Otherworld Nights by Kelley Armstrong

Genre:  Adult Paranormal Short Stories

Otherworld Stories, Book 3

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Description (taken from Kelley Armstrong's website):

The first of three Otherworld collections pulling together previously published stories along with new material.

Collection Contents

1) Demonology – Adam’s mother discovers what he is
2) Stalked – Clay/Elena honeymoon story from “My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon” & The Hunter & the Hunted
3) Hidden – SubPress 2012 Elena/Clay novella
4) Twilight – my unfortunately-titled Cass story from “Many Bloody Returns”
5) Chivalrous – Reese’s backstory from SubPress’s long sold-out “Tales of Dark Fantasy 2”
6) Lucifer’s Daughter – Hope/Karl story from “Blood Lite 2”
7) From Russia with Love – Elena bonus story included with hardcover of Thirteen
8) Vanishing Act – brand-new Savannah/Adam novella set after Thirteen

I'm going to keep my review very short because obviously, you're not going to read this collection of short stories unless you've read the series...  One of my favorite series to read, and it's one of those where I definitely did not feel like the last few books were lacking.  I was so sad to see it end.  But these short stories give us a small moment to go back to this world and see how the characters are doing.

While I would like to say I had never read these short stories until picking up the book, I have no idea if that's the case.  Either I had read some years ago and it still felt fresh this time around.  Or they were new.  But I loved spending an hour in Elena's world.  And then jumping into Savannah's world.  While some of the stories regarded other werewolves that I wasn't as familiar with, I still wanted more.

Definitely worth your time if you're already a major fan of the Otherworld series.  I'm going to have to grab the next short story book.

The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong

Genre:  YA Detective

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Description (taken from Kelley Armstrong's website):

Riley Vasquez is haunted by the brutal murder of the couple she was babysitting for.

Max Cross is suffering under the shadow of a life-altering diagnosis he doesn’t dare reveal.

The last thing either of them wants is to spend a weekend away at a therapy camp alongside five other teens with “issues.” But that’s exactly where they are when three masked men burst in to take the group hostage.

The building has no windows. The exits are sealed shut. Their phones are gone. And their captors are on a killing spree.

Riley and Max know that if they can’t get out, they’ll be next—but they’re about to find out that even escape doesn’t equal freedom.

Riley suffers from PTSD after having witnessed a murder while babysitting a little girl.  She hasn't been able to move on and be normal.  So one weekend, she finds herself at therapy camp along with other troubled teens.  But when masked gunmen interrupt this weekend therapy, it seems Riley will have to relive her nightmares.

Max is an average 18-year-old who moved from the UK to the USA in order to get away from his past.  He's trying to move on with the life he has, but things can be difficult.  And while he spends his time in the back of therapy making snide remarks over everyone else's problems, it seems like he's never going to open up about why he's there in the first place.  And then the gunmen arrive.

This is a classic adrenaline-rush, escape-the-killers, who-dunnit story.  You've got an industrial building with no windows and crazy teenagers stuck together for the weekend.  And stuff just happens to go wrong when kidnappers come in and take them hostage.  I followed the story pretty well and had most things figured out.  And I enjoyed the rhetoric between the characters.  Even though they considered themselves psychologically damaged, they still worked to survive.

An easy story that I think mystery readers will like.  You'll want to keep reading to make sure time hasn't ran out for the characters.

Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong

Genre:  YA Fantasy

Age of Legends, Book 1

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Description (taken from Kelley Armstrong's website):

In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.

Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.

Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever.

This is set in an ancient fantasy world; I like to think of a magical China-era world.  However, the main characters in this book have blonde hair due to them being Northerners.  Anyways, it's set in a world with spirits and magic, and the girls have one of the most dangerous jobs: to give peace to the spirits and protect their home.

Every year, the Seeker makes a trek into the Forest of the Dead to release the angry spirits (in plain English: to bury the bodies).  All criminals are exiled here where they usually perish quickly.  This year is Ashyn's first time as the Seeker.  But when her party begins to go missing and zombies appear, everything goes a little crazy.  As the city is ambushed, Moria only cares about finding her sister and protecting what's left of the city.  But as they try to find help, they find the root of these evil forces and a sinister plot that involves them.

Sounds like a promising novel, right?  I struck out again.  It moves too slow, and I got bored with it.  Being in the Forest of the Dead, I was questioning whether or not they really heard the spirits and all of the mythical creatures seemed like a bunch of voodoo.  And I just didn't care enough; my goal was to finish the book.  There's even an aha moment that I didn't catch onto, but it just didn't salvage it for me.  This seems like an awesome fantasy, but the execution of it just didn't work for me.

I'd say fans of Kelley Armstrong should test this book out.  But if you're new to Kelley Armstrong, I'd recommend you start with her young adult or adult paranormal series.

Omens by Kelley Armstrong

Genre:  Adult Mystery with a Paranormal Tease

Cainsville Series, Book 1

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Description (taken from Kelley Armstrong's website):

Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home, and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.

Olivia is the daughter of a wealthy and well-known family in Chicago living the good life until she suddenly finds out who her real parents are.  She's related to serial killers, and the whole world wants to know more about her.  As her mother abandons her to the media, she sets out to make a life of her own in a town that doesn't really know who she is (but they really do).  But then she meets Gabriel, a guy who wants to help her if it means he'll make some big bucks along the way.  As Olivia begins to reconcile with her birth mother, she begins to look at the murders.  Can she figure out if her birth parents really committed these atrocities?  Is there something a little paranormal going on in her new town?

When I found out Kelley Armstrong was starting a new series, I was super-excited.  I picked up the book and noticed it was huge, almost 500 pages.  I was thinking, Yes! I'm in for a treat.  And then I started the book.  It was slow, super slow.  I had a hard time getting into it.  Yes, we'd see some short and obscure mysterious and paranormal clues here and there.  But it wasn't enough to get me invested in the story.  And then I come to the ending and think, That was it?!?!  I just wasted 500 pages of my life, and I'm not satisfied.

While Kelley Armstrong is really good at holding onto the mystery, this story wasn't so good at leaving you satisfied.  It's like the author didn't want to show all of her cards in one move, but she failed to realize that we didn't even see the backside of the cards either.  I can't be interested in the game if I don't know what kind of game I'm playing.  And the paranormal teasing?  I can't take it.

Sorry, I'm not planning to continue this series.  If the books were 300 pages, maybe.  But I kind of feel like I was jipped here...

The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

Genre:  YA Paranormal Fantasy

Darkness Rising Series, Book 3

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Spoiler Note:  This is the third book in a series.  You've officially been warned about spoilers from earlier books in the series if you keep reading.

Description (taken from Kelley Armstrong's website):

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.

The end of a trilogy.  Ending novels are always so tricky because we all want the happy ending.  But sometimes, it's hard to make a happy ending memorable.  But I'm digressing from this review.

Maya has been on the run ever since she realized the people who were helping her only considered her an asset.  As she and her friends try to figure out what's going on while trying to protect themselves, we're thrown through a whirlwind of emotions.  While the actual plot itself, constantly being on the run, is a little predictable, I find the reactions and how the characters deal with things really make this series worth it.

Did I mention the love interests in this series was one of my favorites?  Maya's relationship dilemma is real-feeling.  It's not insta-love.  It's not swoon-worthy.  It's something that involves stepping on toes and something that takes work.  This is the kind of love I like seeing (unless I'm really in the mood for a swoon-worthy one).

And there was mention that characters from other series do make an appearance in this novel.  If you're like me, you're thinking characters like Elena, Paige or Savannah are going to step in and help save the day.  Sorry, unfortunately, that doesn't happen (I know I was bummed).  But we do see some others.  And we find out Maya's fully capable of obtaining her happy ending.

Really, my only complaint about this novel is making the villains seem like the good guys while they're really the bad guys but the good guys - no the bad guys.  Kind of like running into a brick wall and finding out it was only wooden.  That makes it seem not so bad, right?  You guys probably have no idea what I'm talking about...  Regardless, I'm still a major fan of Kelley Armstrong's books.

Challenges:  Paranormal Reading Challenge

Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong

Genre:  Adult Paranormal Fantasy

Women of the Underworld Series, Book 13

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Description (taken from Kelley Armstrong's website):

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 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, for a grand series finale.

The Women of the Underworld series has been a major favorite of mine because the books are from various characters' points of views.  For example, we get to experience the supernatural world from a werewolf's perspective in one book while seeing it from a half-demon's in another book.  The last three books in this series are from Savannah's, a witch, point of view.  And I do believe it was very fitting.

Now to the story.  I'm not going to say much to ruin the plot, but I will say that the book immediately picks up where number twelve left off.  And there's a lot of action and violence.  All the characters we have come to love show up in this epic battle.  And no one is safe from death nor despair.

But once the fight is over, it just kind of ends with a theme that life goes on.  Just another day in the paranormal neighborhood.  Was it a good ending?  Sure.  Am I sad to see the series end?  Obviously...

The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

Genre:  YA Paranormal Fantasy

Darkness Rising Series, Book 2

Kelley Armstrong's website

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Note:  Please read The Gathering before reading the description for this one.  And please be aware, my review is going to contain what some would consider a spoiler.  So don't read my review if you want to be completely surprised (but you probably should've caught on in the first novel anyways).

Description (taken from Kelley Armstrong's website):

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 last page.

Note:  I tried hard to remain spoiler-free but failed...

Honestly, I don't really remember the little details from the first book.  Yes, I remember the main characters:  Maya, Rafe, Daniel, Nicole, Sam, etc.  Yes, I remember the main theme and how the first one ended.  But the subtle details and connections that were forming, yeah I can't recall those.  So, this book didn't really feel like a true second for me.  And I quite enjoyed this one.

First off, we're not going to see much of Rafe in this book.  Which was a total downer for me because I remember liking him in the first one.  But the awesome friendship between Daniel and Maya?  It's awesome, and I'm so happy to finally see a novel that doesn't have a love triangle and actually emphasizes the guy friend without the boyfriend material.  (Cue record ripping noise.)  Wait a second, I must not have read that far into the second book.  Yeah, once I finished it, I had to amend my thoughts.  Things started clicking, and I realized like Maya, I had not picked up on the subtle hints and clues.  And if you haven't figured it out, go read the book (I'm sorry, but I don't think I can spell it out for you - and who knows, I might be wrong with my assumption anyways).

But what I really loved was the mystery behind the characters' developing powers.  We don't even find out what all of them are (which kind of left me hanging).  And woah, I could gush and gush about these powers, but I glued my mouth shut to keep me from ruining it for you.  And how things from the first novel tie into this one.  Oh, and things from Kelley Armstrong's first YA series also tie into this one.  And the fact that we're in the same world as her adult Women of the Otherworld series (I should stop while I'm ahead).

Anyways, Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite authors.  And I believe her books will keep you entertained.  However, if you're like me, you may want to wait until the whole series is out before reading them.  Otherwise, you forget the minor details.  Definitely recommend this book for paranormal fans out there...

Challenges:  Sensational Seconds and Young Adult Reading Challenge