5.
Title: Primal Bonds
Author: Jennifer Ashley
Pages: 320
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: January ?, 2012
Rating: ***

6.
Title: Kitty Goes to Washington
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Pages: 360
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Purchased
Date Completed: January 15, 2012
Rating: ****

Kitty Norville, late-night radio DJ, is an unlikely werewolf after surviving two different - and  yet similar - attacks in a single night.  After a series of conflicts lead to a near-challenge of her pack leader, Kitty finds herself essentially exiled from her home, and taking her radio show on the road, a la gypsy-like traveling. Along the way she is asked to speak at a Congressional hearing, and finds herself in DC, and in regular trouble.

"Discovery" is something that many urban fantasy authors attempt to address, with varying success.  One of my favorite "unveilings" is Kim Harrison's, which blames a mutant strain of tomatoes for killing off a large chunk of the human population, while leaving supernaturals unharmed.  Whoops.  Vaughn's broadcasting seems to suggest that Kitty herself is a primary player, which challenges believability.  However, when Vaughn brings the consequences to DC, and shows the political ramifications of such a discovery, she slams right back into reality.  The bureaucracy, the red tape, the hearings, the politicians arguing, the reporters hounding - if the word "werewolf" was not included it could easy read like contemporary politics.  This is a great strength in Vaughn's book, and makes the series promising in the future. 

I found something else particularly interesting: Alette, the "master" vampire of DC.  In Kitty Goes to Washington, the most powerful vampire in the immediate area carries a strong and often neglected role in the genre - she is a mother.  And, she suggests at the novel's conclusion, she becomes a vampire to become a better mother to her two children.  This maternal role is not entirely unique, but is often played in the opposite fashion - female vampires are often incapable of reproduction or maternal roles (with notable exceptions, I know) - and alludes to the deeper history of vampire mythology, which goes back to Lillith's revenge for her own children, the Greek Gello, etc.  Alette is a bit of a missing link in contemporary fiction, and a character I find very rewarding.