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shdnx 's review for:
Frostbitten
by Kelley Armstrong
[Spoiler-free]
Frostbitten is easily one of the best werewolf books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. It follows in the footsteps of [b:Bitten|11918|Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, #1)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1306101770s/11918.jpg|2606334], and it's just as perfect: I thought about it a lot, and I can't find anything wrong with the book. This is a rare phenomenon, let's face it, so Kelley Armstrong's novel deserves each and every bit of those 5 stars.
The story
It's surprisingly complex for a book of this genre. Nowadays urban fantasy novels (let alone werewolf-themed novels) rarely employ anything more than a dead simple, single-threaded plot, usually stuffed with all conceivable combinations of angst and love. In contrast, Frostbitten manages to hit the golden middle-path: it's not as complex as to give me a headache trying to keep track of all the threads and characters (I'm looking at you, A Song of Fire and Ice), but I also never lost my interest, not even for a moment.
We jump straight into the action with the very first page, going through the required prologue without me even noticing it. Soon, the story begins to complicate, twist, while remaining ever-exciting and providing entertainment on all levels a book possibly can: action, mystery, romance, character development, new discoveries - you name it, Frostbitten features it.
This book isn't all action. A significant part of it is in Elena's head, allowing the reader to know her thoughts as well as his own, and understand her feelings even if the reader is male, and half of Elena's age. This in itself, is a great achievement.
The novel also features some romantic scenes between Clay and Elena, and even as I'm usually quick to skip the pages of all-devouring passion (yes, NightShade trilogy, you know what I mean), I found that I had thoroughly enjoyed every single word of it. It's all very natural and simply beautiful.
I also want to mention the final chapter of the book, titled 'Pack'. It has no action, no romance, just shows The Pack playing together, old and young. I adored it. It was so beautiful that it made my heart ache. Just for the record, that's no easy feat. I could simply lay down and read about the pack life all day and all night, for the rest of my life.
Characters
A lot of new, secondary characters are introduced in this installment of the series. While they are obviously not nearly as detailed and complex as the personalities of Elena and Clay, they were all fairly well pictured and believable, although not always likable.
The single strongest feature of the novel is the character development of Elena. She has a rough time, caught between the ghosts of the past and the expectations of the future. She is afraid, but by the end of the book she realized just how strong she is, and finally feels up to the task that is given to her, as signified by the final words of the novel.
Reading about this filled me with faith, that yes, people can overcome boundaries they previously thought impossible to reach, if you are strong enough to get up each and every time life throws you down.
Finally, some words about the relationship between Elena and Clay. They complement each other perfectly and are completely in harmony. One could think that all this perfection would ruin the book, making it boring. Somehow, it does not. It made me smile, reading about them, hoping that one day I would be able to tell that my relationship with my wife is half that good.
Summary
If you like werewolves, or just simply an urban-fantasy fan, this is your book to read. It doesn't matter if you skipped the rest of the series, so long as you have read [b:Bitten|11918|Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, #1)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1306101770s/11918.jpg|2606334] first.
I just wish that there were more books like this out there. My best compliments and warmest thanks, Kelley Armstrong.
Frostbitten is easily one of the best werewolf books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. It follows in the footsteps of [b:Bitten|11918|Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, #1)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1306101770s/11918.jpg|2606334], and it's just as perfect: I thought about it a lot, and I can't find anything wrong with the book. This is a rare phenomenon, let's face it, so Kelley Armstrong's novel deserves each and every bit of those 5 stars.
The story
It's surprisingly complex for a book of this genre. Nowadays urban fantasy novels (let alone werewolf-themed novels) rarely employ anything more than a dead simple, single-threaded plot, usually stuffed with all conceivable combinations of angst and love. In contrast, Frostbitten manages to hit the golden middle-path: it's not as complex as to give me a headache trying to keep track of all the threads and characters (I'm looking at you, A Song of Fire and Ice), but I also never lost my interest, not even for a moment.
We jump straight into the action with the very first page, going through the required prologue without me even noticing it. Soon, the story begins to complicate, twist, while remaining ever-exciting and providing entertainment on all levels a book possibly can: action, mystery, romance, character development, new discoveries - you name it, Frostbitten features it.
This book isn't all action. A significant part of it is in Elena's head, allowing the reader to know her thoughts as well as his own, and understand her feelings even if the reader is male, and half of Elena's age. This in itself, is a great achievement.
The novel also features some romantic scenes between Clay and Elena, and even as I'm usually quick to skip the pages of all-devouring passion (yes, NightShade trilogy, you know what I mean), I found that I had thoroughly enjoyed every single word of it. It's all very natural and simply beautiful.
I also want to mention the final chapter of the book, titled 'Pack'. It has no action, no romance, just shows The Pack playing together, old and young. I adored it. It was so beautiful that it made my heart ache. Just for the record, that's no easy feat. I could simply lay down and read about the pack life all day and all night, for the rest of my life.
Characters
A lot of new, secondary characters are introduced in this installment of the series. While they are obviously not nearly as detailed and complex as the personalities of Elena and Clay, they were all fairly well pictured and believable, although not always likable.
The single strongest feature of the novel is the character development of Elena. She has a rough time, caught between the ghosts of the past and the expectations of the future. She is afraid, but by the end of the book she realized just how strong she is, and finally feels up to the task that is given to her, as signified by the final words of the novel.
Reading about this filled me with faith, that yes, people can overcome boundaries they previously thought impossible to reach, if you are strong enough to get up each and every time life throws you down.
Finally, some words about the relationship between Elena and Clay. They complement each other perfectly and are completely in harmony. One could think that all this perfection would ruin the book, making it boring. Somehow, it does not. It made me smile, reading about them, hoping that one day I would be able to tell that my relationship with my wife is half that good.
Summary
If you like werewolves, or just simply an urban-fantasy fan, this is your book to read. It doesn't matter if you skipped the rest of the series, so long as you have read [b:Bitten|11918|Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, #1)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1306101770s/11918.jpg|2606334] first.
I just wish that there were more books like this out there. My best compliments and warmest thanks, Kelley Armstrong.