Haven (Kalayna Price) Books in Order

The Haven novels follow Kita Nekai, a young shapeshifter who has spent years hiding in the human city of Haven. Kita's animal form is a small calico cat, which makes her an odd fit in a clan of larger and more powerful shifters. She ran from the role her family expected her to take on, and life in hiding is difficult even before old obligations start catching up with her.

In Once Bitten, a rogue shifter is leaving bodies around Haven, and Kita quickly becomes a suspect. Hunters are already looking for her, so she has very little room to make mistakes. Then Nathanial Deaton, a mysterious vampire, intervenes during a confrontation and turns Kita into something she never expected to be: a vampire as well as a shifter.

Kita has only days to clear her name.

That setup gives the series its main tension. Kita is caught between worlds and does not fully belong in either one. She has a past she would like to outrun, a new vampire nature she does not understand, and powerful supernatural figures who see her as a problem, a prize, or a useful pawn. Nathanial becomes her sire and an uneasy ally, while Kita tries to decide how much she can trust him.

Haven itself is a tough place to be vulnerable. The city is home to vampires, shifters, mages, and other supernatural groups with their own rules and grudges. Kita's instincts tell her to keep moving and avoid attention. Unfortunately, attention is exactly what she gets. Her unusual transformation makes her valuable to people who want influence, information, or control.

Twice Dead picks up with Kita still adjusting to being undead and unable to shift into her cat form. A gruesome discovery pulls her into vampire politics, where the arrival of an ancient vampire called the Collector makes an already tense situation worse. The mystery has a rising body count, but Kita's more personal problems, including magical debts and her changing connection with Nathanial, remain close behind.

The two published Haven books are dark urban fantasy with a fast, close first-person feel. There is danger and violence, but also Kita's stubborn humor and her refusal to become what everyone else expects. Readers should begin with Once Bitten. It establishes Kita's escape from her clan, her transformation, and the supernatural rules that make Twice Dead hit harder.