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melbsreads's review against another edition
4.0
This is a surprisingly fun collection of stories. There are a whole stack of short stories, plus two longer novellas, and they feature a great range of characters from the series. I particularly enjoyed the first of the two novellas, which covers the period from when Elena and Clay first meet through to when he bites her. It gave a great background to their relationship and the dynamic between them in the early books. And it was great to have it written as a split narrative so that we saw things from both perspectives. So even though I knew how it was going to end, I basically loved everything about it.
I also really enjoyed the short story about a young Lucas' encounter with Eve, and the story of how Eve and Kristoff met and fell in love. Hell, I enjoyed all of it. I was a little less keen on the second of the two novellas, which focuses on Sean finding a dead body, but that was mostly because Sean's narrative was in the third person while Lucas' was in the first and that just...didn't work for me.
On the whole, it was a great collection of stories, though it would have been nice to have more stories from the perspectives of the...more minor characters in the Otherworld.
I also really enjoyed the short story about a young Lucas' encounter with Eve, and the story of how Eve and Kristoff met and fell in love. Hell, I enjoyed all of it. I was a little less keen on the second of the two novellas, which focuses on Sean finding a dead body, but that was mostly because Sean's narrative was in the third person while Lucas' was in the first and that just...didn't work for me.
On the whole, it was a great collection of stories, though it would have been nice to have more stories from the perspectives of the...more minor characters in the Otherworld.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book, and the stories in it, from Elena and Clay meeting, and their relationship up till he bit her, was so sweet, and Lucas and Paige's wedding, and yeah, it was nice and sweet, and had some really great things happening, and we got to see the characters again! Loved it!!
laurla's review against another edition
Rebirth
Bewitched
Birthright
Beginnings
Expectations
Ghosts
Wedding Bell Hell
The Case of El Chupacabra
Bewitched
Birthright
Beginnings
Expectations
Ghosts
Wedding Bell Hell
The Case of El Chupacabra
papi's review against another edition
2.0
Very lightweight, had nothing else to read while on a ride, so made do with this for a short while before getting to fed up, then went for a walk instead.
pjmurphy3's review against another edition
4.0
A bit confusing in some parts. but it tied well together.
jenniferbbookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
Short and not so short stories previously published by the author on her website, published in book form at the request of fans. The stories give the reader peaks into the backstories of characters from her Otherworld novels. Best of all, profits go to charity!
rayy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
bethanytomerlinprince's review against another edition
5.0
Elena and Clay's Love Story
Reading the beginning of Elena and Clay's Love Story really helped me to understand how thier live could survive Clay bitting Elena.
Reading the beginning of Elena and Clay's Love Story really helped me to understand how thier live could survive Clay bitting Elena.
nancyotoole's review against another edition
3.0
Tales of the Otherworld is the second collection of short fiction which takes place in the Otherworld universe. The first collection, Men of the Otherworld, was unique as it almost read like a novel, telling us the history of the werewolf pack, while focusing on the characters of Clay and Jeremy. Tales of the Otherworld is a little closer to what you’d expect from such a collection, delivering us the stories that couldn’t fit in the Otherworld novels. Like Men of the Otherworld, the short stories and novellas are arranged chronologically. Five are prequels to the Otherworld series, while remaining three take place during the actual series. The stories cover a wide amount of territory, giving us stories featuring major characters (such as Elena, Lucas and Clay) and characters that have so far played only supporting roles (such as Aaron, Logan, and Sean).
"Rebirth" is Aaron’s history story, telling us how he became a vampire and the first year of his vampire existence. This story is unique, as Armstrong doesn’t tend to focus on her vampire characters too much. Although there were places where I wish this story had been expanded upon a little it’s a well written short story that I enjoyed reading.
Bewitched tells us the story about how black witch Eve Levine met and fell in love with the sorcerer Kristof Nast. This novella was particularly interesting as we got to see Eve when she was just starting off, and didn’t have the fearsome reputation that she ended up with in Haunted. Bewitched is a very character based story, and I really enjoyed watching the ways that Armstrong developed the relationship with Eve and Kris. This is the second novella featuring Eve to be published in the past year (the first being the stand alone, Angelic) and I find I like this one the best.
"Birthright" features the character Logan, and shows how he discovered his werewolf heritage. "Birthright" is a relatively straightforward short story that it features a character that we don’t know too much about, although it lacks a bit in originality. Overall, it’s an enjoyable short piece.
Beginnings is probably my favorite piece of the enter collection. The novella tells how us how Elena and Clay met while Elena was still in college. It follows their relationship as it grows from friendship to love, and the ends on the event that leads to where Elena ultimately ends up in Bitten. It was particularly interesting to read this after the most recent Otherworld novel, Frostbitten, which features the same characters roughly twenty years later, but in very different emotional states. Beginnings, like Men of the Otherworld, also shows how Clay has a hard time being human, and how the results can be interpreted as awkward or rude. It also results in the relationship between Elena and Clay being somewhat unhealthy. I loved how instead of writing this off as “true love,” the novella explores this unhealthy aspect of the relationships. This is especially interesting when compared to the character of Jason, Elena’s foster brother who is more outwardly starkerish and abusive.
"Expectations" is a short story about a very young Lucas encountering Eve Levine. This story was interesting to read after Bewitched, as you get to see how Eve’s character had grown. Unfortunately, Lucas’s voice doesn’t really seem to be suited for the short story format, which occasionally marred my enjoyment of the story.
"Ghosts" is a short story taken from Jeremy’s perspective, as he reflects on his decisions at the end of Beginnings. On one hand, it’s really interesting to see Jeremy’s views, but the story doesn’t have the ability to stand well on its own. I suspect someone picking the story up without having read Beginnings would be very confused. Those who have not read Bitten, may find themselves scratching their heads as well.
"Wedding Bell Hell" is my favorite short story of the collection, and the only one that can be classified as humor. It tells the story of Paige and Lucas’s somewhat tumultuous roads to marriage. As someone who is planning on getting married in a year or two, I found this story to be equally amusing and terrifying, but was very happy that things ended well for my favorite couple of the series.
The Case of El Chupacabra is the final novella in the collection, and tells the story of Paige and Lucas trying to track down a killer known as “El Chupacabra.” What I liked about this novella is the more character based moments, such as Lucas struggling with the fact that he feels that he’s not committing enough financially to family. I also enjoyed the exploration of the prejudice against vampires in the supernatural community. What I thought was somewhat lacking was the actual mystery itself, which wasn’t necessary bad, but not nearly as engrossing as the previous novellas in the collection.
Although Tales of the Otherworld is not as consistent as Men of the Otherworld, it still delivers us a nice batch of short fiction. What I enjoy the most about the fiction displayed here is that Armstrong never seems to view the short story or novella format as a way to merely deliver cheap filler. Each story is filled with character development, or gives us a deeper view into the Otherworld universe. I hope that Armstrong will one day release a third volume in this series. I would love to see more short fiction and novellas in print.
"Rebirth" is Aaron’s history story, telling us how he became a vampire and the first year of his vampire existence. This story is unique, as Armstrong doesn’t tend to focus on her vampire characters too much. Although there were places where I wish this story had been expanded upon a little it’s a well written short story that I enjoyed reading.
Bewitched tells us the story about how black witch Eve Levine met and fell in love with the sorcerer Kristof Nast. This novella was particularly interesting as we got to see Eve when she was just starting off, and didn’t have the fearsome reputation that she ended up with in Haunted. Bewitched is a very character based story, and I really enjoyed watching the ways that Armstrong developed the relationship with Eve and Kris. This is the second novella featuring Eve to be published in the past year (the first being the stand alone, Angelic) and I find I like this one the best.
"Birthright" features the character Logan, and shows how he discovered his werewolf heritage. "Birthright" is a relatively straightforward short story that it features a character that we don’t know too much about, although it lacks a bit in originality. Overall, it’s an enjoyable short piece.
Beginnings is probably my favorite piece of the enter collection. The novella tells how us how Elena and Clay met while Elena was still in college. It follows their relationship as it grows from friendship to love, and the ends on the event that leads to where Elena ultimately ends up in Bitten. It was particularly interesting to read this after the most recent Otherworld novel, Frostbitten, which features the same characters roughly twenty years later, but in very different emotional states. Beginnings, like Men of the Otherworld, also shows how Clay has a hard time being human, and how the results can be interpreted as awkward or rude. It also results in the relationship between Elena and Clay being somewhat unhealthy. I loved how instead of writing this off as “true love,” the novella explores this unhealthy aspect of the relationships. This is especially interesting when compared to the character of Jason, Elena’s foster brother who is more outwardly starkerish and abusive.
"Expectations" is a short story about a very young Lucas encountering Eve Levine. This story was interesting to read after Bewitched, as you get to see how Eve’s character had grown. Unfortunately, Lucas’s voice doesn’t really seem to be suited for the short story format, which occasionally marred my enjoyment of the story.
"Ghosts" is a short story taken from Jeremy’s perspective, as he reflects on his decisions at the end of Beginnings. On one hand, it’s really interesting to see Jeremy’s views, but the story doesn’t have the ability to stand well on its own. I suspect someone picking the story up without having read Beginnings would be very confused. Those who have not read Bitten, may find themselves scratching their heads as well.
"Wedding Bell Hell" is my favorite short story of the collection, and the only one that can be classified as humor. It tells the story of Paige and Lucas’s somewhat tumultuous roads to marriage. As someone who is planning on getting married in a year or two, I found this story to be equally amusing and terrifying, but was very happy that things ended well for my favorite couple of the series.
The Case of El Chupacabra is the final novella in the collection, and tells the story of Paige and Lucas trying to track down a killer known as “El Chupacabra.” What I liked about this novella is the more character based moments, such as Lucas struggling with the fact that he feels that he’s not committing enough financially to family. I also enjoyed the exploration of the prejudice against vampires in the supernatural community. What I thought was somewhat lacking was the actual mystery itself, which wasn’t necessary bad, but not nearly as engrossing as the previous novellas in the collection.
Although Tales of the Otherworld is not as consistent as Men of the Otherworld, it still delivers us a nice batch of short fiction. What I enjoy the most about the fiction displayed here is that Armstrong never seems to view the short story or novella format as a way to merely deliver cheap filler. Each story is filled with character development, or gives us a deeper view into the Otherworld universe. I hope that Armstrong will one day release a third volume in this series. I would love to see more short fiction and novellas in print.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
3.0
The stories in this collection are mostly okay. There are two and half stand-outs, but the rest of the stories aren't bad, but just okay. However, one cannot but be joyful at the reason for this book's publication and its use in raising money.
The two stand out stories are the story of Eve and Kristof's relationship and the story of Elena and Clay up until the bit that forms the basis for the interaction in the first novel of the Otherworld series.
In many ways, Eve's story is better, the characters are old, more mature. Then is something spooky about the Clay/Elena relationship, in part because of Clay's werewolf nature (and his position as teacher). It raises some intersting questions, but also gives greater strength to the issues of trust raised in Bitten. The story is also further fleshed out by a later short story, told from Jermey's point of view, that deals with Elena after the bite (it is one story removed from the Clay/Elena) story.
So, worth reading simply for the two stories as well as the cause the book supports.
The two stand out stories are the story of Eve and Kristof's relationship and the story of Elena and Clay up until the bit that forms the basis for the interaction in the first novel of the Otherworld series.
In many ways, Eve's story is better, the characters are old, more mature. Then is something spooky about the Clay/Elena relationship, in part because of Clay's werewolf nature (and his position as teacher). It raises some intersting questions, but also gives greater strength to the issues of trust raised in Bitten. The story is also further fleshed out by a later short story, told from Jermey's point of view, that deals with Elena after the bite (it is one story removed from the Clay/Elena) story.
So, worth reading simply for the two stories as well as the cause the book supports.