Spell Bound

Title: Spell Bound

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Genre: Paranormal

Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 12)

I recently finished reading this book, and couldn't even explain what it was about. It was a book full of fluff.

At the end of Waking the Witch, the cliffhanger was that Savannah has lost her powers. Well, at the end of Spell Bound, she still has no powers. The other characters of the stories that we know and love don't make much of a showing (just Adam). Adam and Savannah's relationship doesn't move forward past friends.

Throughout the story Savannah is looking for who took her powers and how to get them back...she doesn't really get any information regarding this. She does learn that there is a group of paranormals who want to be able to be out in the open. They briefly kidnap her...but there still isn't much that develops from that.

Hopefully this fluff will be rounded out with a great next book.

Waking the Witch

Title: Waking the Witch
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 11)
Genre: Paranormal


Savannah is no longer the spoiled, unpredictable young girl that she was when we first met her. She is now 21 and just trying to prove that she can take on her own case.

While Lucas and Paige are on vacation in Hawaii, Savannah gets a call from a friend of Lucas' about a case that he wants someone to work on. Savannah jumps on the chance to prove that she can work on the case alone.

She finds a small rural town in Washington, where there have been 3 murders over a large year span and what looks like some supernatural occurrence. Savannah gets a little more then she bargains for with a witch hunter, Druid, more witches and a type of "religion" that borders on supernatural. She is there to find the killer, without getting killed herself.

I really enjoyed seeing this part of Savannah. She is a grown woman and trying to make her way in the world and not be exactly the same as the do-gooding Paige and Lucas or her dark magic Mom. She shows a lot of her personality and her struggle to become her own person, a person I think I would like to hear more about.

I did not, however, feel like this was part of the Women of the Otherworld series. There was little to no interaction with many of the characters that we have known and read about for so long. The only person we see is Adam, and I love the connection that is growing between the two. I'm interested to see what's next after the cliffhanger at the end of the book. Spellbound is Book 12, released in 2011. It is again going to feature Savannah.

Tales of the Otherworld

Title: Tales of the Otherworld
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld Accompaniment
Genre: Paranormal



There were several short stories packed into this book. Some better then others. I'm not entirely sure what Kelley Armstrong was trying to achieve in this book. I know they are her e-serials packaged together in a book form, but some of the stories were so short and without real plot that I wasn't sure why they even really exist.

Rebirth
A mere 18 pages in length, I thought this was definitely one of the weaker stories. Told from the point of view of Aaron, we learn about his brief struggle with being a vampire in the first year of his life and how he met Cassandra. Decent for a little character building, but really doesn't explain the relationship that they have now.

Bewitched
Told from Eve's point of view, this was one of the better stories. I feel like we know little about Eve, especially her life. I enjoyed learning how she and Kristof got together and how Savannah came about. A real eye opening to Savannah's relationship with her actual "grandfather" who refuses to acknowledge her.

Birthright
Logan has been dead for as long as I can remember in the series. We know he was a good friend of Elena's and that she was upset when he died. This is another quickie, where we learn where Logan came from and how he came to be part of the pack. I personally always love a good pack story.

Beginnings
The longest story and I am happy to say the best. Told from both Clay and Elena's point of view we get to learn how they met. Their entire story is told from the time when they didn't know each other to the point where Elena is bitten. A beautiful prequel to Bitten.

Expectations
Another quickie at 14 pages that in my opinion falls flat. Lucas hears out a man who wants him to steal a grimoire because it is in the hands of a witch. Logan does so and ends up meeting Eve, who he is stealing from.

Ghosts
The shortest of them all at 10 pages, we get a brief look into Jeremy's mind.

Wedding Bell Hell
Lucas and Paige meet and eventually get married in the series, but we never actually get to be part of the series. This remedies that and is quite humorous.

The Cast of El Chupacabra
The second longest in the series and only okay by my standards. It encompasses several known characters: Savannah, Sean, Paige, Lucas, Cassandra and more. A murder mystery surrounding Vampires and Chupacabra.

Having LOVED the Men of the Otherworld I was very excited by this and thought that overall it did not live up to my expectations. However, it was a nice way to keep my mind fresh with the characters while waiting for the next story in the installment.

Frostbitten

Title: Frostbitten
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 10)
Genre: Paranormal



We again are following Clay and Elena, this time out into the Alaskan Wilderness where they are dealing with some new Mutt problems. Surprisingly, there seems to be more to it then they imagined.

We meet a new type of shifter, that for some reason has me imagining the Wild Things from the new Where the Wild Things Are move. Not that I've seen anything more than the commercials, but they still were what I imagined.

We learn more about Elena and her past. She was raped as a foster child and that played a fairly big part in the story, which I wasn't too much of a fan of.

Overall, another good addition to the Women of the Otherworld Series. In my opinion, however, this one had the least amount of other supernaturals in it and could probably be read as a stand alone book.

Living With the Dead

Title: Living With the Dead
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 9)
Genre: Paranormal



Robyn, a friend of Hopes, is in a low place. Her husband has recently been murdered. He saw a woman who had a flat tire on the side of the road and got out to help her. When she saw a large black man carrying a tire iron (to change said tire) she freaked out and shot him. Now Robyn is living in LA and working as PR rep for a celebutante, Portia Kane. Portia is also shot and murdered, Robyn being the #1 suspect.

She didn't do it, but it leads her to be immersed in the world of the supernatural, which she had no idea existed. Her goal being to clear her name with the help of Hope and Karl.

Now early on in the book I had a really hard time. Where Personal Demon was told from 2 points of view Living with the Dead was told from at least 5, 4 of them being new characters. This made it extremely difficult. I also had issues with so many new characters being thrown at me that were all main players in combination with the multiple points of view.

Since the book is about clairvoyants, it is almost paralleled in the story telling from multiple views, but initially when I was trying to learn everyone, I was having a difficult time of it. I believe that's what took me so long to finish it.

Up next - Frostbitten, book 10. Back to Elena and hopefully less points of view.

Personal Demon

Title: Personal Demon
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 8)
Genre: Paranormal Romance



Well, things haven't worked out in regards to Dreamfever the way I wanted, so I had some extra time to read another book first.

Personal Demon immerses the reader back into the world of the paranormal that we've been getting to know. This book was told by both Hope (a Chaos Half-Demon) and Lucas (Paiges Husband, a Cabal, a sorcerer).

Lucas' father wants Hope to infiltrate a gang that is plotting something against the Cabal. She goes undercover as a rich half demon named Faith. She gets to know the gang, and even starts to have somewhat of a relationship with Jaz (who for most of the book I just loved). She thinks that she is learning about them when a wrench is thrown into her plans.

Her "ex-boyfriend" if you want to call him that, Karl. Karl is a werewolf and has just joined the Pack. They've always had some sort of a relationship, although usually more friendly with sexual vibes. The two took it too far one night and have been slightly on the outs since. Of course Karl is just dealing with inner issues that he seems to have.

The two are investigating the gang when things start to go severely downhill. Jaz and another gang member are kidnapped, Lucas' brothers are being murdered and no one seems to know who's doing it.

I've enjoyed this series so much throughout it. You would think that by changing the narrator, that the series wouldn't be as spectacular - but it is fantastic. The only thing I didn't enjoy was that this story was told by both Hope and Lucas. While reading I really had to make sure that I paid attention to what the name of the chapter was, otherwise I was confused on who was speaking. I understand why it had to be from both sides, but one person would have been much better.

Overall, a positive addition to the series - next up Book 9, and as far as is currently written in the series. Although Book 10 - Frostbitten is released October 2009.

No Humans Involved

Title: No Humans Involved
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 7)
Genre: Paranormal Romance



For this installment of the Women of the Otherworld, we follow Jaime the necromancer. This time she is chosen to be part of a reality TV show where she and two others will talk to the ghost of Marilyn Monroe and figure out who killed her. It seems like an easy enough job until Jaime notices odd things.

Whenever she goes in the garden she can feel spirits who will touch her and poke her. She cannot see them and cannot talk to the, which for her is odd. She figures out that these 6 spirits are children. She becomes determined to help them cross over. This seems to be a problem, however, because she doesn't know why they are the way they are. This sets the scene for the mystery in the book.

Another large portion of this story is devoted to Jeremy and Jaime. The two have always liked each other and in this book finally hook up. To me it seemed a little odd for Jeremy to be getting down and dirty when he is portrayed as such a gentleman and well controlled man. It seemed like he was the type who would never have sex.

I find that as the series continues and I get to know more and more about the characters Kelley Armstrong has created, I want to read more. This seems to be a bit out of the ordinary. It truly is a good series if it can keep me wanting more 7 books later. Only two more books that are currently released. Book # 10: Frostbitten comes out October 2009. This seems like it's going to be released at the perfect time.

Broken

Title: Broken
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 6)
Genre: Paranormal



I had a hell of a time finding this book. My library said they use to have it, but someone lost it so they no longer had it. I thought about just skipping this one and going on to the next, but I really love the story of Clay and Elena. So I found it at another library after borrowing a friends library card.

After not following Clay and Elena's story for the past 3 books I was excited to get back to them and see how things were going. Elena was pregnant! Now of course because she's a werewolf (wolf's gestational period is 9 weeks) she was always a little ahead of schedule. Jeremy, Clay and the rest of the Pack don't want outsiders to know that Elena's pregnant. Much like she gets a lot of attention for being the only werewolf, they are worried about problems surrounding the only "full-blood" werewolf baby.

Elena gets a call from a friend who wants to exchange favors. He'll tell them where a mutt they've been hunting is and they steal an artifact for him. Seems easy enough and they agree. Stealing the paper goes well, until they decide to look at it and accidentally open a portal to the time of Jack the Ripper and unleash a killer, plague and zombies onto Toronto. From there they must clean up the mess.

The book ends (of course) with Elena giving birth. Fantastic - I can't wait to hear about the family in the next book about them, although that looks like it's not happening until October. I have 3 more to read before then.

Men of the Otherworld

Title: Men of the Otherworld
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld Accompaniment
Genre: Paranormal



Remember the Women of the Otherworld? Specifically Elena? This book tells the story of Jeremy and Clay. We learn about the circumstances surrounding Jeremy's birth and why he's a little bit different then anyone else. How Clay came to be, and how Jeremy found him and gained his trust. Lastly we hear the story of Jeremy's rise to Alpha.

Fantastic. I thought that this book was better than any of the books in the Women of the Otherworld Series. It was just exceptional. If you're not interested in reading that series, this could be a stand alone book. Wow....just wow.

Haunted

Title: Haunted
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 5)
Genre: Paranormal Romance



Finally I got my hands on the next installment of the Women of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong. I was looking forward to this story because it was from the point of view of Eve, Savannah's dead mother. It provided an interesting look into the world of ghosts.

In an earlier book Paige and Lucas take an unplanned trip into the ghost world, where they are required to stay. Eve, however, makes a deal with the three Fates so Paige and Lucas can be released back into the living world to take care of Savannah. In Haunted, the Fates cash in their IOU.

They want Eve to capture the Nix, an incredibly powerful demon. Several have tried before her, and none have succeeded. Eve bounces around through different dimensions of the ghost world, angel world and living world before she has enough information to take the Nix down. Of course, like all good battles, this one takes place around the thing that Eve treasures most, Savannah.

Industrial Magic

Title: Industrial Magic
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 4)
Genre: Paranormal



After Dime Store Magic comes the next Women of the Otherworld story, Industrial Magic.

Again, this follows the story of Paige, Savannah and now Lucas on their latest crazy chase. This time we are led further into the Cabal and learn that someone is killing their children. And not just one Cabal, but all four of them. Paige and Lucas are called in to help find the killer. We again see Elena, Clay and even Cassandra.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but I thought it could have been better. Since they basically were on the same clueless chase for the whole book, and I'm not much of one for Mysteries, I got a bit bored. Closer to the end (as usual) it picked up and ended on a positive note.

Haunted is next, which interestingly enough is narrated by Savannah's dead mother Eve. That should be interesting.

Dime Store Magic

Title: Dime Store Magic
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 3)
Genre: Paranormal Romance



As the third novel in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Underworld, Dime Store Magic was an interesting read. Initially I was worried. Bitten and Stolen followed the same main character, where Dime Store Magic turned the focus to another character who was of a different "race."

It followed Paige and Savannah (who we both meet in Stolen) and their working through the new relationship between them. In addition to this Leah makes another appearance and wants to take Savannah away to live with her father, who belongs to a version of the Mafia.

This was on of those books that I sat down with and finished in a day. I didn't need to worry about the switch of characters, because I enjoyed this book just as much as the first two, especially the growing romance. Next on the list is Industrial Magic which also follows Paige, I can't wait to read it.

Stolen

Title: Stolen
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 2)
Genre: Paranormal Romance


Way back in the beginning of November I read the first book in a series - Bitten, by Kelley Armstrong. Stolen is the second of that series and follows the same main character, werewolf Elena, in a whole new and exciting story line.

Since Bitten Elena has decided that she is again going to live with the Pack and reestablish her relationship with Clay. She's back to her job of watching out for people who are giving out true werewolf information, or are werewolves making a mess.

Because of this she follows a lead to Pittsburgh to meet with a young lady, Paige, to hear what she has to say. But things don't go quite according to plan, for either of them. Elena learns about a group of people who are kidnapping "other races" such as werewolves, vampires, shaman, witches and half-demons. They are being observed and eventually hunted down in a version of the Most Dangerous Game and killed.

Representatives from the races are getting together to see what they can do to stop it, and they want to werewolves to join. Needless to say they do and we meet the group of characters that the following stories in the series are about. Then Elena becomes one that gets kidnapped.

What follows is a very eventful "stay" at the compound.

Next two books in the series are about Paige, the apprentice witch.

Bitten

Title:Bitten
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld (Book 1)
Genre: Paranormal Romance


Wow - a week between posts, I'm embarrassed.

So yesterday I read Bitten by Kelley Armstrong. It's the first of another series, the Women of the Otherworld.

The story tells of Elena, who was bitten by her fiance (a werewolf) and became the only female werewolf ever in existence. She is part of the Pack (an all powerful group, almost like royalty in my mind) She's not really fond of being a part of the Pack (or so she thinks) and chooses to run away and try for a "normal" human life. She thinks it's going great, with her wonderful live in boyfriend when she gets called back by the Alpha. Elena's reluctant - but she goes.

Someone is threatening the Pack and killing them off while Elena is there. She and the rest of the Pack must show them whose boss no matter the cost.

A good book - I know the second book Stolen is about Elena too, however after that it seems to stray to a different main character I have yet to meet. I wonder at the connection.

Perhaps our mysterious main character will make an appearance in Stolen.