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whatsmacksaid's review against another edition
5.0
I loved it. It wasn't perfect, but it was really well written and right up my alley. Halfway through I went out and bought the second one--I didn't even care if Kittredge flubbed the ending (she didn't).
pamwinkler's review against another edition
2.0
It wasn't bad but I lost interest. And maybe suspension of disbelief? Honestly; if they've skinned you, even in part, the last thing on the list of 'bad stuff they've done to me' probably shouldn't be shaving your head and kicking you out into a winter.
Unless there's some sort of wry commentary about the fact that your hair matters to you a very great deal.
Unless there's some sort of wry commentary about the fact that your hair matters to you a very great deal.
bookfessional's review
2.0
2/7/18 - ON SALE for $3.99:
http://amzn.to/2EpiMNn
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
The first thing I want to say about this book is that my main issue was a matter of personal preference. It's impossible to really like a book when you don't like the heroine, and the heroine . . . I did not like.
Neither am I a huge fan of zombies and voodoo/necromancy or angels as supernatural creatures in urban fantasy (just b/c a book has demons--and weirdly, as much as I typically dislike angels in my UF, I think demons are aces--doesn't mean there will be angels).
This time, however, there were. *shrugs*
BUT if dead things and/or angels are your thing, you might love this book. Moving on . . .
Any Supernatural fans out there?
I'm a few seasons behind, but I think it's pretty great. If you haven't watched SUPERNATURAL, it's about two brothers who hunt/kill/send back to Hell ghosts/monsters/demons. When I checked-out, it had evolved from misc. monster hunting to an approaching Armageddon<------I'm consistent.
BLACK DOG is kind of like SUPERNATURAL from the demon's perspective. If the demon was a hellhound meant to inspire sympathy b/c of her dainty human form and indentured servitude to a big meanie hellspawn.
And that's where things went wrong for me. You see . . . while the slavery aspect of being a hellhound definitely sucks, you cannot become a hellhound without making a deal with the proverbial devil.
Hellhounds aren't the offspring of a group of people who made the deal eons ago and are still paying for their ancestors' mistake. They aren't a strange and new amalgamation, created by the minions of Hell, forced to serve and exist in misery. NOPE. They are NOT. Every, single one of them signs up for the gig. When Ava died, a reaper came to her and offered her a choice.
Ava chose . . . poorly.
"But how did Ava die?" you ask.
Well . . . Ava had a boyfriend who liked to drink when he was feeling sorry for himself, and when he was good and drunk, he'd beat the shit out of her. Poor thing, I know. Except instead of kicking him to the curb, b/c abusive asshole, she started sleeping with his best friend, b/c serves him right.
And that's not all Ava's doing with these guys.
One of Best Friend's ancestors was some kind of voodoo priestess who sacrificed a bunch of children to open a gate to Hell, and the three of them are out in the bayou trying to find where she did it, so that they can call up some ghost to get power (b/c power).
But it all goes sideways for Ava when these two upstanding young men make her the sacrifice.
Huh . . . I guess they left that part out. You can't blame her for being surprised though, b/c the sacrifice was supposed to be a "pure" soul . . .
SO. Ava makes LOTS of bad choices.
She's also supposed to be one tough chick. You can torture her, and she will not flinch. She's used to it. Learned how to swallow the pain years ago. And she will cut you.
One. Tough. Chick.
When she's not on a crying jag:
Or having a panic attack:
Or feeling sorry for herself:
Characters make mistakes. It's inevitable. It's what they do after they make mistakes that counts, and IMO . . . Ava could have handled it better. But that's not the biggest problem for me. *sighs* I can't help it. I just don't like her.
Beyond that, BLACK DOG by Caitlin Kittredge was a pretty good book. The plot was interesting, especially if you're into the whole good vs evil/Heaven and Hell thing, and aside from some lowbrow humor, the writing was excellent. I think a lot of urban fantasy readers will like this book--it really was a case of, "It's not you, it's me."
http://amzn.to/2EpiMNn
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
The first thing I want to say about this book is that my main issue was a matter of personal preference. It's impossible to really like a book when you don't like the heroine, and the heroine . . . I did not like.
Neither am I a huge fan of zombies and voodoo/necromancy or angels as supernatural creatures in urban fantasy (just b/c a book has demons--and weirdly, as much as I typically dislike angels in my UF, I think demons are aces--doesn't mean there will be angels).
This time, however, there were. *shrugs*
BUT if dead things and/or angels are your thing, you might love this book. Moving on . . .
Any Supernatural fans out there?
I'm a few seasons behind, but I think it's pretty great. If you haven't watched SUPERNATURAL, it's about two brothers who hunt/kill/send back to Hell ghosts/monsters/demons. When I checked-out, it had evolved from misc. monster hunting to an approaching Armageddon<------I'm consistent.
BLACK DOG is kind of like SUPERNATURAL from the demon's perspective. If the demon was a hellhound meant to inspire sympathy b/c of her dainty human form and indentured servitude to a big meanie hellspawn.
And that's where things went wrong for me. You see . . . while the slavery aspect of being a hellhound definitely sucks, you cannot become a hellhound without making a deal with the proverbial devil.
Hellhounds aren't the offspring of a group of people who made the deal eons ago and are still paying for their ancestors' mistake. They aren't a strange and new amalgamation, created by the minions of Hell, forced to serve and exist in misery. NOPE. They are NOT. Every, single one of them signs up for the gig. When Ava died, a reaper came to her and offered her a choice.
Ava chose . . . poorly.
"But how did Ava die?" you ask.
Well . . . Ava had a boyfriend who liked to drink when he was feeling sorry for himself, and when he was good and drunk, he'd beat the shit out of her. Poor thing, I know. Except instead of kicking him to the curb, b/c abusive asshole, she started sleeping with his best friend, b/c serves him right.
And that's not all Ava's doing with these guys.
One of Best Friend's ancestors was some kind of voodoo priestess who sacrificed a bunch of children to open a gate to Hell, and the three of them are out in the bayou trying to find where she did it, so that they can call up some ghost to get power (b/c power).
But it all goes sideways for Ava when these two upstanding young men make her the sacrifice.
Huh . . . I guess they left that part out. You can't blame her for being surprised though, b/c the sacrifice was supposed to be a "pure" soul . . .
SO. Ava makes LOTS of bad choices.
She's also supposed to be one tough chick. You can torture her, and she will not flinch. She's used to it. Learned how to swallow the pain years ago. And she will cut you.
One. Tough. Chick.
When she's not on a crying jag:
I slammed the door behind me, threw the bolt, and curled up on the faded bed . . . Pressing the musty feather pillow against my face, I sobbed until I thought my chest would crack open . . . I hadn't realized it until this moment that I was alone, and I'd been stupid to ever think anything else.
Or having a panic attack:
I fell to the ground without realizing it. There was a terrible wheezing sound loud in my ears, and something slamming against my ribs from the inside as the weight got heavier and heavier, choking off my air entirely.
Or feeling sorry for herself:
If there was a level ten stories below ground from pathetic, I was probably there.
Characters make mistakes. It's inevitable. It's what they do after they make mistakes that counts, and IMO . . . Ava could have handled it better. But that's not the biggest problem for me. *sighs* I can't help it. I just don't like her.
Beyond that, BLACK DOG by Caitlin Kittredge was a pretty good book. The plot was interesting, especially if you're into the whole good vs evil/Heaven and Hell thing, and aside from some lowbrow humor, the writing was excellent. I think a lot of urban fantasy readers will like this book--it really was a case of, "It's not you, it's me."
nathanaeljs's review against another edition
3.0
Hellhounds aren't the usual suspect for fantasy novel protagonists. They tend to be the ones trying to munch on the protagonist or someone that hapless do-gooder has sworn to protect. Ava isn't particularly much of an exception. For the last better-part-of-a-century, she's hunted down people stupid enough to make bargains with demons. She doesn't have much a choice in the matter, as she traded her freedom in exchange for continued existence when she was murdered during the Prohibition. Enter Leo, your usual sexy tattooed bad boy, who happens to be a necromancer hit man for some sort of occultic Russian mafia. Pulled into Leo's plot against his father, Ava ultimately ends up pissing off the wrong demon and embroiled in a fight between demons and the fallen angels who created them.
In a lot of ways this felt like an episode of Supernatural. The road trips, the humor, even the world-building to some extent. That's not a bad thing at all. I enjoyed my time in this world and look forward to seeing more when the next entry in the series comes out. The plot, setting, and dialogue all felt very strong to me and were enjoyable. The characters, specifically Ava, Leo, and Lilith, didn't work quite as well. Lilith is, quite frankly, utterly bland. There's not much in the way of menace there and she seems a trifle incompetent. Leo is a fairly stock character, complete with daddy issues, a tragic backstory, smoldering good looks, and an insta-love connection to the protagonist, which does at least get a decent handwave toward the end. Ava is the most problematic though. Since the book is in first person, we spend a lot of time in Ava's head. She's really whiny. Granted, she has good reason to be whiny, given the heaping helping of suckage that the entirety of her nearly century long life and unlife has been, but it still grates.
Final verdict: Black Dog is a fun quick read, with some reservations that I'm hoping will be ironed out in the next book.
Note: I received an ARC of this book through GoodReads' First Reads program.
In a lot of ways this felt like an episode of Supernatural. The road trips, the humor, even the world-building to some extent. That's not a bad thing at all. I enjoyed my time in this world and look forward to seeing more when the next entry in the series comes out. The plot, setting, and dialogue all felt very strong to me and were enjoyable. The characters, specifically Ava, Leo, and Lilith, didn't work quite as well. Lilith is, quite frankly, utterly bland. There's not much in the way of menace there and she seems a trifle incompetent. Leo is a fairly stock character, complete with daddy issues, a tragic backstory, smoldering good looks, and an insta-love connection to the protagonist, which does at least get a decent handwave toward the end. Ava is the most problematic though. Since the book is in first person, we spend a lot of time in Ava's head. She's really whiny. Granted, she has good reason to be whiny, given the heaping helping of suckage that the entirety of her nearly century long life and unlife has been, but it still grates.
Final verdict: Black Dog is a fun quick read, with some reservations that I'm hoping will be ironed out in the next book.
Note: I received an ARC of this book through GoodReads' First Reads program.
ladykatka's review against another edition
3.0
I am giving this a solid three stars because I really did enjoy reading it despite the problems I had with it. It was a page-turner that I read in just a couple days. I also intend to read the next one.
That being said, this book suffers from way too many plots. Every character has their own plot that could run deep enough to be it's own book. The biggest problem here is that not all of them get explained or explored as it is only 340 pages long, there is no time for that. This means that there is a lot of questions left, and a lot that you really don't understand. I hope it is explored in the next book, that could be some redemption.
It gets a little repetitive because our leading lady Ava doesn't learn. How can you be a hell hound for 90 years and still be this stupid. Seriously, how do you not see some of this stuff coming, it is obvious and not at all subtle. She claims through the whole book how she has brought down some of the baddest warlocks and evil doers over the past century, and all the things they have done to try to escape her, yet she falls for the ole drugs in your drink from a guy you shouldn't trust ploy. What the deuce woman? If he is offering you a drink and he doesn't drink it, then neither should you. Also how many times was she knocked out and waking up somewhere else? This felt very convenient to the plot, it gets her where she needs to be and no explanation needed. GAH!
It was annoying how they kept calling her a "puppy" because she is a hell hound. First few times, I get but being used as the only way to insult and address the main character gets a little tiring.
And lastly, what is with that really awkward sex scene out of nowhere. With 50 pages left in the book, it feels really weird to suddenly be reading such a graphic sexual encounter. After 300 pages of no sex and suddenly there it is in all its glory is rather jarring. It felt as if it was there not because it was natural, but because it was the only way the author could think of to up the emotional stakes before the climax of the book. I didn't need to read that to know that they were loyal to each other. I really didn't. Sex isn't the only way to show a couple has a bond. Good grief.
That being said, this book suffers from way too many plots. Every character has their own plot that could run deep enough to be it's own book. The biggest problem here is that not all of them get explained or explored as it is only 340 pages long, there is no time for that. This means that there is a lot of questions left, and a lot that you really don't understand. I hope it is explored in the next book, that could be some redemption.
It gets a little repetitive because our leading lady Ava doesn't learn. How can you be a hell hound for 90 years and still be this stupid. Seriously, how do you not see some of this stuff coming, it is obvious and not at all subtle. She claims through the whole book how she has brought down some of the baddest warlocks and evil doers over the past century, and all the things they have done to try to escape her, yet she falls for the ole drugs in your drink from a guy you shouldn't trust ploy. What the deuce woman? If he is offering you a drink and he doesn't drink it, then neither should you. Also how many times was she knocked out and waking up somewhere else? This felt very convenient to the plot, it gets her where she needs to be and no explanation needed. GAH!
It was annoying how they kept calling her a "puppy" because she is a hell hound. First few times, I get but being used as the only way to insult and address the main character gets a little tiring.
And lastly, what is with that really awkward sex scene out of nowhere. With 50 pages left in the book, it feels really weird to suddenly be reading such a graphic sexual encounter. After 300 pages of no sex and suddenly there it is in all its glory is rather jarring. It felt as if it was there not because it was natural, but because it was the only way the author could think of to up the emotional stakes before the climax of the book. I didn't need to read that to know that they were loyal to each other. I really didn't. Sex isn't the only way to show a couple has a bond. Good grief.
mudmule's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn't put this book down. I very much liked Ava, Leo, and learned to dislike Clint. I enjoyed how the book just keep me wanting more. It's full of action that doesn't get old or overdone. I read this book in 2 sittings. I look forward to the next one.
dtaylorbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I’m not sure what I was expecting going into BLACK DOG but it wasn’t what I got and I was so incredibly surprised and happy by it I pretty much swallowed the book whole.
It reminded me a lot of Chuck Wendig’s Miriam Black series, with the super gritty, foul-mouthed heroine that doesn’t take shit from anyone and makes her own way, with a little Black Knight syndrome going on (think Monty Python on that one), who’s stuck in a crappy situation and just making of it what she can. And that’s funny because he blurbed the book too: “Some books steal your heart, but Black Dog will steal your soul. Caitlin Kittredge has given the urban fantasy genre a kick in the face – she gives the genre tropes a much-needed upgrade and slathers the whole thing in a heaping helping of horror, humor, and hard-hitting prose. I want more and I want it yesterday.” That pretty much sums it up.
Kittredge writes with this black humor that you can’t help but laugh at and yet feel like you probably shouldn’t. But you do anyway. She gives you this terrifying world where all Hell is literally on the verge of breaking loose, where angels aren’t what they seem, and not all necromancers are bad. There are zombies and vampires, werewolves and shifters, but it’s written in a way where these things are enmeshed in the world, not a different part of it. They just are; they’re nasty and hard to deal with but there is no ignoring them.
She gives you a character, Ava, who’s just following orders. Doing what she’s designed to do because she has no other purpose in her second life. The fact that she is still living is something she’s grateful for, but at the same time she’s consigned herself to the fact that she’s basically a soul garbage man and that’s it. Until she meets Leo.
Who I kind of love. He’s a dick and Ava and Leo didn’t start off on the best footing, but they found each others’ grooves and I found that how Leo came into the picture could be pretty well forgiven. That’s probably really bad of me considering his first appearance in the story is torturing Ava for information but he’s actually pretty tame compared to Ava herself. And he’s actually pretty loyal to her and comes to look out for her. It’s kind of sweet in a hellhound sort of way.
I loved the twist at the end, despite it kind of destroying Ava a little. I’m looking forward to reading GRIM TIDINGS to see where Kittredge will be taking that storyline.
The only think I didn’t like was Clint. By the end of the book he felt very much like an obvious throw-away plot device that was shoved into the story to tie it all together. I felt he was discarded at the end too easily for all that he’d done and I’m left wondering if he’ll be seen in the next book. If memory serves, it’s not clear what actually happened to him in the end. So we’ll see.
The best way I can think of to describe BLACK DOG is real. The characters are real, their relationships are real. To Chuck’s quote, it really does redefine urban fantasy and the paranormal genres. It’s fresh and exciting without an overly snarky MC humping the leg of the muscly were-panther or whatever. The emotions are real and relatable, the characters are immediately engaging, the story sucks you right in, and whatever sex is in there is raw and real and drills deeper than just porn-level fucking.
BLACK DOG, I feel, is one of those sleeper books that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention (same as the Miriam Black books), probably because it doesn’t conform to the paranormal genre. But that’s what makes it phenomenal. It makes me want to scream READ IT. READ IT NOW. No really. Read it. Read it now. You won’t be disappointed.
5
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
It reminded me a lot of Chuck Wendig’s Miriam Black series, with the super gritty, foul-mouthed heroine that doesn’t take shit from anyone and makes her own way, with a little Black Knight syndrome going on (think Monty Python on that one), who’s stuck in a crappy situation and just making of it what she can. And that’s funny because he blurbed the book too: “Some books steal your heart, but Black Dog will steal your soul. Caitlin Kittredge has given the urban fantasy genre a kick in the face – she gives the genre tropes a much-needed upgrade and slathers the whole thing in a heaping helping of horror, humor, and hard-hitting prose. I want more and I want it yesterday.” That pretty much sums it up.
Kittredge writes with this black humor that you can’t help but laugh at and yet feel like you probably shouldn’t. But you do anyway. She gives you this terrifying world where all Hell is literally on the verge of breaking loose, where angels aren’t what they seem, and not all necromancers are bad. There are zombies and vampires, werewolves and shifters, but it’s written in a way where these things are enmeshed in the world, not a different part of it. They just are; they’re nasty and hard to deal with but there is no ignoring them.
She gives you a character, Ava, who’s just following orders. Doing what she’s designed to do because she has no other purpose in her second life. The fact that she is still living is something she’s grateful for, but at the same time she’s consigned herself to the fact that she’s basically a soul garbage man and that’s it. Until she meets Leo.
Who I kind of love. He’s a dick and Ava and Leo didn’t start off on the best footing, but they found each others’ grooves and I found that how Leo came into the picture could be pretty well forgiven. That’s probably really bad of me considering his first appearance in the story is torturing Ava for information but he’s actually pretty tame compared to Ava herself. And he’s actually pretty loyal to her and comes to look out for her. It’s kind of sweet in a hellhound sort of way.
I loved the twist at the end, despite it kind of destroying Ava a little. I’m looking forward to reading GRIM TIDINGS to see where Kittredge will be taking that storyline.
The only think I didn’t like was Clint. By the end of the book he felt very much like an obvious throw-away plot device that was shoved into the story to tie it all together. I felt he was discarded at the end too easily for all that he’d done and I’m left wondering if he’ll be seen in the next book. If memory serves, it’s not clear what actually happened to him in the end. So we’ll see.
The best way I can think of to describe BLACK DOG is real. The characters are real, their relationships are real. To Chuck’s quote, it really does redefine urban fantasy and the paranormal genres. It’s fresh and exciting without an overly snarky MC humping the leg of the muscly were-panther or whatever. The emotions are real and relatable, the characters are immediately engaging, the story sucks you right in, and whatever sex is in there is raw and real and drills deeper than just porn-level fucking.
BLACK DOG, I feel, is one of those sleeper books that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention (same as the Miriam Black books), probably because it doesn’t conform to the paranormal genre. But that’s what makes it phenomenal. It makes me want to scream READ IT. READ IT NOW. No really. Read it. Read it now. You won’t be disappointed.
5
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
bearteddington's review against another edition
3.0
It could have been 4 stars but honestly I can’t really parse what the hell was going on with the recycled souls and why shit was happening the way it was. But the characters were good and I enjoyed reading so maybe 3.5