Bitten (re-read)

I'm not a reader who tends to re-read a lot of her books. Maybe it's because I'm more of a library user than a book buyer. But! There is something to be said about re-reading one of your favourites. Without sounding too corny it's like meeting up with an old friend. OK, that was kind of cheesy ... but it's true. After reading the first 10 books in the series it was great to remember back to how it all began when we first were introduced to Elena. I feel the exact same way about the Harry Potter series (which I've read 4 times now).

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Author: Kelley Armstrong

Genre: Supernatural

Series: 1st book in the 'Women of the Underworld' series

Series Order:

1. "Bitten" (2001)
2. "Stolen" (2002)
3. "Dime Store Magic" (2003)
4. "Industrial Magic" (2004)
5. "Haunted" (2005)
6. "Broken" (2006)
7. "No Humans Involved" (2007)
8. "Personal Demon" (2008)
9. "Living With the Dead" (2008)
10. "Frostbitten" (2009)
11. "Waking the Witch" (2010)
12. "Spellbound" (2011)

First Line: "I have to."

Synopsis: Elena is the only known female werewolf. She used to live with The Pack in New York state but moved back to her hometown of Toronto to try to live a normal life. She no longer wants her life to revolve around being a werewolf. Since moving back to Toronto she has a job as a journalist and even a live-in boyfriend. Except for occasionally changing into a werewolf, unbeknownst to her boyfriend, she's living a normal life.

For the past few years the Pack has left her on her own hoping that she'll make the decision to return to them. Now the Pack has contacted her asking for her help. A group of Mutts (non-pack werewolves) has been turning some of the worst human criminals into werewolves. These new werewolves are randomly killing humans in New York state and The Pack needs Elena's help to get rid of them.

Elena grudgingly returns to the Pack and has to face her former lover, Clay. In the meantime, Elena starts to come to terms with her werewolf side. She did not, and would never, choose to be a werewolf. That choice was decided for her. Can she learn to forgive and embrace her inner were or will she turn her back once again on the Pack?

My Thoughts: This was my second time reading this book and it was still an amazing read. Like I mentioned in my previous book review, Armstrong has the wonderful ability to make the thought of supernaturals living amongst us almost plausible. I love the fact that Canadian author Armstrong has included vivid descriptions of Toronto in this book (not sure why the book couldn't have been based in Toronto?). I also love the fact that Armstrong writes strong women as the main characters. No wimpy, undecisive "Bella-esque" main characters (sorry "Twilight", you're an enjoyable story but bad role model for young women). But I digress ....

"Bitten" is a book that I originally read back in November 2006 and was my very first book review posting here on my blog. It was my first foray (Harry Potter excluded) into the world of supernatural books. "Bitten" is the first book in Armstrong's highly popular 'Women of the Underworld' series. The entire series is filled with loads of action, suspense, mystery and romance (not the cheesy kind). Armstrong is the rare kind of writer who can attract readers who favour various different genres and bring them all together to enjoy a heck of a good read.

One thing I found really interesting with this series is that it doesn't just focus on one main character for the entire series. The series starts off with the first two books revolving around Elena's life and the other werewolves around her. But in the second book, "Stolen", we're introduced to a young witch named Savannah. The next book then follows the life of Savannah and her guardian, Paige, who is also a witch. Armstrong uses earlier books to introduce new characters for her future books (which include necromancers, spirits, vampires ...). Older characters, such as Elena and Clay, are brought into future books as secondary characters. Cool idea, eh?

This book can easily be place in the 'hard to put down' category. If you're looking to try supernatural (or if you're a supernatural junkie, like myself) give this series a try. I've introduced this series to several people - all of whom really enjoyed it.

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars