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Kitty’s Greatest Hits is a collection of short stories that Carrie Vaughn has collected together under one anthology. Many have been part of other anthologies and I’d already read two of them (Il Est Ne and The Temptation of Robin Green), but there are also a few never before seen ones. One is a small story that spins off from one of Kitty’s on-air callers after he hangs up the phone and the other is the novella written about Cormac, one of the main characters, and events that happened to him ‘off screen’.

The stories cover a wide range of topics and characters, from historical periods and even an alternative take on a popular biblical tale (which I really enjoyed). Kitty features with her usual flair for getting caught up in things that only she can get caught up in and the wider view of the entire Kitty Norville universe just made me ache for more. These short stories show just how big the supernatural world that Vaughn created is and it feels like she barely scraped the surface of it in the series, which is a little bittersweet. ( )

I really liked this collection. I think I enjoyed this more than I would have because I knew Kitty's world, and I knew the characters portrayed in the stories (for the most part). These weren't stand-alone stories but missing pieces that further fleshed out a world I know, and characters I loved. Even the stories that didn't feature any of the characters from the Kitty books worked, because they were historical events that were interesting what-ifs - if vampires and were-creatures were real. ( )

I didn't really like the first book in this series, and I suspect that a familiarity with the books leading up to the release of this collection would be a good idea before trying this. Since I don't really want to read that much just to give this anthology something approaching a fair shot, I think I'm just going to offload this ARC (finally, years after receiving it) instead.

Good intro to the series, lots of information about character beginnings. Especially Cormac. ( )

Kitty’s Greatest Hits give readers a great selection of stories, both in the Kitty universe and of some of our favorite characters.

Of the stories not about Kitty and her friends, I really loved The Book of Daniel and A Princess of Spain. At one point in the novels, Kitty is speculating on what historical figures might have been supernatural creatures. The biblical Daniel, of Daniel and the Lion’s Den, is one on which she speculates. Could Daniel have been a lion shifter? That might explain why the lions didn’t eat him.

A Princess of Spain tells us the story of Arthur Tudor, the sickly older brother of Henry Tudor — Henry VIII. What if Arthur’s sickness was a plot in vampire machinations? Arthur’s wife, Catherine of Aragon, and Henry discover the plot and “save” Arthur from the wicked vampire.

I also love the “origin” stories of Rick and TJ. Conquistador de la Noche reveals how Rick — Ricardo de Avila — was turned vampire in Mexico long before most European vampires came to America. Wild Ride assures us that T.J. chose to become a werewolf, but was too dominate a wolf to be comfortable in most packs.

And, of course, Long Time Waiting is the brilliant story of Cormac and Amelia’s fight against the demon haunting the prison, and how they became partners in Cormac’s head.

Actually, there aren’t any bad stories in this collection. Even the short short ones are fun. My only complaint is that I would have preferred the stories be presented in chronological order, rather than in publication order, or there was some notation of when each story took place in the timeline of the novels. That would have been helpful. I also would have liked to see some stories about General Sherman and Odysseus Grant.😉

I’m very glad all the stories were collected into one volume, and that Marguarite Gavin narrated them all. Having a consistent narrator for the entire series is fantastic. Gavin does an excellent job.

I’m super glad I took the time to reread the entire Kitty series. I rated several books higher than I did on my original read, and I’m so glad there was a resolution to the Roman story-line. Kitty is one of my favorite series.😉 ( )