Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld, Book #1
Publisher: Vintage Canada
Publication Date: 2009, Original Publication: 2001
Pages: 422
Source: I purchased this myself at my local Indigo.
Review:
Bitten begins in Toronto where our protagonist Elena is trying to fight off her basic nature. See Elena is a werewolf and as she is now living with a man she finds it hard to find time to escape and change. Soon Elena’s problems will get even bigger when her pack master Jeremy contacts her about a situation that is taking place and requests her help to fight some mutts (werewolves not in a pack).
The main character of Bitten is Elena. She is the only female werewolf in the whole world. Overall I would say that she is a pretty likeable character. She was tough, independent, and knows how to take care of herself. She doesn’t take anything from anyone and cares about what happens to the other important people in her life. She will look out for them and put herself in harm’s way if necessary to protect them.
These people who Elena would do anything for are her pack. It consists of Jeremy, Clay, Logan, Antonio, Nick, and Peter. I enjoyed the pack dynamics. They were all very close and looked out for on another. Jeremy is the pack leader and I really enjoyed his character. He was kind and thought everything through, never making rash decisions.
Clay and Elena have had a romantic relationship in the past and he is the main love interest in this book. This is an adult book so there are some sex scenes in Bitten. I do not think there where to many and I understand why they were added. These sex scenes between Elena and Clay do help show how their relationship works and the two do have chemistry. But Sadly Clay was not my favorite. I understand the certain things that have happened in his life made him the way he was but he was very arrogant and just expected Elena to be all over him.
The plot was interesting but at times I felt it moved very slowly. I would find myself skimming some pages especially towards the end. The climax also felt very rushed and was not what I wanted out of it. The ending seems wrapped up but I do believe that there are other books in this series that contain Elena. As the ending was pretty much wrapped up I do not think you have to read the others in this series to end Elena’s journey.
If you enjoy paranormal romance I do believe that you should read this and that you would enjoy it. Just be prepared for some slow parts during the story, and a main love interest who can sometimes be pretty arrogant.
What I rate this: 3/5. I might pick up the next in the series but I am not sure yet!
I read Kelley's YA series and I really liked it (they're a bit fluffy, but so much fun), and I decided to try her adult series. I was really disappointed with Bitten, though. It wasn't as funny or as smooth of a read as the YA books, and, like you, I found Clay and his relationship with Elena upsetting. She sort of didn't want him and everything didn't always feel a hundred percent consensual to me. It made me very uncomfortable. I was so unhappy I was planning not to read any more of her adult books, but I've cooled with time and think I will.
ReplyDeleteBitten came out so early in her career, and it seems fair to give her a chance to show growth, you know?
Hey! Thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteI do want to try Kelley's YA series the story seems really interesting and I love a fun read! Yeah I agree this was disappointing. I just expected so much from it for some reason.. (that good be due to the girl at the bookstore who was telling me how much she loved it tho! lol)I agree about Clay and Elena as well. I just didn't enjoy his character and I kinda wish the ending went into a different direction.
Yeah I agree! Tha'ts why I definitely want to check out her YA books, and if you liked them I am sure they are good :)
I really wanted the ending to be different as well! Clay just seemed a closed-off at best and a bit abusive at worst. She needed a guy who would let her run the show most of the time, and the wolves in that pack weren't that at all.
DeleteWonderful review Sarah. :) I'm wondering if you would've enjoyed this more if you liked the love interest better. Maybe Jeremy would've been a better choice?
ReplyDelete