couple more books planned in this series. Many more?

Collette - Oh, yes do check it out at the library. Hopefully you'll be lucky!

FV - Oh, I know how you feel. Especially series that are in the double digits already -- makes you feel sooo behind. Thanks!

Erotic Horizon said...

This second book - looks like it worked better for you..

and she kept popping in on Kita at the most inopportune moments

I love characters like this - they do add a little something special to the book..

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