Book Review: Loki's Wolves

In Viking times, Norse myths predicted the end of the world, an event called Ragnarök, that only the gods can stop. When this apocalypse happens, the gods must battle the monsters--wolves the size of the sun, serpents that span the seabeds, all bent on destroying the world.

The gods died a long time ago.

Matt Thorsen knows every Norse myth, saga, and god as if it was family history--because it is family history. Most people in the modern-day town of Blackwell, South Dakota, in fact, are direct descendants of either Thor or Loki, including Matt's classmates Fen and Laurie Brekke.

However, knowing the legends and completely believing them are two different things. When the rune readers reveal that Ragnarok is coming and kids--led by Matt--will stand in for the gods in the final battle, he can hardly believe it. Matt, Laurie, and Fen's lives will never be the same as they race to put together an unstoppable team to prevent the end of the world.

When I heard that Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr were co-writing a novel, I didn't even care what the novel was about. They've long been my favorite authors, so I knew whatever they came up with would be brilliant. And... I was right! Loki's Wolves is the first book in their middle grade series, The Blackwell Pages. It follows Matt (a descendant of Thor) and Fen and Laurie (descendants of Loki) as they try to save the world.

Matt finds out early on that Ragnarök is upon them. The end of the world. And it's up to Matt, a middle schooler, to save everyone. If he can't stop Ragnarök, most everyone on Earth will die and an ice age will be upon them. When he finds out that his family might not want to stop the end of the world, he takes off to find the other descendants of the Norse gods to help him.

I really enjoyed this book. One of the best things about reading a book by Melissa Marr based in folklore or mythology is that I know it was done right. Melissa knows her stuff when it comes to lore, and I appreciate that. I love folklore and mythology, and nothing bugs me more than when it's screwed up.

Both Melissa and Kelley are amazing storytellers, and together they've created a fun, fast-paced book. It might be shelved in Middle Grade, but it can definitely be enjoyed by all ages. Pick this one up. You won't regret it.

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Book Review: Thirteen

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong delivers the novel her fans have been clamoring for: The epic finale of the Otherworld series.

It’s been more than ten years, a dozen installments, and hundreds of thousands of copies since Kelley Armstrong introduced readers to the all-too-real denizens of the Otherworld: witches, werewolves, necromancers, vampires, and half-demons, among others. And it’s all been leading to Thirteen, the final installment, the novel that brings all of these stories to a stunning conclusion.

A war is brewing—the first battle has been waged and Savannah Levine is left standing, albeit battered and bruised. She has rescued her half brother from supernatural medical testing, but he’s fighting to stay alive. The Supernatural Liberation Movement took him hostage, and they have a maniacal plan to expose the supernatural world to the unknowing.

Savannah has called upon her inner energy to summon spells with frightening strength, a strength she never knew she had, as she fights to keep her world from shattering. But it’s more than a matter of supernaturals against one another—both heaven and hell have entered the war; hellhounds, genetically modified werewolves, and all forces of good and evil have joined the fray.

Uniting Savannah with Adam, Paige, Lucas, Jaime, Hope, and other lost-but-notforgotten characters in one epic battle, Thirteen is a grand, crowd-pleasing closer for Armstrong’s legions of fans.

Oh... mai... goddess... I'm going to apologize upfront for my fangirly review of Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong. She is a writing goddess. I've loved everything I've read of hers, and this last book is no different. I stayed up until after midnight, waiting for it to download on my Kindle. And I read for two hours, before sleeping until 9 and waking up to finish it. It was read, more or less, in one sitting.

Thirteen picks up right where Spell Bound left off, with Savannah drenched, Jeremy and Adam looking like they'd been playing in gravel, and Jaime... all neat and put-together. Jaime and Savannah run off in search of clothing, so Jeremy, Adam, and Bryce can come out of hiding. You don't want to be seen walking around near an explosion, looking like you were involved. But Jaime and Savannah are the two characters in this series that are most likely to get into trouble. They found trouble alright. Savannah is arrested, and to keep the team together, Jaime mock attacks one of the officers, and is carted off with her.

Things are not looking up for these two heroines when they're thrown in jail, without being booked, and find they aren't the only supernaturals at this police station. Something is definitely up.

I'm beyond sad that this is the final book in the series. I'm able to go on only because Kelley has promised us anthologies, novellas, short stories, and more novels (possibly... at one point in the future). I cried when I closed the book. Not because the ending is sad. But because it's over!!!!!! *re-read that last part very dramatically* I've read many series that ended with a weak book. And I've read many series that went way past where it should have ended. But I think Kelley did an amazing job wrapping this series up while leaving enough loose ends.

Things I personally loved about this book... While it was told from Savannah's point of view, Jaime, Eve, Elena, Paige, and Hope all had a chapter written from their point of view in third person. There was a lot of Jaime. And Jaime is my favorite character from this series. It brought together almost everyone from the entire series. Things I would've liked to see... More Paige. More Cassandra and Aaron. But all-in-all... one of the best books of the series.

And I can honestly say, I can't wait for the next book. Kelley has a novella (which I've pre-ordered from Subterranean Press) coming out this December. There is a reason to go on!

The Women of the Otherworld has been a favorite series of mine since there were only two books... which has been for about a decade. It breaks my heart that the series is done, but it's not completely over. Kelley has said there will be more novellas (frex, the one coming out this December) and short stories. If you haven't read these books yet, you're missing out:
1. Bitten
2. Stolen
3. Dime Store Magic
4. Industrial Magic
5. Haunted
6. Broken
7. No Humans Involved
8. Personal Demon
9. Living with the Dead
10. Frostbitten
11. Waking the Witch
12. Spellbound
13. Thirteen

Currently, there are two anthology collections:
Men of the Otherworld
Tales of the Otherworld

And don't forget to check out these novellas from Subterranean Press:
Angelic (available only as an ebook at this time)
Counterfeit Magic
Hidden
Forbidden (coming this winter)
Becoming (graphic novel)

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Cover Love: The Rising

Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by the St. Clouds and a rival Cabal, they’re quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, it’s not like they can just go to the authorities for help.

All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they’re so valuable, and why their supernatural powers are getting out of control.

But Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her. And now, like it or not, she’ll have to face down some demons from her past if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because Maya can’t keep running forever.

Cover Reveal! Kelley Armstrong just released the cover for the last book in her Darkness Rising trilogy. I think it's my favorite of the three. This is one of my most anticipated books for 2013. It's too far away! Who else is excited?

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Book Review: The Calling

Maya Delaney’s paw-print birthmark is the sign of what she truly is—a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly anyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.

Now, Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they’re kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home. Plentiful action and romance in this second installment in the Darkness Rising series will keep readers enthralled to the very last page!

I love everything I've ever read by Kelley Armstrong, and The Calling is no different. I will honestly be surprised if I ever read anything of hers that I don't love. This one picked up right where The Gathering left off. Maya, Daniel, Hayley, Nicole, Sam, and Corey are on a helicopter being taken away from their home town as flames engulf the area. We know some of them are supernaturals, and our main character knows there's a reason the six of them are on this chopper. And the reason isn't good. None of the adults can be trusted.

They fight to escape the bad guys and find the truth about who they are. But who are the bad guys? The St. Clouds? The Nasts? They can't even trust some of their parents. Like Kelley's other YA books, and The Women of the Otherworld series (adult books set in the same world), this story is a non-stop ride, full of action and adventure, mystery and suspense. We're reading through Maya's eyes, so like this skinwalker, we aren't sure who to trust or where to turn next. The twists and turns just keep coming. There are still many questions left unanswered and new problems have arisen.

I'm very excited to read The Rising, the conclusion to the Darkness Rising trilogy. And I'm even more excited to see Maya and Chloe's groups meet up. If you haven't read anything by Kelley Armstrong, you are seriously missing out. In addition to The Darkest Power and the Darkness Rising trilogies, she has short stories in The Eternal Kiss, Kisses From Hell, and Enthralled. Trust me, you won't regret it.

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Book Review: Hidden

Hiking through the snow, holiday baking and playing board games by the fire – what’s not to love about an old-fashioned family Christmas?

Werewolves Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers want to give their four-year-old twins, Kate and Logan, something their parents never had: a nice, normal holiday. No Pack responsibilities, no homicidal half-demons or power-hungry sorcerers to deal with – just the four of them, alone, at a chalet outside Ontario’s Algonquin Park.

Then a strange werewolf shows up at their door…while the town is buzzing about a young man, back from college, found half-eaten in the woods. And there’s the missing little girl …

With all the signs pointing to a rogue mutt with a taste for human flesh, Elena and Clay have no choice but to investigate. But are they the hunters – or the hunted?

I am a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong. I jump all over everything she writes, so forgive me if this review is a bit fangirly. Hiddenis a novella, the third that Kelley has written which was published through Subterranean Press. The picture above is the cover for the trade edition, but being the fan that I am, I have the limited edition, the cover to your right.

Despite me being a huge fan of Kelley's and the Otherworld, I am not a huge fan of Elena Michaels Danvers. And I say that because she was Kelley's first character and typically the most popular. Elena has narrated Bitten, Stolen, Broken, and Frostbitten in the past. And Hidden has been my favorite story revolving around the pack.

Elena and Clay have taken their kids on a Christmas vacation, and will spend Christmas, for the first time, as just the four of them. I love the twins. Kate and Logan are about four or five, but they act much older. They are much smarter than the average preschooler. Too smart for their own good. They're very inquisitive.

I think the twins may have been the biggest reason Hidden is my favorite Elena narrative. They make the entire story much more fun, and they bring out sides of the pack members we've not seen before. We've seen Clay, Elena, and Nick in action before, but now they're Dad, Mom, and Uncle Nick. Another thing I loved about this novel is Reese. He was introduced in Frostbitten and has a short story called "Chivalrous", and I absolutely adore him. So I was glad to see him included so much here.

If you haven't read the series, this novella may not be for you. It's definitely geared towards fans. And if you haven't read the book, you won't have near enough back story. But that's no problem, as this series is amazing. Thirteen, the thirteenth and final novel in the Women of the Otherworld series comes out this summer, so now is the perfect time to pick up Bitten and cruise right on through this amazing series.

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Book Review: The Awakening

You don't have to be alive to be awakened.

Chloe Saunders is a living science experiment—not only can she see ghosts, but she was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. She's a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control, which means she can raise the dead without even trying. Now Chloe's running for her life with three of her supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and they have to find someone who can help them before the Edison Group catches them.

Or die trying.

Chloe and her friends escaped from Lyle house, but they didn’t get far. The Awakening picks up right where The Summoning ends. Chloe is locked in a cell, separate from her friends. She knows one of them is dead, but what about the other four? Have they been captured? Are they dead too?

In this second installment of The Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong, Chloe and her friends learn even more about the experiments that were done on them. They continue trying to evade The Edison Group and capture. Things heat up between Chloe and Derek, while Tori and Simon deal with being of rival races. One of the wonderful things about this series is that even while all of the characters are supernatural, they deal with the same things teens do in our world: relationships, speech difficulties, diabetes, etc... The characters are interesting and fun and Kelley's storytelling is amazing.

Being the middle book in a trilogy, it’s a bit slower than The Summoning, but leaves you excited for The Reckoning. Be sure to check out all three!

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Book Review: The Summoning

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost—and the ghost saw me.

Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House . . . before its skeletons come back to haunt me.

The Summoning marks Kelley Armstrong’s debut in Young Adult fiction. The Darkest Powers trilogy is set in the same world as her famous adult series The Women of the Otherworld. And if you’ve read those, then you can guess which kind of supernatural our main character is.

That’s right… Chloe Saunders is a necromancer. She can see and talk to ghosts, which means – unfortunately – they can see and talk to her as well. One of the interesting things about necromancers in this world is that it never (except in 1 family) passes down the line to each child. So when she says she can see ghosts her father doesn’t know what to do. She is sent to Lyle House, a home for troubled teens. AKA teens who are just coming into their supernatural powers.

If you love Kelley Armstrong’s adult series and/or love YA paranormal, definitely check out this series.

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Book Review: Frostbitten

Meet the smart, sexy — supernatural — women of the otherworld.

For Elena Michaels, being the world’s only female werewolf has its advantages, such as having her pick of the Otherworld’s most desirable males. And she couldn’t have picked a more dangerously sexy and undyingly loyal mate than Clayton Danvers. But now their bond will be put to the ultimate test. A werewolf more wolf than human and more unnatural than supernatural—a creature whose origins spring from ancient legend—is hunting human prey, and Elena and Clayton must track the predator deep into Alaska’s frozen wilderness.

But the personal stakes are even higher. Either Clayton or Elena has been chosen to become the new Pack leader, and every wolf knows that there can be only one Alpha. The couple have always been equals in everything. Now, when their survival depends more than ever on perfect teamwork, will instinct allow one of them to lead and the other to follow?

Elena Michaels returns to narrate book ten of the Women of the Otherworld series, Frostbitten. It begins as she chases a mutt, Reese Williams, a werewolf from Australia. She and Clay follow him to Alaska. Naturally, he’s afraid they want to kill him. When in fact they want to protect him.

Also in Alaska… wolf killings. More specifically… werewolf killings. Nick, Antonio, and Jeremy all make their way to Alaska, so the pack can work together to put a stop to the killings. But what they find there aren’t just werewolves, but something similar. Is it a new type of supernatural? Or a supernatural that predates werewolves, who’ve been hiding all this time? The Otherworld continues to grow and expand, adding new characters and races.

While I enjoyed this installment more than Hope’s stories, it was far from my favorite. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of Elena or Clay. Both are considered favorites to many of Kelley’s fans. But, regardless, the book was written by Kelley Armstrong, and that means wonderful writing, interesting, fast-paced storytelling, definitely not to be missed.

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