House of the Cat

House Of The Cat #1

by Shelley Munro

Two brothers slugging it out, an alien world and a hell-horse…Jockey Camryn O’Sullivan is an alcoholic on a downward spiral after the death of her husband. When aliens kidnap her, she’s both terrified and reluctantly fascinated by Ryman Coppersmith. She’s positive the weird attraction is an anomaly. Something to ignore. She’ll train the alien’s horse and they’ll return her home. Simple. There’s no need for sex or a stubborn male kitty-cat to replace the precious memories of her husband.Murder. Betrayal. Banishment. Feline shifter Ry has experienced them all. When his foster brother—the man who betrayed him—proposes a wager, the lure to clear his name is irresistible.Camryn’s arrival triggers a jump in his already overactive sex drive. It’s a struggle to keep his hands off. Something in his mysterious feline background compels him to chase her and the passion firing between them soars out of control. Ry doesn’t understand the mechanics of their attraction but knows he can’t afford to lose Camryn…despite his promise to return her home.

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Aliens, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Shapeshifters

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 14, 2009

About the author

USA Today Bestselling author, Shelley lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband and a rambunctious puppy.

Typical New Zealanders, Shelley and her husband left home for their big OE soon after they married (translation of New Zealand speak - big overseas experience). A year long adventure lengthened to six years of roaming the world. Enduring memories include being almost sat on by a mountain gorilla in Rwanda, lazing on white sandy beaches in India, whale watching in Alaska, searching for leprechauns in Ireland, and dealing with ghosts in an English pub.

While travel is still a big attraction, these days Shelley is most likely found in front of her computer following another love - that of writing stories of romance and adventure. Other interests include watching rugby and rugby league (strictly for research purposes), being walked by the dog, and curling up with a good book.

Reviews

[Coco.V]

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[B.E.Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars This wasn't a bad book but there was a little too much of the heroine stuck on her deceased husband( and yes I get it, I've said it before I will say it again I can't image loosing my husband or going on after loosing my husband but this is a romance), and it lasted so long that it made me question her love for the hero. Had they not been mated would she have stuck around. She even goes so far as to call the hero the husbands name at one of the very worst times ever. I also felt like they left too much unsaid for way too long in this book. I didn't think this book was bad, the hero was a very possessive "mine" hero and the heroine wasn't TSTL, and the storyline was really good but the other factors really shaped this book. I think this book sets up more books in this series really well and I think we get a great glimpse into the side characters, while also getting a great story about the hero lineage. Overall a good book that could have been great.

[Kitty B · Rating 1 out of 5]

First let me get something off my chest, if you are going to use the word "fuck" in your work, please at the very least spell it correctly. Misspelling the word on purpose does nothing special for your writing, except maybe act as a visual irritant. Fukk! (see, wasn't that misspelling frustrating?) And if the excuse for misspelling it is that it an alien word, then I'm sorry, that's just plain lazy.

This segways perfectly into the next irritating part of the book, there are just too many similarities between the alien culture and Earth culture. For example, they brew and drink "carafes of kafe" instead of carafes of cafe, and foreign aliens speak French (literally, tres bien), names are either misspellings of English names or random European words (Alfredo anyone?), etc. It feels lazy and cheap. I don't mind similarities here or there, but there were too many for an enjoyable read.

The premise sounded very intriguing and the storyline had lots of potential, which is why I managed to finish half the novel before giving up. I tried really hard to like the characters, but they just weren't believable. I also found the details in the story not succinctly presented.

This is the first novel I have read of Munro's work so I probably will give her another go and hope I find them more enjoyable.

[Kitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining mix of genres and themes. Aliens, shape-shifters, abduction, and a woman falling for her captor. Camryn was broken after the death of her husband, but she still has character and love enough to insist that aliens take her rather than her brother who has a family to care for. I enjoyed the chemistry that formed between Camryn and Ryman. The story has a villain foster brother, betrayal, adventure, and plenty of steamy scenes. I'm looking forward to more in this series.

[Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heavy on the smut. The story feels 2D in comparison. Aspects of the story didn't make much sense - e.g. if the protagonist's brother was so invested in the outcome of the race, why didn't he stick around to see what happened? Also - why define the other protagonist as an alcoholic if you're then going to have her just get over it with no help? A couple of instances of shaky hands don't cut it. Still - mildly enjoyable.

[Patti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many holes in this plot

This plot was just too far fetched to believe. Aliens kidnap a horse trainer from Earth to win a bet. Then they grab his sister instead and do not notice until she is on the ship. Things really head south from there. Just Tuck.

[Ann Alton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf. It was free, so I decided to try it, and read enough to know that yes, it is as bad as the title. *Rolls eyes*

[Talltree]

ZZZzzzzzz

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a little bit of everything: from an alien cat shifter to some horselike creatures that seem to like to fight and will eat anything, including humanoids. Ry and his motley crew need someone who can train a horse. After much research, they choose an Earthling named Matt, but somehow get his sister Camryn instead. To keep them from going back after her brother, Camryn agrees to train the animal. Camryn has a little bit of a drinking problem since her husband died. She is a jockey but has not had an easy time getting any rides since her jump off the sobriety wagon. She can't figure out why she is attracted to Ry when she has not wanted any man since her husband's death.

Ry is having a little bit of a feud with his brother. (Well, actually Ry is adopted so his siblings are really no kin to him.) Talor has framed Ry for murder and Ry can't return to his home to visit his family if he wants to remain out of prison. If he can beat Talor's horse in a race then his brother will get the charges dropped against him. (If you believe that I have some swamp land for sale.) Ry discovered that he is a feline shifter but he has no idea who his real parents are or where they were from so he knows very little about his condition. His immediate sexual attraction to Camryn seems different from his prior mating urges. His cat seems to calm around her and become more controllable. What does it mean? He needs her help to catch and train a hell horse and promises to return her to Earth afterward. (I still have that swampland for sale.)

I won't tell you more. The story takes a long, curvy road to the finish. Enjoy.

[LMR · Rating 4 out of 5]

When You're Abducted, "Captured, & Seduced," Can You Truly Find Happiness!!
I Absolutely Positively LOVE Shelley Munro's writing... Her Stories are Witty, Entertaining, Filled with HEAT, Packed with Action, & are Guaranteed to Please your senses, ALL while delivering a HEA or HFN ENDing that the Romantics in us search for!!
"Captured & Seduced" takes us on an Alien Abduction from Earth to a Spirited Horse Race on Another Planet, which our victim must WIN to GO HOME!
Ohhh, Did I mention the Horses are WILD. UNTRAINED. CARNIVORES!, & they'd just as soon EAT YOU as LET YOU RIDE them!!
But, Hey! That's the condition she's gotta fulfill to RETURN TO EARTH...
Too BAD the Kitty's decided he's taken a liking to the Jockey & wants to keep her!
Yep... He's Pulling out ALL the Stops, & soon she'll be "Captured & Seduced" into staying with him...
He's Jockeying for FOREVER, but he's Racing against the Clock... He needs her HEART "Captured & Seduced!!"
Even though I already Owned Shelley Munro's "Captured & Seduced (House of the Cat Book 1)," I agreed to ARC it for her via Booksprout; I recommend this book to others based upon its own merits. All opinions expressed within this review are uniquely my own & freely given!
Until next time... Happy Reading!

[Jamoz23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read.
What an interesting story. We have space travel, aliens, an evil wizard brother, cannibal horses, an oversexed cat shifter who knows nothing of his history and an alcoholic human horse trainer.
Camryn was on one hell of a downward spiral after her husband’s death, waking up on a space ship in a room with a cat was enough to sober her up. When she is told they meant to capture her brother instead of her, Camryn talks them into taking her as she has been training and riding horses
Ryman is the captain of this band of misfits and needs a horse trainer to win a race against his brother.
What follows is a human kidnapping, a hell horse to be captured and trained then the weirdest horse race ever. This is accompanied by mayhem and chaos everywhere they go. Trouble certainly finds them.
This is the full story only hinted at in Sampled and Seduced which gave us the first few chapters. I was intrigued back then but never managed to get around to reading this story until now. Pity I waited so long. I now have to get the next book to see what this band of misfits will get up to when they visit earth.

[B. Koe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Fascinating adventure and a magnificent romance!!

CAPTURED AND SEDUCED is my first from author Shelley Munro, bit it will not be my last! It is one of the better Sci-fi romances I've read, with a fascinating cast of secondary characters that will keep me reading to discover more about the House of Cat! Despite the paranormal activity and the presence of magic, CAPTURED AND SEDUCED held me spellbound. Author Mundo has the marvelous and gifted ability to reveal only what the readers need to know to take them through the action and twisty bits of the chapter, never revealing to those readers what will happen before her characters make the discovery or reveal what they have just learned. While Ry and Cassandra fight their attraction they fall prey to their magnetic chemistry which in turn creates all sorts of complications in completing Ray's imperative mission. I laughed, I cried, and I thoroughly enjoyed CAPTURED AND SEDUCED! If you enjoy paranormal or Sci-fi romance ten I STRONGLY RECOMMEND this 5+STAR romance be added to your MUST-BUY list, today! 😉 Happy pages!

[Alejandra Guerrero · Rating 1 out of 5]

DID NOT FINISH: 42%
It’s mostly filler. This book should be over by now, but instead it keeps dragging, and introducing situations that make absolutely no sense (why the fuck did they need a regency-style ball, huh? It’s a different planet!). Also, characters’ motivations are not even mentioned outside of the two MCs. Why does the villain do what he does? I don’t know. He’s just evil for the sake of it. And fMC is deeply depressed at the beginning, and an alcoholic, but the second this guy arrives, now she only wants some D. A couple of thoughts of her dead husband, one or two mentions of her wanting a drink, and that’s it. Two weeks after meeting this guy she’s forgotten about the husband she pinned after for two years. Oh, and she drinks alcohol with him! but don’t worry, she won’t start drinking again. Because all she needed was a good old dickin’ down. I've been depressed. It doesn’t work like that. and I know alcoholics. It doesn’t work like that either. So the mental health representation is abysmal, as well as the alcoholism. I’m just done.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horses but not as you know them. Yes, we're off to the far reaches of space as a feline shifter spacefarer and his crew kidnap a horse trainer from Earth. Actually she's a jockey, fighting to stay sober since her husband died. But the main thing is, she can train hell-horses. You what? Hell-horses. They are like big black hyenas (or wargs) and scavenge and fight to the death. Not your average day in the paddock.

This tale contains absurdities and similarities, brutality and romance. Adult romance and some strong language. More time is spent on the feline shifter aspect than the horses, and the apparent antagonist does nothing to look impressive, just plots on cushions while treating women as slaves. I like that the heroine is a strong woman who thinks her way through challenges and overcomes them, while trying to stick to her version of appropriate treatment for animals.

I downloaded an e-ARC from Instafreebie. This is an unbiased review.

[Alethia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked the story line and the characters, especially the secondary characters. I really hope we get to read more about Ry's crew. I liked that Ry and Camryn were more in depth than they initially professed themselves to be. I liked getting to peel back layers and learn more about them. I wasn't so fond of the jumps in time. It seemed that the relationships in the book should have progressed more for how much time jumped. I did like that the author found a way to tell you that extended periods of time had passed instead of just letting you guess that it was a few days, a week, or a month later. The story had plenty of action, some very intense horse races, and more than enough steamy scenes to keep any reader happy. Overall, I'm looking forward to reading more books in this series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Penny Ellgass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caryn becomes an alcoholic after the death of her husband. She is living on the horse ranch with her brother and his family, they can no longer trust her due to her alcoholism. She hates herself for letting them down. One night alien'so come to take her brother to train their hell horse. She convinces them to take her instead, it is the least she can do for her brother after all he has done for her.
Ryan is a cat shapeshifter. He has made a bet he has to win and kidnapper her to train his hellhorse. They are fascinated by each other as they look for and the train for the race. This is a high risk adventure story, where the risk is the only thing that has got through her deep depression and given her hope. Can they live through this race and find love?

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Susan Otto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book about an alien cat shifter/ human Romance

The more I read this book the more grab my attention. It's about a human girl who was a horse trainer before she got kidnapped by aliens. It turned out the aliens needed her to train he'll horses to win a race against his brother.

The characters are unusual, varied in talents and abilities unique to each alien character, and dramatic. There are many erotic scene with the two main characters. The plot is different from any story that I
I have read. It is also fast pace drama. I really like the story and have purchased one or two more by the same author.

I would highly recommend this book to any reader who likes paranormal story.

bookwormsuzy

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

OOhh.. I have wanted to read this series for a while. When it came up as an ARC review I had to SNAG IT! House of the Cat was a quick and fun read. Camryn is kidnapped by Ry and his crew. They initially think they are grabbing her brother. Joke is on them lol.. I can't imagine the mental pain she is going through after losing her spouse. I wish we had discovered what happened to him for sure. All of the characters were likable and I enjoyed the storyline and world building. I am looking forward to seeing what happens if/when she is reunited with her family and where they go next!

I was gifted an ARC in return of an honest review.

[Jenny Hockings · Rating 5 out of 5]

YES PLEASE !!!
I LOVE THE MAIN ALIEN CHARACTER IN THIS BOOK, HE SUFFERED A BETRAYAL BY HIS FOSTER BROTHER AND TO CLEAR HIS NAME HE AGREES TO THE WAGER THAT HIS FOSTER BROTHER PROPOSES. THERE IS MURDER, BETRAYALS AND SUSPENSE THROUGH OUT THE STORY BUT RYMAN ALSO MADE CAMRYN A PROMISE THAT HE WOULD RETURN HER TO EARTH IF SHE TRAINED HIS HORSE SO THAT HE COULD WIN THE HELL RACE TO CLEAR HIS NAME !!! NOW RYMAN HAS HIS FELINE HALF PANTING FOR CAMRYN AND HE DOES NOT WANT TO LOOSE HER !!! WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN …….. GRAB THE BOOK TO FIND OUT !!!!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started out pretty slow and I wasn't sure I was going to like the main character. She was broken due to the loss of her husband and she has let that consume her. When she is abducted, things begin to change. She is forced to overcome her addiction due to her abduction. Some of the book was hard to follow though as I didn't totally understand the training planet vs the planet they were on for the race and the male main character"s relationship to his planet. I liked some of the storyline. The aliens were interesting as was the world created by the author. I liked the back end of the book. It was what made the story.

[Vivian Chrisman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Start of another good series..

This is the start of another good series. Camryn was a character most can relate to. The death of a spouse could send anyone into a depression. For Camryn, that depression lead to alcoholism and the loss of her families trust. To atone, she takes her brother's place when aliens need him to train a hellhorse for a race. The chemistry between Camryn and Ry was undeniable but will she be able to move on from her grief to accept a future with him?

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Caroline Doig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic story a bit long but I enjoyed it immensely. After the death of her husband Caryn becomes an alcoholic, she goes to live at her brothers farm but him and his wife don’t trust her because of her alcoholism. Aliens come down to take her brother away because they need someone to train the hell horses so instead of letting her brother go Caryn goes in his place. This is Caryn’s and the aliens story and what could be considered as hell horses. A fantastic story a 5 plus ⭐️ read and I highly recommend this book it’s definitely well worth the read.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kidnapped by aliens by mistake, our heroine finds herself volunteering to take her brother's place in her captor's plans. They need an expert horse trainer and she needs to escape her life. Grieving the death of her husband, Camryn has been lost in an alcohol and drug induced haze. Alien abduction seems to be the wake up call she has been needing.

This book features interesting characters, intriguing storylines, and beautiful writing. I look forward to reading more by this author. Recommend! :D

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an outstanding adventure filled with sizzling attraction, scheming betrayal, and numerous dangers. Fast-paced action and endless drama moved the story along at an astonishing clip. Ry, Camryn, and all of his crew were extremely fascinating and very likable characters. I was enthralled with their venture into the wilds to capture and tame a hell-horse. This story was like a breath of fresh air with the lively and unique storyline and the amazing characters. I just loved it!!!!! Great, Great Read!!!!!

[Caroline Doig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author and I gladly leave my review.
This is the first book I’ve read and reviewed by Shelly Munro and I really enjoyed reading it. I was immersed in this book from page 1 right up to the end, this book has it all sexy cat shifters and aliens and I loved the hot sex scenes. I liked the storyline and the characters and I recommend this book to anyone that is a fan of shifter / alien books.

[Sherry Westendorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her husband dies and she gives up and becomes an alcoholic. Her mental state is drowned in the alcohol and no one can count on or trust her. Aliens come to try to kidnap her brother to train a horse. She talks them into taking her instead. This alien is hot and wants her badly. It is exciting, suspenseful, fun, hot, emotional and so much more. I was given a review copy by booksprout and voluntarily review it.

[Arlyn Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am pretty much only reading romances these days, with much of my attention on the sci fi, paranormal, and dark sub genres. I cannot believe it took me so long to read something by Shelley Munro! Captured And Seduced was a joy to read. Ryman and Camryn were so very steamy, I read this almost non stop over a day and a half. I am off to hunt down the other books in this series!!!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Annemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aliens, cat shifter, magic and hell horses. ...oh my! This is a far out adventure that hooks you in and keeps you guessing the outcome. Capt. Ryan is a cat shifter who has a bet with his brother Talor, that he can win a hell horse race to clear his name. He and his team kidnap Camryn mistaking her for her brother. Looking to have a horse trainer for his hell horse. Along the way, Camryn mates with Ryman. Talor creates troubles. Hang on with both hands!!

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mistaken Identity

Abducted from Earth as she was mistaken for her brother who is a horse trainer. Still mourning the death of her husband three years before which she blamed herself she started to rely on booze and pills. Can she convince these aliens that she can do the job and why is she so attracted to the Captain who is a feline shifter? I hope that others enjoy this book as much as I did which is why I thoroughly recommend it.

[Yvonne Kimbler · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is a flying crew to do when love hits

Anyone who loves aliens, shifters, and solid stories. When tragedies hit the pain can become too much to bare.

In this story starts with an alien crew kidnapping the wrong human. The more Ry and his crew find out about about this human. This story is one that starts with a tragedy and ends with an uplifting that allows love to blossoms.