Book Review: Kitty Steals The Show by Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville #10)

Kitty Norville has been tapped as the keynote speaker for the First International Conference on Paranatural Studies, taking place in London. The conference brings together scientists, activists, protestors, and supernatural beings from all over the world - and Kitty is right in the middle of it. Master vampires from dozens of cities have also gathered in London for a conference of their own, and Kitty gets a glimpse into the power struggle among vampires that has been going on for centuries. But the conference has also attracted some old enemies, who have set their sights on Kitty and her friends. All the world's a stage, and Kitty's just stepped into the spotlight.

My Review: 
Kitty is to give a big speech at a conference in London, which is a chance to gather new allies, connect with old friends, listen to expert lectures and discover who has decided to back Roman and his people. There are sinister people at the conference who are looking for the chance to take her out of The Long Game, endangering her allies and friends. With rumblings about a coup to depose Ned in a land grab and enslave the werewolves to Roman, and warnings that she is in deadly danger, her speech isn't the only thing that Kitty has to worry about.

Kitty is delighted to connect again with former werewolf soldier Joe Tyler, who is adjusting to life in his new Pack and is a bit anxious about being at the conference. Emma, who was turned into a vampire while defending Alette is now working for Kitty's host, Ned, Master Vampire of London and actor friend of William Shakespeare. Emma is trying to adjust to her new life and it makes things a bit awkward with Kitty. Kitty is also happy to see her old flame Luis who Ben is determined to hate on sight, leading to a few jealousy issues for Kitty to deal with. It is also an opportunity to meet with Caleb, leader of the werewolves of Britain and Ireland, who have an uneasy alliance with Ned's vampires. She is less pleased to discover that Mercedes is in London for a concert at the time of the conference and her first meeting with the European vampire leaders almost ends in bloodshed when Mercedes causes trouble.

There was plenty to like about this book. I liked meeting Ned and Caleb and finding out more about the supernaturals in London. Having been there, I could also identify with the places that were mentioned. It's always fun to know where the plot is being set in my books which doesn't happen often! It was also good to see characters from the other books coming back into the story. I liked some of the threads in the plot as well-the coup against Ned, Tyler's story, the protests at the venue from supernatural haters and some of the events at the conference. There was also a good amount of action especially connected to the coup and the usual Kitty snark and humour to enjoy.

I was less keen on Cormac being sidelined in the main plot while Amelia insists on going on a trip down memory lane to try and find her old house and things she might have left there. I just didn't find Kitty and Cormac meeting her decended family particularly interesting with all the other side plots from the conference that could have been explored instead. It just doesn't seem logical to me that Cormac would leave Kitty and Ben alone at the conference with all those enemies to go sightseeing with Amelia instead! None of the plot with Amelia's family really interested me with everything else that was going on. I wanted to see Cormac doing something more productive.

This book wasn't as good for me as some of the others in the series but I did still enjoy it. I think Kitty could have made a better speech after all the hoohah about her working so hard on it. I do kind of want The Long Game to reach a conclusion and have more allies gathering in each book. It is still fun to be in Kitty's world though.

Read September 2018
3.5 stars.