Review: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong (Women of the Otherworld #1)
Updated: Apr 15, 2012
Release Date: December 31, 2002
From the Publisher: 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.
384 pages, Penguin/Plume
Books in Series*:
- Bitten
- Stolen
- Dime Store Magic
- Industrial Magic
- Haunted
- Broken
- No Humans Involved
- Personal Demon
- Living with the Dead
- Frostbitten
- Waking the Witch
- Spellbound
- Thirteen
Available: Barnes and Noble
I discovered Kelley Armstrong and this series a few years ago. Unfortunately, I didn’t start at the beginning! I actually started with Dime Store Magic and Industrial Magic, but fortunately, this early in the series it wasn’t as bad a gaffe as it could have been.
One of my very favorite things about a series is when the author creates a world and uses a series to tell the story of that world – not just of the same few characters. There are many main characters in this series – Elena, Paige, Savannah, Jaime, Eve, Hope… All of their lives intertwine and because of that, we see a much fuller world than we ordinarily do in a series that spends multiple books following the same one or two people.
I hadn’t read Bitten in quite a while and 10 years have passed since it was written. Her appearance in more recent novels in the series is how I remembered her, so it was startling to see her where it all began. The character development and growth is quite remarkable.
Elena is not my favorite of the women, but she is close to the top. She is quite the bad ass, particularly when those she loves are threatened. She reminds me of me – except for the whole werewolf thing.
The relationship between Elena and Clay is the stuff romance novels are made of – but Kelley writes it in such a way that the action takes precedence. It’s a love story, but it’s so much more than that.
Honestly, I just can’t give enough praise to the series or the author. Kelley Armstrong is, hands down, one of my all time favorite authors.
*This list does not include any of the novellas or short stories that the author has written as part of the series.
I love Kelley Armstrong’s books! I didn’t start with the first either, I read Stolen first. I’m so excited for the new Thirteen coming out soon, glad you enjoyed reading!
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Thank you so much for participating in the reading challenge! You are so awesome!!!
Love your review for Bitten! I’ve actually had a few of my friends tell me that they didn’t begin with the first book in the series either (accidentally of course hehe)! I looove all the books with Elena as the narrator. And like you, I honestly cannot give enough praise to this series!
Thank you again for participating! Awesome post, can’t wait to read your next one!
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[...] Bitten [...]
I appreciated the nature of the relationship between her and Clayton, the werewolf who bit her and still wants her, despite Elena’s continued resentment toward him. Their bond is fascinating and multi-faceted — in many ways they are reflections of each other. I was happy with the initial resolution of their conflict and hope to see more of them.
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