Reaping Havoc Photo Contest!

So here's my entry for the Reaping Havoc Photo Contest! I had my copy in my bag looking for a photo op with it and found this!

I think Golum has a new obsession since losing the Ring! He's determined no sneaky Hobbit is going to steal his new precious from him!

Women of The Otherworld Reading Challenge - last mini-challenge!

 

Here it is, the end of the challenge! I'm quite proud of myself for completing it, it's my first reading challenge that I've ever taken part in! I've really enjoyed it as I love the series and have re-read it a few times! The hardest part was limiting myself to just one of the series books a month rather then just reading the series right through without breaks!

 

It gave me something to look forward to each month! I eagerly anticipated each book in the series! I'm sad that 13 is the last book for now but honestly? I am in total denial and cling to the fact that instead of declaring the series as finshed completely, Kelley instead said it was going on Hiatus for now. That gives me hope that, while it may be a few years down the line, there may be at least one more full length novel in the series, if not more. Plus I hold tight to the fact that Kelley has said she will still be releasing short stories and Novella's for the series!

 

What I love most about this series is that, unlike with other books and series I've read, you can read these books over and over and they never get old. Each time is as enjoyable as the first, more so as you notice things you may have missed in the first reading. I'm really excited about the upcoming T.V. series of Bitten and just hope that when they finish casting and shooting the series that it will be available in my area of the world! Maybe, if they do a good enough job of it and it's well received, they may make the rest of the books into a series too (only if they don't muck up Bitten though!).

 

I'm grateful to Kelley for writing this series and for how good she is to her fans, the time she takes to do free short stories relating to the series and to answer questions from fans. She really is a phenomenal author and one of my absolute favourites! Fingers crossed that this really isn't the end and that some day in the future Kelley will be inspired to write another full-length novel in the series! In the mean time I still have her YA series set in the same universe and a new series releasing this year to make up for the hiatus!

 

To finish, I'd like to thank Lucy from Moonlight Gleam's Bookshelf for hosting the challenge and for her generosity with the prizes each month for those partaking in the challenge!

 



Find my goodreads reviews below.

 





 

Book 3





Book 1



Book 2

Book 4

Book 5




Book 6 

Book 9


Book 7

Book 8













Book 10




Book 11

Book 12









Book 13

Women Of The Otherworld Challenge - Month 13

We've reached the end of the challenge, the final book, 13 by Kelley Armstrong. I refuse to believe it will remain the final book in the series and cling stubbornly to Kelley's original post that the series was going on hiatus rather then truly ending! There will still be novella's and short stories with the chance that further down the line, Kelley may be inspired to write another full length novel!

Synopsis

Thirteen

A war is brewing—the first battle has been waged and Savannah Levine is left standing, albeit battered and bruised. She has rescued her half brother from supernatural medical testing, but he’s fighting to stay alive. The Supernatural Liberation Movement took him hostage, and they have a plan to expose the supernatural world to the unknowing.
Savannah has called upon her inner energy to summon spells with frightening strength, a strength she never knew she had, as she fights to keep her world from shattering. But it’s more than a matter of supernaturals against one another—both heaven and hell have entered the war; hellhounds, genetically modified werewolves, and all forces of good and evil have joined the fray.
Uniting Savannah with Adam, Paige, Lucas, Jaime, Hope, and other lost-but-notforgotten characters in one epic battle, for a grand series finale.
Note: all hardcover editions are “collector editions,” which will include features such as author notes on the series and the post-13 Elena story “From Russia, with Love.”

My Review

I adored this final WOTO book! Though it was bittersweet as I don't want the series to end but I love how Kelley has ended it, leaving it open to return to! Everything that needed resolving has been resolved but there's no everlasting peace, that would be unrealistic, trouble is still going to arise, adventures will still be had and hopefully Kelley will return to the series one day, in the mean time I believe their will still be novella's and short stories.

So much happened in this book and I'm glad all the narrator's got to make a return and have a chapter though of course Savannah was the main narrator! I really like how she and Adam have got together and that she still worried even after the kiss that she'd misread things. I'll admit I found it strange that the love scene between them was implied rather written out. Prehaps Kelley thought it would be too strange given that us readers have watched Savannah grow up from when she was just 12 yrs old to this point. The relationship (unlike the others in the series) is not gauranteed as Savannah and Adam know but I'm glad they're giving it a go!

I loved discovering that Adam's feelings for Savannah changed long before Waking the Witch but he thought she'd outgrown her feelings for him and wasn't in love with him any more! I also loved Lucas's reaction to them getting together even if it was negative because his reaction showed how close he and Savannah are and how much he cares about his former ward! He's worried Adam (who does not have a great relationship track record) will hurt her. So sweet just like a big brother/father figure! We never really get to see into Savannah and Lucas' relationship as much as Savannah and Paige's so it was nice to get a glimpse into how close they are! God help Adam if he does hurt her cause I would not want Paige and Lucas gunning for me!

It was great seeing all Kristoff's kids becoming closer and finally looking like they're on track to be a real family unit, and very close given all that's happened! I'm glad that Thomas Nast was killed cause he's blatant favourtism for Sean and dismissal towards Bryce was set to cause a rift between the brothers despite Sean's best efforts, now that won't happen and they will hopefully have no-one coming between the sibling's anymore. I really am glad that Bryce is finally giving Savannah a chance and accepting her as his sister as well as trying to get to know her.

I was really glad that Eve got to spend time with Savannah and say a proper goodbye, even more pleased that she recognised that Savannah was fine without her and that she belonged with Kris in the afterlife. It was good that Kris got to see Savannah and Sean as well. Though we don't hear what Kris whispers to Sean, I think he was telling Sean he knew about Sean's sexuality and was fine with it and that he was proud of Sean. There's another possible story there as well, with Sean's battle for control of the Nast Cabal just beginning and his decision to come out at the same time. It won't be easy for him but he'll have his siblings by his side and no doubt Paige and Lucas will support him however they can as well.

I loved the portrayal of Lucifer and that he made contact with Hope at the end to explain about how things are differnt for his kids and that Nita was getting some of Hope's powers and it would reduce Hope's powers cause they'd literally be passing from her to her daughter. It was good that Adam had a visit from his demon dad too cause he finally got to give Asmondai a piece of his mind which had me cheering! It's good to see Hope and Karl so happy with a child of their own, though they came close to missing out on it all. Thank god Karl is a tough individual and hard to kill!

I love that just about everyone from the series shows up and play's a part in stopping SLAM from exposing supernaturals. I mean half the pack were missing but thinking back to Bitten that will have been intentional, Jeremy splitting the pack and sending half to safety so that the pack would ultimately survive, same as he did in Bitten when they were under attack. We also didn't hear from Zoe which was a shame cause I liked her a lot. All the big players were there though, the Nast's, Cortez's, interracial council delegates and the top three pack members as well as Karl and Hope. I really loved Cass and Aaron's ending as well, it would be interesting to get a short on how they adjust to their new lives. It also leaves a space on the council for a new vampire delegate and I'd love that delegate to be Zoe! Another possible short! Really really good end to the series for now!

Loved the short story at the end of the novel as well, From Russia With Love! The twins are adorable and it was good to see the rest of the pack members, with a little visit with Xavier Reece, the teleporting half-demon from Stolen! His interaction with the twins had me laughing! Again that was a bittersweet story to read as it ended an era and started a new era for the pack with Jeremy finally handing over leadership of the pack to Elena!

Women Of The Otherworld Challenge - Month 12

This is the penultimate month in the challenge and that means Spellbound! The second in Savannah's trilogy and twelfth in the series as a whole!

Synopsis

Spell Bound

Savannah Levine is in terrible danger, and for once she’s powerless to help herself. At the conclusion of Waking the Witch, Savannah swore that she would give up her powers if it would help a young girl. Little did she know that someone would take her up on that promise.
And now, witch hunting assassins, necromancers, half-demons, and rogue witches all seem to be after her. The threat is not just for Savannah; every member of the Otherworld might be at risk. While most of her fellow supernaturals are circling the wagons at a gathering of the council in Miami, Savannah is caught on the road, isolated from those who can protect her and unable to use her vast spell casting talent, the thing she counts on most. In a story that will change the shape of the Otherworld forever, Spell Bound gathers Elena, Clay, Paige, Lucas, Jaime, Hope, and others, who soon learn that the greatest threat to supernaturals just may come from within.

 

 

 

My Review

 

 

I loved this installment! There was a lot more happening then the last book as plot progresses and events are set in motion for the big finale in the next book! Savannah does a lot more growing up in this book as well and is now making a conscious effort not to run when things get tough emotionally but to face up to the consequences of her actions and face her fears more.
The result is that towards the end I think Adam is looking at her in a different light then normal cause for once she's apologizing to him for how she treats him and actually meaning it, she's refusing to take the easy way out and is insisting on talking properly and hashing through things with him.
The other thing I love about this book is we see more of her interactions with Bryce and her thoughts on him. The only time we've really seen her and Bryce together is back in Industrial Magic where he basically blanked her choosing to go with the family stance of 'she's not a Nast' unlike Sean who wanted to reach out and form a relationship with his baby sister. In this book I can see the foundations being set for Bryce and Savannah mending their sibling relationship and actually potentially developing a strong sibling relationship like she has with Sean. Mostly cause Bryce is forced to reach out to Savannah when he's in some really serious trouble and to his surprise she heads straight out to help him.
There's also her interactions with Clay and Cassandra which we don't see enough of in previous books! She really respects Clay and I was surprised at just how much his good opinion and respect meant to her, mostly cause she had to work really hard to earn it and she knows how rarely it's given. I love that she gets relationship advice from Clay, espeacially as his response is 'You're asking for relationship advice from the guy who panicked and bit his lover?'! Lol!
Her and Cassandra made me laugh as well as Cassandra's method for bringing Savannah out of her funk was to treat her no different then normal but instead to drag her kicking and screaming out of her haze til she's once again making her own cutting remarks back to Cass! To the point Cass is responding 'Ok you can stop feeling better now'. It isn't until this book that you realise how connected to all other Otherworld characters Savannah is but she has a line to all of them, including clairvoyant mercenary Rhys.
A great book that begins to bring all the characters together for the finale.

Women Of The Otherworld Challenge - Month 11

We're now on month 11 of the challenge and the start of the final (for now) trilogy in the series. Savannah's trilogy, starting with Waking The Witch!

Synopsis

Waking the Witch

The orphaned daughter of a sorcerer and a half-demon, Savannah is a terrifyingly powerful young witch who has never been able to resist the chance to throw her magical weight around. But at 21 she knows she needs to grow up and prove to her guardians, Paige and Lucas, that she can be a responsible member of their supernatural detective agency. So she jumps at the chance to fly solo, investigating the mysterious deaths of three young women in a nearby factory town as a favour to one of the agency’s associates. At first glance, the murders look garden-variety human, but on closer inspection signs point to otherworldly stakes.
Soon Savannah is in over her head. She’s run off the road and nearly killed, haunted by a mystery stalker, and freaked out when the brother of one of the dead women is murdered when he tries to investigate the crime. To complicate things, something weird is happening to her powers. Pitted against shamans, demons, a voodoo-inflected cult and garden-variety goons, Savannah has to fight to ensure her first case isn’t her last. And she also has to ask for help, perhaps the hardest lesson she’s ever had to learn.

My Review

I thoroughly enjoyed Savannah's book! I remember being unsure about her as narrator when I first learned she was getting a trilogy to end the series (for now!), but honestly she does some real growing up in this book. While I don't think she's over her prejudice towards humans, I kinda feel like she taken steps towards overcoming it, thanks to Michael, Paula and Kayla. She's also learning to stop running from her problems and to accept help (eventually) instead of insisting on fighting her own battles. I think towards the end something significant changes between her and Adam as well.
She was actually willing to sacrifice herself for the good of total strangers, something she wouldn't have even thought of doing a few years ago.
The plot was interesting too and I'd never have guessed through the book at who one of the killers were, we also seem to have stumbled across the elusive, believed to be a myth, witch hunter as well which should prove interesting as the trilogy continues.
I love how Adam doesn't give up on her and follows her even when she lashes out at him and tells him to stay away. She has a mini-meltdown at the end but I think she needed it to let out everything she's been holding in and move forward. It's also shown her she has a true friend in Adam who'll take the worst she can dish out and still stand by her, just what every girl wants! ;-)
The ending is a bit of a surprise that you don't see coming either but will be significant in the rest of the trilogy.

Women Of The Otherworld Challenge - Month 10

We are now at month 10 of the challenge with just three books left to go! This months book is Frostbitten and it takes place in Alaska.

Synopsis

Frostbitten

The Alaskan wilderness is a harsh landscape in the best of conditions, but with a pack of rogue werewolves on the loose, it’s downright deadly.
Elena Michaels, the Pack’s chief enforcer, knows all too well the havoc “mutts” can wreak.
When word comes of a series of humans apparently killed by wolves near Anchorage, Elena and Clay are sent to check things out. But they find more than they bargained for among the snow and trees of the savage Alaskan wilderness.

My Review

This is one of my favourites of the series and it is my favourite of the pack's books! Elena just grows so much in this book, she's already made leaps and bounds in the previous books but in this one she really has to overcome her past and fears left from her trauma's in foster care. She also finds out from the start of the book about Jeremy's plans for her and has to work through that news.
I love how Clay set her fears about becoming alpha to rest and how they worked through her worries. I also love the fact that we meet two potential new recruits for the pack, Reese and Morgan, both werewolves intrigued me for different reasons, Reese cause of the past he's hiding in this book and Morgan cause of the experiment he's conducting. We also meet a third potential new pack member though he's more assured to join then the others and he's the son/grandson of former pack members.
There is also a new race introduced though they are unlikely to join the supernatural community as they are very much isolated and would not be able to really live in the human world cause of their size and looks. They seem really interesting though and do trade with local communities when needed plus they revere werewolves, as Elena says they may even be a precursor race to werewolves!
A lot happens in the book in terms of possibly growing the pack, dealing with issues of the pack and reconnecting with ex-pack members, not to mention reaching out to a foreign pack (or rather responding to them reaching out!), matters of succession being settled and a major uprising by foreign mutts looking to move to the US to carry on their illeagal activities and eliminate the pack so they can take over with their own pack.
I love the scenes with the twins as well and when the whole pack are together, it was nice to see them getting some downtime after everything that happened, I definetly ended the book hoping that Reese and Morgan joined the pack same as Noah though I was heartbroken about the circumstances that led Noah to joining the pack. Loved every second of the book, even the difficult moments when Elena was reliving childhood fears cause it was so well done by Kelley.

Women Of The Otherworld Challenge - Month 9

 

 

This is month 9 of the WOTO series challenge which means Living with The Dead which, while wonderfully written, is not my favourite  of the Series, it ranks bottom of the list for me but does have some redeeming features, mainly Hope & Karl as well as in the sidelines Paige, Lucas Savannah & Sean!

 

Synopsis

 

Living With The Dead - Kelley Armstrong

 



When Robyn Peltier–a very human PR rep–is framed  for murder, the two people most determined to clear her name are half-demon tabloid reporter Hope Adams,  and necromancer homicide detectiveJohn Findlay. And suddenly Robyn finds herself in the heart of a world  she never knew existed–and which she is safer knowing  nothing about….

 

My Review

This isn't my favourite of Kelley's books, in fact in the series it's my least favourite, however even Kelley's 'worst' book is better then most out there and still very good. Karl is not my favourite pack member cause the favourite positions are commandeered by the surviving original pack members but I do love him! He is the major redeeming factor in the book! That and I love learning more about such an elusive supernatural type. Clairvoyants are one of the rarest supernatural races and generally stay hidden, even from other supernaturals for fear of being forced into 'employment' by cabals, despite the fact that overuse of their powers causes madness in them the same way it does to necromancers as we seen in Industrial Magic.

Adele is a vile character and I couldn't find any sympathy for her, she was a real sociopath, only interested in her own well being caring for nobody and nothing else. The things she did while constantly excusing herself and blaming her reprehensible acts on others made her a truly replusive villian that you can't help hating.
Rhys was an interesting character and him I did like, he wasn't the typical mercenary or a self-centred one like Xavier Reese was. He seemed like a mercenary with morales and principles unlike most of the mercenaries we've met in the books.

I did like Robyn and it was interesting having a human as a narrator which hasn't happened in the series before and seeing how she reacts to the news about her best friend Hope and the exsistence of supernaturals. She actually handled it pretty well though a lot of that was probably because of how close she was to Hope.

Hope grows a good bit in this and learns to better handle her demon side and find some balance though she realises she has to take a short break from Karl, not in the sense of breaking up with him but more learning to trust herself more and handle decisions herself instead of looking to him for all the answers. She's also realising she needs more to satisfy her chaos hunger then the council jobs alone can provide.
I also liked Finn, both as a character and narrator. It was interesting seeing his reaction to finding out he wasn't quite as speacial as he thought he was. It was interesting as well to learn that though his powers went way back in his family they were totally isolated from and ignorant of other supernaturals, including other necromancers. He hadn't even heard the term applied to him before meeting Damon's ghost. It was admirable that at the end he was taking steps to learn more about his powers and meet other supernaturals. I also felt bad for him that at the end he was second guessing every gesture of friendship Robyn made thinking she was only offering in the hope that her dead husband Damon was with Finn.
Like I said while not the best book in the series it was still very good and interesting to read but it always takes me the longest to read out of the series!