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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
Another fantastic collection of short stories and novella from Kelley Armstrong! A staple to read for any fan of The Women of the Otherworld Series.
There were two stories in Otherworld Secrets that I hadn't read; Life After Theft (Hope and Karl) and Zen and the Art of Vampirism (Zoe). Both stories were very good. I really enjoyed reading about Hope and Karl post-Thirteen and the Zoe story had me laughing, especially with all the Toronto references. With the other short stories included in this volume, re-reading them is always a pleasure!
There were two stories in Otherworld Secrets that I hadn't read; Life After Theft (Hope and Karl) and Zen and the Art of Vampirism (Zoe). Both stories were very good. I really enjoyed reading about Hope and Karl post-Thirteen and the Zoe story had me laughing, especially with all the Toronto references. With the other short stories included in this volume, re-reading them is always a pleasure!
"life after theft" hope and karl deal with life after he retires from theft, but gets blackmailed back into the game.
"forbidden" #10.1 - The team-spirit sign by the side of the highway seems a good omen to loner Morgan Walsh, as he drives to what could be the most important visit of his life--a chance to join the North American Pack. Then he wakes naked in the woods, surrounded by wolf tracks and a ring of suspicious cops. The situation only gets worse when he's bailed out by Alpha-elect Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers, her terrifying enforcer and mate. Disappointed that such a promising young werewolf risked exposing them, Elena isn't expecting anything from the pesky retrieval job except some much-needed alone time with Clay. Instead, she finds a different kind of evil stalking the streets and forests of Westwood, New York. Trapped in town by a snowstorm and sabotage, Elena, Clay and Morgan must find the mysterious threat before it sets its sights on them.
"angelic" #9.2 - As a half-demon master of the dark arts, Eve Levine isn't what anyone would call angelic. That's exactly why the Fates chose her for the job. She's their secret weapon against the forces of evil. However, after five years, Eve is tired of being the designated rebel of the angel corps, expected to break the rules, then being penalized for it. When the leaderless djinn stage an uprising, Eve sees the perfect chance to get herself fired. As she plunges deeper into the demon world, though, she realizes she's in danger of losing a lot more than her job.
"the ungrateful dead" #8.1 - Celebrity necromancer Jaime Vegas is headlining a sold-out seance tour, but behind the scenes, a disgruntled ghost has a bone to pick.
"zen and the art of vampirism" - vampires try to move in on zoe's town and end up running scared.
"counterfeit magic" - #10.4. The first rule of a supernatural fight club? Don't kill your opponent.When the fighters come with lethal spells, werewolf strength, and half-demon powers, that can be a lot tougher than it sounds. It's hard to attract talent if they know they might not leave the ring alive. So when fighters at a California club start dying, it's bad for business.Witch detectives Paige Winterbourne and Savannah Levine take the case. Going undercover in the power-heavy arena of the fight club is a welcome change of pace for Paige, relegated to the role of The Wife as her husband struggles to find his place in his family's Cabal-the corporate Mafia of the supernatural world.As Paige is drawn deeper into new and dangerous corners of her world, she quickly discovers the greatest threat isn't the killer in her sights. It's something much, much closer to home. And this is one fight she can't afford to lose.
"forbidden" #10.1 - The team-spirit sign by the side of the highway seems a good omen to loner Morgan Walsh, as he drives to what could be the most important visit of his life--a chance to join the North American Pack. Then he wakes naked in the woods, surrounded by wolf tracks and a ring of suspicious cops. The situation only gets worse when he's bailed out by Alpha-elect Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers, her terrifying enforcer and mate. Disappointed that such a promising young werewolf risked exposing them, Elena isn't expecting anything from the pesky retrieval job except some much-needed alone time with Clay. Instead, she finds a different kind of evil stalking the streets and forests of Westwood, New York. Trapped in town by a snowstorm and sabotage, Elena, Clay and Morgan must find the mysterious threat before it sets its sights on them.
"angelic" #9.2 - As a half-demon master of the dark arts, Eve Levine isn't what anyone would call angelic. That's exactly why the Fates chose her for the job. She's their secret weapon against the forces of evil. However, after five years, Eve is tired of being the designated rebel of the angel corps, expected to break the rules, then being penalized for it. When the leaderless djinn stage an uprising, Eve sees the perfect chance to get herself fired. As she plunges deeper into the demon world, though, she realizes she's in danger of losing a lot more than her job.
"the ungrateful dead" #8.1 - Celebrity necromancer Jaime Vegas is headlining a sold-out seance tour, but behind the scenes, a disgruntled ghost has a bone to pick.
"zen and the art of vampirism" - vampires try to move in on zoe's town and end up running scared.
"counterfeit magic" - #10.4. The first rule of a supernatural fight club? Don't kill your opponent.When the fighters come with lethal spells, werewolf strength, and half-demon powers, that can be a lot tougher than it sounds. It's hard to attract talent if they know they might not leave the ring alive. So when fighters at a California club start dying, it's bad for business.Witch detectives Paige Winterbourne and Savannah Levine take the case. Going undercover in the power-heavy arena of the fight club is a welcome change of pace for Paige, relegated to the role of The Wife as her husband struggles to find his place in his family's Cabal-the corporate Mafia of the supernatural world.As Paige is drawn deeper into new and dangerous corners of her world, she quickly discovers the greatest threat isn't the killer in her sights. It's something much, much closer to home. And this is one fight she can't afford to lose.
Pretty good set of shorts stories and novella length stories from the Otherworld. Some sounded familiar...they may have been printed in another anthology, or have been the basis for a novel length book.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I haven't read an anthology in so long that when I picked this book up I actually had a good time reading it. So I'm going to break this anthology up by the stories so I can fully review this book.
1) Life After Theft (Hope x Karl) – This one I read through quickly. Someone set up Karl, a werewolf and a thief, about stealing something when he wanted to retire and work part time for his children. So he and his wife investigates who set him up while also stealing a very priceless grimiore. I loved this one and their kid as well.
2) Forbidden (Elena x Clay) – Morgan Walsh comes from Alaska to see if he wants to join The Pack, but then is accused of killing someone. Elena and Clay comes down from Stonehaven to investigate and to clear Morgan's name. Honestly I loved this one as well, mostly because of Elena and Clay from Bitten.
3) Angelic (Eve x Kristoff) – Have no memory of what happened in this one. It was alright to me, nothing to run home to tell mama about.
4) Zen and the Art of Vampirism (Zoe) – Basically Zoe just scared off some potential new vamps in town.
5) The Ungrateful Dead (Jamie) – A dead guy wanted Jamie to investigate his and his cousin's murder, turns out the guys were zombies and she and Savannah gives them to someone named Molly.
6) Counterfeit Magic (Paige x Lucas) – Underground fight club for supernatural but one of the brothers is getting blackmailed. A demon tricks Paige to make her think that Lucas is cheating on her, but it turns out it was someone that was part of the Cabal that wants to take Lucas's place, but that didn't work at all.
So all in all, this is a really good anthology but some I just didn't care to remember, which is a shame really.
1) Life After Theft (Hope x Karl) – This one I read through quickly. Someone set up Karl, a werewolf and a thief, about stealing something when he wanted to retire and work part time for his children. So he and his wife investigates who set him up while also stealing a very priceless grimiore. I loved this one and their kid as well.
2) Forbidden (Elena x Clay) – Morgan Walsh comes from Alaska to see if he wants to join The Pack, but then is accused of killing someone. Elena and Clay comes down from Stonehaven to investigate and to clear Morgan's name. Honestly I loved this one as well, mostly because of Elena and Clay from Bitten.
3) Angelic (Eve x Kristoff) – Have no memory of what happened in this one. It was alright to me, nothing to run home to tell mama about.
4) Zen and the Art of Vampirism (Zoe) – Basically Zoe just scared off some potential new vamps in town.
5) The Ungrateful Dead (Jamie) – A dead guy wanted Jamie to investigate his and his cousin's murder, turns out the guys were zombies and she and Savannah gives them to someone named Molly.
6) Counterfeit Magic (Paige x Lucas) – Underground fight club for supernatural but one of the brothers is getting blackmailed. A demon tricks Paige to make her think that Lucas is cheating on her, but it turns out it was someone that was part of the Cabal that wants to take Lucas's place, but that didn't work at all.
So all in all, this is a really good anthology but some I just didn't care to remember, which is a shame really.
This anthology was probably my favourite. First off, we get to see Kristoff and Eve doing their thing in the ghost world. I feel like this is the first time in a long time that we have gotten that opportunity.
Also I love the after "13" story with Paige and Lucas. I feel as though we never really caught up with them as everything fell back together. I honestly loved the story too. It was a little bit of a surprise with the way that Armstrong usually writes, which made it even better.
We get to catch up will all of our favourite couples. I loved that we caught up with Jamie and Jeremy as well as Hope and Karl. However, through the other anthologies, we get bits and pieces of their relationships. So, while I enjoyed their stories, the others were my favourite.
I can't wait to get my hands on the other anthologies.
Also I love the after "13" story with Paige and Lucas. I feel as though we never really caught up with them as everything fell back together. I honestly loved the story too. It was a little bit of a surprise with the way that Armstrong usually writes, which made it even better.
We get to catch up will all of our favourite couples. I loved that we caught up with Jamie and Jeremy as well as Hope and Karl. However, through the other anthologies, we get bits and pieces of their relationships. So, while I enjoyed their stories, the others were my favourite.
I can't wait to get my hands on the other anthologies.
Armstrong is a favorite. I love the variety of personalities and complex connections to each other. Of the stories, I think "Art and the Zen of Vampirism" is probably my pick of the novellas included. Focusing on Zoe, it deals more with the less aggressive supernaturals than the rest. Zoe's got her own kind of badass, separate from say Cassandra or Eve. Probably a decent mentor for Savannah in learning to keep powers in check.
I didn't particularly like "Counterfeit Magic," though. Featuring the Cortez-Winterbourne crew, there wasn't as much...well, magic, in the writing. Felt more requiredt. Especially hard since "Zen" was right before it. And the reason why the book didn't get 5 stars. Savannah's also found in "The Ungrateful Dead" featuring Jaime. Another lackluster attempt. I normally like the necromancer but this one felt flat until the last 4-5 pages of the story. Rushed and focused on the celebrity aspect to Jaime. She needs a bit more work.
I wanted to like "Angelic," as an Eve Dallas fan, but again. It didn't gel in this anthology. I think if it had been placed after "Life After Theft," it may have played better. "Theft" features Karl and Hope, life after the end of Thirteen. Eve and Karl share enough characteristics that the stories would have balanced just right. While he's working on his reputation, she's working on hers. The betrayal for Eve was huge...but it didn't feel like it. Something, that spark, was missing. Hope, on the other hand, had a much better progression. I think "Angelic" and "Dead" were probably tied together, given the stories, but it just felt wrongly placed anyway.
I'm torn on "Forbidden." I love the story, the idea of a 'Mutt' looking for more, but the storyline was really, really hard to follow at the end. Not the writing, so much as the suspension of disbelief. Watching Clayton transition from growling bodyguard to a sightly lesser version was nice. And Elena's worry of kids, of all stripes, is pretty revealing. Even as she feels like she's losing something to become Alpha. The standouts were Morgan Walsh, a werewolf that ran between the Alaska killers, and Westwood police Jessica Dales. Both were good foils for Elena and Clayton. It worked in it's own way. More of the investigation stories wouldn't be remiss.
I think it's time to work in characters, like Jessica, and integrate characters like Zoe into the stories. Build up the world, showcase why the original women were in charge to start with.
I didn't particularly like "Counterfeit Magic," though. Featuring the Cortez-Winterbourne crew, there wasn't as much...well, magic, in the writing. Felt more requiredt. Especially hard since "Zen" was right before it. And the reason why the book didn't get 5 stars. Savannah's also found in "The Ungrateful Dead" featuring Jaime. Another lackluster attempt. I normally like the necromancer but this one felt flat until the last 4-5 pages of the story. Rushed and focused on the celebrity aspect to Jaime. She needs a bit more work.
I wanted to like "Angelic," as an Eve Dallas fan, but again. It didn't gel in this anthology. I think if it had been placed after "Life After Theft," it may have played better. "Theft" features Karl and Hope, life after the end of Thirteen. Eve and Karl share enough characteristics that the stories would have balanced just right. While he's working on his reputation, she's working on hers. The betrayal for Eve was huge...but it didn't feel like it. Something, that spark, was missing. Hope, on the other hand, had a much better progression. I think "Angelic" and "Dead" were probably tied together, given the stories, but it just felt wrongly placed anyway.
I'm torn on "Forbidden." I love the story, the idea of a 'Mutt' looking for more, but the storyline was really, really hard to follow at the end. Not the writing, so much as the suspension of disbelief. Watching Clayton transition from growling bodyguard to a sightly lesser version was nice. And Elena's worry of kids, of all stripes, is pretty revealing. Even as she feels like she's losing something to become Alpha. The standouts were Morgan Walsh, a werewolf that ran between the Alaska killers, and Westwood police Jessica Dales. Both were good foils for Elena and Clayton. It worked in it's own way. More of the investigation stories wouldn't be remiss.
I think it's time to work in characters, like Jessica, and integrate characters like Zoe into the stories. Build up the world, showcase why the original women were in charge to start with.
Fabulous! A great set of short stories by Kelley Armstrong. I love love love the Women of the Otherworld series, and I love every chance to get back to reading about them. The whole world is absolutely amazing, the characters are fantastic, and there is always a compelling story to be read. I was a vit disappointed with how abruptly Jamie's story ended. However, the suspense in Paige's more than made up for it and had my heart racing for her and Lucas. As I said, a great collection for any fan.
Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite authors. These anthologies are a nice way to revisit the otherworld series