Review - Waking the Witch

Title: Waking the Witch
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publication Date: August 2010
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: C
Sensuality: Subtle
Book Disclosure: I borrowed a copy from my local library.

Waking the Witch is book eleven in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. Savannah Levine whom readers of this series first met as an unruly teenager and a very powerful witch in the second book Stolen. Savannah is all grown up now and has the opportunity to be a lead investigator on an important case while her guardians and employers, Lucas and Paige are off on a much needed vacation. Not wanting to bother Lucas and Paige, Savannah heads to the small town of Columbus to investigate the murders of three young women.

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong and really enjoy her Women of the Otherworld series. Unfortunately, Waking the Witch is probably my least favorite book in this series. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that this book seems very transitional. Kelley Armstrong seems to be taking her series in a new direction with Savannah as a lead character. She needed this book to set up new storylines and new characters for future books in the series. Plus, it was a way to show how Savannah is changing and growing into womanhood.

I have trouble with Savannah as a lead heroine. Since Savannah was introduced as a character early on in the series, I never really liked her. Savannah has always come across as selfish and her moral compass is slightly skewed. She is not afraid to use her powers and does not shy away from dark magic. By the end of Waking the Witch I felt much more sympathetic to the choices she makes. In this story she gets a rude awakening and I think it is the beginning of a new Savannah. She has a lot of growth to make and I think the upcoming books will reflect that.

Another reason why Waking the Witch wasn't my favorite is because there is almost no romance. Savannah has had a crush on Adam, a half demon who works for Paige and Lucas, since she was a teenager. Their relationship or the one sided feelings Savannah has for Adam was the extent of the romance. Again, I believe that Adam might have feelings for Savannah but won't act on them because he feels she is too young, as he is eleven years her senior. Plus, the story is told from Savannah's point of view and the reader only gets the romance from Savannah's perspective. But I am definitely intrigued as to how things are going to play out in future books.

Here is what others had to say:
Dear Author
Book Binge
Literary Escapism

Review - Tales of the Otherworld

Title: Tales of the Otherworld
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: May 2010
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: A
Sensuality: Warm
Book Disclosure: Borrowed from the library.

Tales of the Otherworld is a collection of short stories by Kelley Armstrong. These stories are a part of Kelley's Otherworld series. I am going to review this collection of stories as one book, instead of reviewing the individual stories. Each story pretty well ties into each other and it will just be easier for me to give an overall review.

I absolutely loved Tales of the Otherworld, if for no other reason than it had the story of how Clay and Elena met. For those readers who are familiar with Ms. Armstrong's series, will know exactly what I am talking about. For those of you who don't, go out and read Bitten, the first book in the series and you will be as hooked as the rest of us! Aside from Clay and Elena's story, there is also the story of how Eve and Kristof met and it has a story of Lucas and Paige investigating a murder that may have been done by a vampire.

Kelley Armstrong is such a fantastic writer. Her characters are fully fleshed out and she has a way of making the reader really connect with them. It doesn't matter which character I am reading about, I am 100% involved in them and their plight. She makes her characters seem so human, with problems and emotions that everybody has experienced at one point or another in their lives. They are so relatable and thus it makes for a very enjoyable reading experience. I highly recommend Kelley Armstrong. You could easily read this book as your first introduction into her writing, but it would mean so much more if you started with the first book in this series Bitten. If you enjoy paranormal romance or urban fantasy and haven't read Ms. Armstrong out, you are truly missing out.

Alpha Reader
Love Romances and More
Tez Says

This book can be purchased in print or kindle format from Amazon

Review - Frostbitten

Title: Frostbitten
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: October 2009
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Warm
Book Disclosure: Checked it out from the library.

Frostbitten is the eleventh book in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. Elena Michaels finds herself chasing down a mutt across the wilds of the Alaskan wilderness. What seems a simple mission at first, takes a deadly turn when Elena discovers half eaten dead bodies. Not only is she dealing with these grizzly murders, but she is also dealing with ghosts from her past and Jeremy's choice for new Pack leader, her. I strongly recommend reading this series in order and you can find more information about the series reading order from this post.

Just when I begin to wonder if there could be more to Clay and Elena's story, Kelley Armstrong is able to prove that indeed there is. Clay and Elena have been together for years now. Followers of this series have seen these two come a long way in terms of their relationship, which definitely started out on rocky terms. Clay and Elena got their "happily ever after" and are living it, but fortunately for fans their story didn't end there.

Elena has issues from her past which come to light in Frostbitten. Elena is back to narrating the story just like she did in Bitten and Stolen. Fans of those first two books will also really enjoy this one. Armstrong does a wonderful job of adding angst to the story while tying it into the mystery portion of the book. Elena works through these problems in her own way and this only showcases just how strong Elena truly is. I think readers are going to see a new side to Elena. One that they will like.

Frostbitten adds a new dimension to the supernatural world. New creatures are discovered, more mysteries are solved. There are some very suspenseful moments that had my heart pounding. I must say I found the Wendigo quite interesting and wonder if they will appear in any future books. All in all, I would say this is another excellent addition to the series.

Here is what others had to say:

Book Pushers Anonymous
Book Chick City
Love Romances and More
My Favorite Books
The Book Sanctuary

This book can be purchases in print or kindle format from Amazon.

Review - Men of the Otherworld

Title: Men of the Otherworld
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: January 2009
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: A
Sensuality: Warm


Men of the Otherworld is a collection of stories that Kelley Armstrong has published on her website over the years, that relates to her Women of the Otherworld series. These stories all revolve around Jeremy, Clay and their pack. Now I usually am not a big fan of anthologies, but Men of the Otherworld is quite different from most anthologies out there. First of all, all of the stories are written by Kelley Armstrong and secondly these stories all revolve around the same set of characters. They flow beautifully together and it really reads more like one long story as opposed to four short stories.

The first story Infusion, feels like a prologue at the beginning of a novel. It is about Jeremy's father, Malcolm and how Jeremy came to be in this world. There is a mystery involving the identity of Jeremy's mother. She was another magical creature, but which one is unclear. This story sets up the relationship that Jeremy and Malcolm are to have later on in the other stories.

The second and third story really blend very well together and almost read like one. They are about how Jeremy finds a young, 7 year old Clay and how he slowly introduces Clay back into society and more importantly, the pack. But not only is it about Jeremy and Clay, it is about the other members of the pack and how Jeremy evolves and grows to eventually becomes Alpha. These stories are both narrated by Clay in first person point of view. The reader truly gets a strong impression of Clay's personality. His drive and determination are there, as to be expected, but he also has a subtle sense of humor that is frank and refreshing. I found these two stories to be absolutely fascinating and superbly written.

The last story Kitsunegari, is narrated by Jeremy and feels like the perfect ending to this wonderful collection of stories. Jeremy is with Jamie in New York for one of her shows and here he finally discovers what type of being his magical mother was. It is short and sweet, but beautifully wraps up the mystery surrounding Jeremy's ancestry. Kelley Armstrong plans to release another collection of books sometime in 2010.

Here is what others had to say:

Books, Books and More Books
Renee's Book Addiction
Urban Fantasy
SciFiGuy.ca

Review - Living with the Dead

Title: Living with the Dead
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: November 2008
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Kisses

Living with the Dead is book nine in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. It follows closely on the heels of the previous book Personal Demon. There are several narrators in this story in the third person point of view: Hope, Robyn, Finn and Adele. Hope Adams is an Expisco half-demon who senses chaos and negative thoughts. Robyn, one of her good friends from high school was recently widowed. She moved to L.A. to make a clean start with her life. Robyn is working as a PR rep for a young socialite, Portia Kane, until Portia ends up dead and Robyn is the prime suspect. John Findlay, better known as Finn, is working the case. Finn has a little help that most people don't know about. He can communicate with the dead and one special ghost is helping him with this case.

Living with the Dead is another strong addition to this already immensely popular series. The storyline jogged along at a very brisk pace. I think the whole story only takes place over a couple of days. The world building and plot was nice and tight, with an excellent execution. I think some readers might be critical of the varying points of view, but in my opinion, it helped to enhance the urgency and suspense of the volatile plot. What would happen is the reader would be following along with one character and right at the moment of high tension, the chapter would end leaving a huge cliff hanger. The next chapter would begin from someone else's point of view and eventually circle around back to the same cliff hanger of the previous chapter. This technique enhanced the suspense and just made me want to read as quickly as possible.

The romance was definitely not the focus of this story. There was some romance threaded throughout, but it wasn't as strong as previous books in the series. Hope and Karl's relationship is already established, but they still have to work out some issues. Hope is struggling with relying too heavily on Karl and it scares the living daylights out of her. Robyn is a new character and human to boot, which means she is unaware of all the supernatural beings in her world. There is a small thread of romance with Robyn that I can't really disclose without giving too much away. Let's just say that by the end of the book, Robyn is starting to pick up the pieces of her life again after her husband's death. Some issues were left open at the end of the book with a lot of room for new story threads for future books. This series is staying strong and fans have a lot to look forward to in future years.

Here is what others had to say:

Love Romances and More Reviews
Urban Fantasy
SciFiGuy.ca
Renee's Book Addiction

Review - Personal Demon

Title: Personal Demon
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: April 2008
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: A-
Sensuality: Hot

Personal Demon is book 8 in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Underworld series. The narration switches first person point of view between Hope Adams and Lucas Cortez. Hope is a half chaos demon. She was raised by her human mother but discovered in her teens that she was not like everyone else. She would have gruesome visions of death or accidents. It turns out her biological father was a demon. She can sense chaos and it becomes almost like the equivalent of drugs to an addict.

Coming to terms with who she is, Hope takes a job as a tabloid writer. It is a guilt-free way for her to use her powers to detect unusual stories. She has been in a relationship with Karl, a member of the New England Werewolf pack. Their relationship has been going south. After having sex, Karl all but told her thanks for the good time and left her, telling her she was free to date other guys. He hurt her very badly and she wants nothing more than to put him out of her life and out of her heart.

Hope is approached by Benicio Cortez, the head of the Cortez Cabal. He calls in his favor from Hope. He needs help infiltrating a gang of sorcerers that are causing trouble in his jurisdiction. Hope, unable to resist the chance to prove herself, jumps at the opportunity. Soon though, Hope is in over her head and Lucas, with the help of his wife Paige come to her aid. Lucas and Paige have appeared in previous books in the series, Dime Store Magic and Industrial Magic.

The first part of the book started out slow. Hope is infiltrating a gang of rogue sorcerers and the reader meets a new cast of characters. I kept wondering when Karl was going to put in an appearance and he actually doesn't show up until later on in the book. The second half of Personal Demon was super intense. I didn't want to put the book down. It was a little weird at first how the book switches back in forth between Hope and Lucas's point of view. Occasionally, I wouldn't realize that there had been a change in narration and would have to go and check the chapter to see who was narrating.

At first, I didn't like Karl. He seemed selfish and was basically described as a jerk through Hope's point of view. Then slowly a different, caring side of him is revealed as he takes care of Hope. I really liked Hope's character too. She struggles with her need for chaos and wants so badly to over come it. I like the fact that even though Hope is far from average, she still comes across as a normal woman, who wants to belong and be normal herself. I found it to be very touching how Karl knows this and does what he can to support her. He is able to give her a safe, guilt free outlet for her chaos cravings.

My initial impression after finishing this book is, "Wow". Kelley Armstrong has completely blown me away. I really like the direction this series is heading, especially the part involving the Cabal and Lucas. Lucas never ceases to amaze me and he plays a huge role in the second part of the book. More light is shed on the Cabal and Lucas has no choice but to become more involved in Cabal doings. I really enjoyed seeing this "take charge" side of Lucas.

Breezing Through
Library Girl Reads
Book Spot Central
Reading Adventures

Review - Twilight and Stalked

Title: Twilight (A story in the anthology Many Bloody Returns)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: 2007
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Kisses

Twilight is narrated by the vampire Cassandra. Even though, as a vampire Cassandra is considered immortal, she does have an expiration date. She has sensed for a while now that her time is coming to an end. She has little desire to continue as she has been. Once a year vampires are required to make a kill. She has come upon the anniversary of her kill and needs to make it if she is to continue living.

Twilight addresses Cassandra’s struggle and reluctance to take her annual kill. Her good friend Aaron senses Cassandra’s stress and is concerned. I loved getting a glimpse into Cassandra in this short story. In the past books Cassandra has come across as very cold and uncaring. That is not the case in this story. I loved getting to see her interact with Aaron as he is very much so her opposite in personality. Where Cassandra is serious Aaron is playful.


Title: Stalked (A story in the anthology My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: 2007
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: B
Sensuality: Kisses

The short story Stalked takes place two years after Elena gave birth to the twins. It is told in the first person point of view by Clay. They are on their honeymoon and I am not sure what city they are in. As they are honeymooning Clay smells that a mutt has been following them. Clay is the muscle in the pack, but ever since he damaged his right arm, his dominant arm, he has been worried about other mutts coming to challenge him. That is exactly what happens in Stalked. Some mutt has decided he wants to see if the rumors are true and Clay has to prove that he is still a wolf not to be taken lightly.

This story is only 30 pages long. It just amazes me how Kelley Armstrong can write such a short story and it be a quick enjoyable read. There wasn’t really anything ground breaking as far as originality with this story but it was nice to have more insight into Clay. This was the first story in this series narrated by him.

Review - No Humans Involved

Title: No Humans Involved
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: 2007
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Hot

No Humans Involved is book seven in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Underworld series. The book is narrated by Jamie Vegas, whom readers have met in previous books. She is starring in a new reality TV series that will be attempting to raise the spirit of Marilyn Monroe. While most people might believe Jamie to be a fraud, she is in truth a necromancer. This means that she can see and hear the dead. But something strange is occurring in the garden on the set of the new TV show. She can feel hands touching her and hear whispers of sound, but can’t seem to make out any actual ghosts. It seems this entity wants something from her. She just isn’t sure what it is. Jeremy an Alpha werewolf whom Jamie has had a mad crush on for several years now is visiting her while she is filming the show.

It’s nice to see Jamie finally get to play a major role a mystery of her own. She has always felt like a burden to others when helping them with their cases. She half jokes about how she always ends up being kidnapped, or knocked unconscious. She doesn’t have super human strength or is capable of spell casting. Her special power is being able to see and hear ghosts. As the story progresses and the plot thicken, Jamie comes to understand that there are more to her powers than she originally thought.

Jamie is very easy for the reader to like. She comes across as being isolated from others. We see glimpses into her background as to the reason for this and it makes the reader easily sympathize with her. With Jamie’s sense of humor, it never comes across as whiney either.

The relationship between Jamie and Jeremy was very sweet too. I loved getting glimpses into who Jeremy is and what makes him tick. Jamie was quite adept at knowing how to get under Jeremy’s skin. It was quite enjoyable to read Jamie’s attempts to get Jeremy to lose that iron control of his.

The mystery part of the plot was tightly written. Hope and Karl were part of the team, although Karl, not so much until up at the end. All the characters were well fleshed out. Even the villain managed to stay far away from being cartoonish. I must say I loved how Jamie dished out just desserts at the end. It couldn’t have been more appropriate. I hope Jamie and Jeremy will be appearing in later books in the series. Their relationship seemed to end more on a happy for now, than a happily ever after, although, this might be up for interpretation. No Humans Involved is a great addition to this wonderful series.

Here is what others had to say:

A Bookaholic's Review
Reading Adventures
Rhinoa's Ramblings
Riley's Reviews
Books, Books and More Books
Jennie's B(ook)log
LesleyW's Book Nook

Series Sunday

Today, so many romance books are part of a series. I don't know about you, but I am currently following several series and most of the books I read are part of a series. To help me keep track of them I have decided to do a weekly post featuring one of the series I am following. This first week I am featuring Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Underworld series. If you follow my blog I am sure you will recognize this series. I am currently playing catch-up having read up to the novel Broken.

This series is categorized as paranormal suspense. The books so far have been written in first person from the heroine's point of view. In this series there are many different supernatural beings the most prominent being werewolves, witches, vampires, necromancers and demons. Not all the books have been narrated by the same person. Here is a list of the books in publication order and the narrator. According to the author you do not have to read the books in order, however if you skip books you might be mildly confused or feel like you missed something. For the most part there shouldn't be total confusion and each book ends with a definite conclusion.

1. Bitten (narrator: Elena - werewolf)
2. Stolen (narrator: Elena)
3. Dime Store Magic (narrator: Paige - witch)
4. Industrial Magic (narrator: Paige)
5. Haunted (narrator: Eve - witch)
6. Chaotic (novella in "Dates from Hell", narrator: Hope - half demon)
7. Broken (narrator: Elena)
8. No Humans Involved (narrator: Jaime - necromancer)
9. Twilight (story in "Many Bloody Returns", narrator: Cassandra - vampire)
10. Stalked (story in "My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon", narrator: Clay - werewolf)
11. Personal Demon (narrators: Hope & Lucas)
12. Living with the Dead
13. Men of the Otherworld
14. Frostbitten
15. Tales of the Otherworld
16. Waking the Witch (releases August 2010) Savannah's story

Ms. Armstrong has a nice website with lots of information about her series including FAQ about this series and upcoming releases.

Review - Broken

Title: Broken
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: May 2006
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: B-
Sensuality: Warm

Broken is book six in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Underworld series. The main focus of the book was the mystery surrounding the portal Elena accidentally opens up and her emotional upheaval with her pregnancy. The mystery involved a From Hell letter that was supposedly written by Jack the Ripper. Elena is asked to steal it, and her needing some excitement in her life agrees to do the job.

Elena, Clay and Jeremy set out for Toronto to steal the letter. The theft goes as planned without any problems. It was a pretty simple job with very low risks involved. What they didn’t know about the letter though, was that it was actually a portal. Elena accidentally activates it and a couple of zombies escape. Elena and Jeremy want to close the portal. What they thought would be simple, soon becomes complicated.

I don’t know what it was about this book, but it just wasn’t as exciting as Elena’s first two books Bitten and Stolen. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book, but it seemed to be missing something. The story centers around Elena because it’s all in her point of view. Maybe by getting only Elena’s point of view, the other characters make less of an impact. Clay’s angst was almost non existent. Occasionally, he would growl at Elena for her to keep herself safe, but that was about the extent of it. I really loved Clay in Bitten, but he just seemed a shadow of himself in this book.

I do really enjoy Elena’s voice and she is still the same sensible, level headed woman. She likes to have her fun though. I also love the pack dynamics. I love to see how the other wolves interact with each other. Jamie, the necromancer also puts in an appearance to help out the pack. I love seeing her interact with Jeremy. Especially since, Jamie isn’t pack and doesn’t follow Jeremy’s orders like Clay and Elena do. I just wish there would have been more of that in this story. Broken is a good solid read, but not as griping as the first books.

Here is what others had to say:

Dear Author

Review - Haunted

Title: Haunted
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: June 2005
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: C+
Sensuality: Kisses

Haunted is book five in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Underworld Series. Eve Levine is a ghost. The fates have asked for her help in bringing a dangerous chaos demon Nix, back into confinement. Others have tried to bring the Nix back and have failed. Eve is given an angel Trsiel as a partner and her former lover Kristof Nast aids her on this mission as well.

First off, I have to say that I was not expecting Eve to be the narrator of this book and because of that I was a little disappointed. Eve is a ghost and that means she can’t interact with the living, except for necromancers, whose specialty is communicating with the dead. Eve enlists the aid of Jamie, who has appeared in earlier books in this series. The story felt disconnected in a sense that Eve is on the outside looking in. She can only observe what is happening in the real world and can’t interact in it at all.

The ghost world is very unusual and this was both a curse and a blessing for the story. The descriptions of the different places Eve visits in the ghost world were definitely unique and interesting to read about. I felt like Armstrong towed to close the line of the story becoming more cartoonish than realistic.

Trsiel, Eve’s angelic partner was very frustrating. He is supposed to help Eve in her quest to capture the Nix. Every time Eve had the Nix cornered and she called Trsiel for help, he was supposed to appear immediately brandishing his sword of justice and capture the Nix. Did he ever once show up on time? Nope, not once. I was ever so annoyed with this.

I did like the interaction between Kristof and Eve. These scenes were few and far between though. Haunted is definitely not a romance in the sense that Eve’s mission is more of a focus than her relationship with Kristof. It’s not a bad book but for me, this was an average read and probably the weakest of the series so far.

Here is what others had to say:

Rosario's Reading Journal
Someone's Read it Already
Reading Adventures

Review - Industrial Magic

Title: Industrial Magic
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: 2004
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Warm

Industrial Magic is book four in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Underworld series. It is the second book where Paige Winterbourne is the narrator. In this story Paige teams up with Lucas, her sorcerer boyfriend to investigate the murder of a runaway teenage witch. After flying down to Miami where the murder took place, they discover that there has been more than one murder. It seems the killer has been targeting Cortez Cabal employees’ teenage children. Lucas and Paige ship Savannah off with Jeremy, Clayton and Elena to keep her safe. Lucas is the named Cortez Cabel CEO, only he refuses to acknowledge his position because he is at odds with his father. Now, in order to find a vicious killer he is working with his father, which rebels against everything he stands for. At least with Paige by his side, as a mediator, he can get through it.

Kelley Armstrong continues to write a fascinating paranormal book that adds intrigue to this already unique series. This time Paige and Lucas meet more interesting characters as they try and figure out who is behind these horrible killings. Along the way, Cassandra, a 300 year old vampire and Jamie Vegas, a Necromancer with her own TV show, help aide Paige and Lucas with the case. Both characters add to the world and never come across one dimensional. That is the true strength of this series. The characters are all very well developed; even down to the minor characters who only appear for a brief time.

Lucas is great in this book. I think readers finally get to know the true Lucas and learn so much more about him than they did in Dime Store Magic. His strength of character really comes out when dealing with the different Cabels. I love how he is not afraid to voice his opinions, or defend Paige – even to his family. What makes this even more appealing is that when people first see Lucas they automatically write him off as nobody. That he is just another average Joe, pushing pencils in a cheap suit. Boy, does he have them fooled. Everyone it seems except for Paige and his father.

Lucas and Paige are good together. I like them as a couple. I wish that Paige would have come to her senses a little sooner about Lucas. But she needed time to work through her feelings for him. Paige is a great narrator. She is a good person with high ideals. I like that she is a nice person, but can confront people and get mean if she has to. I like how she handles Cassandra when Cassandra is being rude. Paige isn’t mean about it, but she isn’t going to take anything lying down either. I really enjoyed this addition to the Women of the Underworld series and I plan to continue to read the next book Haunted.

Review – Dime Store Magic

Title: Dime Store Magic
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing Date: 2004
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Warm

Dime Store Magic is book three in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Underworld series. It is told in the first person point of view by Paige Winterborne, a twenty-three year old witch, whose mother was the Coven’s leader. But she died recently (see book two, Stolen) and now Paige has a lot of responsibilities heaped on her shoulders. First of all, Paige has accepted responsibilities for Savannah, who has also been orphaned by the same people who murdered Paige’s mother. Savannah is thirteen years old and has shown promise of becoming a very powerful witch. She already can cast spells that Paige can’t do. Along with raising Savannah, Paige made a promise to her mother that she would lead the Coven and bring witches to a more modern way of life.

Dime Store Magic is full of action right from the beginning. Savannah’s biological father Kristoff Nast, the heir to the Nast Cabal, wants custody of his daughter. He teams up with a half-demon Leah, who murdered Savannah’s and Paige’s mothers. Naturally, Paige will do everything in her powers to keep Savannah safe from her father. Only it may not be enough. She is up against very powerful forces. Her own coven wants nothing to do with the problem and refused to help Paige. It looks as if she will have to figure this one out all on her own. Help comes unexpectedly in the form of a young sorcerer, Lucas Cortez. Paige is not sure if his intentions are true, but with lack of help from anyone else, she is forced to accept his help.

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this story. I was skeptical and thought that I wouldn’t like Paige as a narrator as much as Elena who narrated the first two books in the series. Paige is a very strong character all on her own and I really enjoyed reading about witches and sorcerers. Paige is a very likable character. She is easy to relate to and is strong, yet vulnerable. She is very determined to do the right thing. Even though her current situation is desperate at best, she will see things through and do the best that she can. She is scared that it might not be good enough, but she will do what she has to and won’t give up. A few times she did come across as bull-headed, but for the most part I couldn’t argue her choices.

The pacing of this book is very quick and exciting. There is a lot happening that keeps the reader on edge most of the time. Sometimes this story had a horrific feel to it with all the supernatural beings making an appearance, not to mention the raising of the dead at one point. Armstrong balances this with Savannah’s lively, thirteen year old personality. Armstrong’s idea of a moody teenage girl rang true and gave comic relief when necessary. Paige’s budding relationship with Cortez also lightened the mood. At first I wasn’t sure what to make of Lucas. The reader is not sure if he can be trusted. But as the story progresses and Paige learns more about him, he definitely shows promise of becoming a great hero. The dilemma of Savannah’s custody is resolved at the end of this book, but there are other questions that have been left unanswered. The story will continue on into Industrial Magic, with Paige again narrating the story.

Here is what others had to say:

Rosario's Reading Journal
Twisted Kingdom