[REVIEW] Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

Published: September 2004
Publisher: Plume
Age Group: Adult
Series: Women of the Otherworld #2

It was in Bitten, Kelley Armstrong’s debut novel, that thirty-year-old Elena Michaels came to terms with her feral appetites and claimed the proud identity of a beautiful, successful woman —and the only living female werewolf.

In Stolen, on a mission for her own elite pack, she is lured into the net of ruthless Internet billionaire Tyrone Winsloe, who has funded a bogus scientific investigation of the “other races” and their supernatural powers. Kidnapped and studied in his underground lab deep in the Maine woods, these paranormals—witches, vampires, shamans, werewolves—are then released and hunted to the death in a real-world video game. But when Winsloe captures Elena, he finally meets his match. (From Goodreads)

Stolen is the second book in the Women of the Otherworld series.

In Stolen, paranormals are being kidnapped by a tycoon seeking to build his own collection. Elena Michaels, the only female werewolf and the pack representive, goes to Pittsburgh where she is unexpectadly tricked by a young women who lures her into a trap by pretending to require assistance. Now Elena is kidnapped and imprisoned underground where she is kept for scientific research and the worst part about it is that there seems to be some spell that is blocking her ability to contact with her pack members and call for help. Now Elena has to find a way to escape, on her own, all the while trying to survive from the perverted tycoon who seems to enjoy torturing his prisoners and a lady who wants a more exciting life, and Elena might be the answer to it.

This is probably my fourth time reading this book. 

I love the women of the otherworld series, it's much better then Armstrong's teen series' which I find dull and not very exciting. 

Stolen has everything the first book, Bitten, has. It has action, excitement and hot romantic scenes. 

If I had to say anything bad about this book, it was that the introduction was slow but I understand that they had to set everything up and explain what was happening.

The majority of the book is focused on Elena's entrapment. She does get out, don't worry about that. There had to be some way of continuing the story but what she has to go through...well, it's not pretty. 

What I love about this series is that Armstrong finds a way to weave the different main characters in to each story. Stolen focuses on Elena but the next book in the series I believe focuses on the witches, who are introduced in this book. 

I also really like the covers. Although they're more symbolic then anything, the all black background and the one symbol is very strong and makes a large impact, at least for me. Think the covers of Twilight but more intense. 

So if you love reading abuot paranormals, give this book a try especially if you're starting to find that teen paranormal series' are getting a bit boring because this series is anything but boring.

Enjoy!

5/5!
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[REVIEW] Broken by Kelley Armstrong

Published: April 2006
Publisher: Bantam
Age Group: Adult
Series: Women of the Otherworld #6

In this thrilling new novel from the author of Industrial Magic, a pregnant werewolf may have unwittingly unleashed Jack the Ripper on the twenty-first century — and become his next target…

Ever since she discovered she’s pregnant, Elena Michaels has been on edge. After all, she’s never heard of another living female werewolf, let alone one who’s given birth. But thankfully, her expertise is needed to retrieve a stolen letter allegedly written by Jack the Ripper. As a distraction, the job seems simple enough — only the letter contains a portal to Victorian London’s underworld, which Elena inadvertently triggers — unleashing a vicious killer and a pair of zombie thugs.

Now Elena must find a way to seal the portal before the unwelcome visitors get what they’re looking for — which, for some unknown reason, is Elena… (From Goodreads)

Broken is the sixth book in the Women of the Otherworld series and has Elena as the narrator.

In Broken, Elena is called for an favor that she owes the half demon Xavier, who had helped her escape from the research facility when she was captured. The favor is simple, steal the letter sent by Jack the Ripper that went missing back in the twenties. The job seems simple enough until Elena accidentally unlocks the spell on the letter releasing a dimensional portal. To make matters worse, Elena is pregnant and now there are zombies coming out of the portal and attacking her. Now Elena has to find a way to seal the portal in time, all the while trying to stay alive.

Broken had some parts that were confusing for me. Not because the story line was badly written but because I hadn't read book three, four and five. There were some events and people mentioned that I had no idea about but overall, the story was well written and I wasn't completely lost that I couldn't understand what was happening. 

As always, Elena and Clay's relationship is going strong and the plot in this book is different but still similar to the other books. 

I really would have liked it if they had touched on Jack the Ripper some more but I guess the main point of the book isn't about Jack the Ripper but about Elena's survival in this troubled time. 

Like my previous review, I can find no, or very little, faults with Kelley Armstrong's writing and her series. 

The cover is amazing and the story is very well written. 

If you love fantasy but not much of a Twilight fan, I would suggest you give this a try!

Enjoy!

5/5!
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