“I’ve searched centuries for someone like you.” – Kay Berrisford
Author: Kay Berrisford
Publisher: Love Lane Books
Pages/Word Count: 110 Pages
Rating: 4 Stars
Blurb: Please note: This is a revised version of a previously released title.
Denny is a top secret agent on a mission to protect London from Ethereal Beings – elves – who are seen as dangerous mind-reading parasites who prey on human emotions.
Kit is an elf on the run, misunderstood and persecuted by humans. When Denny catches him, he shatters everything Denny’s been taught about elves. He’s gorgeous and funny and claims he’s been searching a long time for a guy like Denny. He shares Denny’s kinks and now he needs Denny’s love to survive.
But if Denny doesn’t take Kit to jail, he’s in big trouble. Dare Denny break the law and gamble his life to save the Ethereal Being in his bed?
Review: Kay Berrisford’s Catching Kit is a fun Urban Fantasy with a delightful English flare, and is a catchy introduction to a series that I can’t help but feel is full of the potential for loads of suspense and angsty times ahead.
Book one in the Underground Elves series introduces a world in which elves materialize and fade in the human realm, only to materialize again, sometimes decades, sometimes centuries later, at the whims of whatever nature controls their reincarnation. Or, at least that’s how it works if they aren’t erased entirely from existence. The only problem with them appearing in London these days is that their very being has been criminalized. Elves are hunted by a branch of the British government dedicated to capturing and controlling Ethereal Beings, and this is how Denny and Kit are introduced—Denny finds Kit singing in the London Underground, and the chase is on to apprehend Kit and deposit him in the nearest containment facility, where the elf can be dealt with humanely. That’s the government’s story, at least, and they’re sticking to it.
The setup for this series is a straightforward one in spite of the fact that when dealing with the government, nothing is ever as above board as they’d like their minions and citizens to believe. According to the powers that be, elves are the enemy—they’re mind controlling manipulators out to do their worst on unsuspecting humans—and it’s this element that provides the foundation for this story, as well as the series. Kit debunks every EB law Denny’s sworn to uphold in service to his bureau, and watching it happen, seeing Denny begin the tug-of-war between his conscience, his heart, and his training gave this short novel a sweet emotional edge.
This series is a serial adventure that seems it will be parsed out in episodes rather than being composed of fully contained parts. There are a whole slew of elements that need further fleshed out as the series moves forward, more questions that need answering, not the least of which revolve around Denny and Kit’s relationship. It’s been established that they could be perfectly kinky soul mates, but what remains to be seen is how their relationship will develop outside of those delicious little proclivities Kay Berrisford has introduced to the storyline. I loved these two characters and their budding relationship enough to give this book a recommendation, with the condition that you don’t expect everything to be tidied up neatly at the end.
I’m looking forward to a bit more world building around the elves as well, as what’s been offered so far is the basics of their appearance and a few tidbits about Kit’s past. I want to know more about him, so that, coupled with where he and Denny are headed—it seems there might be danger afoot for both of them—has left me anxious and excited for Book Two.
You can buy Catching Kit (Underground Elves #1) here: