Once Bitten

by Kalayna Price

• ISBN10: 0980245397
• ISBN13: 9780980245394
• Publish Date: 9 January 2009 (first published 1 January 2009)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Bell Bridge Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Once Bitten is one of those books that I probably would have liked a lot more if I had read it when it was first published (or at least when I first purchased it). Of course, that just means that I don't think it's held up over the years and wasn't that original to start with. Kita is a shapeshifter who has left her home world to live among the humans, but she's being hunted. Then she's attacked, left for dead, and turned into a vampire to save her life. If that's not enough, now she's being held responsible for the attacks plaguing her city and has two nights to find the real attacker.

There are a couple of things that I really liked about Once Bitten, although they weren't enough to fully hold my interest. First, I thought it was interesting that shifters don't live in the human world. They're from a place called Firth. I wanted to know more about this place! There's plenty of talk about "gates" opening at the full moon, but that's about it. Do other supernaturals live there, too? I don't know. The second thing was that it has a short time frame. These are my favorite! I love races against the clock and just seeing how much stuff can happen to one person in just a day or two! And Kita certainly goes through a lot!

Unfortunately, Once Bitten ultimately didn't do it for me. I felt like I had read this basic premise before (which isn't surprising), but it didn't do anything new. In fact, the whole set up reminded me a lot of the Shifters series by Rachel Vincent. In both, the main characters are shifters who left their kind, can do partial shifts and accidentally infected humans without knowing it, and then get in trouble it for it while being dragged kicking and screaming back to their homes. But Shifters did it a lot better, even though Kita got the added conflict of also being a newly turned vampire.

Once Bitten was just an okay read for me. I wasn't really bored with it, but I also just didn't care that much about Kita or her problems. I think if there had been more about where she came from and her history there, I could have become more invested. But as it is, it opens up with her running from hunters, immediately becoming a vampire, and no time to get to know her as a shifter before all of these other problems piled up.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[kimbacaffeinate]

I snagged the audio version of Once Bitten by Kalayna Price when it was a daily deal, and I quite enjoyed this urban fantasy. Filled with vampires, shifters, hidden realms, overseers and colorful characters I quickly slipped into the world. While I still have many questions and want more depth from the characters I was intrigued.

Kita Nekai is part of a shifter family and the daughter of its current leader. Unlike others in her clan, she is not a tiger or lion; she shifts into a cute and cuddly Calico cat. When her father wanted her to take on the role of leader, she fled into our world and the city of Haven. Here things get interesting, and Kita’s life is forever altered.

Once Bitten has, an intense mystery involving a rogue shifter. Kita finds herself in trouble and thanks to the quick actions of a lone vampire known as “the Hermit” she wakes up dead and unable to shift. Hmm, you think that would be enough for one day, but Kita ends up being accused of being the rogue shifter. She is granted seventy-two hours to find the killer and prove her innocence. Her ex-boyfriend Bobby and the vampire who saved her assist her along with a mage in training. This motley crew worked together, quibbled and began to forge an interesting team.

Once Bitten despite flaws was a solid start to the Haven series. This first installment created questions regarding the world. While the reader is giving a basic understanding, it felt like we were thrust into this world and left to flounder. The second issue lies with the characters. All of them are intriguing and unique, but we gain very little connection. It is like watching a seriously good movie with the volume fading in and out. I want to better understand the relationship between Bobby and Kita not to mention the Vampire council and its hierarchy. So many questions. A little romance, or infatuation develops and I am interested to see how it progresses. Aspects of each character are fascinating, but I wanted to experience an emotional connection and gain understanding particularly with Kita. Having said that, I was interested enough to continue listening and picked up Twice Dead, the second audiobook.

Piper Goodeve was the narrator and I enjoyed her voice throughout the tale, I felt she did a good job expressing Kita's confusion and snark.This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer