Nov 07, TJ rated it liked it Shelves: The relationships between Elena and her pack, especially Clay are just as real and engaging as in the former book. The downside in this book is the inordinate amount and graphic nature of the violence. It's not the generic "they killed the 3. It's not the generic "they killed the man" type or even the "they blew up the building with everyone in it" type. It is the personal description of each kill with graphic imagery used repeatedly with relish that just isn't my cup of tea. View all 5 comments.
Jul 27, Catherine rated it really liked it Shelves: This is a really hard one to review. I think my opinion was skewed because of unmet expectations. I think if I gone into this book cold I would have enjoyed it a lot more. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but my opinion teeter-tottered throughout it. I finally decided on a four star grade because the end did pick up and once I was able to put aside my reasons for reading it immediately after Bitten I got caught up in it.
I'd say that Bitten is a high four star while this one is a low four st This is a really hard one to review. I'd say that Bitten is a high four star while this one is a low four star. When Bitten ended we left Clay and Elena on a hopeful note. Nothing was really worked out, but the promise that they would try was given.
I was so excited to pick up this one and watch their relationship heal itself. For me, that's half the fun of reading about a couple. I don't just want to see them together, I want to watch them get together and strengthen their relationship. When I started this book I was shocked to find out that approximately six years had passed since the last book.
I was pretty pissed off about it too. All my expectations about watching them build their relationship collapsed. I was pretty surprised to see that even though she was still with the Pack and still with Clay, she wasn't really with Clay the way that a six year commitment implies to me. They're still in basically the same spot spinning their wheels. It was actually kind of sad for both of them.
I guess I didn't miss as much as I originally thought The beginning of this book was very slow going. My attention kept wandering and I had to struggle to make myself focus. The attention is no longer focused on just the werewolves. For a good chunk of the beginning half there's barely any werewolf interaction at all. The focus is all on the new type of supernatural creatures we meet and the organization hunting them. I did enjoy learning about the different groups, but what caught me most in the first book was the feel of the "otherness" of the werewolves and their interactions together.
I felt that that aspect was really toned down in this book. Yes, there were gruesome moments, but the mentality of it felt different. Around page is where the pace started to pick up for me. We were still focused on only Elena, but her personal demons started to come into play. It seemed like her captivity and isolation dug beneath her skin enough to break through her persona. We got to see the despair and the insecurities and the depression.
It was great getting that raw view. I loved how Elena admitted she wasn't over her past and probably never would be. When Elena was back with Clay I found it extremely irritating that they never talked through anything. Their mode of operation seems to be to ignore everything and move on.
It drives me nuts. You'll get to see how they solved the issue of his betrayal of her 12 years ago, and you'll see why I feel that way. I don't understand how they could have been back together the last 6 years and never have sat down and talked these things through. I loved the glimpse we got of Clay's point of view sort of. I felt it added nice perspective for that time period. I loved Clay in this book. Even though we saw him infrequently his presence was still felt.
I hear the next book is about Paige. I hope, for both her sake and mine, that she isn't as irritating in that book as she was in this. I was on Clay's side about her and I loved the nickname he gave her. Xavier and Adam seemed like interesting characters and I hope to see more of them in the series. View all 22 comments. So Stolen is the second book of this marvelous series. It is as well written and introduces important characters for the books to come.
It also introduces other types of super-human type species. That's right folks, there aren't just werewolves anymore. For example, Half Demons: Father is a demon, Mother is a human. They get superhuman powers from their good ole' dad Witches: Women with magic Sorcerers: Men with magic Shamans: Something about being able to deal with spirits But, luck WrensReads Review: Something about being able to deal with spirits But, luckily for us, it is still narrated by our favorite female-werewolf: This story starts out that Elena and Jeremy meet two women who claim they have evidence of werewolves existence.
They play the part of people who believe, but the two ladies actually tell them about their Elena and Jeremy's personal life and their pack. Hits too close to home. They claim to be witches. Then she gets attacked. She believes words they are saying. They go to this "meeting of the otherworldly-ins" and they believe they are getting set up. They really just don't want to deal with the fact that there are other supernatural beings out there and want to go back to just focusing on themselves and their own ways.
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Elena gets attacked… again again. This time though, she is captured and taken to some scientific headquarters were they have other super human people and know all about her why does everyone know about her, seriously? Was there a newsletter we missed? How would you like to be captured by a hunt-crazed, lust-driven lunatic, an unstable business woman, a science-driven mad man, a teleporting cocky half-demon with a bunch of other messed up super people?
This is one of my favorite stories in this series. It is interesting to see how humans react when they find out about the super-natural word. In all seriousness, this would be exactly what would happen because humans would hate to know there is something out there that is better than them. And they would want to have it for themselves. So they can be top dog again. WrensReads Goodreads Twitter Instagram Mar 27, Steven Naylor rated it liked it.
This story is a little departure from the first book in the series Bitten in that this story is not only about werewolves. In this story we are introduced to vampires, shamans, witches and half-demons. All of these beings apparently exist and this is the first time the werewolves learn about their existence.
The reason that the werewolves find out that these other creatures exist is something is hunting supernatural creatures. It was fairly interesting. The Who, What, When, and Where of the story is pretty good. But, just like the first book the biggest problem is the why.
If there was just a better reason for the kidnapping and everything that happened the story would be much better. It is kind of like in the movie Forest Gump when he runs across the country multiple times and its an amazing story and everyone thinks there is some great purpose behind it.
Then he say's " I just felt like running". I could never understand the reason why the rich guy behind the kidnapping was doing it. There were a couple of possible hints but no real reason. Other than that I still like the character Elena and I like her relationship with Clay, even though the more interesting relationship is betwen Elana and Jeremy. Jul 09, danny rated it liked it. Not quite as good as the first book, but still worth reading. I think forming a series out of it somewhat lessons the impact of the story. One of my favorate things about the first book was that it said that there were only a handful of werewolves in the world.
There are so many supernatural stories that imply that there are hundreds or thousands of Vampires or werewolves or whatever, so much that they have their own complex societies. But to propose that there were only a few werewolves denounc Not quite as good as the first book, but still worth reading. But to propose that there were only a few werewolves denounces all that, and I found it very refreshing. But the second book befuddles that by introducing vampires, witches, demons and sorcorers; with a complex society of supernatural creatures. But, setting aside all that, the book is quite good.
It maintains the same level of intensity and the characters are just as well developed. The plot was a little cliche, but it was all right. It kept my interest and left me waiting for the next book. Which is all that can be expected from a sequel. Wow, this book was so much different from the first one - and in a good way. I liked it quite a bit better - I found the story much more riveting and we were introduced to some few great and not so great characters. The bad guy in this is seriously a true sociopath that makes Clay's psychotic tendencies seem vanilla.
Speaking of Clay I loved seeing him and Elena in a crazy yet functional relationship. They seriously have sex in the most random places but it totally reflects their perso 4. They seriously have sex in the most random places but it totally reflects their personalities and super close connection. As usual Clay is a bit crazy and not always so nice, though I feel he is eventually getting along with everyone quite well. Elena is much more connected to her humanity which is a blessing and curse when she is kidnapped and has to deal with her own imprisonment, but those of other people she comes to feel responsible for.
I loved meeting the new characters - the witches, vampires, and my favorite the half-demons.
Any Given Doomsday (Phoenix Chronicles, #1) by Lori Handeland
I really thought Xavier and Adam were great. Paige seems decent - and I'm looking forward to reading her book. I do hope that Adam is in it! For me the main downside was I felt one part kind of dragged view spoiler [her imprisonment seemed to last way too long hide spoiler ]. Paranormal romance and Werewolf fans. I love this book as it's pivotal in expanding Kelley's Otherworld.
Elena narrates again and I love all the little nuances and themes in it, how everything serves to build her character and history. For example when she gives her reasons for not usually telling Clay she misses him or never saying she loves him outside of the bedroom cause she see's it as giving him too much power to hurt her like others have done. Also the way Ty Winsloe's treatment of her scares her not because of the power he holds in the story or because of him but because of how it reminds her about her bad childhood experiences in the foster homes she was in.
All these things build her to a truly substantial character. One of my favourite parts in this story apart from her reunion with Clay and her revenge on Ty is when she's just sat with Jeremy and he's telling her antedotes of Clay's childhood, through her we learn a little more about Clay and Jeremy's past's and childhood's. We also see the introduction of new supernatural races in this, the witches, half-demons, shaman's, vampires and sorcerers. I will admit that in this book I wasn't fond of Paige when I first met her but towards the end she was really growing on me, espeacially when she threatened to cut off and box a certain part of Adam's anatomy!
She's a character that in future books becomes a favourite of mine alongside Elena. I also love Adam's character, he's so boyish but being a half-demon has a dangerous edge. Cassandra has never grown on me like the rest of the characters but the male vampire we meet briefly at the end does. Again, parts of the book made me sad as characters I liked were killed but alot of it made me laugh, like Xavier's antics, he was definetly a fence character, neither truly on one side or the other.
This book had a few twists in it that when I first read it I didn't really see coming but it kept me hooked from start to finish with everything going on in it and the new characters being brought in to the series. Elena only had me mentally berating her a couple of times when her insecurities came into play making her think things that weren't true and overreact to a couple of things. She's accepted her life even if she hasn't yet forgiven Clay but she still has a lot more ground to cover.
She still has to overcome alot of her insecurities and learn to be open with Clay. Learn to NOT be afraid to tell him outright that she misses him when they're separated and that she loves him, afterall Clay has more then proved he's never going to abandon her or leave her for any reason. She has to learn to believe and trust in that.
I also love the fact that at the end Clay has now got the idea of kids in his head much to Elena's horror! Lol, I laughed when she made the comment about hiding her birth control pills from now on! This book is an amazing sequel to Bitten and well worth picking up! These books are hard for me to rate.
I like how she finds room for the little things that help the reader understand the nature of her characters. I liked how she worked with the suspense in Bitten but I liked even more what she did with Stolen. For the most part of the book, Elena is imprisoned by a group of people that kidnap preternatural creatures in order to study them.
It is a very atmospheric thriller, claustrophobic at times, and it kept me at the edge of my seat thought the book.
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Since reading The Most Dangerous Game in middle school high school? This one is probably my favorite. That said, The Most Dangerous Game and any variation of it cannot help but be seriously creepy. What makes Armstrong's version better than the others is that it combines scientific paranormal research with the standard hunting of sentient beings. Also, Stolen takes that hunting to the next level by using the leftover after all the data has been recorded supernatural beings for the hunts.
Werewolves are witches and demons are WAY more exciting to hunt than your average human, right? This book is also where we learn that the Otherworld series is not going to be limited to werewolves. Not as amazing a story as Bitten , in my opinion, but still very good. As part of a pick-it-for me challenge, I picked the title back up via audiobook and finished it.
When I read the first book Bitten , I fell in love with Elena's conflict between living with the pack versus as a human. This along with her and Clayton's history and relationship struggles drew me in. Stolen focuses much on Elena only because of her situation as a captive. I missed the pack, but I also enjoyed getting to know Elena more as she embraced her role in the pack and her life as a werewolf. I didn't enjoy the story in Stolen as much as I did the first book Bitten , but I liked it overall and I plan to continue the series. If you enjoy the urban fantasy genre with a strong female werewolf lead then take a look at this series!
You mean he's dead? He's resting comfortably," I said. He looks comfortable, doesn't he? The Otherworld series has been sitting on my to-read list for far too long. Thus, there was more than a little bit of excitement when my friend gave me the first book for Christmas. There was even more excitement when she gave me book two for my birthday. Trust me; I am hooked as can be. It was a good rea The Otherworld series has been sitting on my to-read list for far too long.
It was a good read, yet I had expected something more. In short, I had been expecting a five star read. Nevertheless, I did truly enjoy it. I was pulled into the world, and I enjoyed the story and the characters. It left me wanting more. There is such world building in this book! In the first book we are shown the werewolf world. We come to understand the pack: This was all well and good.
For me, however, werewolves are not my favourite aspect of the supernatural world, thus I was left wanting more. Stolen amended that for me. In Stolen, the supernatural world comes to light. We are introduced to many of the other supernatural creatures that exist. Witches, vampires, and demons. It should come as no surprise to find out I really enjoyed this aspect. There was so much to learn, so many new things coming to light. New laws and mythology, alongside new characters. There are so many new characters introduced. All with their own things to bring into the story. As with the first book, everyone has an important role to pay.
In some cases, there are characters we do not learn much about — but this all points to what is to come in later books. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Inquisitor , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
A lot of good ratings but this was a total miss for me. I like to figure things out but this is a bit convoluted. At the party he asked her to attend, he's gone most of the time leaving her with his witch step mother. Their interaction A lot of good ratings but this was a total miss for me. Their interaction is hard to follow and weird Weird about Allison buying a 'multi-million' dollar necklace for her Cinderella costume! Remember, Mark doesn't know Allison is anything but a regular girl - his Accountant!
Anyway, what kind of party did he invite her to that has witches, that kill a girl for the sake of a game With the prize being a wolf and of course money! Yeah, she doesn't care about the money prize, she has plenty as she's already said over and over. Then there is her long time witch friend Samantha that goes on the run with her, and has been her Amex Black Card concierge forever yeah Money!! I'm def not one to quit a book, so I'll keep trying a little longer but if it doesn't turn the corner soon, I'm gonna regret the time spent They seemed enemies at times, but partners at others.
A nice rich girl accountant; a bossy but good-hearted corporate owner that threw money at everything; and a very old A LOT went into this book - I could even, almost, feel pieces come together, but then it would go in yet another direction and be overwhelmed by more stuff. Wish it had been more plausible and sensible, but for me that was not the case.
View all 4 comments. If you're older than that choose Dec 13, P.
Reward Yourself
I've so gotta stop judging books by their covers. My artsy-fartsy brain glommed onto Inquisitor 's cover design. The kind of cover that works at multiple scales, including as a teeny, thumbnail image. A lone, dark figure strides forward against a simple, but dynamic backdrop of cool-toned blues and flame-hot yellow, with the latter grounding the image. The kind of design that pulses with a great sense of narrative. The first few pages of the novel aren't bad. The protagonist, Allison, is obviously I've so gotta stop judging books by their covers.
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The protagonist, Allison, is obviously the standard loner, somewhat embittered female archetype of urban fantasy, but she seems to possess the sharp, observational humor I love. The initial setup is straightforward. Allison, an accountant, has been summoned to New York by one of her wealthy clients, Mark. Mark is calling in a favor, and it's a big one. Allison is to attend some fancy Halloween shindig with him, where she'll be his pretend fiancee.
Mark's mommy has already picked out a wife for him, and apparently Mark can't grow a pair and tell mummy dearest that he's grown man capable of finding his own spouse. There's a suggestion that Allison has a crush on Mark, but it's unrequited and besides, she's actually a year old witch-hybrid. Hardly original, but okay, I was still engaged. Next, Allison goes shopping for an appropriate outfit and during the course of that trip it's revealed that she's rich as Croesus.
You know, the kind of scenario where it turns out she can more than afford the overpriced bling and the salesman eats crow? Allison just comes off as arrogant and charmless. Things proceed to go downhill from there. Mark's mom, who is dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West, turns out to be a witch. And Mom hates Allison, until she loves her, until she hates her.
The party theme is murder mystery, except the fake murder victim is actually dead. The writing is too sly, thinking that by dropping a few hints, it's creating drama and mystery. As I've noted in other reviews, "No, just no, writer folk. Be too coy, and I'm digging through my Too-Be-Read pile, looking for something else to read. Nothing is at stake. And staying in hotel rooms and getting haircuts. And making phone calls in which Allison commands her many underlings--because she's rich, so very rich!
There are constant reminders of her wealth. And also, her angst, because living for a zillion years sucks. Mortals die and she haz teh sad. Did I mention, she's rich? She turns into a wolf once and tries to eat some witches. Lawd have mercy, I hope this was free. Mar 07, Corey C.
I tried to power through everything wrong with this book because I wanted to write a full review, but I gave up around 30 pages in. That was enough to show me that the problems I had with it were too fundamental and pervasive to think it might get better later. When I read urban fantasy, I'm expecting work in the vein of Gaiman, Elrod, de Lint, or Butcher, but this seemed like it was shaping up to be closer to the Mary Sue paranormal romance popularized by Stephenie Meyer.
I think it may have bee I tried to power through everything wrong with this book because I wanted to write a full review, but I gave up around 30 pages in. I think it may have been miscategorized, and perhaps it would do better with Twilight fans than it did with me, but if it's being sold as urban fantasy, I think it's fair to review it as such. I don't want to suggest those traits automatically make a character a Mary Sue, but the combination certainly set off some warning bells.
Unfortunately, the amount of time spent reveling in her ability to casually buy absurdly exorbitant dresses and jewelry in lieu of providing actual character development cemented the impression that the protagonist is nothing more than a two-dimensional wish fulfillment fantasy. I might have been able to tolerate that if her behavior was at least remotely relatable or believable, but her entire decision making process seemed to be written on the basis of "What's the stupidest, most senseless, and needlessly passive thing she could do here?
When a stranger, that she seems otherwise wary of, directs her to put on a mask that she senses has some unknown magical effect that could be anything — such as a mystical roofie — she just goes along with it because, um, she thinks it would be rude to question being potentially mind-raped, I guess? I threw the book at the wall and never looked back. It does appear to be have been professionally proofread, with very few typos or grammatical errors, but that's probably the only good thing I can say about it.
I found the writing itself to feel generally amateurish. The action was only vaguely described, lacking the description necessary to make sense of often strange behavior. Why does the protagonist "stab at" her burger? My best guess is that she's supposed to be eating the sandwich with a fork, but such strange behavior should be noted explicitly. Otherwise, it's just jarring. Who even does that? And while humor is extremely subjective, to me it seemed like the author was constantly trying way too hard to be clever, and missing the mark more often than not.
Many of these attempts were based on assumptions that held no weight for me. For example, "the voice rumbled, pausing in the overly-dramatic fashion favored by far too many of the wealthy. It's like the author is struggling to make connections that will appear clever, but they're connections that don't actually exist. Or maybe she's just showing off her own prejudices. If I were grading on a curve for free self-published books, this would be above average, but that's not saying much.
Rated on the same scale as other commercial work It just doesn't even rate. When I downloaded this, it was free, but the rest of the series was paid. Last I looked, this book was paid as well. For the moment I know this: Blain, Inquisitor When you are as old as Allison Victoria Mayfield Hanover, you realize that only are few things are truly immutable. Blood and violence, horrors and hatred. And that one truth of the universe: Except, perhaps, for Victoria.
Ah, but you see, someone wants, very much, to see Victoria dead. And they will do anything, kill anyone, to make sure that happens. Which is a really crappy attitude when you realize who Victoria is. You see, she is the owner of Marrodin, one of the largest companies in the world. You know the sort. Victoria is living in Atlanta as Allison Ferdinan these days, playing at being an accountant.
Of course, sometimes what you wish for actually comes true — and too often in bad, very bad, awful sorts of ways. But what was a really Bad Idea? No, I mean it. And if you want to drop the W and add a B, well, please feel free. Pretty soon it seems the whole world is out to kill her. I loved this book so much I stayed up way too late into the early morning hours reading when I had to get up early the next morning. In fact, I liked it so much, I immediately downloaded the next one and started on it the next night. There are some continuity and relationship logic issues that were frustrating — but you all know how picky I am about that sort of thing.
I still think you should at the very least pick it up on Kindle Unlimited for free the way I did. And I look forward to hearing what you think. There are several between these pages! This played heavily on the mystery side particularly with the inclusion of werewolves and witches. It hit a couple of slow spots which almost had me putting this down but ultimately I finished this off and was glad I did. The mystery puts up a good show and although there was certainly areas I nailed I didn't get it altogether with the last third opening to full throttle.
There is impending hints of romance to come in the next book, so if you're looking for some cuddle and snuggle in this novel y This played heavily on the mystery side particularly with the inclusion of werewolves and witches. There is impending hints of romance to come in the next book, so if you're looking for some cuddle and snuggle in this novel you'll be left cold. One thing I'm tired of in a novel is injecting the yawn of the tiresome virgin.
What an old theme that bores the bejeezus out of me, and the fact that the story here isn't what I would go for in a YA grading, I consider this an oversight and epic failure for this novel. If she can keep from growing a tail before the party is over she might just get through the night Until someone's murdured and she's accused of the crime.
Together with her witch best friend she has a mystery to solve and she has to do it before others catch up to her. When it comes down to it who can she trust to he 3. When it comes down to it who can she trust to help her and who's secreatly against her. Allison is years old and not necesseraly does age bring wisdom, she's tough as nails, but she also deny's who she really is because of self lothing.
She does what she thinks is right and if the consequences become crazy she'll just ride out the storm. The story was interesting but way too confusing. The backstory was never really told only hints were given leaving you scrambling to understand just who the bad guys were and how she became associated with them in the past. Just when you think you're finally starting to understand what's going on more stuff gets thrown at you leaving you more confused than ever.
Like I said the basic story was interesting, but there was either too much going on for one story or there needed to be more information in this one. This novel was definitely not what I expected. It was fathoms more than that. The story itself is extremely original.
Blain combines the known supernatural world with that of her own creation to create a positively sinful experience for her readers. The storyline is a rollercoaster that keeps you on your toes and guessing.
At the same time, you are drawn further and further into this exceptional tale. This is definitely my favourite ta This novel was definitely not what I expected. This is definitely my favourite tale from Blain thus far. Pamela Thornton is 26 years old and has spent most of her life struggling. But just when things are turning around for the better for her, her abusive father re-enters. But just when things are turning around for the better for her, her abusive father re-enters the picture. Logan is a tall, muscular shoulder for Pamela to cry on whenever her terribly abusive father becomes too much for her to handle.
They've been good friends forever, but he is selfish and often takes her feelings for granted. Will her best friend be able to help her when she needs him the most? See what happens when a mysterious friend of a friend decides to level the playing field and make sure that Logan really understands what Pam is going through - using a very unique method that you'll never see coming. Will the friend teach Logan to be more compassionate in this paranormal romance?
Will the man of her dreams ever step up to be the man she knows he can be? We will send you an SMS containing a verification code.