Various Thoughts

This is the first book in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series. I accidentally began the series on book three, and so started this one with quite a bit of foreknowledge. The genre switches from action, to romance, to drama, to tragedy, and then back again…never allowing a particular mood to wear out its welcome. The wolf scenes were done especially well, though I admittedly know very little about actual wolf behavior.

The story’s protagonist is a young woman (Elena) who’s found herself in the position of being the only female werewolf alive. It would seem there are only two ways to become a Werewolf; either get bit by one, or be fathered by one. The complication, however, is that the Werewolf gene is only passed on to males, and non-hereditary wolves end up having to undergo a transformation almost immediately…which generally proves too strenuous for females.

Elena, however, manages to survive the change. The Werewolves in Armstrong‘s series are just like normal humans, only they have to eat quite a bit more then your average person and have to undergo a full-body transformation into a over-sized wolf at least once a month or so. The only benefit they have, besides being able to transform into an over-sized wolf nearly at will, is significantly enhanced strength. They’re organization is a bit strange though. There’s a single ruling group called ‘The Pack’, which takes it upon itself to police the rest of the werewolf population, whom they refer to as ‘Mutts’. Mutts are not allowed to claim territory and are hunted down and killed if they start making nuances of themselves, such as by going on killing sprees or being sloppy about hiding the fact that they’re Werewolves.

The plot deals with the most dangerous and/or influential Mutts banding together to launch a planned attack on The Pack, which they decide to launch a year or so after Elena left the pack to try and live a normal human life. Elena gets dragged back into Pack life in order to help them overcome the unprecedented threat now facing them. Basically, it’s a character study of someone who does their utmost to run from their true-self, and can only realize it after having everything they claimed to not care about stripped away.

BrokenThe sixth book in Kelley Armstrong‘s Women of the Otherworld series, and I think it’s the weakest link in the chain so far. This installment returns the focus to the Werewolves, and has Elena making her third appearance as the main character. The plotline revolves around the theft of Jack...

Frostbitten and On the EdgeFrostbitten is the most recent entry in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series. I can’t say that this entry expands the series in any notable way, instead it’s pretty much more of the same. This can be good or bad depending on your feelings for the books that focus...

Random BooksCry Wolf , by Patricia Briggs : This book takes place in the same world as the author’s Mercy Thompson series, and its storyline begins shortly before Moon Called ‘s does. It follows Anna, an Omega werewolf. Omega’s are like Alphas, only without the constant need to prove their dominance....

Night Life & Pure BloodThis  series, by Caitlin Kittredge, is another entry into the ‘overly aggressive and violently independent female lead’ category of novels. It follows the exploits of Luna Wilder, a detective on the Nocturne City police force who just so happens to be a werewolf. Kittedge’s universe contains werewolves, caster witches, blood...

Dante’s Girl & The Last AngelNatasha Rhodes‘ Kayla Steele series is a bit odd. It’s set in Los Angeles and deals with the conflict between Vampires, Werewolves, and Hunters. A conflict that’s not as black and white as it first appears. Dante’s Girl starts the series off with the death of Kayla’s boyfriend Karrel at...

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