Haunted by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Haunted
Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 1-84149-341-4
Pages: 495
Series: Otherworld #5
Type: Adult Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Eve Levine has been dead for three years and has spent most of that time watching over her daughter Savannah who she is desperate to communicate with. But Eve owes the Fates a favour and they've just called it in. The Nix, an evil spirit who feeds on chaos and tempts mortals to kill for her, has escaped from hell and the Fates want Eve to bring her back. The Nix has driven her previous hunters insane and if that wasn't a big enough obstacle, she can only be captured with an angel's sword...and Eve's no angel.

This is the fifth book in the Otherworld series (after Bitten, Stolen, Dime Store Magic and Industrial Magic) and features a brand new narrator in Eve Levine. Eve is an unusual choice as she has never been seen alive in the books, although her afterlife has seen her help Paige and Lucas in the previous installment thus leading to her debt with the Fates.

I've always been fascinated by Eve as her story so far has been pretty much told in the background. We know she was Savannah's mother and that she was a witch/half-demon who practiced dark magic. Beyond that Eve is a mystery so getting to explore her backstory is brilliant as she is a far more complex character than I originally expected. Kristof Nast (Savannah's father) is also a lead character in this book so we get to see his and Eve's relationship which explains a lot about their characters.

The plot is well-paced and developed and packed with twists and turns. I loved how chapters from the perspective of the Nix where shown, especially as these are set at different time periods and featured familiar sounding references (Abbey Borden is mentioned and one of the Nix's past partners sounds a lot like Myra Hindley). The Nix manages to be both evil and not-so-evil at the same time as she doesn't actually make any of her partners do anything. She just provides them with the resolve to carry out their twisted desires.

The world building gives the series an afterlife like no other, filled with various dimensions and levels. Supernaturals have their own afterlife that somewhat overlaps with our world, but even within that there are different regions including a pirate town. It is as if all earthly locations appear in their heyday so Miami is a swamp while Chicago is stuck in the 1920s. Interestingly different "heavenly" afterlives are contrasted with "hells", two of which are displayed - a grey void where your senses are all useless and a world full of homicidal maniacs forever trapped together with no victims.

A new supernatural species is also introduced with angels shown alongside demons who have previously only been mentioned in the books, unlike their half-demon offspring. As is standard with this series the world building is dense and complex without info-dumping, allowing angels to be introduced with a distinct mythology and varying "waves" of angel referring to their age and how close they are to humanity (the younger the angel, the more human).

All in all, this is a great read and I'm really looking forward to Broken.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 48/50

Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Industrial Magic
Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 1-84149-340-6
Pages: 528
Series: Otherworld #4
Type: Adult Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Paige Winterbourne is trying to find a new purpose in life now she has been stripped of her role as leader of the American Coven of Witches, but when her boyfriend's father Benicio Cortez appears on her doorstep she isn't sure what to think. Benicio has come to request Paige and Lucas's help as Cabal members children are being attacked and the Cabals can't seem to work together to find the killer. Using an external investigator may help, but working for the Cabals is something Lucas has always fought against and Paige has always feared.

This is the fourth book in the Otherworld series (after Bitten, Stolen and Dime Store Magic) and, like the previous installment, is narrated by Paige. This is the first real view into how Cabals work, building on their introduction in the last book and developing them further in both their business and magical aspects. The book is well paced, starting by throwing the reader in the deep end with the latest attack and building the tension from there. There are lots of plot twists and developments, some of which are completely unpredictable.

Paige and Lucas have a lot to deal with so I was happy to see their romance continue developing alongside the action. Lucas is forced to deal with some of his family issues and Paige begins to see how strange his family is compared to hers. As it is Cabal children being attacked, Savannah is away for most of the book for her own protection but this does allow Paige and Lucas more time together, both romantically and practically.

Benicio Cortez is an imposing figure and Lucas is very much the prodigal son although their relationship takes a backseat to the investigation into the attacks. However, the relationship does manage to be explored in the background alongside the concept of Cabals managing to present them as a mob-style gang crossed with an international business conglomerate and an old-boys high society club.

Once again the world building continues, picking up some supernatural races introduced previously and exploring them further. Paige is forced to work with Jaime Vegas (who she dissed in the previous book) a stage medium who is in fact a necromancer allowing a closer look at how they work, whilst the Cabal staff show a few new half-demon varieties. The werewolves reappear, allowing Elena and Paige to continue their friendship and Jaime to develop a crush on Jeremy that looks set to continue throughout the series.

Vampires also receive some focus and further refinement as Cassandra returns and a younger vampire Aaron is introduced. Cassandra's character is explored a lot more as she is starting to withdraw from the world, a sign that a vampire doesn't have much longer to live, which contrasts starkly with Aaron's more energetic people-friendly approach to life.

All in all, this was another great read and I'm looking forward to Haunted.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 48/50

Teaser Tuesdays (37)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

 

My teaser:

"You ever seen this scene in a movie?" He asked.
I looked around. "Now that you mention it, I think I have."

~ Page 19, Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Dime Store Magic
Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 1-84149-323-6
Pages: 462
Series: Otherworld #3
Type: Adult Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Paige Winterbourne is not only a witch, but the new leader of the American Coven. At twenty-three she hadn't expected to take over the role for years to come, nor had she expected to end up adopting a young witch named Savannah. Both Savannah and Paige's mothers died about a year previously, and they're slowly learning to be family. But when Savannah's father appears and demands custody, along with the half-demon responsible for the deaths, they find themselves thrown into a world of backstabbing warring magical groups.

This is the third book in the awesome Otherworld series (after Bitten and Stolen) and sees the role of the narrator taken over by Paige. Paige is totally different to Elena. Where Elena is definitely an kick-butt heroine, Paige is quieter and less experienced. The references to Paige's youth bugged me a little in the previous book, but thankfully they are less annoying here and focus more on the ten-year age gap between Paige and Savannah.

One of the things I love about this series is the depth of character and plot. While Paige and Savannah don't get quite as much backstory as they both featured in the previous installment, the other characters are really well developed. Lucas is brilliantly written with his internal Cabal issues dealt with realistically. The introduction of Cabals (sorcerer-run mob-type companies) develops the world further and adds a Godfather-esque aspect to the storyline.

As usual, the plot was fast moving and well thought-out, but unlike the previous books this is less action-focused. While there is still some action this is an understandable change of pace, given that neither Paige nor Lucas are really brawlers. Some of the plot twists were easy to spot, but others were really unexpected and the book builds to a shocking finale.

I liked how magic was portrayed and the differences between the more mental sorcerors and more emotional witches. This also introduced the concept of good-versus-bad magic, with a complexity that relates to the individual spellcaster as opposed to witches = good, sorcerers = bad. Without info-dumping there is a lot of exploration of magic here.

I loved the romance between Paige and Lucas as it gradually develops from mistrust to friendship to something more. It is beautifully written and the mix of magic and romance creates an unputdownable read.

All in all this was a great read and I'm looking forward to Industrial Magic.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 48/50

Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Stolen
Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 1-84149-354-6
Pages: 532
Series: Otherworld #2
Type: Adult Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Elena Michaels is just beginning to come to terms with her life as a werewolf when a pack assignment immerses her in a supernatural world she never knew existed. Werewolves aren't the only creature to go bump in the night, and soon Elena learns that supernaturals are disappearing. When Elena herself is captured she realises a group of moneyed individuals are creating a collection of supernatural beings to study...and to hunt.

This is the second book in the awesome Otherworld series (after Bitten) and continues with werewolf Elena Michaels as the narrator. While you can read most of this series out of order, I'd recommend at least keeping the narrators in order (i.e. read the Elena books in order) to avoid massive spoilers. 

After choosing to stay with Clay and the pack in the previous book, Elena follows a possible information leak to a woman called Paige Winterbourne and stumbles onto the larger world of supernaturals. As a result Elena has to deal with a lot of her preconceptions, and then ends up stolen away from the life she's just chosen.

A massive cast of characters are introduced along with the introduction of multiple supernatural races. Until now only werewolves have been featured, but this book introduces witches, sorcerers, half-demons, demons, shamans, voodoo priests and more. Although the majority of characters are well developed, the witch Paige in particular, a few come of as slightly cookie cutter although with a cast this big it is understandable.

I really liked the introduction of witches and Paige is a great character. She actually takes over the narration role for the next two books in the series (Dime Store Magic and Industrial Magic) and although she is presented as being young compared to most other characters I'm really looking forward to reading her perspective.

The pacing of the storyline is generally good, although it has a bit of a slow start until Elena is kidnapped. From that point on there is a huge amount of tension added as the narration shows both Elena in the compound and the actions of her friends outside trying to get her back. Clayton's actions are great to read and show how much he cares for Elena, while Jeremy has to balance trying to get Elena back with protecting Clay from himself.

All in all this was an awesome read and I can't wait to read Dime Store Magic.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 49/50

2012 Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge

Halloween is my favourite holiday and I adore anything spooky or paranormal so stumbling across the 2012 Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge made my day. Hosted by Marie at Ramblings of a Daydreamer the challenge requires you to read and review a minimum of 3 books, posting the reviews for the first time between October 1st and 31st.

The definition of "paranormal" is really loose (perfect for people like me who like weird and wonderful creatures) and is: basically any 'creature' or 'otherworldly' book counts - vampires, werewolves, faeries, shape shifters, zombies, angels, demons, mermaids, dragons, witches/wizards/sorcerers, trolls, sirens, banshees, etc. Beyond that, both adult and YA both count, as do audiobooks and ebooks so there is a huge amount of scope.

If you'd like to sign up click here.

Now I'm off to plan my reading list :)

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Bitten
Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 1-8414-9350-3
Pages: 448
Series: Otherworld #1
Type: Adult Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Elena Michaels has a devoted boyfriend, interesting job and cute apartment but she still sneaks out at night to preserve her darkest secret. Elena is a werewolf, the only female one in the world. Betrayed by someone she trusted and turned against her will, Elena has now broken away from her Pack and is trying to live as normal a life as possible. But when the Pack contact her in need of her help, Elena is faced with a choice - stay away or return to help the only family she's ever known?

This was the first urban fantasy series I ever read, and remains to this day one of my favourites. The plot is brilliantly written and full of intricate twists and turns. The books starts out setting up the idea of the civilised pack werewolves and the uncontrolled mutts who give in to their more animalistic desires. Then the plot thickens and things become more complicated. I liked how the author made it feel as if no character was truly safe, and several scenes caught me completely by surprise.

All of the characters are given an incredible depth of backstory, both as individuals and as a group, and the author manages to avoid info-dumping the reader. I really liked how the author distinguished the werewolves as different to humans, whilst still showing that certain groups within any society will still act in twisted depraved ways.

Elena is a great narrator and her struggle for a normal life is really well written and believable. Clayton is really well written as the quasi-romantic interest. His relationship with Elena is tempestuous at best and it is really fun to read. The other pack members are equally well written, from the calm controlled Alpha Jeremy to the fun-loving flirt Nick. I loved how the bonds between the pack members where shown, translating the concept of a wolf pack into slightly more human tones while still remaining distinct.

The book builds the tension throughout and leads up to an action packed showdown. Had the book ended after the showdown I probably would have been happy, but the author continues the story on showing the consequences and letting Elena choose her own path.

All in all this was an awesome read, and I can't wait to get stuck into Stolen.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 49/50