Book review: 'Stolen,' Kelley Armstrong.
Stolen, by Kelley Armstrong.
Plume, paperback
480 pages, dark urban fantasy/supernatural romance, werewolf-centric awesome
Currently in print
***
So I said I was going to review Kelley Armstrong's entire Women of the Otherworld series, and that's exactly what I'm intending to do. I'm stubborn that way. Also dedicated. Stolen is not only her second book, it's her second book narrated by Elena, the world's only female werewolf. While the series is designed to make it possible to come in fresh every time the narrator changes -- I don't advise it, but I'm a very linear reader in some ways; you might feel differently -- I highly recommend not joining the series on the second book of any given narrator. So if you haven't read Bitten, step away from the review. Thank you.
At the end of Bitten, Elena had come to terms with the fact that she was a werewolf, was always going to be a werewolf, and dammit, she liked being a werewolf. She liked living at Stonehaven, where the fact that she was a werewolf didn't prevent her from having a normal life -- for certain werewolf values of 'normal,' anyway. She was less comfortable about her relationship with Clayton Danvers, the love of her life and the man who bit her, but at least she was trying. Also at the end of Bitten, the author had realized that she had the start of a series on her hands...a series that would get pretty difficult to write if she just stuck with 'werewolves vs. werewolves' all the time. Or at least, y'know, a lot less interesting. The stage was set for something different. Something bigger. Something that could get a catchy title like 'Women of the Otherworld.' Yeah!
Stolen gets right down to business, opening with Elena on her way to investigate Ruth and Paige Winterbourne, a pair of nice women from Massachusetts who claim to have evidence of the existence of werewolves. As it turns out, they're actually a pair of nice witches from Massachusetts, and what they really wanted was the chance to talk to Elena alone. Someone's been preying on the supernatural community. Elena is, naturally, a bit nonplussed to be informed that there's a community, since she thought it was just werewolves. She gets even less happy when the trio is attacked by commandos armed with silver bullets. The hunt, it seems, is on.
Things get worse before they get better, and it's not really a plot spoiler to say that Elena's own capture by the people who staged the attack happens not far into the book. Stolen is a roller coaster ride of a story, thrusting the werewolves kicking and screaming into a larger supernatural world. One which, perhaps, would have been wiser to leave them the hell alone.
Elena remains interesting, intelligent, and engaging. She's also a lot more comfortable in her own skin than she was in Bitten, which allows for certain core insecurities to start coming to light. Ironically, she's a better person because she's becoming a better werewolf. And Clay, who is always so very, well, Clay, is finally calming down. Stolen introduces a huge new cast of characters, but even the ones we see for a matter of pages are sketched out clearly enough for us to tell them apart. The pacing is fast enough to stay engaging and slow enough not to become confusing.
As in the first book, the plot is tight and well-mapped, and has actually improved with practice. The sex is just as brief, just as plot-essential, and just as interesting and character-appropriate as it was in Bitten. (I love -- genuinely love -- the fact that while the werewolves aren't prudes, they also have realistic sexual inhibitions, and don't go from vanilla with a twist of feral to 'hey, let's get out the strap-ons and the cat-o-nine-tails' just because Armstrong wants to make the New York Times bestseller list.) Totally worth reading.
Again, I don't recommend starting with Stolen. If you've already read Bitten, Stolen is a requirement for reading book three, Dime-Store Magic, as without it, the world will get very confusing, very quickly. I adore this book. If this is your kind of genre, odds are you will, too.
And that's our werewolves. Next up...witches!
Plume, paperback
480 pages, dark urban fantasy/supernatural romance, werewolf-centric awesome
Currently in print
***
So I said I was going to review Kelley Armstrong's entire Women of the Otherworld series, and that's exactly what I'm intending to do. I'm stubborn that way. Also dedicated. Stolen is not only her second book, it's her second book narrated by Elena, the world's only female werewolf. While the series is designed to make it possible to come in fresh every time the narrator changes -- I don't advise it, but I'm a very linear reader in some ways; you might feel differently -- I highly recommend not joining the series on the second book of any given narrator. So if you haven't read Bitten, step away from the review. Thank you.
At the end of Bitten, Elena had come to terms with the fact that she was a werewolf, was always going to be a werewolf, and dammit, she liked being a werewolf. She liked living at Stonehaven, where the fact that she was a werewolf didn't prevent her from having a normal life -- for certain werewolf values of 'normal,' anyway. She was less comfortable about her relationship with Clayton Danvers, the love of her life and the man who bit her, but at least she was trying. Also at the end of Bitten, the author had realized that she had the start of a series on her hands...a series that would get pretty difficult to write if she just stuck with 'werewolves vs. werewolves' all the time. Or at least, y'know, a lot less interesting. The stage was set for something different. Something bigger. Something that could get a catchy title like 'Women of the Otherworld.' Yeah!
Stolen gets right down to business, opening with Elena on her way to investigate Ruth and Paige Winterbourne, a pair of nice women from Massachusetts who claim to have evidence of the existence of werewolves. As it turns out, they're actually a pair of nice witches from Massachusetts, and what they really wanted was the chance to talk to Elena alone. Someone's been preying on the supernatural community. Elena is, naturally, a bit nonplussed to be informed that there's a community, since she thought it was just werewolves. She gets even less happy when the trio is attacked by commandos armed with silver bullets. The hunt, it seems, is on.
Things get worse before they get better, and it's not really a plot spoiler to say that Elena's own capture by the people who staged the attack happens not far into the book. Stolen is a roller coaster ride of a story, thrusting the werewolves kicking and screaming into a larger supernatural world. One which, perhaps, would have been wiser to leave them the hell alone.
Elena remains interesting, intelligent, and engaging. She's also a lot more comfortable in her own skin than she was in Bitten, which allows for certain core insecurities to start coming to light. Ironically, she's a better person because she's becoming a better werewolf. And Clay, who is always so very, well, Clay, is finally calming down. Stolen introduces a huge new cast of characters, but even the ones we see for a matter of pages are sketched out clearly enough for us to tell them apart. The pacing is fast enough to stay engaging and slow enough not to become confusing.
As in the first book, the plot is tight and well-mapped, and has actually improved with practice. The sex is just as brief, just as plot-essential, and just as interesting and character-appropriate as it was in Bitten. (I love -- genuinely love -- the fact that while the werewolves aren't prudes, they also have realistic sexual inhibitions, and don't go from vanilla with a twist of feral to 'hey, let's get out the strap-ons and the cat-o-nine-tails' just because Armstrong wants to make the New York Times bestseller list.) Totally worth reading.
Again, I don't recommend starting with Stolen. If you've already read Bitten, Stolen is a requirement for reading book three, Dime-Store Magic, as without it, the world will get very confusing, very quickly. I adore this book. If this is your kind of genre, odds are you will, too.
And that's our werewolves. Next up...witches!