HAUNTED (Women of the Otherworld #5) by Kelley Armstrong is an enthralling addition to the series. It's the fifth novel that delves into the captivating world of the Women of the Otherworld. Told from multiple points of view, it centers around Eve Levine and Kristof Nash-Savannah's deceased parents. Eve, being both a witch and a demon, has been called upon by the Fates. She must take down the Nix as payment for a favor she did when she saved Lucas and Page.

As a ghost, Eve faces the heart-wrenching challenge of not being able to communicate with Savannah. She secretly checks in on Paige and Lucas to ensure Savannah's well-being, but this comes at a cost. Meanwhile, the Nix, a demi-demon that thrives on chaos, inhabits the bodies of those on the verge of killing, pushing them to commit murder and spreading chaos. After escaping from hell, the Nix is causing trouble in the human realm, and the Fates have ordered Eve to find and eliminate her.

Trouble seems to follow Eve as the Nix now tries to locate those closest to her for retribution. However, all is not lost when an Angel, Trsiel, offers his aid. With his help, Eve will be reborn into something she never expected or dreamed of. HAUNTED is yet another fascinating storyline from Kelley Armstrong's creative mind. We'll encounter Eve throughout the series, with her story culminating in the final novel, THIRTEEN. Even Trsiel will make a few more appearances. One might wonder about the introduction of various characters and storylines in the series, but all will be revealed and answered in the final installment of THIRTEEN. See all of my reviews at : thereadingcafe.com

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads


I find it hard to recall my initial thoughts on this book. Undoubtedly, I took pleasure in it as it's Kelley Armstrong, after all. However, Haunted truly made a profound impression on me this time around. I have always been a devoted fan of Eve Levine's character. She doesn't fit neatly into the category of a straightforward good or bad guy, which makes her point of view captivating to read as you never know what to anticipate. Armstrong's creativity truly shines in this installment by introducing an entirely new supernatural universe, that of the afterlife.


The world-building in this book is remarkable and is only restricted by Kelley's imagination, which seems almost limitless. Both of the main characters are deceased, so clearly, the ordinary rules of engagement do not apply. Eve's assignment takes her to hell and back, quite literally, but only after she visits the pirate dimension first, of course. Armstrong effectively utilizes the supernatural cast of this series, with each character playing a small yet significant role. The spotlight undoubtedly belongs to Eve and Kristof, but I appreciate how she managed to include almost everyone.


The Nix steals the show as this series' ultimate big bad thus far. Every few chapters, readers get to journey back in time and relive one of this demoness' past atrocities, each more gruesome than the last. This girl thrives on chaos and has refined her evil ways over centuries. It takes a monster to hunt a monster, so the fates dispatch Eve Levine.


Eve is one of the more entertaining narrators of the Women of the Otherworld. I always expect that Paige and Elena will do the "right thing," but when it comes to Levine, you can never be sure. She's a former bad guy who has turned good, sort of. Eve is a bit more practical than most heroines and doesn't have the same moral qualms. She fiercely defends those in her inner circle, but the rest of the population is disposable. Levine would毫不犹豫地 throw an old lady holding a baby in front of a bus to protect her daughter. That's just the kind of person she is. Oh, I forgot to mention that she's a half-demon/black magic witch in addition to being a ghost and a potential angel contender. It's always all or nothing with Eve; she doesn't do anything halfheartedly, just another one of the reasons why I adore her so much.


Haunted is one of the darker, more gory installments of this series, but that's precisely what makes it so extraordinary. I'm glad that the story will shift back to the werewolves in the next book, Broken, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Eve Levine's world.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Kelley Armstrong takes an interesting approach by not only presenting a new narrator but also introducing a different world.

Eve Levine, the ghost of a witch, serves as the narrator of this captivating story.

Through her perspective, we gain deeper insights into what occurs after a supernatural creature passes away.

Surprisingly, in this world, Angels are not the traditional harp-playing, winged beings of old.

Although there are some slower segments in the book, the pace picks up significantly in the second half, making it truly exciting.

The story does touch on events that happened in the previous books, but it is possible to read this one first and still understand the majority of it.

This makes it accessible to both new readers and those who are already familiar with the series.

Overall, it is a great addition to the collection and I look forward to reading more from Kelley Armstrong.

I truly wish that poor Eve and Kris could have had a more favorable Happily Ever After (HEA) than the one they actually received. =( It's quite disheartening to think about how things didn't turn out as ideally as one might have hoped for them.

However, I do understand the reasons behind why it worked out in that particular way. Maybe there were external circumstances or internal conflicts that couldn't be resolved easily. Perhaps their paths were simply meant to diverge, leading to a different outcome than what was initially expected.

Nonetheless, it still leaves a sense of longing and a bit of sadness. One can't help but imagine what could have been if only certain things had been different. Despite this, we must accept the reality of their situation and hope that they both find some measure of peace and contentment in their respective lives.

Holy side quest, Batman!

This plot is like a wild rollercoaster ride that twists, turns, and meanders all over the place.

It takes you on a journey filled with unexpected detours and sudden changes in direction.

By the time the final confrontation arrives, you're already on the edge of your seat, fully prepared for the showdown.

However, it feels like the story could have benefited from a healthy edit to tighten things up.

Some of the subplots and side quests seem a bit excessive and could have been trimmed down to make the overall narrative more focused and engaging.

Nonetheless, the twists and turns keep you hooked from start to finish, making it an exciting and entertaining read.

Despite its flaws, there's still a lot to enjoy about this story, and it definitely has the potential to be even better with a bit of refinement.

Overall, it's a fun and thrilling adventure that will keep you guessing until the very end.

I have an extremely difficult time rating this book.

On one hand, it is written in a very excellent way. The language is smooth and the descriptions are vivid.

On the other hand, I didn't have a liking for it. Since my rating of books is based on their enjoyability, for now, it gets three stars.

First of all, "Haunted" starts at a really slow pace and this sluggish tempo persists for the first part of the book. Then it gradually picks up speed and, finally, towards the very end, it becomes all action-packed and truly awesome. It was challenging to get fully immersed in this book and it felt like a slow read, although objectively it might not have been. But this wasn't a major problem for me.

My biggest concern is the world that the author has created. As is usually the case with Armstrong's works, it is brilliant. However, I discovered that I have an issue with the concept of the afterlife presented in the book. Zombies, I can handle at any time. But ghosts? They bore me to death. When some angels are added to the mix, I won't be able to enjoy the book, no matter how good everything else might be. The funny thing is that I have no problems with demons and hell, but I have yet to read an angel-themed book that can truly rivet me.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the villain and the tiny snapshots of the Nix's life provided a much-needed break from the first-person point of view. The plot, however, took its sweet time to appeal to me and by the time it did, I had already given up on it to some extent and mostly concentrated on enjoying the characters.

Oh, the characters! If only all books had such amazing character development and realistic relationships. I found myself completely in love with both Eve and Kristof, even though I never cared for them before. Eve is a very strong woman with a peculiar sense of morality. She is also a dedicated mother who doesn't want to let go. But being Eve, she confronts all her fears head-on. Kris, on the other hand, is one wonderful man. He's patient and understanding, and despite having his own demons and regrets, he's determined to help Eve and get her back. And once he does, he won't let her go ever again. Oh, and he's a smooth talker. This is one of those couples that leaves you completely satisfied, with a big grin on your face. They simply click. That's why, despite detesting the world and its creatures, I was able to enjoy the book and am currently having a hard time deciding between three and four stars.

Reread 2012

"Haunted" was one of the first urban fantasy novels I read. It might have been 2007 or 2008. I hadn't voluntarily read a book in years. The countless study books and the so-called "really good Dutch literature" that my mom forced on me had completely killed my appetite for reading. But I was commuting 3 hours a day and I was in desperate need of something to fill the time. So, I accepted my sister's suggestion to pick up a book from her bookshelf.

At that time, I had only read the occasional English book for school. I had never heard of urban fantasy before and thought "feisty heroine" was some sort of street name for a drug. I also didn't realize that "Haunted" was the fifth book in a series.

It didn't matter.

I loved this book. I remember being completely immersed in the world, amazed by the creativity and the movie-like scenes, and absolutely loving Eve.

So, when I decided to reread this book almost four years later, with a whole lot of books under my belt, I was a little anxious. I was afraid that I might not like the story as much as I remembered liking it.

Turns out: I still do.

Eve is great fun. She can be insecure, overconfident, vulnerable, a total conniving bitch, a pain in the ass, or loyal as hell. But no matter how she is or whatever she does, she is always entertaining.

The story is mainly set in the Afterlife (since Eve is dead and all), and it's an interesting Afterlife. There are no white clouds, harp music, or eternal peace. This Afterlife is a curious mixture of everyday places and movie set theme parks.

I loved the idea, but it also raised a lot of questions in my head. As much as I liked the fact that there are different dimensions and planes, and that some people fill their time with an actual job while others play "Pirates of The Caribbean" all day, I don't understand the point. Maybe the concept is too abstract for me to understand, but I don't see why an Afterlife is so much like regular life, only without the responsibilities, deadlines, or human needs. How can an endless life with more of the same, but without evolution or growth, be fulfilling? I can see how it can be fun for a while, but forever? (Really, what would be fun forever?)

Despite this somewhat philosophical dilemma, I did love how the Afterlife was portrayed. There's a little bit of everything there to tickle everyone's fancy (or fetish, as Kristof would say). I also loved the hell dimensions, with my personal favorite being Lizzie Borden's personal hell, which I think was totally movie-worthy. The times when she politely excused herself to wield her hatchet had me laughing out loud.

Besides being humorous and engaging, the story has some really dark and gruesome parts. As a contrast, Eve's relationship with Savannah and Kristof made for some really touching moments. Having read the short story "Beginnings" in "Tales of the Otherworld" very recently, I was very curious to see some Eve and Kristof interactions. And though, in typical Armstrong style, we don't always get to see everything, the connection between those two is undeniable. Which made the end all the more bittersweet...

All in all, "Haunted" is a great book and gets to stay on my favorites shelf (4.5 stars).

While I truly love this book (after all, it's Kelley writing!), it doesn't rank as my absolute favorite in the series. I have a greater preference for the werewolves books, Paige's books, and Jaime's! However, having said that, I do have a soft spot for Eve. Her sarcastic attitude is reminiscent of Elena's, but Eve has a looser moral code. She's as stubborn as both Elena and Paige, yet she manages to come through in the end. One of my favorite aspects of this book is the exploration of the afterlife. We get to see more of the fates and how things function on the other side.

I also adored seeing a different side of Kris. In "Dime Store Magic," Kris was portrayed in a rather negative light. But in this book, we discover that despite being the son and heir of a Cabal CEO and having done some questionable things in life, he's not a bad person. We see his better side, the real Kris, not just the Nast heir. He truly loves Eve and is incredibly patient, waiting for her to be ready to accept their relationship and him as a permanent part of her life. He's also mischievous and had me laughing out loud several times in the book, like when he put Eve in a nurse's uniform (she really should have known better than to let him change her clothes!). I appreciate how her relationship with Jaime develops in this book as well. It starts off on a rocky note because she's completely unaware of ghost-necromancer protocol, so she gets on Jaime's bad side initially. But by the end, I think Jaime begins to trust her a little, and they actually get along.

We also meet our first angels in this book, with the primary one being Trsiel. A couple of the angels we briefly encounter are quite snooty, but I liked Trsiel, although he is a bit overly goody-goody (which is understandable considering he's a full-blooded rather than an ascended angel), even more so than Paige! We also meet a couple of demons. I liked Dantalion for his sense of humor, but I absolutely loved Aratron, and he's someone we'll meet again. If there's such a thing as a good demon, Aratron would be one. He doesn't meddle in mortal affairs or thrive on chaos like Dantalion does.

The Nix is an interesting character to encounter. She's the villain of the book, but the story of how she became what she is is fascinating. A demi-demon ghost confined to influencing and sharing the bodies of female hosts only, a far cry from what she was before circumstances limited what she could do.

I also like the concept of Eve being tested for angelhood, considering all she did when she was alive (specifically being a teacher of black magic), not to mention being the daughter of a lord demon. And yet, the fates choose her to be tested for the ranks of angels! It's every bit as amusing as the fact that Robert Vasic, Adam's stepdad, is a half-demon who used to be a priest and now teaches demonology! I also loved how surprised Eve was that Lucas didn't immediately embrace her taking over Paige's body. Lol, in her mind, she had built up a rapport with Paige and Lucas from watching over them from the ghost world, but she realizes that the relationship is one-sided since, of course, they have no idea that she's been keeping an eye on them as well as Savannah, so they don't trust her. She does recognize that Lucas' distrust is understandable, seeing as they only have her reputation and the fact that she broke his arm the first and last time she met him to go by!

Thankfully, everything works out well in the end, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the afterlife and what happens after death in Kelley's world. We even had a cameo from the first major otherworld villain, Daniel (or as he's called in this book, much to his chagrin, Dannyboy!). It was interesting to see how he's currently spending his afterlife! I'm so glad I picked this book up again to read, as I loved seeing the other side to Eve and Kris that we didn't get to see in the first four books.

This is a good read, but there are certain aspects that didn't quite make a huge amount of sense.

Most notably, it's the Nix's immediate fixation on Savannah. The way this played out was rather strange. The Nix managed to find someone in Savannah's orbit who was receptive to crazy ideas. Then, it got her to the community center precisely when Savannah was there. And then, she proceeded to shoot up the place.

Here's the thing, Savannah, whom we've witnessed as being wildly powerful,竟然只能躲起来，什么都做不了？这感觉就像是作者的一种决策，却没有其他文本内容来支撑。

Plus, to be honest, and this is probably a function of the present time rather than when the book was written, I'm not a big fan of using "someone shooting up a community center full of kids" as a plot point or plot device in a paranormal fantasy novel. One of the great joys of this type of fiction is that you can generate drama and angst based on elements like spells, werewolves, and afterlives, rather than things that you actually see on the news. It just seems a bit out of place and perhaps too real in the context of a fantastical story.

REREAD 2022

To be honest, my thoughts about this book are the same as those in my last review. So, please read the following.

REREAD 2020

I'm not sure if it's just because I'm tired or something else, but I really can't think of much to say about this book. It was okay. It was never my favorite in the series, ranking somewhere in the middle. I liked and enjoyed Eve as a character, and I found the entire story interesting. However, I felt that it was a bit meandering once again.

New rating: 3/5 stars

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Original rating: 4/5 stars

Four Reasons to Read Haunted:

1) This series is filled with a plethora of vile villains, but those in this particular book are by far the worst. This makes it extremely easy to root for the heroes and gives rise to some truly chilling scenes. The contrast between the evil of the villains and the goodness of the heroes is stark, adding an extra layer of excitement and drama to the story.

2) I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this set of characters better. The brief moments with Sean and Bryce were especially engaging, and seeing what Kristof is like as a father was a real treat. The relationship between Kris and Eve is unexpectedly wonderful, which came as a pleasant surprise. Their connection adds depth and warmth to the otherwise dark and spooky narrative.

3) In my review for Dime Store Magic, I had commented on the weak character motivation for Kris. However, I should have known better. This book beautifully explains everything in a heart-wrenching scene that truly tugs at the reader's emotions. It shows the growth and development of Kris as a character and makes the reader understand his actions and decisions on a deeper level.

4) The thing about this series is that it has a way of making me a glutton for information. I simply want to know everything about it. Every aspect of the lore is amazing and worth obsessing over. This book gives readers a unique and fascinating version of the afterlife that I can definitely get behind. And to top it off, it has pirates! How cool is that?

Three Drawbacks to Haunted:

1) The story unfortunately mentions that all physical infirmities disappear after death, which is a dangerously ableist take. This kind of thinking can be harmful and exclusionary to those with disabilities. It's important to remember that everyone is valuable and should be treated equally, regardless of their physical abilities.

2) Some scenes in the book include moments that the story could do without as they don't add anything of real value and only serve to slow everything down. The big finale, in particular, has a lot of these unnecessary moments that could have been trimmed to make the ending more impactful and exciting.

3) This book is my least favorite in the series, not because it's bad per se, but because it has never wowed me the way the others have. A big reason for this is that it feels like a bit of a pause in the overall plot. While the other books clearly seem to be leading up to something big and exciting, this one feels like it's taking a step back, which can be a bit disappointing for readers who are invested in the story's progression.

Book Summary:

Eve Levine has been existing in the ghost world for three long years. Throughout this time, her sole obsession has been to return to her daughter. The fates, who have their own plans, call in the debt she owes them for sending Paige and Lucas back to the living world. Now, she is tasked with capturing a demi-demon known as the Nix. For centuries, the Nix has inhabited would-be killers, urging them to carry out their murderous intentions.

With the assistance of the angel Trsiel, Kristof (the love of her life), and Jaime, a necromancy extraordinaire, Eve embarks on her perilous quest. If she is successful, she will become an angel and be able to watch over Savannah. However, this comes at a great cost as she would lose Kristof. In the end, she has no choice but to become an angel as the Nix has possessed Savannah and is attempting to kill Paige. Eve sacrifices herself and, with her angel sword, defeats the Nix.

The fates, pleasantly surprised by her actions, reward her. She is now able to live in the ghost world with Kristof for six months out of the year and spend the other six fulfilling her angel duties.

Quote:

If your life sucks, you fix it, you don't fall on your knees and pray for someone to make it better next time.