The Romanceaholic

Expected Release Date: July 4, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Carina Press
Author’s Website: http://pjschnyder.com/blog/
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: No
Series Best Read In Order: N/A
Steam Level: Hot

Official Blurb:

As a mercenary, Kat Darah doesn’t have to pass for a normal human. On the edge of the solar system, she’s just another biped. Most of the time.

Nearing the end of his military tour, Lt. Christopher Rygard debates the idea of hanging up his uniform for good. Looking for answers at the bottom of a glass of scotch, he meets Kat. One shared night of mutual desire seems harmless. But when their tryst is interrupted by attackers hunting Rygard, Kat must reveal her other form, the predator beneath the human façade.

Together they embark on a dangerous mission—a race against time to meet the enemy’s demands, while trying to deny the passion between them. Rygard is faced with a terrible choice in the face of duty: Report the existence of a human turned shape-shifter. Or forget he ever met her.

25,000 words

Kat was born a human, but when she was kidnapped as a military cadet, she was infected with a virus that mutated her genetic code, allowing her to transform into a feline.  Now blessed — or cursed — with extraordinary senses and a deep and instinctual dislike of men, she has yet to fully overcome the torture that was inflicted on her during her imprisonment, and instead focuses on being one of the most bad-ass mercenaries this side of the galaxy..   Hiding scars both physical and mental, she’s resigned herself to never knowing a loving man’s touch, until her well-meaning mercenary friends dump her on a planet with a reservation at a swanky hotel and orders to “enjoy herself” until they return.  Miserable, knowing that her social skills leave a lot to be desired, she decides to take advantage of her time off by heading down to the local bar.

Faced with the end of his military tour and strongly disillusioned by the orders given on his last mission, Lt. Christopher Rygard heads to the bar to drown his misery, when he’s astonished to witness a beautiful and deadly woman cut through a massive bar brawl like a hot knife through butter, and cautiously introduces himself to her.

Taken slightly aback by her shy manner yet intrigued by her obvious capabilities, he flirts with her and is happy when she clumsily returns his advances.

Making their way to her hotel room, they give in to the scorching attraction crackling between them, and he unknowingly gives her the first positive sexual experience of her life.

The situation quickly deteriorates, however, when a misunderstanding leads Rygard to be cruel to Kat, but before the situation can be corrected,  Ryagard is attacked by creatures from the alien world that his last mission had taken place on. Out for blood and revenge, the attackers are as astonished as Rygard when Kat assumes her feline form to defend him, and she quickly earns the respect of the attackers.   They are given a choice — Rygard can die now, or they can work together to right the wrong that Rygard’s team committed, and Kat attempts to shoulder aside her hurt to participate in a mission that could very well result in her being enslaved again.

To make matters worse, Rygard’s allegiance to the military requires him to report Kat’s existence as a shifter — and in doing so, he would certainly be risking her very life.

What Worked For Me:

• Kat. Is awesome. Beautiful, intelligent, and totally badass, she’s also insanely awkward around men (well, if by awkward you really mean has a tendency to kick their asses for even the slightest bit of perceived aggression or threat from them, anyway) and also has a secret penchant for incredibly sexy lingerie.
• I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Kat’s mercenary friends, as well, from her loyal and dedicated Captain, Dev, to her (slightly slutty) best friend, Skuld. While they didn’t get much face time due to the limited word count, Ms. Schyder did a fantastic job in giving just enough details to round them out without taking the focus off of Kat.
• Rygard was so tasty.  Checking off pretty much every characteristic Kat had made on her imaginary list of requirements for her dream guy, he’s handsome, looks great in uniform, and most importantly, can hold his own against her and isn’t intimidated by her predator instincts.  So sure, he makes a bad assumption and mouths off in a way that is truly hurtful, but when he realized his mistake, he was quick to try to prove to Kat that he wasn’t a horrible guy.  I also loved his integrity, and the feelings of remorse he felt for his actions in his last mission.
• Yum, yum, YUM! The night that Kat and Rygard spend at the hotel was absolutely delicious. The sexual tension had been sparking between them from the moment they laid eyes on each other, and when they finally join together after a few false starts, things are absolutely explosive. Even after Rygard’s error and the attack by the kindred, the tension continues to spark, and I for one am anxious to see what happens next.
• In the same vein, I was really happy that even with a limited word count, time was taken to show that Kat was still not 100% over her traumatic experiences, and while some readers may feel this was a case of “magic penis” syndrome, I felt like it was more that her animal side had accepted that he was no actual threat, and the fact that he was such a considerate lover that helped her to relax. In addition, she and Skuld had spoken at the beginning about how she was maybe kinda sorta almost ready to possibly somehow in some way start to move on, and I rather felt she was more “ready” than she’d believed. It seemed that her trouble was more that she had zero social skills really than the fact she was still truly traumatized.
• I enjoyed that Rygard wasn’t intimidated by Kat, even as he recognized her inner predator, even before he knew she could change shape. More than that, however, was how her abilities didn’t change the way he felt about her.
• I also loved that the shapeshifting was a result of a change in her genetic code due to a viral infection. While this pays homage to long established traditions of being able to infect people with lycanthropy (or the like), it also ties in well with the sci-fi aspect of the story and makes it more of a medical experiment intended to create super-soldiers, and I for one really enjoyed that twist.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

• At one point, Kat’s ferret Chester makes a reappearance with no immediate explanation for his presence. When we last left Kat and Rygard, Chester was on her friend’s ship, and not docked at the same station that she is on. Then suddenly, he’s there assisting her, and we’re not told until the mission is over that she had sent her friends a message asking for them to send him to her.  While not a major issue, it was still confusing and pulled me out of the action as I tried to remember if I’d missed his return somehow.
• There’s no real HEA, and of course that bugs me.  It’s not even really a HFN, but more like a “well that was nice, and if nothing else we’ll still be friends” type deal, which I admit I found very unsatisfying. However, (and this is a big “however”), according to my contact at Carina Press, there are “tentative plans to expand Hunting Kat into a series”, and knowing that there’s the possibility, I’m much more willing to let the ending slide. I of course wish that there were definite plans rather than tentative ones, and as any reader knows, until it’s under contract you can’t count on it, so please don’t kill the messenger here if you get excited about a sequel that never materializes.

Apart from the ending (*grumble grumble*) I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Kat is made of awesome and Rygard is a deeply honorable man with some baggage as well, and together I think they make a perfect match.  The sensuality level was perfect for this length of a story, and the secondary characters all added to the story rather than distracted.

I was very happy to receive word that there is at least a slight possibility of a sequel, and there is absolutely no question in my  mind that if one is released, it will be promptly added to my “must buy” list.  I admit, I can’t help but hope that the kindred alpha at least makes a reappearance, though I do hope he gets his own heroine and keeps his paws off of Kat

Recommended for fans of tough heroines with a traumatic past, a new take on shapeshifting, and of vaguely ambiguous endings.  3.5/5, simply because I’m withholding a half a star because of the ending lol

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