The first book I read in this series was "Living with the Dead". At that time, my local bookshop only had this paperback copy. Oh yes, those were the days before I discovered the magical world of eBooks!!!! And although I liked that story, I did find it a bit challenging to get fully immersed in.

Now, I wasn't exactly an uber-lover of werewolves/shape shifters before. However, there was something about that book that made me eager to read more books by Kelley Armstrong.

I decided to read the books in order so that I could truly enter the world that the author had created.

"Bitten" is the first book in the Women of the Otherworld Series. Although the writing style is somewhat different from what I usually read, it still managed to draw me in from the very first page. And considering it's a debut book, it's truly amazing.

The plot is thrilling and tight, a fast-paced paranormal romance filled with action and mystery. The world it inhabits is populated by werewolves, demons, half-demons, ghosts, witches, and lots of other supernaturals, and of course, humans too. It's both convincing and believable.

The characters are strong and memorable. My favorites are Elena and Clay (the one who BITES her!!!!).

Elena is not the delicate and swooning heroine. It took me a while to warm up to her, but in the end, she shows that she's more than just a sexy and pretty woman.

Clay - wow, this is one hardass guy... a werewolf. He's something wicked, hates humans, and is totally obsessed with Elena. This werewolf is beyond alpha-male - super macho.

The character development is great, and the world-building is so interesting.

It's a great series, and I'm onto number 2 next.

Pe scurt: It's a Twilight wannabe, but with werewolves instead of vampires. No, it's not a spoiler because the reader realizes this instantly, just from the title and cover, and on the fourth cover this is clearly revealed. But, to have some fun, I will approach the review in detail.

The protagonist, Elena Michaels, is a female werewolf who lives in Toronto and could easily compete for the title of the most annoying heroine in a book. I don't know if I've ever seen a werewolf because I'm not too attentive to this species, but I know that in movies they usually have black fur, while normal wolves are brown, gray, or white. In this book, however, Elena is a blonde she-wolf, as she herself claims: "I'm a 60-kilogram she-wolf with light blonde fur." Now just imagine something like that coming your way, a she-wolf with bleached fur...

It is also emphasized several times that she is the only female werewolf in the world, and you'll see that being unique in her species attracts the whole pack to her. This isn't exactly bad because (only) that way we also get a bit of action in the novel. Otherwise, the entire text is a kind of never-ending 'catenaccio' that would make the whole Italian team led by Maldini jealous. We have never-ending dialogues, chit-chat about the banalities of the daily life of werewolves such as where we go, who we're running from, and what we have for dinner.

Although the heroine has a 6-month relationship with a normal man, Philip, he has no idea that she disappears at night to transform, that she steals food from the fridge, that she's stronger than 5 men at once, and that she probably has too much hair on her legs. Moreover, when the pack calls her, he lets her go calmly, believing that she's going to visit some distant relatives. There she meets her former lover Clay, who is a werewolf like her, and seeing him again, she tries to convince herself that she no longer loves him. Once she arrives 'home', the whole pack jumps on her, she's thrown onto the bed, pinned to the walls, her clothes are torn off, and she doesn't seem to do much to resist. In fact, she even ends up sleeping with Clay 4 times and yet still thinks that she loves Philip and is still mostly faithful to him. Of course, us mere mortals can't understand the drama of the only female werewolf in the world. And the cherry on top is just now coming: all 3 of them, her, her former and current lover, end up living together under the same roof. And she still loves Philip, and, mind you, refuses to sleep with him on the grounds that her "beast" is in the other room and she won't give in.

I almost forgot to mention that not only her clan wants her but also their enemies, the so-called 'hell' werewolves, the ones who kill humans, want to possess her.

I didn't understand why the author chose to give this book this title, which doesn't fit at all because in the novel it is clearly stated that the transformations don't necessarily depend on the full moon but on an internal cycle of the wolf.

I was amused, on page 36, at the moment of her return to the pack when she sees Clay and what she thinks about him: "... he was wearing only a pair of faded jeans and a black sports T-shirt, clothes that highlighted his slender thighs, massive chest, and sculptural biceps." So not a word about his face but just that he's a 'pumped-up hunk at the gym.' Plus, who looks at a man's thighs?

The discussions between the two of them are very "intelligent" and go something like this:

"- What the hell do you want? [...]
- You. What else?
- Where? Right here? On the floor?" - truly a devastating comeback.

Also amusing is the heroine's view of love: "There is no such thing as 'being in love'. There is 'passion', 'crazy passion' or 'being in heat'."

I'm aware that the novel would still be to the liking of those who are passionate about this type of literature (young adult), and indeed it is an easy read that can please the reader. For this reason, I gave it two stars, as well as for the fact that the publisher Tritonic has worked very hard to highlight the novel with a beautiful cover, with footnotes, and even with a postface. The novel of course has other continuations, but I think I'll stop here in this adventure.

4 tiny stars but still 4. It's not 3.5. It's more. So I'm rounding up although I'm quite conflicted about it.

Let's face it guys. This book was first published in 2001. Since then, how many similar books have been published?! I'll tell you - quite many! However, the story in this book is still very interesting and it manages to hold its own ground. If you're seeking a really good urban fantasy read with a strong emphasis on werewolves, then this is the book for you.

My major issue was with Elena, our protagonist. She's not stupid at all, but most of the time, her life choices throughout almost the entire book left me less than impressed. I just couldn't quite get on board with her decisions.

Everything else in the book was very good. The plot was engaging, the world-building was solid, and the other characters were well-developed.

I may have more thoughts to share about this book when I'm in the mood. Maybe I'll expand on my feelings about Elena or discuss some of the other aspects of the story that really stood out to me. For now, though, I'll just leave it at this - a 4-star read with a few caveats.

Here is a quick fan art of my favorite werewolf.

Source: http://gerynh.tumblr.com/post/1122354...

Just finished rereading this :) Bitten by Kelley Armstrong is THE book that got me into paranormal fantasy. As a newbie, I was completely enthralled.

It's not like most books in this genre, which are full of non-stop action, a breakneck pace, and a plethora of mythological creatures. In fact, in the first book of the series, you'll only encounter a pack of werewolves. They are stronger and faster than us humans, and in some cases, physically more attractive. But aside from that and the ability to change shape, which can be inconvenient at times, the characters are very relatable. They have ordinary jobs, worry about relationships, and enjoy the company of their family or pack members (with a few exceptions). Basically, apart from the rare occasions when non-pack werewolves cause minor problems and need to be dealt with, their lives are rather mundane. That is, until someone starts committing murders in a werewolf-like fashion and leaves the bodies in pack territory, presenting a direct challenge.

Left with no other option, the pack's Alpha, Jeremy, calls on the help of Elena, the only female werewolf and their best tracker. The only problem is that she's not very eager to reunite with her old werewolf friends, especially one in particular, "the local psychopath" and her ex-lover, Clayton.

Hope you enjoy it! :)

PS: Kelley Armstrong signed my copy of Bitten and Stolen in 2014! Yey! I don't know about other people's experiences, but all the authors I've met or chatted with online have been very humble, polite, and super friendly. Kelley Armstrong was no exception. Thank you, Kelley, for bringing the Otherworld series to us!

I had been expecting much more beautiful things.

She is one of the hairiest female characters I have ever read.

If you are not a patient person, don't read it.

This description really makes me curious about what kind of story this character is involved in.

Maybe her hairy appearance is related to some special ability or background.

It could also be a unique characteristic that sets her apart from other characters.

However, the warning about patience makes me wonder if the story is going to be a long and detailed one.

Perhaps it requires careful reading and attention to fully understand the significance of this character and her role in the narrative.

Overall, this short passage has piqued my interest and made me eager to find out more.

gets off to such a promising start. It's like climbing into a brand-new luxury car at a rental agency, a car that has just been waxed and still has that wonderful New Car Smell. But then, unfortunately, it doesn't go anywhere. I gave Kelley Armstrong 86 pages to turn the ignition before I decided to get out and walk back into the rental office in search of other options.

This 2001 novel is told from the first-person perspective of "Elena," a blonde-haired resident of Toronto who happens to be a werewolf. What initially attracted me was Armstrong's prose, which is often sensual and exciting, especially in the prologue. There, Elena wakes up at 2 a.m., sneaks out of the Toronto apartment she shares with her new boyfriend, transforms into a 130-pound wolf, and goes for a run in a ravine.

My legs pick up the rhythm before I'm halfway down the ravine. I close my eyes for a second and feel the wind slice across my muzzle. As my paws thump against the hard earth, tiny darts of pain shoot up my legs, but they make me feel alive, like jolting awake after an overlong sleep. The muscles contract and extend in perfect harmony. With each stretch comes an ache and a burst of physical joy.

Armstrong clearly has a gym membership, and the writing is good so far. Although nothing heart-stopping occurs in the prologue, it does set up a series of interesting questions as Elena returns to her boyfriend, Philip, who has no idea what she really is.

-- Does Philip suspect Elena is cheating on him?

-- Has Philip ever noticed Elena's superhuman strength in bed?

-- When they went to see The Fellowship of the Ring, did Elena start to wolf out in the theater? That was a really long movie.

-- Does Elena's diet puzzle Philip?

-- Does Philip have an interesting occupation like zoologist or veterinarian that would make him wonder if his fear of commitment was causing him to imagine things about his new girlfriend, like the possibility that she might be a dog?

However, we never find out the answers to these questions in this novel. Firstly, Armstrong lacks the ability to create engaging characters or write interesting dialogue. These are bland people with generic backgrounds, nonspecific occupations, and boring hobbies. If you guessed that they have nothing important to talk about, you'd be right. I liked the decision to begin the novel in Toronto, as that city has many possibilities in the summer, but Armstrong fails to explore them.

Then there's the dialogue:

"Well, which is it?" Jeremy asked, his gaze skewering mine. "Pack or not?"

"Come on, Jer," Clay said. "You know she doesn't mean it."

"We had an arrangement, Elena. I wouldn't contact you unless I needed you. Well, I need you and now you're sulking and fuming because I had the gall to remind you of your responsibilities."

"You need me for what? To take care of a trespassing mutt? That's Clay's job."

If you missed the fact that the characters are named Elena, Jeremy, and Clay, it's okay because they call each other by name on every page.

Armstrong's characters refer to each other by name so frequently that I couldn't help but notice how inappropriate the names are. "Elena" should belong to a raven-haired gypsy type, a bohemian, not a gym Barbie. The pack leader is named "Jeremy." No, sorry. "Jeremy" is an unemployed musician, maybe a blogger, but not an alpha werewolf. His lieutenant, a killer with six-pack abs, is named "Clay." A werewolf named "Clay"? No. "Clay" is a golf or tennis coach. I kept imagining him wearing a Polo shirt.

Armstrong also doesn't show any creativity in her narrative. It involves Elena leaving Toronto to assist her Pack, a group of six or seven men who exist in the human world but are unable to deal with a rogue werewolf who has intruded on their territory in upstate New York. Apparently, these are house-trained werewolves. As they assemble, they enjoy a delicious breakfast of pancakes and ham.

Werewolves eating pancakes and ham.

I can accept psychics, vampires, werewolves, and such, but one motif I find rather silly is the secret club motif. This is when characters with supernatural powers gather together for a little meeting to discuss action items, assign jobs and deadlines, and maybe gripe at each other. It's all very social and practical and nice, but excuse me, it's BORING!

Psychics, vampires, or werewolves don't have meetings. These are not the kind of people who enjoy chit-chatting. They have been given godlike powers, and yet, and this is where an author can have some fun, these powers make it almost impossible for them to connect with others. They may be able to help others in a desperate situation, but they will never be accepted by them or invited over to watch Netflix. They walk alone.

I mean, would you really want to hang out with a psychic, werewolf, or vampire? And if a group of them are in a secret club together, it just seems so silly. There's nothing more ridiculous than a compliance meeting if you're a werewolf. Maybe my aversion to compliance meetings is showing here. In conclusion, I was extremely bored by the direction Armstrong took her novel and will not be reading any more of her books.

Not even reading about Toronto could salvage this for me. The city, with its vibrant culture and diverse neighborhoods, usually holds a certain allure. But this time, it just wasn't enough.

Angst also filled my heart. That feeling of unease and restlessness that seems to come out of nowhere. It clouded my mind and made it difficult to find any joy in the things I was doing.

And then there was this random urge to read about werewolves (again). Maybe it was a way to escape from the reality that was weighing me down. But even that didn't provide the relief I was hoping for.

In the end, I was left feeling disappointed and a little bit lost. I don't know what it will take to turn this around, but I hope that something will come along soon to bring back the spark that seems to be missing.

Turns out I binge watched the shit out of this series on Netflix.

So I was reading away, not really aware as to why I knew everything.

I skimmed a lot. To see how true the series was to the book and it's pretty on point.

Anyway, I've been there and done that, so uhhhhhh onward.

It's quite interesting how I got so engrossed in the series. I found myself constantly clicking the "next episode" button without even realizing it.

The story seemed to draw me in, and I just couldn't stop watching.

As I was reading the book, I was curious to see how well the series had adapted it.

And to my surprise, it was really accurate. The characters, the plot, and the overall atmosphere were all very similar to what I had imagined while reading the book.

Now that I've finished both the series and the book, I'm ready to move on to something new. But I'll definitely remember this binge-watching experience for a long time.

Nowadays, in the UF (Urban Fantasy) category, there are two female characters that I simply cannot tolerate. One is Anita Blake, who is associated with rather unappealing aspects like bestiality and what could be described as a "death-by-coochie" kind of woman. The other is Elena Michaels. But why do I have such animosity towards Elena? And why would I group her with Anita Blake? Well, she lives under the delusion that whatever she does can't possibly be her fault. She claims she can't control her feelings and actions. Consider this: she has this really great guy who would do absolutely anything for her. But instead of telling him her secret that she's a werewolf (and after reading just a little about the guy, you just know he would accept it), she has an affair with her ex-lover. This ex-lover, out of extreme selfishness, infected her with lycanthropy and made her life a living hell for years. Sure, she feels bad about it. She claims she won't do it again, rants about how she can't control herself, and then, predictably, she does it again. And again. And again. Finally, she ends up dumping the guy who loves her unconditionally and runs back to the jerk. She's yet another whiny, inconstant harpy who, for the life of her, can't see what she already had. Look, if these women want to have relations with the bad boy and kill people for fun, that's their choice. But don't expect anyone with common sense to go along with all the denial and self-loathing. It seems to be a recurring pattern in these types of books: weak women who lack self-control and good judgment.

*sigh* Leaving aside my dislike of the main character, the story was, overall, just fair. There were parts that were rather sluggish. It was her first novel, and I won't remove it from my ebook reader with extreme prejudice, as I did with the Anita Blake disaster. However, I can't say that I really enjoyed it. I wanted to give it one star, but I'll admit that it's better than that, albeit barely.

I first read this years ago. In fact, I just realized I have a 1st edition copy. However, I couldn't really remember anything about it except that I'd given it 5 stars and tucked it away in my bookcase, so I must have liked it. For some reason, I never continued reading as Kelly Armstrong released new books. But after binge watching (and loving) the TV series (also called Bitten), I decided to read this again.

The TV show follows the book quite closely. I think Armstrong is a producer. The casting is perfect. It's super sexy, with more sex than the book, in a True Blood sort of way. Some of the timeline has been changed around a bit, and Elena is in Toronto more, so subsequently her boyfriend Phil plays a bigger role. It's a great adaptation, though. If you get a chance to watch it, do so.

On my reread, the book was again fantastic. The writing is extremely good. Told from Elena's POV, you get completely engulfed in all aspects of her world. Her personality comes through strongly, as do all the sub-characters. To be honest, I didn't find her particularly likeable. She's just so angry all the time, and her relationship with Clay drove me a bit crazy. She loves him, she hates him, she's risking her life for him, she wants to kill him, and they're having great sex again. It was exhausting. I did enjoy Clay, though (yum - how could you not?), and his unwavering devotion to Elena is heart-wrenching. I also absolutely adored Jeremy, even if he proved to be a bit useless as pack leader in the end.

Bitten is a fairly long book, and I'll admit there were sections that went on and on. But I still had a hard time putting it down, and the ending... I just loved the ending. It surprised me because we get a genuine HEA, even though this series continues. I felt a sense of closure.

Elena has been living in Toronto for a year, leading a normal human life, the life she has always dreamed of. She has a stable job, a nice apartment, a nice boyfriend - everything is perfect. Of course, every couple of weeks, she also sneaks out and prowls the city streets as the only female werewolf in existence.

After years of struggling with her resentment at having her future stolen away after being bitten by a member of the pack (that subsequently adopted her), Elena has been torn between two worlds. She's made her escape, though, cutting off all contact with them and denying her inhuman urges.

But when the pack calls her home to help defend the territory and leadership of Stonehaven against a group of outlaw mutts, she's obliged to rejoin her "family," vowing not to get caught up in pack life again, no matter how natural it might feel. Cheers
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I LOVED this book when I first read it.

I wasn't a werewolf person at all, but I don't really think of this as being central to werewolf mythology. Kelley has taken a world where men are always in control and inserted a woman who commands her own power.

It's an incredible feat of feminist writing that also manages to have lots of really, really good sex and excitement.

If I had a daughter (and I don't...that I know of...), I would want her to read this instead of some of the other books where the woman's only power is whether or not the vampire or the werewolf wants to rape her.

I've been watching the TV show, too. While Elena isn't who I had in my head (she's so skinny!), Clay is a big slab of hubba-hubba.

All the men are at least one hubba, actually, and they get naked a heck of a lot more than the women.

It's a weird choice, sort of like SyFy has figured out that women are the ones watching TV. Crazy!

This book and the TV show offer a unique perspective on a supernatural world, with a strong female lead and steamy scenes that keep you on the edge of your seat.

It's a refreshing take on a popular genre, and I can't wait to see what else Kelley has in store.

Solid 3 stars.

I am truly happy that I embarked on this series. It has been a great experience so far.

I have definitely made up my mind to read the remaining installments of the series. The anticipation is building up inside me as I look forward to being introduced to new and exciting characters that are bound to pop up.

I can't wait to see how their stories unfold and how they will interact with the existing characters.

The thought of delving deeper into this fictional world and uncovering its mysteries makes me extremely excited.

I believe that each new book in the series will bring something fresh and engaging, keeping me hooked from start to finish.

Overall, I am glad that I took the plunge and started this series, and I am eager to continue on this literary journey.