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    Bitten: Women of the Otherworld
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    Bitten: Women of the Otherworld
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    Bitten: Women of the Otherworld
    Ebook481 pages7 hours

    Bitten: Women of the Otherworld

    By Kelley Armstrong

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    An erotically charged, addictive thriller from the future queen of suspense.

    Living in Toronto for a year, Elena is leading the normal life she has always dreamed of, including a stable job as a journalist and a nice apartment shared with her boyfriend. As the lone female werewolf in existence, only her secret midnight prowls and her occasional inhuman cravings set her apart. Just one year ago, life was very different. Adopted by the Pack when bitten, Elena had spent years struggling with her resentment at having her life stolen away. Torn between two worlds, and overwhelmed by the new passions coursing through her body, her only option for control was to deny her awakening needs and escape.

    But now the Pack has called Elena home to help them fight an alliance of renegade werewolves who are bent on exposing and annihilating the Pack. And although Elena is obliged to rejoin her "family," she vows not to be swept up in Pack life again, no matter how natural it might feel. She has made her choice. Trouble is, she's increasingly uncertain if it's the right one.

    An erotically charged thriller, Bitten will awaken the voracious appetite of every reader, as the age-old battle between man and beast, between human and inhuman forces, comes to a head in one small town and within one woman's body.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateAug 25, 2009
    ISBN9780307358783
    Unavailable
    Bitten: Women of the Otherworld
    Author

    Kelley Armstrong

    When librarians finally granted Kelley Armstrong an adult card, she made straight for the epic fantasy and horror shelves. She spent the rest of her childhood and teen years happily roaming fantastical and terrible worlds, and vowed that someday she'd write a story combining swords, sorcery, and the ravenous undead. That story began with the New York Times bestselling Sea of Shadows and continues with Empire of Night. Armstrong's first works for teens were the New York Times bestselling Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising trilogies. She lives in rural Ontario with her husband, three children, and far too many pets.

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    Reviews for Bitten

    4/5

    1,972 ratings145 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I've read this before so rereading it now. I enjoyed how Elena found herself and figures out how she already had everything she wanted and needed to stop running away
    • 3/5
      This review first appeared on A Weebish Book BlogBITTEN by Kelley Armstrong is the first book in the prolific Women of the Otherworld series. The novel has graced my bookshelves for too long, so I finally gave it a shot during the COYER July read-a-thon. Y’all! Once again I find myself annoyed I waited so damn long to read it. I had a blast learning the mechanics of Armstrong’s world and pouted to be left out of werewolf hide and seek. Unfortunately, I couldn’t rate BITTEN any higher than three stars because of frustrations with our heroine.Determined to deny her wolf, Elena Micheals leaves her home at Stonehaven behind when she moves to Toronto to live free from the Pack. For a while, she succeeds. She has a wonderful boyfriend, a close relationship with his family, and a fulfilling job as a newspaper reporter. When Elena receives a call from her Alpha, her life in Toronto forced aside as she rushes home. She puts her misgivings about her Pack, past betrayals, and her apprehension of dealing with Clay on the back-burner to deal with a danger threatening werewolves and humans alike.As previously stated, my rating would have been much higher had I less complaints with Elena. Elena is a heroine that would rather deny who she is than to come to grips with the person she “became” when she was bit lives in denial for the majority of the book. I don’t hate Elena’s character, I just became increasingly frustrated when she continued to make things more complicated because she can’t communicate a feeling to save her life. Thankfully, she does grow to acknowledge these faults and experience some character growth. However, I had another issue with her: her infidelity. Cheating is a big no-no for me. Rarely can I stomach to finish a book when I come across it, so it stands to reason the author must be talented if she can keep me wanting to read more from the series!Clayton Danvers was bitten as a child. He was rescued from the streets of Louisiana and adopted by the Pack Alpha as a child. He is the most psychopathic ferocious wolf in the Pack and completely committed to Elena, even though she wants nothing to do with him. His childhood spent more wolf than human makes it almost impossible for him to resist his instinct—which tends to get him in hot water in the human world. He is just as flawed as Elena, but he’s upfront and honest it. He tries to overcome his weaknesses. I connected with Clay more than I did Elena.The secondary characters mostly consist of the Pack members Elena grew up with. I really enjoyed her furry family, especially Nick, Clay’s BFF/lackey. I have no idea how she can resist them for so long! They were so adorable, I cannot wait to learn more about them as the series continues.While I had complaints about the characters, I found the world building incredibly well written. Armstrong appears to miss nothing with her attention to detail. I was pleasantly surprised the story’s first-person, present-tense narrative didn’t put me off. BITTEN was a novel where the reader felt as if they were part of the story too—except of course when said reader can’t play hide and seek with everyone. *pouts*Elena’s still not my favorite heroine, but I have a feeling she will continue to grow on me as the Women of the Otherworld series moves on. I enjoyed BITTEN, and plan to pick up STOLEN soon. I am impatient to return to this wonderful furry world!
    • 2/5
      The beginning was so promising — the tone, the atmosphere — but it eventually lost that and I subsequently lost interest about halfway through.
    • 4/5
      This was definitely not your mothers 'werewolf' story. LOL. The werewolves in this story do not sit around and pine, brood or whine. They are true to their nature of what you might expect from the werewolf mythology. They will kill to protect the secret of their existence or to protect the pack. Very much realistic in the sense of what one would expect of werewolves.

      I liked Elena as a protagonist, she was a strong minded, and kick ass heroine. She was definitely flawed, as a matter of fact this story was packed with flawed and real characters. Elena didn't sit around and whine, okay maybe she did sometimes, but she will acknowledge it was on purpose most of the time to get her way. Or to use as a distraction to secretly plan what trouble she can find herself into next. Elena was definitely an entertaining character. She can run with the boys or should I say wolves, just as well as any other fella.

      Had my doubts at the beginning if I was going to be drawn in by this story but that thought was nixed pretty quickly. I like how the back story for all the characters were laid out through Elena's thoughts. It will really help to better understand the werewolves throughout the series. At first I thought, "TMI" but then it gave me insight into the choices of Clay and Jeremy especially. Bitten was raw, and compelling, with strong character building and werewolf realness.
    • 5/5
      It took me a long time to get to the end of this book because there was so much going on the past week. This was an awesome book. It's part romantic, part kick ass chick and kick ass well period. This book has so many different things happen, that it just really made a very enjoyable reading experience. I will most definitely be reading the rest of the books in this series. I really enjoy Kelley Armstrong's writing. It just flows really great together, from event to event. I just REALLY did love it.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book well written. I loved Elena and how she was dealing with being a werewolf. I would recommend it
    • 4/5
      I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. Elena was such a riveting character. It's rare that I find a book where I am so drawn in to their personality, that I feel the same emotions as that character. She was strong, witty, and loyal. Throughout the story, she struggled with her dual desires: to live a human life and to fully embrace her werewolf life. I liked her interactions with the others, especially Clay. He was driven to keep her with the Pack, but seemed to learn from his previous mistakes by taking a different approach with her. There were many suspenseful moments as well that was surprisingly pleasant. The outcome to her wants and the danger that the Pack faced was believable and realistic. This was a nice start to this series.
    • 4/5
      I admit that I read this one because I began watching the television show. I hadn't heard of the Otherworld series before and I keep my werewolf, vampire and paranormal reads far and few between. That said, I really liked this! It was good to read in detail, Elena's story and get more about the Pack, not to mention Clay & yes, Phillip. I didn't expect Elena's relationship with Phillip to be so well drawn but it was and though I was pretty much all in on Elena & Clay, I could clearly see her love for Phillip (& that it's more than her just running away from Stonehaven & the Pack). It was very well expressed in the book and I was pleasantly surprised because I wasn't getting that as clearly from the show.

      Elena's voice is written clearly and the first POV whisked me away rather quickly into her world. Kudos to Armstrong. I will continue following the series (they're high on my TBR list) with the books about Elena but I likely will not read the other books as my paranormal interest doesn't widely span.
    • 4/5
      4really like it!!
    • 5/5
      I'll be honest; I had never heard of this book, series, or author before Syfy announced the series premier earlier this year. How I missed it before is beyond me. I was quick to pick it up though because I absolutely adore books about werewolves. And this one was no disappointment.Bitten is in many ways so much alike other werewolf stories and yet so different as well. Rare is the author who can author a female shapeshifting lead as well as Armstrong. Neither are rules and laws that govern the life and existence of werewolves typically encountered.The story is told from the POV of Elena Michaels, a beautiful, strong, independent woman with both the job and man of her dreams. The problem with this scenario? Elena is a werewolf--the only female werewolf, in fact--but she didn't want to be a werewolf. To her it was like a plague, one that meant she had to lie to the man she loved and sneak off in the middle of the night because her body refused to ignore her demands that it remain entirely human.To make matters worse, Jeremy, the Pack Alpha, starts calling, demanding she returns home. So home she goes. Cue Clay. Clay-- the man she thought she loved, the man that betrayed her, that bit her. There is no escaping the way Elena feels about him--she hated him, but she loved him.I certainly don't want to give away too much about the book, so my synopsis ends there. As for my feelings about it, well here goes.Elena, honestly, I couldn't stand her, still can't stand her in any of the other books in the series, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. I actually enjoy a lead character that tries my patience. As for Clay, I fell head over heels in love with him. Together, they compliment each other in the best way: like gasoline and fire. Explosive and destructive, yet in its wake leaves a blank slate to build something new.Some scenes were a bit slow going, but as a whole the writing and pace of the book were spot on. Even the sex scenes were well done. The spacing of those scenes were well planned-- Elena wasn't being groped on every other page and the writing was exceptional. Armstrong's descriptions, unlike many romance novels, were not cheesy or vomit-inducing, but were vivid and blush-inducing. That's the difference between good sex scenes and bad ones: good ones will make you blush or even arouse you, bad ones make you laugh out loud at the absurdity. Armstrong definitely knows how to write steamy, arousing sex.There were certainly parts of this book that annoyed me. The entire conversation between Elena and Jeremy when Clay bites her is a great example. That whole scene makes Elena seem like a ditz.Then, the bits and pieces of Elena's past that are revealed in Bitten seemed very contrived. And the end of the book frustrated me. The entire novel built up to this grand climax, then simply popped and fizzled instead of a big bang, though I suspect it was intentional as a lead in to the second novel of the series.All in all, this is one of my all time favorite novels, one that I will certainly reread again and again.
    • 4/5
      Pretty late to the party on this one, but it was certainly a fun read. I wouldn't say that urban fantasy was one of my go-to genres, but this series has the potential to change my mind. Kickass heroine, interesting and complicated relationships, drama - definitely a page turner. I'd love to see Elena have the chance to interact with a few more females in upcoming books - I get that she's the only one of her kind, but relationships with other women always round a series out for me. I'll be picking up the next installment!
    • 2/5
      A fairly effective werewolf novel. Denser narrative than Dime Store Magic.
    • 3/5
      I really liked the premise of this book. I enjoyed the independence of Elena, the main character. However, about half way through I began to think, where was the editor during this book. It was too long and felt like a movie that should have ended sooner. I feel a lot of the second half could have been eliminated and found myself skimming to finish the book. Because, despite the fact I was over some parts I still wanted to know how it ended. I wish the author and spent more time on the relationships between characters.
    • 3/5
      I must say I was severely disappointed with this novel. It had been on my TBR list for quite some time but I did start reading it because I became interested in the television series. The book was definitely not as good as the t. v. series and usually the circumstance in my opinion is the opposite. I wasn't disappointed so much with the story line, the story line was great and so were the characters. It was more the author's style of writing and how she portrayed the story. The novel could have been more fully developed and I thought that this would have been the case. Unfortunately the t.v. series was way more developed, again in my opinion. I have so many questions about this "werewolf" world that have gone unanswered. Simple questions that are usually answered by the end of the novel or I at least form the answer by my own conclusions. I am however interested in the second book, which I am under the impression is still about Elena. I will read it and I am hoping it is a bit better than this one.
    • 4/5
      This was an Audiobook that I took from the library. While my daughter didn't think much about the book, I really liked it. While it was a bit slow at the beginning, once I got over that, I was completely hooked. I enjoy stories about Werewolves but in Bitten, we're introduced into a new and unique werewolf world.Our heroine, Elena, was just a normal girl who made the mistake of falling in love with her hot, blond teacher, who had her crazy in love since they first met. But then things go terribly wrong once she's bitten by this Werewolf. She woke up and immediately realized things were wrong,terribly wrong. Jaime, who we come to find out is the Pack leader, keeps telling her she has been bitten by Clay (the teacher) and that she's now a werewolf (assuming she survives her turning). She fights Jaime, Clay and all the other members of the pack. This is the worst thing that could have happened to her and her dreams for a normal family life are shattered. She just can't control it, nor has any other women survived the change, she has been the only one so far and is suffering intolerable pain while being extremely confused trying to analyze things. She just knows she has to escape From this Jaime, who keeps telling her that to stay with him and the pack is the best thing she can do. But will she listen to him? Or will she learn the hard way Jaime was right? I loved to see Elena struggle to understand everything in this new world, her interaction with the Pack and Clay trying to make Elena understand this was the right thing for her. How can Clay get Elena's love back after what he did to her? Well you have to read it to know . Jack Murphy
    • 4/5
      Great opening. Fast-paced. Strong, imperfect female werewolf surrounded by equally strong yet flawed males. But I'm just not feeling WOWd! That's likely more to do with my urban fantasy hangover than the book's entertainment value. I mean, obviously; look at its average 4-star rating from nearly 75,000 ratings. Oh well, not sorry I took the few hours to read it, just wish I could've loved it like so many other readers.3.5 stars
    • 5/5
      Extremely well written, Bitten has got to be one of the best werewolf novels out there right now- from a female perspective at least.Told from the 1st person voice, Bitten starts off with the heroine, Elena Michaels, living in Toronto and trying to maintain a normal existence- far from her "pack". Elena has the distinction of being one of the few werewolves "created"- i.e. she was bitten and turned rather than born as one. And too, there aren't many female werewolves as the gene is inherited from male to male.When she receives a message from her pack leader she's wary. If she responds, she knows they will suck her back in and, more than anything, she desires a normal life once again. But when the boys back home don't respond to her return calls, she's concerned enough to leave her live-in boyfriend and go investigate.When arriving at the isolated pack compound, she's relieved to discover her two main concerns, the pack leader Jeremey and his number 1, Clayton, are all right. Still, she's ready to get the heck out of dodge even though it's the last thing these two men want or will allow:Jeremy, for one, because he's got a problem that he thinks only Elena can help with. A mutt is on the loose- mutt being a rogue werewolf belonging to no pack- and he's apparently killing close to their home turf. Since they have been living peaceably with their neighbors for years and have been left relatively alone, this is the last thing they need. Elena's old job for the pack was keeping tabs on the mutts which is why she is needed so desperately by the pack leader.Clay has his own selfish motives for wanting Elena to stay- she's his mate and he's tired of her running from it- even though she has a big VALID reason for wanting no part of him. How it all pans out, as well as what happens when Clay and Elena return to Toronto, made the book even more exciting as far as I'm concerned!Armstrong has obviously taken a lot of time in research to put in as much authenticity to the world of werewolves she's created. At the heart of these characters is their animal nature and most of the time they are unapologetic about it- I think that's cool. Because of this, the novel comes off fresh while still retaining a dark, sexy edge.Good read if you like the paranormal romance/urban fantasy genre!
    • 3/5
      Maybe its because I've been on a PNR kick lately, but this one really didn't resonate with me. The main character, Elena, makes a lot of dumb mistakes because she can't swallow her pride for thirty seconds and listen to anyone else and the love interest is even worse. I also had questions about the number of werewolves that exist in this society (supposed to be 35) given how many of them seem to die regularly. How does this society even exist after a few years?!
    • 4/5
      As the first book in a series, it's a fairly strong start. Elena is mostly relatable, though her relationship with Clay is beyond my understanding. I wish that the Pack's relationships were more fleshed out, especially with Peter and Logan. Their fates would have been more impactful if the reader spent more time with them. (2022)
    • 3/5
      Good first book in a series. Were-wolfy. Delicious.
    • 4/5
      Bitten
      4 Stars

      Similar to numerous UF and PNR series, the world building in Bitten revolves around werewolves. However, Armstrong's take on werewolf mythology is quite original in the form of the hereditary Vs. Mutt dichotomy and the gene passing through the male line. Nevertheless, it is difficult to come to terms with the wolves' callous attitude toward killing humans, and the fact that the fathers take the babies from their mothers is completely unrealistic. Moreover, the pack does not come across as particularly effective in protecting themselves and others. This may be due to an unfair comparison with other werewolf series like Mercy Thompson and Chicagoland Vampires in which the packs are larger and more of a force to be reckoned with.

      The basic plot of a group of renegade werewolves attempting to undermine the pack's position by murdering local girls is strong but not as developed as it could have been. In fact, it ultimately fizzles out and the story moves in a completely different direction toward the end.

      The characters are the most compelling aspect of the book. Elena is a problematic heroine. One the one hand, she is strong, feisty and resilient, and her attempts to assert her independence by living a "normal" life in the human world are admirable. Nevertheless, it is all too obvious that she is in denial about who she really is and has subsumed her true self beneath a congenial facade.

      On the other hand, her behavior with regard to the men in her life is morally questionable. The love triangle setup is tedious and her dishonesty with Philip regarding who she is and her relationship with Clay makes her less sympathetic and likable. Moreover, her resentment toward Clay, while understandable given that his bite turned her into a werewolf quickly becomes irritating, especially considering that she is constantly running hot/cold when it comes to him.

      Elena's love interest, Clay, is an amalgamation of opposites as his impulsiveness and instincts are at war with his humanity, and he ostensibly hides a genius IQ behind a seemingly slow and simple southern facade. His complexity makes him a difficult character to like but once the extent of his love for Elena becomes apparent it becomes virtually impossible not to swoon all over him.

      Jeremy, the pack alpha, is a prime example of still waters running deep and the family dynamic established by the other pack members is very endearing. The villains are a mixed bag from Daniel, the mastermind, bent on revenge and a megalomaniac desire to establish his own pack with its own rules to Karl, a sort of gentleman like thief, who is almost honorable despite his questionable allegiances.

      Despite its problems, Bitten is a well-written and action packed read and it will be interesting to see what happens next.
    • 4/5
      Blurb from AmazonWith rights already sold in seven countries, Bitten is a daring literary suspense novel that is causing an international sensation. Ever since her parents were killed in a car accident when she was five, Elena Michaels has longed for a normal family life. Smart, beautiful, and engaged to be married, Elena hopes to fulfill that dream when disaster strikes. Not only has her fiancé lied about his secret life as a werewolf, but he's made her one, too. She has no choice but to join him at Stonehaven, the upstate New York home of an elite pack of werewolves.In an attempt to break away, she moves to Toronto to lead a normal life. Working as a journalist, Elena now lives with her new architect boyfriend, works out in the basement gym of their high-rise apartment, lunches with girlfriends from the office, and—once a week, at four in the morning—runs naked and furred through a downtown Toronto ravine, ripping out the throats of her animal prey. But when a band of outlaw werewolves threatens the Stonehaven pack, Elena's feral instincts drive her back there to join the defense. What follows is a war for territory, for pride, and ultimately for Elena herself.My ReviewWhen I first started this book I wasn't sure I was going to like. The first few chapters are actually very boring. Although I debated putting it aside and starting it later I persevered and wow was it ever worth it. This was a very intense book. The sexual tension between Clay and Elena sizzles and the plot keeps you at the edge of your seat. These villains were some seriously nasty creatures but not overdone and cheesy. For the majority of the book my heart was in my throat as I worried if the good guys would get away, survive etc. The action scenes were well done and quick moving.I don’t know if this book is marketed as a romance but it definitely has a love story as a main part of the book. However, Elena is in a relationship with another man throughout the book which can be a hot button for some people. The way it was done in this book it was understandable why Elena was cheating on Phillip but your heart still broke for him. I appreciated that the author did not make him a total a-hole just to make the adultery acceptable. I loved Clay although it was hard to see his good points at first since all of his actions are filtered through Elena’s point of view – it eventually became obvious how much Clay loved Elena and that there would never be anyone else for him.Overall I have to say I really enjoyed this book and although when I finished it I only gave it 4 stars as I think back on it I feel like it should have 5. It’s always bizarre for me when that happens…edited to add the rest of my review - my boss came back from work early and I had to close the window :)
    • 3/5
      This book had an interesting plot line, and equally interesting characters.
    • 4/5
      This was definitely not your mothers 'werewolf' story. LOL. The werewolves in this story do not sit around and pine, brood or whine. They are true to their nature of what you might expect from the werewolf mythology. They will kill to protect the secret of their existence or to protect the pack. Very much realistic in the sense of what one would expect of werewolves.

      I liked Elena as a protagonist, she was a strong minded, and kick ass heroine. She was definitely flawed, as a matter of fact this story was packed with flawed and real characters. Elena didn't sit around and whine, okay maybe she did sometimes, but she will acknowledge it was on purpose most of the time to get her way. Or to use as a distraction to secretly plan what trouble she can find herself into next. Elena was definitely an entertaining character. She can run with the boys or should I say wolves, just as well as any other fella.

      Had my doubts at the beginning if I was going to be drawn in by this story but that thought was nixed pretty quickly. I like how the back story for all the characters were laid out through Elena's thoughts. It will really help to better understand the werewolves throughout the series. At first I thought, "TMI" but then it gave me insight into the choices of Clay and Jeremy especially. Bitten was raw, and compelling, with strong character building and werewolf realness.
    • 4/5
      Eleans gets caught up in trying to protect the werewolf pact. Very exciting.
    • 3/5
      I'm torn over this book. There were things I liked and things I strongly disliked. Spoilers ahead. The werewolves in this story kill humans. They seem to think it's no big deal to kill humans. That bothered me. It also bothered me that Elena is the only female werewolf. And no real explanation as to why she made the change and other bitten females didn't. I also have a huge problem with her relationship with Clay. Overall decent story but I'll still to more traditional HEA.
    • 2/5
      I like the supernatural world to feel limitless and mysterious, but this book gave me the feeling that it was stifled and small. Also the love interest Clayton was scum
    • 2/5
      I read several other books in this series revolving around the other narrators before I decided to give Elena's story a try (especially since she has the lion's share of the books). I was predisposed to liking it! And it was going pretty well until Clay became a major character and Elena's little love triangle became a subplot. I am so out of patience for handsome, possible sociopathic jerks that the otherwise-smart female leads can't help but swoon for anyway.

      Elena's an asshole to her boyfriend, and never really got called out on that, from what I can recall-- at least not in a way that I thought would match her lying-cheating-ignoring behavior. She also fails at deflecting Clay's advances, though to be fair, Clay completely fails at accepting "no."

      Clay is an asshole to everyone, including to his his lady love Elena, who, despite being a streetwise, wary woman, is both still in love with him and ultimately re-establishes a relationship with him (in a stupid, horrible way: see, the cheating and lying). A later book in the series even lampshades Clay's abusive-stalker behavior, just to giggle and shrug it off as 'sigh, something to put up with to be with him.' Yeah, okay. And of course, the whole reason Elena is a werewolf in the first place is because Clay, sensing Jeremy's disapproval and wanting to force him to allow Clay to 'keep' Elena, bites her (without her approval nor understanding)...which had every probability of killing her painfully.

      Just...ugh. The plot was largely forgettable, or maybe I was just too annoyed with the lead pairing, which completely killed this book for me. If those sorts of relationships get your goat, don't make this book your opening foray into Women of the Otherworld. It's entirely possible to keep up with the overarching plot while skipping the Elena books and following other (better) heroines.
    • 2/5
      Could not get into this at all. So cardboard and cliche.
    • 4/5
      I do like Kelley Armstrong and her world - Bitten brought me into the world. Elena is reasonably strong, even though her back story is ludicrous (no one thought to take her to therapy for screaming like a loon every night? and lets not get into the insta-angst of 'rape as backplot') Elena is really annoying on occasion. She picks all the wrong times and situations to assert her independence and her desire to be 'normal' seems idiotic, given that she has no clue what 'normal' is and she admits that she's happiest with the pack. All of her 'I want to be normal' whining seems idiotic when she really doesn't have a great 'normal' life to return to. Despite my ambivalence towards Elena, I loved this book.

      Clay never comes across as real either, how can he be so inept around people yet teach at college? And I'm not really into 'Alpha-Male-knuckle dragging' characters either.

      Despite the main characters however, I loved Bitten. The plot was fast paced and I loved the world Kelley put me in. Loved the secondary characters and the writing.