The Trouble with Black Cats and Demons

Cary Redmond #1

by Kat Simons

Got Trouble?

Cary Redmond sure does. This time with a particularly sexy leopard shifter who seems to think she’s his mate, a faery mentor who’s suddenly made himself scarce, and an ancient demon searching for a mysterious, mystical source of power in the forest outside of town. Throw in a vulnerable kid for her to keep safe and it’s just another day in the life of Portland’s resident Protector—save the innocent, manage her private life, keep all hell from breaking loose, and try not to die.
Easy, right?
Oh boy.

Genres: Paranormal, Ebooks, Fantasy

327 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2019

About the author

Kat Simons earned her Ph.D in animal behavior, working with animals as diverse as dolphins and deer. She brought her experience and knowledge of biology to her paranormal romance fiction, where she delights in taking nature and turning it on its ear. After traveling the world, she now lives in New York City with her family. Kat is a stay-at-home mom and a full time writer.

For more about Kat's books, visit her at http://www.katsimons.com
You can also join her newsletter for up-to-date release information: http://eepurl.com/OxQQL

Reviews

[Blake · Rating 1 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring by more than 0.50 of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

Posted February 2024 - Edited August 3rd 2024 because I realised a spoiler tag got forgotten!

If the 'love interest' had not been part of the story, then I'd have given this book 4 stars. I liked the actual urban fantasy part of the plot. I liked the MC, except in relation to the LI and I thought her bosses, mentor and friends interesting.
Honestly I think I'd have preferred the first book to be getting to know the MC and her friends etc., then bringing in the 'love interest' in the next book. For me he kept taking away from the Protector story rather than the romance being a nice side plot.

Notes made as I read the book, that started so well and kept loosing points.

Lost points with me because the LI didn't give MC space. The whole 'mate' thing is part of his culture, so its not a shock to him when it happens. He know she's human & he should have given her space to get used to it. He should have been strong enough to put her first over his / his panther's wants.
It also bugged me that MC had to know what to ask, to get info out of him. He should be giving her info about himself to show he's actually interested in her more than lust. At least the MC was annoyed at that & his other actions. Hope she keeps that up.
I knew this was a 'mate' book from the blurb, but had hoped it was the "you're my mate, but I get that it's not your culture, so I'll be around to protect you etc. but I'll keep a handle on the lust / my animal side." and fully meant it type.

Further I get into the book, am at about half way point now, more I'm disliking the LI.
What woman wouldn't want Deacon.... well me for one. His only saving grace is his running animal sanctuaries (although that's the family business, so it's not even really a 'him' thing), since I'm not as shallow as the MC I don't count his looks as part of the package.
I started to dislike him a lot at the 'get her alone to court her... seduce her.' Nope, you just met the woman, she's not a shifter you can court her in public like the human she is and not just let the mate bond push her into a relationship.

"Cary, there will never be anyone else for me. You're it. Deal with it."
I'm sorry, I don't care that she's trying to make sure they're right for each other, that a shifter wouldn't be a better mate for him. The 'deal with it' totally turns me off of him. He's the one who has to deal with there not being another female for him, not Cary. He's not her responsibility.
I'd have told him to get lost at that point and if he doesn't filed a restraining order and then found out how to magically neuter him if he didn't abide by it or better yet to separate leopard from man, so the leopard can go find a mate. I blame the man part of the equation. 'First born of first born going back generations so is the strongest of the leopard shifters...' yet its the leopard side only that's strong? Yeah right, blame the animal. This book is loosing more and more points the further I read it.

Of course the MC is fine with him hurting her because he accidentally used shifter strength on her. If that wasn't coupled with his 'deal with it', then I'd not care about that reaction, but it was and oh big surprise, he's not told her what he's learnt, that pertains to her physical well-being and her being a Protector!

I'm going to finish the book but I'm going to be surprised if it gets more than a 1* at the halfway point. It had started out as a four and keeps falling due to the 'love interest'.

FYI author, disabled is not an insult. I know I'm not alone among disabled people in finding the term physically challenged to be more derogatory. My disability can mean hand issues, so it meant I learnt to be ambidextrous as a kid. So who is more 'physically challenged' between me and someone who can't write etc. with both hands? It's a stupid and meaningless term.

Oh finally 2/3rd into the book and he's actually wanting to do the date thing to treat her like a human who needs courting! -- But he's still not told her what he learnt about her, that she really needs to know, so it's still a 1 star.
Nope he's still a jerk. She outright asked him and he's 'if Jaxer hasn't told you in a couple of weeks I will.' This man is not lifelong partner material. Where is his loyalty to her, beyond sexually? She's also an idiot, because she just lets it go with a 'she'll ask again later'.

End of the book and she just shrugs off his knowing and not deigning to tell her and he's also not told her who exactly he is.

Also, if the 'bad guy' is supposed to be a shock to the MC when others tell her his species, do not title the book with it! We as readers should also be surprised, with the MC. Not be thinking 'great the demon finally turned up.'

First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: No

Would you recommend?: No


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series has a promising premise that is poorly executed. Very wordy and rambling so sloooow... Lots of convenient stumbling blocks, lots of not sharing information... The writing just feels kinda lazy, lots of filler...

The friends and side characters, the protagonists make the story somewhat worth reading... But Cary and Deacon are both quite irritating and poorly constructed characters, there's very little depth or back story... Umm hello they were stuck inside the same house together for a whole weekend yet didn't use the opportunity to TALK and get to know each other... Seemed like the perfect story opportunity but the author chose to just leave them oblivious... Boring.

Also my pet bug is that Cary is supposed to be a Protector but hasn't bothered to learn any form of self-defense or martial arts... which makes her a martyr not brave, she just doesn't feel like her own self-preservation is a priority. Her sense of self-worth is very low, sickening that she'll throw herself into battle as a shield with no consideration for her own safety, yuck!
Then we find out her abilities as a protector should mean she doesn't get hurt... What? so she's so much of a martyr that her powers don't protect her from harm because she doesn't believe she's worth protecting, yuck yuck, yuck...

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so I am kind of shocked this book has 0 reviews, unless my Goodreads page has a glitch?
I don't really know much about this author, but this book is GOOD. I have read horrible urban fantasies, then I have read really good ones. This one is definitely towards the good ones. The plot is good, so is the writing style. Everything was balanced throughout the book. I really liked the main characters- Cary and Deacon. It has similar vibes to Kate Daniels, and I almost expected same type of plot, but this book is really different story wise. I adored Cary's caring and protective nature.
She is a dog lover, and has her own pack of 3 dogs. (Yes, this is a self explanatory plus point)
I have absolutely nothing to complain about ✨

[Steven Decknick · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF read ch1-2
Pros: great story elements, opens with a bang.
Cons: wrong tense words (eg. “She could mostly ignored her fear”), hot and heavy love interest made me think it was going erotic soon (eg sultry naked man chained to the bed), plentiful profanity.
Overall: Far too much sexual arousal and too little story. I loved the opening quest to rescue someone, along with an explanation of how and when the main character could avoid magical damage. I would’ve loved to see more of that. The references to MC’s boss felt like backstory that should have been shown in a scene.
Summary: I received a free copy and I thank the author for an opportunity to read her work, but this text needs editing and the story wasn’t my style

[Dahrose · Rating 1 out of 5]

I commenced skimming at the 40% mark & then gave up altogether at the 60% mark. Several reasons. I was bored. Deacon was one layered. Our 2 main characters rarely talked, and if they did speak, he would say: you are my mate. She would say: are u sure? I’m merely human. Then he would kiss her roughly….. and repeat, like 20 times at least.
Cary, our h, is a bit of a conundrum. So selfless she borders on saintly, yet she has little depth or layers other than her “job”

The story meandered. The romance lacked any spark. And the characters were all one note. I’m tapping out.

[Bernadette Hutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars

Ok too many questions still unanswered by the end of the book. Strong main character but again unanswered questions abound. Working alongside a teenager, protecting him but she could not see what he would do. Jon protected his family as a teenager does.
Deacon, again so many questions. The Nags...questions. Although they may be a take on the Fates.
Carly has a lot of work on her hands but I may not want to continue her journey.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A page-turner with a unique storyline and magic powers. I enjoyed the battles and the MC working around the constraints of her powers. There were amusing moments and I loved all the animals, especially the dogs.

[Sn8wflake · Rating 3 out of 5]

urban

You name it and it was in this s book, or so it seemed. There was a protector going on missions and one mission gains her a mate and another pits her against a demon.

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 73%, started out strong & lost interest. started rolling my eyes in places, a little too much happening, possibly? MMC is described one way but seems to act another.

[J.S. Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun World building

Cary Redmond is a magical protector. Her problem is that as a mundane human she isn’t fully protected herself unless on the job. Luckily her crime fighting team of two Fae superiors, the Nags and a Fae mentor, Jaxer, she’s on the road to being excellent at her job. The character self flagellates so often I skipped pages looking for progression in the story. Other then the repetitive thoughts it’s a well woven story of Mythicals all being aware of one another.

[Angel Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was mostly okay, but...

Is Jonathon 13? 14? 15? 16? The author has him at each of these ages at different times. The last age was 13. And he was classified as a grown man...no. He's a boy.

Disabled is a whole word. As a disabled person, I find calling us physically challenged an insult.