Scan barcode
garnetofeden's review against another edition
4.0
Another collection of short stories from the Otherworld universe. I definitely liked this set more than Men of the Otherworld because it had the story I had missed in that book: how Clay met and fell in love with Elena. (Although I definitely loved getting the back story on Kristof and Eve as well.)
Rebirth - explored the idea of hereditary vampires, which was mentioned but doesn't really get addressed in the main Otherworld series. Although a Jewish mythology connection is briefly hinted at, the story doesn't go into a whole lot of detail. The decision to have the criminal be a grave robber was interesting. Grave robbing, while understandably upsetting for families, played a critical role in the advancement of medical science. It's not really clear what made Aaron give up on the idea of just letting himself die, but I suppose he must have eventually gotten used to the idea of taking a life once a year.
Bewitched - I really loved the story of Eve and Kristof. I think Sean's baseball incident was mentioned in one of the latest Otherworld books.
Birthright - Logan really had too short a tenure in the Otherworld series, so it was cool to hear more about him.
Beginnings - Loved, loved, loved hearing Clayton and Elena's back story.
Expectations - Cool little story about Lucas Cortez prior to meeting Paige. I can't remember if there was ever any indication he had met Eve Levine in the earlier Otherworld books though.
Ghosts - A teeny little story about Jeremy that took place during Bitten, I think. Small tribute to his kitsune/kogitsune heritage.
Wedding Bell Hell - Fun little story about Lucas's and Paige's wedding.
The Case of El Chupacabra - I was really excited to get parts of the story from Sean's perspective. I hope in the future we'll hear more about Sean, Bryce, and Savannah. I can't remember if there was any indication of Josef knowing about Sean being gay in Thirteen, so I'm going to have to look into that.
Rating reviewed 1/20/2023.
Rebirth - explored the idea of hereditary vampires, which was mentioned but doesn't really get addressed in the main Otherworld series. Although a Jewish mythology connection is briefly hinted at, the story doesn't go into a whole lot of detail. The decision to have the criminal be a grave robber was interesting. Grave robbing, while understandably upsetting for families, played a critical role in the advancement of medical science. It's not really clear what made Aaron give up on the idea of just letting himself die, but I suppose he must have eventually gotten used to the idea of taking a life once a year.
Bewitched - I really loved the story of Eve and Kristof. I think Sean's baseball incident was mentioned in one of the latest Otherworld books.
Birthright - Logan really had too short a tenure in the Otherworld series, so it was cool to hear more about him.
Beginnings - Loved, loved, loved hearing Clayton and Elena's back story.
Expectations - Cool little story about Lucas Cortez prior to meeting Paige. I can't remember if there was ever any indication he had met Eve Levine in the earlier Otherworld books though.
Ghosts - A teeny little story about Jeremy that took place during Bitten, I think. Small tribute to his kitsune/kogitsune heritage.
Wedding Bell Hell - Fun little story about Lucas's and Paige's wedding.
The Case of El Chupacabra - I was really excited to get parts of the story from Sean's perspective. I hope in the future we'll hear more about Sean, Bryce, and Savannah. I can't remember if there was any indication of Josef knowing about Sean being gay in Thirteen, so I'm going to have to look into that.
Spoiler
"Gotham is corrupt, son, and you're the only one who can save it." - Did Benicio make a bit of a Batman reference to Lucas?Rating reviewed 1/20/2023.
penandpencil's review against another edition
2.0
As I understand it, these stories were initially given out as free snippets to fans, which is wonderful, but that is also evident in the writing. These stories seem to skim the surface of the lives of these characters.
ellencamino's review against another edition
4.0
I'm SO glad these were properlly published, i'm not a fan of reading books online (it hurts my eyes after a while, and i like physically turning the page :P) and it was generous of Kelley to donate all profits to charity.
The stories, though short, fully immersed me. I was drawn into the Otherworld all over again - which is totally fine by me, i love it there! I have to say though being an Elena and Clay fan through and through Beginnings was my favourite story. It spans from just before Elena and Clay first met to the moment Clay infects her. It was amazing, they all were, Kelley is a very talanted writer.
The stories, though short, fully immersed me. I was drawn into the Otherworld all over again - which is totally fine by me, i love it there! I have to say though being an Elena and Clay fan through and through Beginnings was my favourite story. It spans from just before Elena and Clay first met to the moment Clay infects her. It was amazing, they all were, Kelley is a very talanted writer.
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
How I love the Otherworld series. Ever since I read DIMESTORE MAGIC, I was enamored. This is a collection of in-betweens of books in the series, filling in gaps. How Elena and Clay met is the longest tale and probably my favorite. They are my favorite couple.
The stories travel to the past as much as in current time. Cassandra meets Aaron, Paige and Lucas get married, Eve and Kristof hit it off.
An excellent collection and I highly recommend it as well as all of the other books in the series. And anything Kelley Armstrong writes...
The stories travel to the past as much as in current time. Cassandra meets Aaron, Paige and Lucas get married, Eve and Kristof hit it off.
An excellent collection and I highly recommend it as well as all of the other books in the series. And anything Kelley Armstrong writes...
thero159's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
alisonb's review against another edition
4.0
Have yet to read Armstrong's adult novels, and I was extremely ignorant of the characters with whom she was expounding upon. Yet, I enjoyed this collection immensely and look forward to getting to know her characters better in their fully developed stories.
hemloc's review against another edition
4.0
Eight reasons to read Tales of the Otherworld:
1) The anthology opens with the story of Aaron's death and rebirth. He's a very minor character in the main series, but I always enjoyed when he showed up. Getting a short story from his POV was an unexpected treat.
2) The next story is about how Eve met Kristof and their relationship. I liked seeing Eve alive and at the beginning of her career. As much as I love the relationship, the romance elements annoyed me a little because they took the focus away from Eve making a nuisance of herself in the world of dark magic.
3) Logan's story is the shortest of the lot but is interesting because it's a whole new view of the Pack and life as a werewolf.
4) Beginnings shows Clay and Elena meeting and falling in love. It gives a great look at their relationship but also their personalities.
5) It always surprises me how much I love Lucas's POVs.
6) Ghosts is gorgeous and haunting. If I didn't already love Jeremy, I would after reading this story.
7) Wedding Bell Hell is funny and adorable.
8) The final story gives us a case, more Paige/Lucas, a huge development in their relationship that will affect the future of the supernatural world
Four drawbacks to Tales of the Otherworld:
1) I'm not generally one for short stories. I like spending more time with the characters and experiencing plots that are more convoluted and life-threatening. After each story, I felt like I needed more and only felt satisfied after finishing the two longer ones.
2) I think the Eve and Kristof story would have been better had it been told from Kristof's POV because Eve's POV doesn't give any new insights into her character.
3) A lot of the stories in this series, not just the anthology, feature coffee shops, and Kelley Armstrong has one go-to description for all these different shops. It could be a USA/Canadian thing where all coffee shops look alike, but that seems too weird to be true.
4) A couple of the stories didn't add anything new to this universe or its characters, like Logan's story or even Aaron's. Although they were enjoyable reads, there wasn't enough to them to warrant having their own stories.
1) The anthology opens with the story of Aaron's death and rebirth. He's a very minor character in the main series, but I always enjoyed when he showed up. Getting a short story from his POV was an unexpected treat.
2) The next story is about how Eve met Kristof and their relationship. I liked seeing Eve alive and at the beginning of her career. As much as I love the relationship, the romance elements annoyed me a little because they took the focus away from Eve making a nuisance of herself in the world of dark magic.
3) Logan's story is the shortest of the lot but is interesting because it's a whole new view of the Pack and life as a werewolf.
4) Beginnings shows Clay and Elena meeting and falling in love. It gives a great look at their relationship but also their personalities.
5) It always surprises me how much I love Lucas's POVs.
6) Ghosts is gorgeous and haunting. If I didn't already love Jeremy, I would after reading this story.
7) Wedding Bell Hell is funny and adorable.
8) The final story gives us a case, more Paige/Lucas, a huge development in their relationship that will affect the future of the supernatural world
Four drawbacks to Tales of the Otherworld:
1) I'm not generally one for short stories. I like spending more time with the characters and experiencing plots that are more convoluted and life-threatening. After each story, I felt like I needed more and only felt satisfied after finishing the two longer ones.
2) I think the Eve and Kristof story would have been better had it been told from Kristof's POV because Eve's POV doesn't give any new insights into her character.
3) A lot of the stories in this series, not just the anthology, feature coffee shops, and Kelley Armstrong has one go-to description for all these different shops. It could be a USA/Canadian thing where all coffee shops look alike, but that seems too weird to be true.
4) A couple of the stories didn't add anything new to this universe or its characters, like Logan's story or even Aaron's. Although they were enjoyable reads, there wasn't enough to them to warrant having their own stories.
debwendler's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
travelingbookiemonster's review against another edition
5.0
Re reading this series was an amazing idea. I loved this series so much and this just cemented the fact that is my favorite for a reason.