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!

Women Of The Otherworld Reading Challenge - Month 8

 

 

This is Month 8 of the Women Of The Otherworld reading challenge and that means Personal Demon! Hopes book though Lucas also narrates a few chapters! It's not my favourite of the series cause Hope isn't my favourite character but it still ranks pretty high cause of all the action in it and cause of Karl (who I love) and Paige & Lucas! Namely Lucas cause we get a rare insight into him and his thoughts on his family as well as the cabals. It also introduced and never-before seen supernatural type, an improvement on one we met briefly in Stolen but more evolved with more ability.

 

Synopsis

 



 Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong

Half-demon tabloid reporter Hope Adams has a secret. Like full demons, she loves chaos. She thrives on it. She needs it.
Most of the time, Hope feeds the hunger by helping the interracial council. But it’s never enough. So when Benicio Cortez offers her a job infiltrating a gang of young supernaturals, she thinks she’s found the perfect solution. Instead, she finds a tinderbox of greed, desire and ambition. And when it ignites, a world is going to explode.
Narrators: Hope Adam & Lucas Cortez
Originally published Fall 2008

My Review

I do love this book but it isn't my favourite in the series, mostly cause while I do like Hope a lot she isn't my favourite! I do love Karl though, plus Lucas gets some chapters to narrate and I loved getting in his head a little when he was dealing with his father, brothers and the cabal. Poor Hope did go through hell in this though most of it was because of her own naivety, stubbornness and refusal to see the truth.
She latched onto Jaz to get over Karl and when Karl came back and they got together she still pined over Jaz and refused to accept that he and Sonny could be bad. She was blind pretty much up to the end. Not entirely her fault of course, Jaz was pure chaos, which attracted her demon as he was a veritable chaos feast which left his thoughts impossible to pick up. Whereas she could read the negative thoughts of other characters in the book she never picked up Jaz's thoughts even once cause his mind was too high speed and chaotic to read anything.Jaz was a sociopath, he couldn't see that what he was doing was wrong and even at the end he's still convinced Hope loves him and they'll be together one day! Totally delusional as well as sociopathic!
I loved how she and Karl worked through things and Karl admitting he ran cause he was afraid of the attachment he had to her. How he's fought all his life against his wolf instincts and she's triggered one of the biggest, one he didn't believe existed, the instinct to be with his mate, that mate being Hope. I love how she gave him no sympathy over it, instead responding with sarcasm and put-downs to keep him on his toes! She really does know how to ground him and bring his ego down when needed!
I wasn't personally upset to see Lucas's oldest brothers killed but I was upset for Lucas and Benicio having to deal with their deaths and their aftermath. I kinda wished that Carlos was killed instead of William! Of all the brothers William seems to be the least threatening as he doesn't have Hector's level of intelligence or Carlos' level of viciousness!
I liked that Kelley had two narrators in this book, so you got a more rounded insight to the plot and what was going on. Lucas could fill in plot points that Hope couldn't and give insight she couldn't. Hope is still quite new to investigating and under-cover work, as a result she misses lots of things that the others wouldn't, which is why she needed Karl there to point out the possibilities she didn't want to see due to being too close to the gang. A great book overall, not my favourite but not my least favourite either!

Women Of The Otherworld Month 7

This is month 7 of The Women Of The Otherworld Series reading challenge, which is No Humans Involved. It's narrated by Jaime with Jeremy getting a love interest role and being allowed to step out from behind Clay and Elena's protection. These two are one of my favourite couples in the series alomgside Clay & Elena and Paige & Lucas.

Blurb

No Humans Involved

Jaime, who knows a thing or two about showbiz, is on a television shoot in Los Angeles when weird things start to happen. As a woman whose special talent is raising the dead, her threshold for weirdness is pretty high: she’s used to not only seeing dead people but hearing them speak to her in very emphatic terms. But for the first time in her life–as invisible hands brush her skin, unintelligible fragments of words are whispered into her ears, and beings move just at the corner of her eye–she knows what humans mean when they talk about being haunted.
She is determined to get to the bottom of these manifestations, but as she sets out to solve the mystery she has no idea how scary her investigation will get. As she digs into the dark underside of Los Angeles, she’ll need as much Otherworld help as she can get in order to survive, calling on her personal angel, Eve, and Hope, the well-meaning chaos demon. Jeremy, the alpha werewolf, is also by her side offering protection. And, Jaime hopes, maybe a little more than that.
Originally published Spring 2008

My review

This is one of my favourites of the series and the first book in the series with Jaime (a necromancer) as narrator. It's also the first book where Jeremy isn't forced to stay on the sidelines out of the main action because of his status as Alpha. I also love this book cause it's the one that Jaime and Jeremy get together as a couple in as well as the fact that through Jaime we get glimpses of Jeremy that we don't get with Clay and Elena, mostly because he can let his guard down a little with Jaime rather then having to present a strong decisive front like he does with the pack, cause with Jaime he's just Jeremy not the Alpha.
It was nice to get to see Jaime leading an investigation as well, mostly because it involved ghosts which is her speaciality and human magic which is unheard of and considered a myth in supernatural circles. That's where the dark side of the story comes in, the magic being cast is accomplished by killing children to use the ashes of their organs in order to cast spells that are really not worth the murder of innocent children to accomplish.
The book is also a turning point for Jaime in another sense, aside from the investigation and her new relationship with Jeremy. She comes to terms with a lot of personal issues regarding her power and her career, like figuring out she wants to be able to do more then she currently does to help ghosts and she doesn't want to move into television. Her attempt to break into television was a throwback to when her mother was dominating her career and influencing what she did. The change of heart on ghosts was her realising that prehaps her nan was completely right when she told Jaime to ignore ghosts and the requests they made. She's decided that while she can't help them all, she can listen more and talk, maybe pass on a message when it's viable.
These two are one of my favourite couples and I love how Jaime knows Jeremy well enough to realise he has to make the decision for them to be a couple and she's patient waiting on him though she does tease him now and then and makes sure he knows she's ready when he is. I love how she makes him lose control near the end as well. It's great seeing the other side to Jeremy.
I know a lot of people assumed him to either be gay or celebate but I just assumed he was too much of a gentleman to kiss and tell, plus he wouldn't have girlfriends before because of his responsibility to the pack, not to mention that previous narrators have included Elena, Paige and Eve. Elena see's Jeremy as a father figure so she's hardly gonna be discussing his sex life and Paige and Eve don't know Jeremy well enough to comment on his love life.
I do think he's lucky with Jaime as she's really does understand his duties to the pack and is willing to put up with a long distance sporadic relationship just to be with him and she's lucky as with his responsibilites he'll be able to accept and understand her work committments and constant touring. Added to the fact they can both relate to having a bad parent who made their childhoods hell and they really are a good match despite all their differences. Definetly a favourite read right after Bitten and Industrial Magic!

Women Of The Otherworld Mini-challenge # 7

 

This is mini-challenge number seven in a series of mini-challenges for participants of the Women Of The Otherworld Series reading Challenge! The task for this challenge is the same as the last three ;- go to the last page you read and create phrases with the last word of each line. We can use punctuations that follow the words but we have to use all the words and keep them in order. The stipulation being that we can't use the same page as last time! We also have to include the page number as well as book cover and synopsis!

 

Synopsis

 

No Humans Involved

Jaime, who knows a thing or two about showbiz, is on a television shoot in Los Angeles when weird things start to happen. As a woman whose special talent is raising the dead, her threshold for weirdness is pretty high: she’s used to not only seeing dead people but hearing them speak to her in very emphatic terms. But for the first time in her life–as invisible hands brush her skin, unintelligible fragments of words are whispered into her ears, and beings move just at the corner of her eye–she knows what humans mean when they talk about being haunted.
She is determined to get to the bottom of these manifestations, but as she sets out to solve the mystery she has no idea how scary her investigation will get. As she digs into the dark underside of Los Angeles, she’ll need as much Otherworld help as she can get in order to survive, calling on her personal angel, Eve, and Hope, the well-meaning chaos demon. Jeremy, the alpha werewolf, is also by her side offering protection. And, Jaime hopes, maybe a little more than that.

 

The Challenge!

So the last Kelley book I read was the UK Kindle Edition of No Humans Involved! This is from  pg 342.

"Grinned. In answered. Did there? Left smiled. Fine. Bed hollywood. Chocolates out me. Chuckle too? Did easier good. Hope? Pause crowd. Shoulders jumps.  Inhale. Late her? About miles laughed then. Fine. Better myself. Indeed."

 

 

 

Women Of The Otherworld Mini-Challenge # 6

This is challenge number six in a series of mini-challenges for participants of the Women Of The Otherworld Series reading Challenge! The task for this challenge is the same as the last two, to go to the last page you read and create phrases with the last word of each line. We can use punctuations that follow the words but we have to use all the words and keep them in order. The stipulation being that we can't use the same page as last time! We also have to include the page number as well as book cover and synopsis!

Synopsis

No Humans Involved

Jaime, who knows a thing or two about showbiz, is on a television shoot in Los Angeles when weird things start to happen. As a woman whose special talent is raising the dead, her threshold for weirdness is pretty high: she’s used to not only seeing dead people but hearing them speak to her in very emphatic terms. But for the first time in her life–as invisible hands brush her skin, unintelligible fragments of words are whispered into her ears, and beings move just at the corner of her eye–she knows what humans mean when they talk about being haunted.
She is determined to get to the bottom of these manifestations, but as she sets out to solve the mystery she has no idea how scary her investigation will get. As she digs into the dark underside of Los Angeles, she’ll need as much Otherworld help as she can get in order to survive, calling on her personal angel, Eve, and Hope, the well-meaning chaos demon. Jeremy, the alpha werewolf, is also by her side offering protection. And, Jaime hopes, maybe a little more than that.

The Challenge



I'm reading the Kindle edition of No Humans Involved, pg 46.

"Spoke sweatshirt attire. Skirt teased else was Kristof. Mouth language ones power.Accident hug."

Woman Of The Otherworld Mini-challenge # 5

This is the fifth in a series of mini-challenges for participants of the Women Of The Otherworld Series reading Challenge! The task for this challenge is the same as the last,  to go to the last page you read and create phrases with the last word of each line. We can use punctuations that follow the words but we have to use all the words and keep them in order. The stipulation being that we can't use the same page as last time! We also have to include the page number as well as book cover and synopsis!

Again, the last Kelley book I read was the UK hardcover edition of 13.

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.”

The Challenge!


13, pg 170

"That contact goal. Connections same. Passed rest. Panic. See do. Bars through. Talked. Threats. Questions guy. Impression. Prisoners respond. Gone. Dumb are suspect. Grate bars it. Spell said."