Showing posts with label Women Of The Otherworld. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Women Of The Otherworld. Show all posts

Saturday, October 26, 2013

BOOK REVIEW - STOLEN by KELLEY ARMSTRONG - WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD # 2 - ADULT URBAN FANTASY - ORBIT

By: Kelley Armstrong
Published By: Orbit Books
Released : Available Now
Details: paperback from library, 467 Pages

RATING: 4.25 STARS!

Blurb : Goodreads

Elena Michaels is a wanted woman. Ten years ago she was transformed into a werewolf by her lover. Her transformation makes her powerful. But in the wrong hands, it also makes her deadly.

And now, just as she's coming to terms with it all, a group of scientists learns of her existence. They're hunting her down, and Elena is about to run straight into their trap. But they haven't reckoned on Elena's adoptive family, her Pack, who will stop at nothing to get her back.

They haven't reckoned on Elena, either. And that's a very big mistake ...




BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

With a whole new list of characters brought into this installment, I thought this was a great second book.

I have to admit, I do roll my eyes a bit when a reader is expected to hear how a werewolf doesn’t believe in another paranormal creature. Like WT!

They need convincing?? Really??

Paige, Adam, Cassandra and Savannah are some of the new characters who we will undoubtedly get to know better through their own stories.

Clay, Elena and Jeremy are our only characters from Bitten who grace the pages of this book. I do like Nick and would have loved to see him bobbing about, after all they are a Pack. One for all and all for one, I thought when it came down to it.

Elena has gone and gotten herself in a pickle and found herself inside the compound of mad scientists. Well, not mad, but it sounded good. Rather a billionaire who is wanting power and is using military rejects as his minions to kidnap suspected ‘others’ and doctors to do tests and find ways to extract or utilise these ‘others’. Until said billionaire gets a bit bored and wants to go hunting.

Xavier is a lad I kind of like. I am not sure of if I trust him , but he seems to like Elena enough. He is a bit mischievous I thought.

I would have loved more Clay in this book, but that is just me being greedy. It is after all called the Women of the Otherworld series.

I am trying to put my finger on what I felt was missing from this installment. It was still a great read and visually Kelley sets up scenes in my head very clearly.

Clay and Elena bring a whole new meaning to breakfast in bed J

‘Better?’ he asked.

‘Ummm, much.’

I closed my eyes and arched into him. As I moved, the smell of breakfast on the nightstand wafted between us. I hesitated a split second. My stomach growled.

‘Upstaged by ham and pancakes,’ Clay said. ‘Again.’

‘I can wait.’

Clay thrust into me with mock growl. ‘You’re too kind, darling.’

I moved my hips against his. My stomach chortled and wheezed. Clay shifted up and forward. I reached out to pull him back, but he didn’t withdraw, instead reaching for something over my head. As I closed my eyes again, grease dripped onto my cheek, and a slice of ham pressed against my lips. I opened my mouth and chomped it down in a few bites, then sighed, and lifted my hips to meet Clay.

‘Mmmm.’

‘Is that for me or the ham?’ he whispered against my hair. Before I could assuage his ego, he pushed another slice of ham into my mouth, then bent his head to lick the dripped grease, his tongue tracing circles across my cheek. We moved together for a few minutes and I forgot the food. Honest. Then Clay reached up again, this time returning with a folded pancake. I sank my teeth into the bottom half and pushed the rest up to his mouth. He laughed and took a bite. When I finished, I lifted my head and licked the crumbs from his lips. He took another pancake and dangled it above me. I jerked my head up to snatch it. My teeth sank into something he hadn’t been offering.

‘Yow!’ he said, shaking his injured finger.


I did pick who the trouble maker was in this story , early , but that is ok. I think a couple seeds were dropped for this character to possibly have a book?

What I like is Kelley has Clay and Elena’s werewolf side being more dominant when it comes to how they think. Both born human. Both changed against their will. 

We won’t go there , will we Clay. 

But I do feel they are more animal than human. They like to boink after a dangerous situation, all down and dirty. No I mean, in the woods, literally in the leaves and dirt. Instead of make-up sex, they have, got-through-that-dangerous-situation sex. There is something about the way Kelley writes their animal side. I like it. They aren’t this loved up couple, like some characters can be. There still seems to be a thin wall with Elena she keeps up, but she does love Clay. It’s just not this roses and gifts romantic thing. I am having a hard time trying to put it into words. We see Clay being more agreeable with Elena, because he knows he has to. I think I need get a bit more below the surface with these two characters. Not sure if that will happen.

A few loose ends left for further investigation with a couple characters to no doubt come out in next installments.

Dime Store Magic is up next and it appears to be Paige’s story.



Michelle


Saturday, September 28, 2013

BOOK REVIEW - BITTEN by KELLEY ARMSTRONG - WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD # 1 - ADULT PARANORMAL ROMANCE - LITTLE BROWN BOOKS

By: Kelley Armstrong
Published By: LITTLE BROWN BOOKS
Released : Available Now
Details: Paperback from library, 448 Pages

RATING: 4.5 CLAY STARS

Blurb : Goodreads

"I've been fighting it all night.
I'm going to lose ...Nature wins out.
It always does."


Elena Michaels didn't know that her lover Clay was a werewolf until he bit her, changing her life for ever. Betrayed and furious, she cannot accept her transformation, and wants nothing to do with her Pack - a charismatic group of fellow werewolves who say they want to help.

When a series of brutal murders threatens the Pack, Elena is forced to make an impossible choice. Abandon the only people who truly understand her new nature, or help them to save the lover who ruined her life, and who still wants her back at any cost.


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I’m coming in very late to this series, so my opinion doesn’t mean an awful lot as this is a very popular series, but I shall give you my thoughts on Bitten # 1 in the Women Of The Otherworld series.

I enjoyed Bitten. I think if you like Rachel Vincent’s Shifter series you will like Bitten # 1.

I am left with some questions after reading book # 1. I shall have to read Stolen to see if more are answered. The one thing that really came to mind when reading this book was Clay and Elena’s relationship before he bit her and the why of him biting her. I just had a look on Goodreads and I am glad to see there is a prequel novella that came out after this book that may answer my questions. I just reserved Tales of the Otherworld from my local library.

I thought this was a very well written book. There is a very small female influence in Elena’s life. It is very brief. Not even a best friend, which I am hoping to see further into this series. Even her work environment, which we didn’t really get to feel her involvement in, had no girlie influence. She is always surrounded by men. I thought considering she didn't have the best role models with the men in her young life that had betrayed her.  Did I get that right, she was abused by male foster parents? Or did I read that wrong? I had a bit of trouble connecting that bit to her character. I felt it was a bit blasé in this book. Mentally I would have thought there would have been more repercussions on her older self.

I don’t know anything about this series so I don’t know if Elena has an on going role. I am deliberately not looking any further than picking up the next book. For some reason I thought this book was about vampires, hehe. Maybe because of the title.

I really like Jeremy, I know he is the Alpha of the pack but he seemed more a father figure than the type of Alpha werewolf characters I am used to. There were not a lot of repercussions for Elena or Clay if they stepped out of line. I think what I am trying to say is I didn’t feel that strong Alpha influence that I feel in other books of this nature. I really like Jeremy but I tended to forget he was the Alpha of the pack.

‘I’m being honest with you, Elena. More honest than I’d dare be with anyone else. Everything is falling apart. I wasn’t prepared to handle this. If I’ve been a good Alpha all these years it’s because I’ve never been tested. Not like this.”

Nick is a nice guy, I like him. He is a submissive pack member. He and Clay are really the only pack members I felt like I began to know by the end of this book.

Marsten is an intriguing character. I’m sitting on the fence with him with his behaviour. He needs to be congratulated for getting his own way.

I liked Clayton aka Clay. I think I missed a bit of their connection because of his mistake and how it cost their relationship. I will get that when I read Tales of The Otherworld. hopefully, but it felt like I should have had it in this book. I was always waiting for something, but it never came. They bonked, I know Clay wears a ring, but I didn’t feel that part. It was more the animalistic side of their nature. I know he professes his love, but , I am still trying to put my finger on it.

I did enjoy this book and the villains and minions were hard to catch and really planned their attacks.

Elena’s mistakes drove the storyline. She is flawed, doesn’t like to do as she is told, tries to be the hero by herself and fails on more than one occasion giving the lads something to fix. If she listened to her Alpha, then things would have run smoother. A lot is at stake for their pack.

I felt really awful for Philip and I thought it was very blasé again what Elena was doing behind his back. It kind of got forgotten along the way. He is a stand up guy, patient, understanding and Elena really had no second thoughts about doing what she was doing. Not even an apology. I don’t think she even told him she was having a physical relationship with her ‘cousin’. It was a case of her mentally placing her two halves of her life into two different categories = ok to bonk behind the man she lives with because she has her animal side and her human side.

Cheating is cheating. I think it made me think of Elena as quite shallow.

I think I questioned Elena’s integrity a bit. Especially when Philip was hurt, the poor love was forgotten again. Maybe that is a part of her makeup due to her younger self’s upbringing. Love is a strange word for her. What does it actually mean to somebody that was raised the way she was? Maybe that is my answer.

I am looking forward to picking up Stolen shortly to get more of an idea of this very popular series. One book is not enough.

Michelle



Tuesday, July 30, 2013

BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY - THIRTEEN by KELLEY ARMSTRONG - PAPERBACK RELEASE DAY 30TH JULY 2013 - PLUME/PENGUIN


Today on Novels On The Run I have a Book Blitz for the release day for the paperback of THIRTEEN by Kelley Armstrong, the final book in the Women of the Otherworld series. The thirteenth in the series with the aptly named title.

I also can giveaway one paperback copy of Thirteen for US/CAN residents only. The lovely Penguin USA are donating the book and will be posting it from the US to the winners address. Much quicker than coming from Australia.

I have a marathon week coming up reading this series from start to finish. I have lined the first 3 books up at the library, they are waiting for me.

Michelle





THIRTEEN 
Kelley Armstrong 
Plume Books / On-sale: July 30th 



THIRTEEN, the thrilling final installment of New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series, is available in paperback from Plume in August. The previous two installments, Waking the Witch and Spell Bound, reintroduced readers to Savannah Levine—the supernatural wonder girl of the Otherworld— who first appeared as a feisty twelve-year-old in the series second book, Stolen. Half-witch, half-sorcerer, Savannah's remarkable power and pedigree have placed her in the crosshairs of a dangerous new group: the Supernatural Liberation Movement. They've kidnapped her brother, left her battered and bruised, and endangered the lives of her best friends, but when Savannah realizes just how far this fanatical sect is willing to go to expose the supernatural world to the unknowing, she must summon a strength she never knew she had.

Uniting Savannah with Elena, Clay, Adam, Paige, Lucas, Jaime, Hope, and dozens of other characters from her past in the ultimate battle for the fate of the Otherworld, Armstrong's finale is both gripping and deeply satisfying. Although predominantly in Savannah's voice, THIRTEEN features chapters narrated by Jaime, Elena, and others, allowing readers one final moment with the distinct voices of their own favorite characters.


SYNOPSIS

War is coming to the Otherworld. A sinister cult known as The Supernatural Liberation Movement is hell-bent on exposing the truth about supernaturals to the rest of the world. Their violent, ruthless plan has put everyone at risk: from werewolves to vampires, from witches to half-demons.

Savannah Levine - fiery and unpredictable - stands at the heart of the maelstrom. There is a new, dark magic inside her, granting her the power to summon spells of terrifying strength. But whether this magic is a gift or a curse, no one knows.

On the eve of battle, all the major players must come together in a last, desperate fight for survival - Elena and Clay; Adam and Savannah; Paige and Lucas; Jeremy and Jaime; Hope, Eve and more...They are fighting for lives.

They are fighting for their loved ones.

They are fighting for the Otherworld.



GIVEAWAY TIME

1 x Paperback copy of Thirteen up for grabs

USA/CAN Residents only

Kindly donated by Penguin USA

Leave a comment down below 

Please put your email address to be eligible to win

 Random Org will choose a winner

STARTS NOW

ENDS 14th August 2013




About this author



Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.