Thursday, August 28

Book Review: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Title: Bitten (Women of the Otherworld #1)
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal Fiction, Romance, and Urban Fiction  
Pages: 436
First Published: September 25th, 2001
Where I Got It: Borrowed from library

"Elena Michaels is the world’s only female werewolf. And she’s tired of it. Tired of a life spent hiding and protecting, a life where her most important job is hunting down rogue werewolves. Tired of a world that not only accepts the worst in her–her temper, her violence–but requires it. Worst of all, she realizes she’s growing content with that life, with being that person.

So she left the Pack and returned to Toronto where she’s trying to live as a human. When the Pack leader calls asking for her help fighting a sudden uprising, she only agrees because she owes him. Once this is over, she’ll be squared with the Pack and free to live life as a human. Which is what she wants. Really"


I've been meaning to read this book for a while now, but I've been putting this on the back burner for so long now. Lucky for me, this was August's book. 

Honestly, I am so glad that this was a realistic sounding supernatural book. I hate when they make werewolves over the top strong or badass. Yes, it can be cool if done right, but I like it be realistic. They are strong, but not over-the-top...like they can't lift a bus and chuck it at you. That is too strong and cheesy. I loved that the Change was not a pleasant experience all the time and it takes work. If you don't do it for a while, like Elena, then you have to focus more and force it. 

Speaking of Elena....lets have a look at the Pack:
Jeremy: I liked him. He was a good Alpha. 
Nick: hahaha, I loved him too.
Antonio: I wish he had more spotlight, but he seemed legit and loyal. A big papa wolf.
Peter: Liked him; I felt so bad for him though.
Logan: I really wanted to learn more about him! :(
Clay: Asshole. Meh. >___> He pissed me off for biting Elena without even asking. 
Elena: Sighs...I wish I liked her more, but I didn't. At first I really liked her, but she pulled a Bella Swann. Poor Phillip.

Sometimes the characters where a little bit one dimensional, but there are a lot of characters running about, so it is hard to give them the attention they need. Especially Daniel. I wish I could have gotten to know him better too, but when he was finally introduced the author didn't have much time to give him an abundance of attention. She focused too much on Clay and it annoyed me. She placed so many stereotypes on Clay it was hard to really picture him. Meh. Perhaps I am biased, because I did not like him. Elena was alright, ultimately, but she annoyed me because sometimes I seen Bella Swann pop up. It wasn't the whole time, just a couple of instances. Kuddos to Marsten for not falling in love with Elena like every other male in the book!

By the way...I think its crap Elena is the only female werewolf. I mean its a cool concept and all that, but why only her? Mmmmm...

Once the story really gets rolling it is hard to put down. I flew by 300 pages within just a few hours. I especially wanted to know who the Baddie was! There were so many suspects and so many theories on what was happening. I pretty much guessed it 3/4 of the way through, but it was still a little bit scary, because I had no idea how they were going to beat them. Even though I don't like Clay, I worried about him for a moment. I cannot say why, but there was a moment of fear! 

Overall, I did like this book. I'm glad I pulled it from the back burner. I love the Anita Blake series and this defiantly had a flavor of Laurell K. Hamilton in it. If you love Anita and werewolves, then this is the book for you! I may venture onto the next in the series, because it sounds interesting and waaaay different then this one. I do plan on watching the TV series based on this book, because it looks good. Out of five stars, I grant this one 3 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Nick, Phillip, Logan, Marsten, and Jeremy
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Clay (ass), Daniel, and LeBlanc (grrr). 


2 comments:

Blodeuedd said...

I really liked this one, BUT it was the first UF I ever read, I do not know if I would like it as much now

Carole Rae said...

You never know. You should give a re-read someday. ;)