#Review - Bad Kitty (Cat McKenzie #5) by Lauren Dawes #Fantasy #Romance

Series: Cat McKenzie # 5
Format: Kindle, 202 pages
Release Date: November 9, 2021
Publisher: Vixen Publishing
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Urban Fantasy

A rookie cop. A team of supernatural detectives. A vigilante kitty shifter breaking bad.  

My name is Cat McKenzie, and despite what people might think, I don’t enjoy being chased down darkened streets at night by a ten-foot shadow man who can literally make me die of fright.

Of course, that’s how all this started—the discovery of an underground fight club stocked completely with supernatural slaves. 

The plot thickens when seemingly unlinked murders start to form a pattern I begin to recognize. 

A supernatural fight club, possessed berserkers and an accidental enslavement, I’m pretty sure I’m getting Punk’d by life right now and I’d like to call cut on this scene.

Bad Kitty is the Fifth installment in author Lauren Dawes Cat McKenzie series. Rookie cop, and Paranormal Investigative Group (PIG) liaison Cat McKenzie has been enlightened by the Paranormal world around her, while becoming consort to her partner Sawyer, who is an incubus. She also carries around a long sword called Reaver, as well as an Opal, given to her by her father, which warns her when she's in trouble. After chasing after a monster called the Grey Man, Cat and Sawyer discover an underground supernatural fight club.

The issue is that the fight club is not only illegal, but rich human could care less if their fighter ends up dying in the end. The author also adds a new villain to the mix, thus the title of Bad Kitty. Bad Kitty is searching for her sister who was taken from her. She has a tendency of killing anyone who gets in her way, and when Cat and Kitty end up meeting, the result is pretty predictable. The more interesting part is that Cat finds herself bonded to the Grey Many who shows up whenever she's in trouble. 

If you've read this series at all, you know that Cat is a trouble magnet. I can't tell you how many cars that she's had destroyed since she's been with PIG. Ever since Cat was gifted with the sword Reaver, it's been a long time since the author provided any answers to why it comes to her. I also take issue with the fact that while we've been given a summary of the Rogue Faction and her parents part in the organization, only once has someone claimed to have knowledge of the RF and that guy was just another villain trying to outwit Cat and Sawyer.

Lastly, the main reason for this book was that the action was better than previous installments, but the author used excessive sex that got in the way of my enjoyment of the story. This book actually feels as though it is the finale of the series, but there's no information on whether or not the series will continue. As with the other stories in this series, we are treated to some fast action, at least on mystery, and some romance, as well as meeting a variety of supernatural beings, and the usual snarky commentary by Cat.

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#Review - Bad Wolf (Cat McKenzie #4) by Lauren Dawes #Fantasy #Humor

Series: Cat McKenzie # 4
Format: Kindle, 201 pages
Release Date:  September 7th 2021
Publisher: ‎Vixen Publishing
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Fantasy

A rookie cop. A team of supernatural detectives. A shifter with some impulse control  issues.

My name is Cat McKenzie, and I thought wood sprites weren’t a thing.

Apparently, they are. Fun fact: they enjoy eating carrion which was how I discovered the body of a hunter in the woods. The local werewolf pack confirms it’s a bad wolf doing the biting. 

Add two more to the body count and we have a furry serial killer on our hands.

Life can’t be as easy as that though. From new recruits at PIG to questions about mine and my sexy-as-sin partner’s connection, I’m left trying with more questions than answers.

Murderous will-o’-the-wisps, dryads and a thieving harpy… could life get any crazier?

Bad Wolf, by author Lauren Dawes, is the Fourth installment in the authors Cat McKenzie series. To be fair to rookie cop, and Paranormal Investigative Group (PIG) liaison Cat McKenzie, she's literally only been on the job for a few months. In that time, she's been enlightened by the Paranormal world around her, while becoming consort to her partner Sawyer, who is an incubus. She also carries around, when she's in danger, a long sword called Reaver, as well as an Opal, which was nearly stolen from her, that warns her when she's in trouble.

In the previous installment, it seems as though Cat and Sawyer were headed for another mystery to solve when a young boy was found murdered. In this book, that story continues when several other young men are found brutally killed, and their boss, Wolfe, demands that Cat and Sawyer work the case diligently and quickly so that whoever is responsible, can be caught and brought to justice. Who knew that Cat would run into dangerous Wil-o-the Wisps who lead people into danger, or a Tree Nymph (Dryad), or a Massive Spider, and an even more massive and dangerous Wolf? Oh, right, it's Cat's life, we're just spectators! 

And, because of the events of the previous story, Wolfe decides to not only bring in three recruits, but for the first time since she joined PIG, Cat doesn't have to worry about someone destroying her truck over, and over, and over again. Plus Cat and Sawyer are heating up in their new relationship and we learn some interesting new information about their developing and complicated situation. 

It’s an amusingly over the top series, with laugh out loud moments and extreme scenes of magical mayhem. Cat and her unicorn and coffee obsessions provide plenty of light-hearted instances, while the interactions between her and Sawyer provide romance and intrigue. But I want Cat, and or Sawyer, to put an end of the harassment she continues to get from her former colleagues. 

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#Review - Bad Fae by Lauren Dawes #Paranormal #Romance

Series: Cat McKenzie # 3
Format: Kindle, 218 pages
Release Date: July 13th 2021
Publisher: Vixen Publishing
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Paranormal Romance

A rookie cop. A team of supernatural detectives. Warring fae queens out for blood.

My name is Cat McKenzie, and I need a vacation.

It’s almost Christmas—my favorite time of the year—at least it would be if it weren’t for the psychotic fae assassin trying to hunt me down and permanently punish me with a dirt-bed for interfering in his plot for revenge.

To top off my Christmas Tree of Crap, I’m still dealing with residual feelings of lust for my incubus partner. Even though I’ve started dating safe, human men, staying away from him is proving too hard.

Japanese water spirits, fae queens and unwanted supernatural visitors… When can I get off this crazy ride?

Bad Fae, by author Lauren Dawes, is the third installment in the authors Cat McKenzie series. Since joining PIG (Paranormal Investigative Group) as human liaison, Cat has lost several trucks, she's faced rogue vampires, zombie cyclops, gremlins, and witches and received a favor from a vampire mistress after riding the city of her nemesis. She's connected to an magical Angel sword named Reaver that appears when she's in trouble, and she wears a mysterious opal necklace that flares to life whenever someone who wants to harm her is around. 

 

Her partner Sawyer, is a sexy demon incubus who feeds on lust and wants to take it to the next level. Her co-worker is a Wendigo, but she's not really sure what Hayliel is. At the end of the prior installment, readers found who the next villain is who Cat and her partner must deal with since it was pretty apparent he wasn't going away. In this case their nemesis it's a psychotic fae assassin named Kailon, but he's just the tip of the iceberg, as it were. While on what she calls a normal date with a human, she ends up facing an assassin. 

 

To top things off, her truck is once again a target. She should just stick to riding Sawyer's motorcycle! To make things more interesting, there's information revealed about Cat's parents who were members of a Rogue faction which hunted supernaturals and a visitor from someone who claims to have known both of Cat's parents. But just when you thought it was safe to go back in the ocean from bull sharks, (oh let's not forget about the Japanese water sprites!) Dawes adds yet another element. 

 

You see, it seems as though the Fae courts are at war and well, it seems as though Cat and her partner may end up being caught up in the middle...again. This means that Cat and Sawyer must travel to Wonderland to not only help Astrid, but to put down a revolt by her sister Avi who knows the origins of the Opal necklace that Cat wears and was given to her by her own father right before he disappeared and never returned.

 

Honestly? I'm feeling kind of disappointed. 70 % of the book is shenanigans, 20% is Cat and Sawyer dealing with her issues about not wanting a full time relationship with him, and 10% is dealing with a bad fae and queens of the Seelie and Unseelie courts which lasted a minute. I absolutely suggest that readers of this series follow the books as they are released since they are ALL connected. Cat finally admits that she gets snarky whenever she's afraid. Cat also learns what it means to fall in love with an Incubus who only has eyes for you. With the prior installments, you absolutely know what supernatural entity is going to be the next villain for Cat and Sawyer to deal with. 

 

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#Review - Bad Witch (A Cat McKenzie Novel) by Lauren Dawes #Urban #Fantasy

Series: Cat McKenzie # 2
Format: Kindle, 228 page4s
Release Date: May 4th 2021
Publisher: Vixen Publishing
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Urban Fantasy

A rookie cop. A team of supernatural detectives. A power hungry witch on a killing spree. 

My name is Cat McKenzie, and I’m in over my damn head. 

I’d finally come to grips with the fact that not all supernaturals are a**holes when the witch downstairs is murdered and I’m rescued from certain death by the fae assassin responsible for revealing the existence of supernaturals to humans six months ago.

That’s not the best bit though.

Said fae wants me and my partner to look into the death of his niece, and he made us an offer we can’t refuse… just like in a bad mob movie.

Clandestine groups, magical artifacts and a growing headache, all I want to do is get into my fuzzy unicorn pajamas and crawl into bed. Like hell that’s going to happen anytime soon.

Bad Witch is the second installment in author Lauren Dawes Cat McKenzie series. Just when you thought Officer Cat McKenzie had seen it all during her first week on the job, she's about to be proven wrong. First she receives a visit from one Alistair de Champ who works for Roxanne Monroe, the Buxton vampire kiss mistress. Since Cat and her partner helped with a vampire problem, Roxanne now owes Cat a favor. Cat then stumbles across her neighbor, a witch, being murdered by another witch using black magic. 

The result is that Cat's apartment is destroyed, a dark witch attempts to take the necklace her father gave to her that has protected her, and she has to move in with Sawyer Taylor who just happens to be an incubus. Oh, but we're just skimming the top of what happens next. From Cat's brand new truck being crushed like a plastic bottle by a Gremlin to the arrival of one Kailon Perry. Perry is the Fae assassin who was single-handedly responsible for revealing the existence of supernatural to the world. Perry claims that the witch who attacked Cat's neighbor, also killed his niece and he wants revenge. 

He claims that if he acts first, the Fae powers that be will have him killed. If the killings happened in Wonderland, Perry could handle the witch himself. Cat has no jurisdiction there and the murders continue unabated. The dark witch and is taking the powers from her victims. Every witch she kills, she gets stronger. Cat has had her eyes opened to the supernatural world in just a few short weeks. First it was the vampires who were making trouble. Now witches. But Cat also meets and defeats a Cyclops, healed by a gnome, and is introduced to a grindylow who begs Cat to help his witch. 

I am looking ahead for answers as to who Cat's parents really were and what they were involved in. Readers of the first installment were told that they were powerful members of a rogue group that hunted supernaturals and that Cat was the result. We were also told that Mrs Brown, the woman who raised Cat, disappeared. Welp, that mystery is now solved. No spoilers! One thing that readers will definitely learn is that Fae are a dangerous race who adhere to the old ways, and now that Cat has found a new adversary, things are going to get dangerous quickly.

The story is once again filled with Cat's snark, action, supernatural creatures as well as humorous moments and action as well as a bit of romance that isn't shoved in your face.

 

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#Review - Bad Vampire by Lauren Dawes #Fantasy

Series: Cat McKenzie # 1
Format: E-Book, 206 pages
Release Date: March 23, 2021
Publisher: Vixen Publishing
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Urban Fantasy

A rookie cop. A team of supernatural detectives. Recalcitrant baby vampires on the loose.

My name is Cat McKenzie, and I’ve been a very bad girl…

No, not in the I-need-a-spanking way...pervert.

Nope, my kind of bad got my partner killed on my first day of the job. And now I’m getting punished by being thrown in as human liaison to PIG — the Paranormal Investigative Group.

Seriously, what were my superiors thinking?

I’m not going to lie: I hate all supernatural beings, but especially those cocky ones like my new partner happens to be. Between baby vampires terrorizing school events, my truck getting totalled and demon sex clubs, I wonder who the hell I pissed off in a different life.

But when the vampire threat becomes personal, I'm hell bent on getting to the bottom of it.

Bad Vampire, by author Lauren Dawes, is the first installment in the authors Cat McKenzie series. Dawes main character is Cat McKenzie. She's a rookie officer who on her first day of work, lost her partner to something that is still at large. After a forced 7 day leave, Cat is transferred to PIG. (PIG stands for Paranormal Investigative Group). Cat is designated as the human liaison officer where she will spent 12 months. For Cat, this is a major slap in the face since she absolutely is terrified of supernaturals. Cat will be the only human among this group of supernaturals who all know what happened to her. 

Her new partner, Detective Sawyer Taylor, is something that makes her heart beat fast. Cat was really given a bad break. After she witnessed her partner being torn apart by one of that things that go bump in the night, she did what any other human confronted with the impossible would do, she froze. Now Cat has to deal with a new partner, a sword which seems to be attached her her, and an Opal pendant that seems to get brighter when she's around a supernatural. 

For Cat's first case with Sawyer, baby vampires or Renfields, seem to be trying to lure out other children and they apparently have Cat in their sights for some reason. Add in a never-ending series of oddities happening around Cat, and Cat is wondering what will happen next, and if she'll end up like her former partner before her time in PIG actually gets started. The dynamic between Cat and Sawyer is intense, but the more they are round her, Cat realizes that Sawyer isn't the person she thought he was. After all, who gives their partner a sword that becomes a part of you whenever danger is around?

Cat's world gets bigger when she starts to grow closer to her new squad mates including Braxton. Cat is introduced to vampires, succubus', demons, and werewolves. Any of these supernaturals could literally eat her alive. Cat’s first-person point of view shows off her snark and attitude while keeping her an extremely sympathetic character. Cat lost both her parents to strange circumstances and she never found out what happened to either of them. She was given an Opal pendant by her father and told to keep it on no matter what. 

The mystery of her parents disappearance really changed Cat's life. You'll have to excuse her for being a bit on the snarky side. She hides behind her insecurities by making light of the situation. Even though she does kickboxing training, her sword may be her most important asset. While the story wraps up with a nice ending, there are a whole lot of questions remaining, especially about what or who her parents were, and if the sword calling to her makes her more interesting. 

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