Here Kitty, Kitty (Magnus Pack Book 3)

The third book in the Magnus Pack series is very funny indeed. I know I say this every time I review anything by Shelly Laurenston, but the woman knows how to construct a plot well. She’s also fantastic at writing madcap characters, with banter up to your eyes.In this book Angie, Sara and Miki’s best friend from home is attacked by hyenas and then kidnapped in the scuffle by two tigers. The tigers thought they were doing the right thing be getting her away from harm, but they forgot to ask permission, so when she woke up the alway fierce Angie fought back with some surprisingly effective tactics. Like Miki, Angie is a full human, but she’s been aware of the shifter world for a little while now because of Sara. Despite her knowledge of shifter strength, she is fearless and this captivates the brother of her kidnappers, Nik.Whilst the rabidly independent Angie and Nik both fight their growing desire for each other, Angie is also trying to broker a peace treaty between the Pack and the Pride, whilst finding a way to deal with the hyenas. This book ties together the story arc that started in the first book of this series very nicely and answers all the questions that had been left hanging.I love how both Nik and Angie fight their feelings as neither wants to give up their independence, but they know they are fighting a losing battle. Nik’s family are great fun too and I loved hearing about their history and seeing how they all related to each other.It was a good end to these three books about three friends. I love this shifter world this author writes about and can’t wait to find another book to read about these characters.

Where to start? Where to stop? Okay:I first came across the Dragon Kin series without realising that G A Aiken and Shelly Laurenston were the same author - and as a paranormal romances go they were nice - which I mean as a compliment of the highest order...delightful in fact. You can't really label "the best" one as the "best" of anything is a subjective opinion, but my personal favourite was  What a Dragon Should Know  as it encapsulated everything that was so well written about the seies. Gwenvael the Handsome was the epitome of conceited rogue, but not vicious or cruel - a visual example would be Nathan Stark (Ed Quinn) in Seasons 1-3 of  A Town Called Eureka - Season 2 - Complete [DVD ] and then the timeline changed Zane Donovan (Niall Matter) in Seasons 4-5 of the same show: sexy, brilliant, witty but with a hard edge when necessary. Ragnar the Beast likewise reminded me of Zane Donovan's lover, Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra) in the same show,  A Town Called Eureka - Season 4.5 [DVD ] But more than that Ragnar is intelligent, educated, resourceful and brave. She reminded me of the heroines from Amanda Quick's early books, like Lady Alice in  Mystique  or Iphiginia in  Mistress  or most of all the redoubtable Augusta in  Rendezvous . Ragnar had the added advantage of a strong sense of humour and dry wit. Several bits made me chuckle aloud and so much romance, especially paranormal romance, can tend towards po-faced and angst; heroes and heroines who are self-deprecating and can get over themselves are a definite plus - especially when the paranormal romance is in a Mediaeval or High Fantasy setting that sometimes tends to out-Tolkien JRR in Taking It All Too Seriously. There are some wonderful exchanges, such as between Ragnar her father and GwenvaelSigmar: You havin' me on?Ragnar: Because I'm known for my rich and well-developed sense of humour? (sarcasm)Sigmar: Good point...That sort of droll delivery I like. In short, when I found out that G A Aiken and Shelly Laurentson were the same person, I bought Here Kitty, Kitty on the spot (it was the only title of the Magnus Pack available). So, to be fair, what's good about the book - well the shifters for a start. I do read Christine Feehan's Dark series, and that features shifter species (so far jaguars and wolves), however they are usually presented as adjunct to the main species the Carpathians (vampires) and as a bit one-dimensional and plot-device...they are underdeveloped as characters in their own right and often 'inferior' to the Carpathians, which is nonsense - any paranormal species has its own powers and frailties - I made my heroine half-Faerie/half-Orc and her love a human male; if you write it properly anything can work. The pack (canine/vulpine/lupine) and pride (feline/ursine) shifters Shelly Laurentson created in the Magnus pack are very well rounded and well written - the way they act and think and interact with each other and with others like Nik (weretiger) and Zack (werewolf); there's humour and conceit and boisterousness, all of which are positives against too much po-faced paranormal angsting.But it was completely spoiled by wading through the constant verbal filth. I work in a very stressful sphere of Social Services, faced every day by coarse, vulgar, sluttish, swearing, screaming, swivel-eyed, foam-mouthed 'people' whose mouths are the verbal equivalent of open sewers spewing an endless diatribe of raw expletives and who attitudes are crass, bestial, rutting and mindless animalistic. I don't expect to have any romance novel couched in flowery sonnets or with the characters soppily cooing at each other, but I also want to relax away from that sort of dross and read something that is positive about love and sex.I get that the three girls, Miki, Sara and Angie, are damaged, that they have survived traumatic childhoods - but nobody is empowered, male or female, by sinking down to the same promiscuous, denigrating, filth of attitude, actions or speech as the violent, wicked abusers - it is just as demeaning. What's more, I've met Southron Americans, and they are nothing like this offensive portrayal. Americans from the "Dixie" or Southern States have great regard for faith and family, god and guns; Southron men (and women) believe in personal honour, manliness and the duty to protect your family, just like in  Justified - Season 1 [DVD ]but above all they have that Southern courtesy and hospitality - Southrons call their father Sir and their mother Ma'am and mean it. I've met Southron men who might swear like troopers in private, but would never dream of spewing such filth in front of women and children.Likewise a Southern woman might venture a public darn but will not have a mouth like a backed-up toilet except in strict privacy. It got to the stage where I flinched at every paragraph - even more unbelievably, there was one scene in Here Kitty Kitty that I couldn't believe I was reading; women-hating misognyists don't read romance novels, but if they did, that cringing scene between Nik and Angie where he ties her face down to the bed is ideal for the type of man who thinks women are sub-human cattle - it validates every sexist belief that women "want" to be raped and that every "no" is just a c-o-c-k-tease...at the same time (I read a lot of books concurrently) I was reading  Pleasure Control (Pleasure Games) by Cathryn Fox, which contains a similar light tie-up scene...the scene between Nik and Angie could have been erotic and sensual and romantic, just like the similar one in Pleasure Control, instead of which it was warped, angry, brutal and denigrating.To be honest I am really struggling with the idea that GA Aiken and Shelly Laurenston are the same person and I am so disappointed that such a potential good story was ruined by totally unnecessary crassness. A potty-mouth is not cool, or edgy, or modern, it is boorish, distasteful and a sign of low intelligence. At the start of Here Kitty, Kitty I wanted to read Miki and Sara's stories, but quite frankly at the moment I can't face having to wade through page after page of battering verbal spite and filth, no matter how good the underlying story. In Here Kitty Kitty I really wanted to read the story of Nik's brother Alek (weretiger) and Zack Sheridan's sister Nessa (werewolf) - I don't know if that story is yet written but if not, please, please, let it be a book by G A Aiken rather than Shelly Laurenston, at least if the Laurenston persona is going to be the writer who wallows in the gutter...I was so looking forward to this series and I hate that it has been so pointlessly spoiled - Shelly Laurenston doesn't need to use these sorts of cheap page-padding tricks, her plots are solid and good enough if only she would let them shine.

I love Angelina!! She's so honest, brutal and loving. She really cares for her friends and we see that in this book. We also got to learn why she is the way she is and I found that interesting.Nik was a great addition and not intimidated by her friends, which is important!I love how Shelly introduces new shifter types and how the characters reactions are realistic.She created the world of the tigers so well and I definitely got immersed.The romance was smooth and sexy and one of my favourites with the first book in the trilogy coming a close second. Ah Sara *moon eyes*

This is the first Shelly Laurenston book I've read so far. I downloaded the sample and was hooked from page 1.You have a tiger shapeshifter who wants to be a real tiger, i.e. no commitment and no humans because they break too easily and cling a lot. You have a Mexican/Brazilian head case who owns designer boutiques and can't stand to be touched, with a major attitude problem and two psychotic best friends.This is one of the funniest books I have ever read (particularly the scene with the baseballs). The relationship between Nik and Ang is rough and tumble - literally, they are both wonderful characters, and so are all the other friends, family and pack mates that crop up throughout the book. The story is lighthearted and well written - very much like Linda Howard at her best (Open Season, Heart of Fire, Angel Creek).On the basis of the sample I downloaded, I have also downloaded books 1 and 2.

Really enjoyed reading this series. Would recommend to anyone who likes these types of books to give them a read. Had me gripped from page one