Women of the Otherworld

4.5 stars ~ The deeper into Ms. Armstrong's "Women of the Otherworld" I get, the more I find to admire about her characters... what a fantastic story for an amazing series.

Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong

(Random House Canada - 2008)

Rating: Very Good (4/5)

Armstrong is one of my favourite writers. I wasn't a huge fan of her last Otherworld book, Personal Demon, but Living with the Dead was much better.

      Great continuation of the series... finally glad to get more of Jaime's story and this one was excellent!  The issue of human sacrifice was somewhat jarring, but it fit the story.  Definitely as the series progresses we're finding that the issues that our heroines and heroes are dealing with are getting somewhat grittier, but it all fits.  IMHO Kelley Armstrong is a fantastic author and I LOVE her Women of the Otherworld series.  The characters, male and female, good and evil, alive and not, are fascinating... and REAL!  The touches of romance are wonderful, sometimes there's more of a complete romance than others, but everything is continually evolving ~ characters, relationships, romances... Fabulous!   VERY, VERY, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

RATING:
Excellence: Excellent to Outstanding ~ 4.5 stars
Steaminess: Sensual to Yummy

     I don't know if it's because Elena, Clay and Jeremy were my introductory characters into Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series or not, but the more I read of Jeremy Danvers and his pack, the more I love them.  And Elena and Clay make, to me, a great couple and the further into the series the closer they get.  Clay especially just really, really gets me everytime.  He is totally devoted to both his Alpha, Jeremy, and his mate, Elena and he's probably more wolf than any of the other born werewolves.  His story has always been told in dribs and drabs with every bit making me love him more and more.  Not that I think that Clay would EVER be my hero ~ unless I was Elena of course ~ but his attachment to those in his world is absolute.  And even though each of the stories is told from the viewpoint of one of the supernatural women in the series ~ werewolf, witch, shade and necromancer ~ there is excellent detail into the backgrounds as well as the men that are part of their lives.  If you haven't read any of Kelley Armstrong's books, check them out.  They are very much of the Urban Fantasy genre, with a splash of romance; yes there is a romance in each story, but the focus is on the women and the adventures in which they get caught up.   VERY, VERY, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

RATING:
Excellence: Outstanding ~ 5 stars
Steaminess: Sensual to Yummy

     Wow!  This story was fairly different ~ mostly because Eve was a ghost and then there was the whole hell thing ~ where the really bad supernaturals went when they died.  'Cause the afterworld for the supernaturals is not the afterworld for humans... good that they kept them apart, because even there the humans don't have any comparable abilities.  And the Nix... hoo boy... that was one nasty demi-demon; good thing that Eve had not only angel help, but Kristofer Nast, Savannah's father and Eve's one love, is also on hand. 
   While there is some romance, these stories are primarily paranormal adventures with a hefty dose of suspense thrown in... then there was the hell for supernatural serial killers... ugh!
  Another excellent story in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series.  If you enjoy taut thrillers, paranormal stories and a host of supernatural beings, this is definitely a story for you... but, really, it's better to read this book in order.  VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

RATING:
Excellence: Excellent ~ 4.0 stars
Steaminess: Romantic to barely Sensual

     In this story, Paige and Lucas are facing Industrial-like magical problems rather than the dime-store-like magical problems from the last book.  That is to say, the severity of what's going on is multiplied a few times over... and last time they barely survived!
     This time they've had to work more closely with a necromancer who has her own "Spiritualist" show and is quite famous... and it looks as though they're going to be working much, much more closely with not only the Cortez Cabal, but also the others.  Fun? Not so much... full of tension, hair-curling action and a nasty, supernatural, serial killer Paige and Lucas have their work cut out for them.  A very difficult book to put down ~ VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

RATING:
Excellence: Excellent ~ 4.0 stars
Steaminess: Romantic to Sensual

     After really getting into Elena Michaels' stories I was sure that these next two would be somewhat of a letdown, being as I really like werewolves and this book was from the witch, Paige Winterbourne's, POV... but I should have known better.  We first met Paige in the second of Elena's stories ~ Stolen; she was one of the two witches that proved to Elena that the werewolves weren't the only members of the supernatural races.  
     I really like Paige.  She took custody of Savannah, also from the last book ~ at a pretty big cost to herself and had no qualms.  She really had no idea what was headed her way, but even if she had she wouldn't have changed anything ~ Savannah needed someone to look after her and guide her and Paige was that someone. 
     Lucas Cortez is an excellent partner for Paige ~ and a great foil.  Together they can definitely face the chaos that ensued.  Another Kelley Armstrong winner that I VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
  

RATING:
Excellence: Excellent ~ 4.0 stars
Steaminess: Sensual