Waking the Witch (Women of the Otherworld)

While it wasnt one of the best novels in the series, it was definitely a good quick read for those who love the women of the other world series. the book follows savannah on her first solo private investigation.

Kelley Armstrong never disappoints me. This book is exciting, made me laugh and made me cry. Love to see Savannah getting out on her own. She's tough as nails and I love her for it! Wonderful read!!!

THIS BOOK IS AN AVERAGE READ. MAIN CHARACTER SPENDS TOO MUCH TIME IN INTROPECTION. I DO NOT CARE ABOUT TEEN AGE GROWING PAINS AND EXPERIMENTS IN SEX. ATTEMPT TO BRING A MUNDANE MYSTERY WITH A SUPERNATURAL MYSTEY LEFT A LOT TO BE DESIRED. MAIN CHARACTER COMES ACROSS AS STUPID. IF I DON'T LIKE MAIN CHARACTER, I FIND THE BOOK A DIFFICUT READ.

Eve has always been an interesting character to me, and was made even more so from the last book, where we meet her in the ghost world and she helps Paige. So, I was happy when I found out that the next book in the series followed her as a main character. She’s the sort of badass heroine who takes an incredibly pragmatic approach to situations; she sets her own moral standards and lives by her own rules. If a person is a bad person, kill them. Killing isn’t morally justified? Says who? That’s sort of Eve’s stance on a lot of situations.

This story is more of a thriller than anything else — an evil possession demon is on the loose; one who gives her host courage and power to do horrible things like go on a serial murder spree or shoot up a YMCA. She’s been running rampant for centuries, possessing such famous killers as Lizzie Borden, among others. In exchange for them helping page, the Fates have called on Eve to return the favor by helping them out and catching this demon. Along with the chase and investigation, we get lots of Eve and Kristoff moments; he still loves her and wants to make an afterlife together with her — one they never got while living, but she’s still hesitant. One of the best parts of this book is Eve’s slow acceptance/realization of just how much she loves this man.

It’s a fun read that had some nice plot twists while also staying within the realm of possibilities (though it’s a really, really big realm for this series). Eve has taken the place of one of my favorite characters ever. I’m not as invested in her relationship with Kristoff as I am with Paige and Lucas, but I like her overall way more than I enjoy any of the other characters. She’s just awesome and smart and complicated and really, really fun to have as a main character. As always, familiar characters make their appearances throughout the course of this story, and it’s always fun to see them from another character’s perspective. With the thriller aspect and the amazing characters Armstrong has created, you really can’t go wrong with this series, and this book is no exception.

Reviewed by Suzanne and posted at Under The Covers Book Blog

We have come to book five in the Women of the Otherworld series and Armstrong has now shifted her focus to Eve Levine, the half demon black witch who seems to scare the hell out of everyone…even after she has died. Of course, the afterlife isn’t exactly what Eve expected, but it isn’t so bad, especially as she can watch over her daughter Savannah, even if she can’t do anything. But, the Fates have a task for her, capture the demi demon Nix that is wreaking havoc on the human world, but angels have already tried and failed at capturing the Nix, but then angels never play dirty…

I admit, I wasn’t too excited to be starting this book, mainly because I wasn’t that excited about Eve. She is mentioned in passing and she is important in that her existence has affected the way Savannah is treated, but she is dead right? How exciting could her story be? Well, I should have known not to doubt Kelley Armstrong because I loved this book; it was an exciting and interesting read that once again added a new dimension to the world that Armstrong is building.

I didn’t know what to expect from Eve, she has a scary reputation as a black witch and so I was worried that I wouldn’t like her, that wasn’t the case however. She was just more edgey and ruthless with a willingness to get her hands dirty to get the job done, definitely a different kind of character and witch to Paige, but I ended the book really liking Eve. We also get to meet Kristof Nast, Eve’s former lover and Savannah’s dad. The name should sound familiar as he is the guy who died at the end of Dime Store Magic. Eve and Kristof are now reunited through their deaths, which added some romance to this story. It also allowed you to see a different side to Kristof, Cabal sorcerer he may be, but like Eve, he isn’t all bad.

I also enjoyed their hunt for the Nix, the nasty demi demon that is causing so much mayhem, it made an exciting and action packed story as Eve tracks her down and tries to find a way to stop her. Armstrong is really great and crafting an interesting plot that manages to reel you in, I was glued to the page as I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

This was a great book, both the main characters had all the traits of an evil villain, but it was turned on its head and they ended up the heroes of the piece. It was a fantastic idea. Once again I am left eager to start the next book in the series and so I can see what Armstrong has in store for me next.

One of my goals in 2016 is to finish Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Underworld series so I'm re-reading the first 6 books that I originally read years ago. Going into Haunted, I knew that it was my least favourite book in the series so far but I was re-reading it to A) remember what had transpired in the book so future books would make sense and B) hopefully get a better connection with Eve.

For the first third of the book I really enjoyed it and found it fast-paced. I started to wonder why I hadn't loved it the first time around. But then the pace got really bogged down and for the remainder of the book it was a struggle to finish ... again.

I had two big issues with this book both times I read it. First, the story hinges on the reader understanding Armstrong's description of the afterlife. I found her descriptions quite convoluted with various afterlife dimensions including ghost/demon hell and even an island of ghost pirates. Wha? There's also the confusing issue of ghosts being able to harm each other in the Afterworld. How does one land a punch with a ghost if you're also a ghost? Angels also make an appearance into the melee but the angel that Eve deals with is no avenging angel. He comes off as kind of a wuss who is constantly making mistakes and leaving Eve and Kristoff to pick up the pieces so it was really hard to like him.

The other issue is that I never felt like I really got to know Eve. When she was mentioned in previous books she was a hell raiser but in this book she felt like a different person. Not as tough. I liked seeing her maternal side but thought she'd bring more energy and sass to the story.

I hate to give a book in this series a low rating but this one missed the target (twice) for me. That said, I'm really looking forward to moving on in the series with my favourites, Elena and Clay, in Broken.

My Rating: 2.5/5 stars (increased to 3 stars for this site)

Waking the Witch is the first book to feature Savannah Levine, the precocious daughter of black witch Eve Levine and adopted daughter of Paige Winterbourne. After turning up on a limited basis in earlier volumes, Savannah finally gets her own book and its an interesting one.

At the age of 21, Savannah is working for Paige and Lucas. The book starts as she receives some crime scene photos that have a supernatural element. Packing her things she runs off to the small town of Columbus in order to investigate.

I loved the character of Paige, she's confident, bolshie and very much like her mother. She doesn't suffer from much in the way of self doubt and unlike Elena, doesn't wallow in her 'tragic backstory tm'. I enjoyed the mystery and was hooked on finding the answers. I even enjoyed the obligatory relationship.

However, having said that... the last quarter of the book wasn't particularly inspiring. My issues stemmed from the arrival of Adam (the obvious future love interest) and the ultimate unveiling of the mystery. The cliffhanger at the end of the book annoyed me as part of the reason I love Kelley Armstrong is her lack of cliffhangers. You don't have to read the next book in the series if you don't want to. The cliffhanger was unnecessary and purely designed to sell the next book.

The identity of the culprit came out of the left field and it bugged me. I can't say too much because I don't want to spoil the plot, but I would have loved 'any' other conclusion.

Will read the next book, but unfortunately it drops 2 stars.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

haunted-women-of-the-otherworld-kelley-armstrongIt’s been 18 months since Eve Levine made a deal with the Fates; she owes them a favor for sending Paige and Lucas back to the world of the living. And, now the Fates have decided to cash in on Eve’s end of the bargain.

This story introduces us to the mythical creature; the Nix. She takes residence inside people and encourages them to commit acts that they don’t have the willpower to do on their own. In this case, the act is murder and she helps commit several of them and always makes sure her ‘partner’ takes the blame before she leaves their body, looking for her next victim. The Nix has been captured before, but has now escaped and the three people they’ve sent after her previously have failed. Now it’s time Eve gives it a go. But little does Eve know what the Fates really have in mind for her.

I have really tried to like all the books in this series, but I’m finding that I fell in love with the werewolves in Bitten and have been biding my time to get back to them! I have wanted to like the other books in the series, but I find the heroine of the last two installments, Paige, to be quite a snooze for me. I didn’t know what to expect with Eve, especially when I kept hearing people say this was the weakest book of the series. I’m happy to report that it’s not! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not nearly to the level of writing in Bitten, but it was a vast improvement over the Paige books.

I felt this book started out kind of slow and I thought ‘here we go again’ and that it would be just like the previous two books. But then something happened or should I say someONE happened; Kristof. He came on the scene and I found myself completely adoring him now that we get a glimpse of the real him, not the evil bad guy trying to take Savannah away from Paige. I loved the little glimpses we got of him and the love he has for his kids and especially his love for Eve! Without him, I don’t think I would have liked this book at all.

“Our eyes met and his grin stretched another quarter-inch. Another schoolgirl flip–followed by a very un-schoolgirl wave of heat. He leaned even farther over the boards, lips parting to say something.

“Hey, Kris!” someone yelled behind him. “If you want to flirt with Eve, tell her to meet you in the penalty box. You’ll be back there soon enough.”

I found this book to be interesting and full of action. I even found myself not being able to put it down at times! Surprisingly I liked the villain, as far as bad guys go that is, Dachev, although he’s not one I’d want to meet in a dark alley or even a brightly lit one! But he is well written and oozes evil!

I do have to agree with Kris when it comes to Trsiel though. When is he going to do his job? It seemed like every time Eve had the Nix cornered he was nowhere in sight and only showed up moments too late. Maybe it was all part of the Fates’ plan.

So I agree that this book was better than the previous two, but the ending left much to be desired. This month with Kristof, I was really expecting to see some great romantic overtures and they just never came. Instead, we get her checking up on Savannah again and talking when she knows she can’t hear her and then nothing, it’s over. I really wanted this to end on a high note, but it left me kind of flat.

But the good news is that the next book takes me back to the werewolves and I can hardly wait!

This review and more at openbooksociety dot com

Waking the Witch would make for a badass stand-alone novel but I'd expected more from the 11th Otherworld installment. The paranormal aspects are mere parlour tricks, the pioneers of this series are MIA and the plot is more murder mystery in nature than it is Urban Fantasy. I can't fault Kelley Armstrong's writing, the intriguing story or the pacing but as a long time fan of these books, it didn't satisfy me.

This is Savannah Levine's first crack as an Otherworld narrator and as the supposed prodigy of this series her grand debut was a little lackluster. The previous books have built her character up to be extremely powerful, rebellious and fierce but unfortunately, the real thing failed to live up to all of the hype. Savannah has always struck me as a go getter but her inability to voice her feelings for Adam or wreak havoc on her enemies was disappointing. She comes across as more of an average Joe than as THE Savannah Levine, daughter of Eve Levine (black witch / aspicio half-demon) and Kristof Nast (sorcerer / cabal heir).

The story reads like a murder mystery with some nice police procedural elements but calling it an Urban Fantasy is a stretch. The paranormal side is limited to mediocre light ball and cover spells; considering that Savannah is capable of collapsing a house I felt cheated where her witchy powers are concerned. The resolution does have Otherworld roots but I was so completely blindsided by the villain that it felt like Armstrong was grasping at straws in an attempt to connect this book to the overall series arc. Also, other than the occasional name drop, the strong cast of beloved characters that I've grown to know and love is all but absent.

As a stand-alone, mystery this novel has what you'd expect: action out the wazoo and an impossible-to-guess "who done it" intrigue. The pacing is brisk, the writing is flawless and I love the fact that this series unfolds in real time. But as the 11th installment in Kelley Armstrong's world-famous Urban Fantasy series it fizzled. Waking the Witch delivers a good story and has a high entertainment value but it's an expendable addition to the Women of the Otherworld universe.

I can't remember what were my original thoughts on this book; no doubt I enjoyed it because it is Kelley Armstrong after all but, Haunted made quite the impression on me this time around. I've always been a fan of Eve Levine's character. She's not a clear cut good guy or bad guy which makes her POV interesting to read because you never know what to expect. Armstrong's creativity really shines through in this installment by opening up an all new supernatural universe, that of the afterlife.

The world-building in this book is outstanding and limited only by Kelley's imagination which is pretty much boundless. Both of the main characters are dead so obviously the regular rules of engagement don't apply. Eve's assignment takes her to hell and back, literally, but only after she visits the pirate dimension first of course. Armstrong makes good use of this series' supernatural cast by having each character play a small but important role. The spotlight obviously belongs to Eve and Kristof but I liked how she found a way to include almost everyone.

The Nix steals the cake as this series' ultimate big bad to date. Every couple of chapters readers get to go back in time and relive one of this demoness' past atrocities, each more gruesome than the last. This girl thrives on chaos and has honed her evil ways over centuries. It takes a monster to hunt a monster so the fates send Eve Levine.

Eve's one of the more entertaining narrators of the Women of the Otherworld. I always expect that Paige and Elena will do the "right thing" but when it comes to Levine you never know. She's a bad guy turned good, kinda. Eve's a little more practical than most heroines and doesn't share their moral qualms. She fiercely protects those in her inner circle but the rest of the population is expendable. Levine will throw an old lady holding a baby in front of a bus to protect her daughter without a moment's hesitation. That's just the kind of person she is. Ooh, I forgot to mention that she's a half-demon / black magic witch on top of being a ghost and a potential angel contender. It's always all or nothing with Eve, she doesn't do anything half-assed, just another one of the reasons why I adore her so.

Haunted is one of the darker, more gory installments of this series but that's what makes it so exceptional. I'm happy that the story's going to veer back to the werewolves in the next book, Broken, but I enjoyed my stay in Eve Levine's world.

4.5 stars

I am an unconditional, card holding fan of this series and Kelley Armstrong is no doubt an automatic buy for me. Of course, it's not a perfect series and there are couple books that aren't my favorites But, 11 books and 2 anthologies in, I have to say it is a pretty solid and awesome series in general.

We meet Savannah in the second book, Stolen, when she's only 12 years old. For the following two books, Dime Store Magic & Industrial Magic, we get to know more about her through the eyes of her guardian, Paige, who takes her in after her mother's murder.

Fast Forward almost 10 years and we get to Waking the Witch, where Savannah is now 21 years old and a young woman trying to prove that she's capable of being a PI and part of Paige & Lucas's Supernatural PI firm. Both her guardians are taking a much needed vacation when an associate of theirs comes knocking, in need of assistance in his latest case. Savannah jumps at the chance of taking her first solo case and that's where her adventure begins.

I have always enjoyed Savannah as a secondary character and I was really afraid that I would not like her as much as the heroine, specially an adult now. It was definitely weird seeing her older, but at the same timt it was perfect. I love that this series spans through so many years and time doesn't stop in each book, giving it a more realistic timeline that follows the span of time that all the books have been released in. I mean, The first book in the series, Bitten, was released in 2001, so 9 years later it makes total sense that Savannah has aged 9 years.

Savannah has always lived in the shadow of her Witch mother and Sorcerer father, daughter of two very powerful spellcasters and considered a freak from being born into two races that have been rivals for centuries. With her parents dead and relying solely on her guardians, she has being trying to prove to them and to herself that she is more than her mother and father's reputation. Savannah is a study in contradictions, she is tough, stubborn, selfish and even mean at times, but she is also fun, smart, loyal, fiercely protective of those she cares about and able of extreme acts of compassion. It was absolutely amazing getting to know the woman that the little girl I used to know has become.

I really loved this book, much more than I thought I would. It was fast paced and the mystery kept me gripped to the story. I found myself trying to solve the case right along with Savannah and Adam, and having a lot fun in doing so.

I don't want to give out any spoilers, but I'll say that the whodunit resolution was such a surprise and very well made. I actually guessed a part of it, but some parts really caught me off guard. The ending left a killer cliffhanger that had me gasping out loud and making me wish it was an year from now already, I really need to get my hands on the next book!

All in all, Waking the Witch was a perfect addition to one of my favorite series ever! The romance was very mild, but I have hope for a Savannah & Adam paring, something I have kept my eye on since many books before. If you are a fan of the Women of the Otherworld series this is definitely a must read for you and the cameos and mentions of other characters of the series will get you missing them all.

If you haven't read this series yet, I totally advise you to and not to worry, you can absolutely read Waking the Witch without feeling lost. The Women of The Otherworld series is a staple in the Urban Fantasy genre and this latest installment just makes it clear why. Fast paced action from start to finish that you will not want to put down.

Originally Posted at Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life {larissaslife DOT com}

I'm am late to this party. Like really late. This is my first Kelly Armstrong book, and it's the eleventh in the series. I've heard some pretty good things about this author, so I thought I'd take a chance and jump right in. First I like to say that even though I jumped in late to the series, I followed the story line pretty well. Armstrong gives you just enough back story to understand what's going on in the current story. So if you're late like me, then don't worry about starting at the first book. Unless, of course, you want to.
I do admit that it took me quite a few chapters to warm up to this series. It wasn't that I didn't like it; I just didn't love it. After I got a 'feel' for Savannah Levine things started to pick up. I like her character, but at times I forgot that she's only twenty-one. She's mature beyond her years. I'm not sure if that's because of her unconventional childhood or if it's just the magical community altogether. Savannah is a spunky, motorcycle-riding, go-getter. She desperately wants to prove herself to her guardians.
The story line is interesting and had me guessing who the culprit was most of the time. I like Armstrong's writing style and definitely look forward to reading more by this author. I'm going to continue with the next book in this series, Spell Bound.

So when I started reading this series a few years ago I was getting all my books from the library and they did not have this. I was too in love with these books to stop so I SKIPPED it. I never skip, and I did it. Anyways I always wanted to go back but I got lost in so many other books and just never got to it. But I finally did it, and I freaking loved it! This was an amazing story in The Otherworld series and I loved it.

Eve is a ghost. So here world is a lot different then the others we read about. The same rules do not apply. I liked going between worlds and seeing what ghost can do and can't do. I felt so bad for Eve in this book too. She lost her life and her daughter who she fought so hard to protect and she is having a hard time letting go and moving on. Luckily Kristoff is there to help. Even though she tries to push him away a little we all know she isn't really trying. I loved the sexual tension between these two. Loved loved loved it.

So we switch to the bad guys POV in this book. Sometimes I like this sometimes I don't. But I really loved it this time. Nix is freaking crazy. She is serious trouble and you never know what is going to happen when she is in someones body. Its dark, dirty and scary. She's horrific and so are the people she is in.

Haunted is now going down as one of my favorites in the series. Its not like any of the other books in the series and it totally sucked me in. I was a little worried about reading Eve's story. I can't figure out why I was, but whatever because this one totally blew me away. Its just a much darker world then we are used to and you really never know what to expect. One day I am going to read these all over again and I will pretty excited to read this one. Kelley Armstrong always proves to me why I love her so much, she is a bad ass!!

Eve Levine is used to breaking the rules, but she has never broken a promise once she's given it. The Fates are calling in the favor Eve promised in return for them returning Lucas and Paige to the living world. The demi-demon known as the Nix escaped her prison and has been roaming the world for about 100 years. After a number of failed attempts, the Fates are asking Eve to capture the Nix so she can be placed in an even stronger prison. The hunt becomes personal, though, when the Nix begins targeting those Eve loves the most--her daughter Savannah, and her guardians Lucas and Paige.

With the help of Kristof Nast, Jaime Vegas, and the angel Trsiel, Eve sets out to capture the Nix and protect her daughter. But with this mission being Eve's inaugural quest to angel-hood, Eve will need to choose between accepting angel status to better protect Savannah, or refuse and stay in the ghost world with Kristof. Whatever she chooses, it is forever and there will be no going back.

To be honest, I wasn't sure I would like Eve's story, or Eve herself. But I really liked Eve after reading Haunted. Eve really is a great mother and I can understand Savannah's love for her mother better now. Eve's dedication to Savannah, even in death, is so powerful, and her rage and frustration at not being about to protect and comfort her anymore is so heartbreaking.

Eve also brings out the better part of Kristof, Savannah's father. I even grew to like him a little. We get to see how Kristof really feels about Eve and Savannah, and his regret over missing so much in Savannah's life and what he missed out on with Eve before they both died shows a more caring side of Kristof that we didn't get to see when he was alive. I feel that if he had been given the chance, he would have made a pretty great father.

There were two tension breaking moments that I was really entertained by. The first was when Eve and Kristof scare Jaime's stalker ghost and the other haunters away. They definitely won't be bothering Jaime again. The second was when Jaime called Stonehaven to speak to Elena, but gets Jeremy on the line instead. Jaime is just too cute with how flustered she becomes just from talking to Jeremy over the phone.

If I hadn't been watching The Untouchables on MeTV for the past few months, I never would have noticed the reference to Eliot Ness in the Cleveland 1938 chapter when the Nix inhabits Agnes Miller. It's awesome when I notice references like that that others may overlook.

Anyway, I was glad that my first impression of Eve ended up being wrong. After reading Haunted, Eve has become one of my favorite characters in the Women of the Otherworld series. The next book, Broken, brings us back to Elena and the Pack where Elena has her own favor to uphold.

For pacing and plot line I think this has been the better book of the series so far.

I was a bit prejudiced in the beginning, because the ghost angle didn't appeal to me. When a protagonist can't interact with the physical world the story seems to be less powerful, but it worked very well in this story because Eve moves through many different planes. The author always gives a darker edge to her stories, and both the good and the bad guys don't shy away from violence and deeds that are quite repulsive. It's the best quality of this series, I always know I'll get punched in the guts sooner or later in the story.

I really liked Eve. She's unapologetically herself. In her life she made questionable choices and her reputation was earned, but she is simply a woman who decided to take her life into her hands, protecting herself and her daughter in the only way she deemed possible. Even when she is not forthcoming, when she knows she's being selfish, she admits it without inventing excuses. I think she's simply a realist.

The romantic part was even less prominent than in the other books of the series, but there was love. The relationship between Eve and Kristof calls to me very much. They are older than the average romantic protagonists and I think the author did a wonderful job in portraying a sentiment which has been weathered by time and which has come out stronger for it, a love which is deeply rooted in Eve and Kristof. It was there in the comfort they gave each other, in the comfortable way they asked for help and showed their weaknesses. It was refreshing.

The world building was very rich and interesting and Eve's enemy, the Nix, was a worthy opponent, especially because she was deliciously deranged.

A surprisingly enjoyable read.

Oh the shock. I must confess that I'd never before read a novel by Kelley Armstrong. Though I'd heard about her often and saw her books on the shelves, I just never got around to her stuff. But now I understand what I was missing.

Waking the Witch is my first foray into the Women of the Otherworld series. The central character is Savannah Levine, an orphaned but proud and skilled dark witch. She must put her abilities to the test as a Private Investigator, looking into a string of peculiar murders in the small town of Columbus, Washington. Only to the supernaturally trained eye can we see that there's a little more than foul play involved. And it will take a member of the otherworld to catch this serial killer. But Savannah must watch her back as she makes herself a target as well as those whom she holds dear.

One of the qualities I enjoyed about this was how easy to is to become immersed in the book. I thought the balance of mystery and magic was handled well. If you removed the magic elements, it would make for a pretty fascinating mystery and suspense novel. But because I love all things paranormal, the magic makes it even more interesting. Though I hadn't read a prior novel, it wasn't necessary to enjoy this particular story; yet I do want to go back and read the prior novels at some point. I get OCD like that sometimes, but I really like Armstrong's writing.

For a long time Savannah's been carrying a torch for her friend Adam, but her feelings have gone unreciprocated. I really liked their moments as friends, and found this to be an interesting approach to build a love story. The only potential problem is that really do feel like friends to me aside from her internal monologue desiring more. I think they need a little more romantic chemistry for me to buy them as a couple, but I want to see how this is resolved.

Serving as an introduction to bigger problems, this book isn't necessarily a cliff hanger, but the story ends making it very obvious that there is more in store for the next one. And I will certainly read it right after this.

*Review copy provided by publisher

If you followed the Women of the Otherworld series, you will be familiar with the witch Savannah Levine, daughter of a dark witch and ruthless sorcerer. Now at 21 she is eager to prove herself as a supernatural PI, qualified to operate solo. With her bosses (and guardians) Paige and Lucas on vacation, the new job falls to her. Savannah roars into the small, rundown town of Columbas, Washington on her motorcycle, immediately attracting attention. She's there to find out who murdered Claire Kennedy, a young college student who was in town a mere two weeks before her untimely demise. Armed with photographs of the crime scene that hint at a supernatural cause, Savannah sets out to find the killer, putting herself and everyone around her in jeopardy.

Savannah is a bold and confident young woman, brimming with self-assurance that borders on arrogance at times. She has been in love with Adam, her cute, half-demon co-worker since she was 12. There is a bit of an age gap, a little over a decade and this is perhaps why Adam hasn't made a move though it's clear he is crazy about her. This whodunit is skilfully written and I pegged everyone from town and beyond as a suspect. I liked Savannah but I thought her brazen and self-possessed demeanour was over the top. I also found her difficult to relate to and I'm sure a lot of other female readers would too.

Being familiar with Armstrong's other books in the series I was expecting a lot more romance but it didn't happen and this came as something as a disappointment. Savannah goes on a date with Claire's brother Michael and believes there may be something between them but Adam is never far from her mind. This runs the other way too as Adam is constantly checking in on her, just typical concern for a younger co-worker or something more?

Even if you haven't read the other books in the series, Waking the Witch can be enjoyed as a standalone novel but it will spoil storylines and character developments from previous books. Fast-paced and fun, and with an ending that sends the reader (me) out to the local bookshop to pick up the next book in the series, I can easily recommend this to fans of the supernatural genre.

HAUNTED (Women of the Otherworld #5) by Kelley Armstrong

HAUNTED is the 5th novel in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. Haunted, told from varying POVs, focuses on Eve Levine and Kristof Nash-Savannah's recently deceased parents. As both a witch and a demon, Eve has been summoned by the Fates to take down the Nix. Calling in a favor for saving Lucas and Page, the Fates demand that Eve pay up.

As a ghost, Eve is unable to communicate with Savannah, and the frustration continues when she secretly looks in from time to time on Paige and Lucas, ensuring that Savannah is all right. But making sure her daughter is protected has come at a price.

Nix is a demi-demon who thrives on chaos. Inhabiting the bodies of people on the cusp of a kill, the demi-demon pushes the people to murder, thereby ensuring chaos reigns. On the run after an escape from hell, the Nix is making trouble in the human realm and the Fates have ordered Eve to locate and eradicate the Nix. But trouble continues to follow Eve as the Nix now endeavors to locate those closest to exact retribution. All is not lost when an Angel offers his aid-and with the help of Trsiel, Eve will be reborn into something she never expected or dreamed.

HAUNTED is another fascinating storyline from the mind of Kelley Armstrong. We will meet Eve throughout the series, culminating in the final novel THIRTEEN. Even Trsiel will make a few more appearances. One may wonder why Kelley introduces various characters and storylines throughout the series, but all will be answered in the final instalment of THIRTEEN

I read this via books on tape, just an FYI, which I would not recommend- the narrator's voice is too old for this character and it really just doesn't fit. And the accents were all over the place and I just couldn't get into it as much because of this.

Like I said, books on tape, so I didn't realize this was part of a larger series until I was into it... it's not made super clear from the cover. I wanted to like this book but it really doesn't function as a novel on it's own. If you liked it better as part of the series, I'm happy for you, truly.

The ending, for example (spoilers) was terrible. Absolutely one of the worst I've ever read and it single handedly brought the book down a big notch. You spend the entire book getting to know all these people- you invest in "figuring out" what's going on- and then it's like this huge loophole "OH YEAH, this character you've never met... it was them! possessing his body! ha, duh." (again: for this reason you might like it more if you followed the series?? Yet it sounds from the synopsis like this was the first book that featured her as a narrator so I'm not even sure). It just felt like a huge gimmick like "why did I even read this book?" and the villain herself was so... overdone, overdrawn, singsongy voice and cheesy "i'm a jokester killer" lines.

And even beyond that it ends on a horrible nothing note like "oh yeah I wished for my powers to be gone if everything could be right again" and... what? it just happened? it's another like weird loophole clause like... since when is it possible to do that?? and it literally just ends with everyone hating her because of what she did to kayla (after a few agonizing chapters of her feeling sorry for herself a thousand times).

I felt like the author wanted me to believe the narrator was a badass but I sometimes felt myself doubting it. I really hated when she got self-righteous. My favorite was when she called out an old alcoholic lady for finding Jesus after her daughter's death (which was an assumption? I assumed she had always been like that) and was like "omgggg why didn't you go volunteer if you were so upset by her death wow I hate people like you" and like biggest hypocrite ever or what?? you find out at the END OF THE BOOK that she's held in guilt about her father's death or whatever and instead of "volunteering" or whatever she suggested, she wallowed in her own way. You don't need Jesus to be a wallower. There were other moments too, like her judging the mom for making money with magic "when it should go to DESERVING KIDS LIKE KAYLA" when like the closest she ever got to that was vaguely thinking about making a scholarship for kayla even though she's apparently rolling in cash and could buy the whole town.

which also didn't make sense like it was TOO small town to be believable. I'm sorry, but this place is an HOUR away from a major city on the west coast?? It was trying really hard to be a tiny town in Oklahoma. And everyone's abandoning their homes yet the wealthiest guy is the one buying property- even with magic that doesn't make sense. IDK. I just felt like every character was their own little small-town stereotype that didn't even matter in the end since apparently it was aaaall about the narrator. I honestly couldn't feel that bad when Michael (was that his name?) died like... they went on two dates and he drawled some compliment and she was literally cracking up over his death?? I couldn't care. I think maybe the book, at the end of the day, just had too many characters and it was trying to say something about all of them. If she had pared it down, might have been smoother.

I also read a fair amount of supernatural-esque novels and I didn't feel like this one totally pulled off that element- it seemed too forced at times. Might just be my personal preference though.

I wouldn't recommend it ever as a standalone book, but, if it's a series, who knows. I desperately do not want to read any more of this series yet if it turns out the ending to this book is in another book, I might check it out in that case, so it was pits, but not total pits.

This book is about Eve Levine, deceased mother of teenage Savannah. I have to say that although I enjoyed this book I didn't enjoy it quite as much as some of the others. If you liked the other books in this series you will probably like this one too, although whether you like it more or less than other titles in the series probably depends mostly on the subtleties of personal taste. These are the things I particularly enjoyed about it:

1) The main character is a ghost. She can't affect anything in the real world and the only living people she can communicate with are necromancers. I can't think of another book off the top of my head where the protagonist is not only a ghost, but a ghost unable to do anything but 'watch' the world of the living. This had novelty value for me.

2)Eve is no innocent and I find the practical approach she takes to 'good' and 'evil' interesting. Very much 'the end justifies the means' sort of character.

3)The baddie, the 'Nix' was pretty cool. By cool I mean she was evil but smart enough that the chase lasted the whole book. I get bored with stupid baddies. The Nix's motives, whilst sick, were also made understandable. Hmmmm, on second thoughts maybe it's not such a good thing that the author clearly explained why the Nix gained so much fulfillment and pleasure from such terrible acts! There's also a scene where Eve has to go to a serial killer's hell which is very creepy.

Things stopping it from gaining another star or two:
1) Some aspects seemed a little too easy, too transparent plot devices. Other scenes I didn't feel added anything to the overall story. Like the pirate town. It just annoyed me without providing amusement or adding anything to the story. It seemed a little like the author went 'well I guess I should put some scene in so it doesn't seem like they got to their destination too quickly - everyone loves Pirates, I'll put some in!'. But they just didn't do it for me.

2)There were several points where I didn't understand why things were done a certain way. *Spoiler Alert*
Like sending Eve to the serial killer's hell to talk to Daschev; surely if the Fates can pluck ghosts from wherever they are to their throne room, Dashev should be no exception? And when Eve temporarily takes over Paige's body; surely once she's explained the situation to Lucas she could then remove herself and let Paige and Lucas take care of the situation in the living world? Why does it need to be her controlling Paige's body? Surely Paige would do it better since it's her own body? And the ending with Kristof and the whole angel thing seemed a little bit too neat. With Eve's personality it would have made more sense to me if she'd just broken a bunch of rules and made a general nuisance of herself to the Fates to be with Kristof.

Savannah Levine is now 21 and still `just' a researcher at Paige and Lucas' agency. She feels like she's ready to take on a case of her own when one just falls into her lap. Paige, Lucas, and Adam are all away and Savannah's headed out to the town of Columbus, Washington to investigate three murders with supernatural overtones.

There are some very interesting characters that Savannah meets in her search for information about the three young women who were killed: Kayla and Paula, one of the murdered girls' daughter and mother; Michael, the latest dead girl's brother; Cody, the shady married boyfriend; and the `cult' of cookie makers in the hills. Between the obstacles she finds in her path and her suddenly unreliable powers, Savannah has a lot to deal with on her first solo investigation. What happens when you realize you really can't do everything on your own?

I was so very happy when I got to review this book! I love all of the books in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series and this one was no different. Of course, now that I've read it, I can't wait for the next book!! I enjoyed the story very much and I think it's great that she finally wrote a book in Savannah's voice and we get to see so much more about what makes her tick. Remember: never make promises you can't keep...

Women of the Otherworld Series: Bitten (1), Stolen (2), Dime Store Magic (3), Industrial Magic (4), Haunted (5), Broken (6), No Humans Involved (7), Personal Demon (8), Living With the Dead (9), Frostbitten (10), Waking the Witch (11)

Waking the Witch, the eleventh book in the Women of the Otherworld series, is the first to feature Savannah Levine as the lead character. Throughout the series, Savannah has grown up from the little, yet powerful, witch/sorcerer to an even stronger woman.

While I enjoyed Savannah's first solo case, I appreciated the look inside her psyche more. She's always been one of a kind in regards to her abilities given her parentage, but it's impressive to see how well she walks the line between how Paige raised her and how people expect the daughter of Eve Levine to behave. Not nearly as compassionate as her guardians, I felt Savannah was easy to relate to. Moral lines are more blurred for her than for Paige, allowing her to take more risks and feel less guilt. I found her occasional self-doubt surprising, but it made her character much more palatable. Strong-willed and often abrasive, Savannah's worries soften much of her external attitude.

I loved how Savannah longs for Adam to finally realize she's not a little girl anymore. It's not a romance subplot, but more of a crush on a best friend that seems to be unrequited. Or just unnoticed. That will more likely be dealt with in future books. For now, it was wonderful to read about a super hot, hugely powerful woman who's afraid to admit her feelings for a long-time friend.

The mystery in Waking the Witch was astounding. There was a lot going on, to the point where you don't know if you have one big mystery or several separate ones. Everything works out clearly in the end, but for much of the book it's the best type of confusing. The fact that Savannah is trying so hard to prove herself while not being nearly as careful as Paige and Lucas would have been in the same situation makes the story go in directions you won't see coming.

I've always enjoyed the books that focus on Paige and Eve the best, partly because I'm a big fan of books that feature witches, but also in part because of what Savannah always brought into the story. The character is truly fantastic and is obviously going to play a big role in the last two books of this series. As the end gets closer, the Women of the Otherworld series is really heating up.

Savannah is as cool as I hoped she would be. Unfortunately, I thought her story was almost as boring as Paige's... The plot centers around a small town murder mystery that Savannah is determined to solve (with the help of a cute cop and 2 demon friends) to prove herself to everyone. I liked her character; she's bitchy, sarcastic, and jaded--but at the same time, she's just so focused on solving this case that she doesn't really show any real signs of emotion until the very end. Also, if you're looking for romance you may be a bit disappointed; Savannah's had a longtime crush on this demon guy Adam, and he's in this story, but as mentioned before, the plot is very focused on the small town murder mystery. I wouldn't have minded this, had I not found it so uninteresting... Who would've thought Savannah's story could be so lacking in drama? And just when it starts to get good, the book ends in a semi-cliffhanger. It certainly didn't feel like Savannah woke up until the very end. There is obviously going to be a sequel, and I'm sure I'll read it, but for now I just wish I'd waited for my library to get this one. By the way, the story here is a lot less connected to the more recent books, so you don't need to have read them all to know what's going on (though why not, since they were more entertaining?).

One of the things I love best about the Otherworld series is that time passes in the books pretty much like real-time. The series began back in 2001 and we've essentially watched the characters change and grow through 10 years of their own lives. We met Savannah in the 2nd book, as a 12 year-old child and now she's a 21 year-old woman, serving as the narrator of her very own story. It's a little hard to see her as an adult, but I think that's in part to her personality, which is still a little impetuous and self-absorbed. And she is still trying to prove herself.

So when Paige and Lucas go on vacation, Savannah jumps at the chance to take the lead on her very own case. The tip comes from Jesse, a half-demon contact of Lucas' -- and it takes Savannah to a small town to investigate a trio of human murders with a link to the occult. She joins forces with an off-duty cop named Michael, whose sister was one of the victims. I liked him right away (and the developments with his character left me cursing.)

There's a wide range of suspects: from the strange commune of girls living with a creepy therapist... to the adulterous boyfriend of one of the victims. Links to the supernatural keep popping up, but Savannah can't quite put her finger on how they're tied to the case. Savannah's a tough girl, as we are reminded more than once, but she could have helped herself a lot by reaching out and being honest with her family and friends. It was frustrating to keep watching her make this mistake. The story would have gone very differently if she weren't so bent on proving herself.

Adam shows up in the second half of the book. We don't get a romance between him and Savannah, but the groundwork is there. I'm hoping they'll pursue it in the next book, which is also a Savannah story. The resolution here on the murder/mystery was a huge surprise for me and while that storyline did wrap up, the ending is a pretty big cliffhanger. I enjoyed the book, but I wish we would have had more crossover with the other characters from the previous books. 4 stars.

I downloaded this from overdrive as an audiobook. No place did it explain that it was part of a series.

Savannah Levine is asked to do her first solo job as a detective. The mother of a dead girl asks her through Jess to investigate a death. The beautiful, six foot Savannah takes off on her bike to solve the mystery. There were a ton of characters that we are introduced to as the possible killers.

Spoiler**I was a little ticked to discover that the actual killer was a brand new character from another book. This is like book 11 or 12 in this series. This would have been useful information to know prior to checking out and listening to this book. **Spoiler over.

Savannah was a mess through most of this book. She was hot for Michael. She was hot for Adam. She is hot. I think we got it. Then she throws a temper tantrum at the very end of the book and stalks off on her bike.

When Paige and Lucas take a long overdue vacation, 21 year-old Savannah Levine is quite excited for the opportunity to tackle her first solo case in their absence. The job takes her out of town with an acquaintance of Lucas' as they track down a serial killer who appears to be using occult rituals. While they're on the case the murders continue, leaving a trail of bodies leading right to Savannah. As she tries to uncover the killer, her life is threatened and only by drawing on a reserve of power she'd been afraid to access, along with a little help from an unexpected source does she manage to get out alive.

This is the first Otherworld book narrated by Savannah, and I am a huge fan! I'm generally partial to the Elena stories, but I really enjoyed this tale from the young witch's point of view. Savannah has grown into a confident and capable young woman. She's still a bit hot-headed at times, but that makes her a more interesting character as she struggles to do the right thing and not give in to her darker urges. There's plenty of action throughout the book with a little hint of romance as well. The mystery in the story is well planned and kept me guessing until almost the very end. And just when you think the story is done, a surprise twist makes for a bit of a cliff-hanger that has me eager to read Savannah's next adventure.

Waking the Witch is another great installment in the Women of the Otherworld series. Savannah is now one of my favorite characters in the series, and I look forward to more books featuring her as the heroine.

In 'Waking the Witch' Savannah gets her first solo case and she's determined to prove she can handle it all by herself. The book fits seamlessly into the wider series but it could probably also be read as a stand-alone.

The mystery and writing is pretty decent, consistent with Kelly Armstrong's usual standard. So if you like her other books this one is in much the same vein. Long time readers will appreciate that the story is told from Savannah's point of view; we've watched her grow from childhood and suffer through various traumatic experiences along the way and we're ready to see her come into her own. However I must admit I felt a little let down by it all. In previous books Savannah is portrayed as an unusually gifted sorceror-witch hybrid with the potential for some seriously amped up awesomeness. In this book, she comes across as having about the same level of abilities as Paige had in her books - useful but not superpowerful. It's true that something seems to be messing with her powers in this book but even when they're working they still don't seem all that amazing.

The other major criticsm I have to make is that this book feel likes only half a book. Whilst the central mystery is solved, the book ends with a major cliff-hanger and leaves many other subplots unfinished. This is the first time this author has done this to me and I don't appreciate being left with so many unresolved points. If I'd known this before reading it I would probably have waited until the next book was out as well (which I assume will be the other 'half' of the story). Whilst cliffhangers can be a useful plot device, I feel like this was the wrong choice here and the book would have been better to finish a little earlier with a strong resolution and then have the next one pick up at the point when everything starts to unravel.

Waking the Witch
This was another great book from Kelley Armstrong. This book is from the point of view of Savannah. Savannah is left alone to take care of Paige and Lucas's PI business while they are on vacation. It is her turn to prove that she able to take care of herself in there dangerous supernatural world. However things are not what they seem to be when Savannah goes to work three related murders that have a supernatural angle. She needs to prove to herself that she can go solo from Paige and Lucas. Will Savannah be able to prove to everyone that she can be trusted to work on her own or will it all blow up in her face in a deadly way.

Savannah's character is another great strong supernatural female lead. Savannah is smart, funny, and extremely motivated to make her life work. I can't wait to hear more from savannah and she if she will untimely end up with Adam or some other supernatural hunk.

ETA: After reading other reviews: I love the fact that Savannah is portrayed a little more timid than she has been in other books. She is just coming into her own and is not sure what her next move is. Her life so far has not been an easy one and she still has many things that she needs to work through. With everything that she has been through in her other books one would not expect to find a fully happy well rounded functioning adult. You would expect to find exactly what the author writes. Savannah is working though her phobias and her fears through this book while trying to get a better handle on whom she is exactly. Armstrong always writes great female characters most of the time though her characters are greatly damaged individuals. It is her forte and she will cling to it which is great that she continued this with Savannah. I would not have enjoyed this book as much had savannah been the happy bubbly self assured individual everyone else seemed to what to see.

Eve Levine is a black witch with a disregard for following the rules, and "kick-butt-ask-questions-later attitude" - it matters very little that she is a ghost. Eve has been inhabiting the ghost world for the past three years - popping out to check on her teenage daughter Savannah from time to time, and generally being resident pain-in-the-tookus to the Fates.

In Industrial Magic, the Fates did a little favor for Eve and now they're ready to collect. Eve must capture the depraved demi-demon the Nix, and return her wicked soul to the hell she so richly deserves. To find and defeat the Nix, Eve will need the help of celebrity necromancer Jamie Vegas and an angel named Trsiel. If Eve completes her task, she will quite literally earn her wings. If she fails, the Nix will send her to a place where she'll never be seen or heard from again. The stakes are high, and Eve thought she had this afterlife stuff all figured out...

I wasn't all that excited to start this book. I knew it was about Eve, and I just wasn't interested in her. She was killed in book 2, Stolen - a victim of a madman with more money than he knew what to do with. And I was ok with her story ending there. Fortunately though, I'm a "completest" - I can't just stop reading a series that I'm invested in. Otherwise, I would have missed out on a wonderfully entertaining story.

Haunted is every bit as good as its predecessors. Armstrong's writing gets better and better with each new book. Haunted is a truly original story in a series that is chock-full of original stories. She weaves together a masterful tale of the paranormal world that leaves the reader breathless with anticipation for the next book!

We first met Savannah back in book 2 of the Women of the Otherworld series. She was a smart-mouthed teen with razor sharp wit, and a screw-it-all attitude. Now, Savannah is 21, and although she has matured, not much else has changed. She's still just as smart-mouthed and smart, although she does try to reign in the attitude when she can. Of course, all of these things are the reason I love her! I've been dying for a Savannah book, and I was definitely not disappointed with it.

Savannah is on her first solo assignment and things keep going from bad to worse. There was a great amount of mystery in this book. You never know who the bad guy is from beginning until the big reveal. Every time I thought I had it figured out, it threw me for a loop and changed it all up again. This book was action packed and kept me turning pages until way late into the night! There was some great scenes with sexual tension, but this is just a small part of the story, not the overlying storyline.

All of the characters in this quirky little town were a lot of fun. Each had a their own unique personality, and their own secret to keep hidden. I love Kelley's writing and all the characters that are weaved in and out of this series. We get to see another side of fun-loving Adam, which was great. Not much Lucas and Paige, but you get to see a great deal how they have affected Savannah's life, which was wonderful. I definitely recommend this book it to all of the Kelley fans out there! If you haven't read her books yet, then what are you waiting for???

Ever since I first heard about Savannah, I have been waiting for the brilliant kid witch to strut her stuff. She's twenty-one now and still living at home with her adoptive parents, Paige and Lucas. When a case comes into the agency while the pair are off on their honeymoon in Hawaii, Savannah scoops it up. It's time she earned her stripes as a private investigator.

The case--young women have been murdered in a small mill town. The police are stymied and there are magical elements involved. Savannah's going to use her witchy powers to find justice for the women.

She finds a bit of romance, too, when a half-brother of one of the victims shows up to investigate, too. Detective Kennedy might just be the man for her except he's not magically gifted. Unfortunately, someone in town doesn't want the cases solved and the detective is the first to die.

I'm going to say upfront this novel might not be for everyone. If you are dedicated fan of Kelley Armstrong and like the witchy elements of "Women of the Otherworld" you're probably going to like this book.

Rebecca Kyle, October 2010

Half demon sorceress Savannah Levine turned supernatural investigator has had supporting roles in a handful of previous WotO books (Stolen, Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic, Haunted and No Humans Involved), but only as a child and teenager. WAKING THE WITCH is her first, and hopefully not her last, staring narration as an adult.

I haven't read all the previous WotO books yet so most of the character cameos were wasted on me, but I had no problem becoming engrossed in this paranormal world populated by werewolves, witches, half demons, vampires, sorcerers, shamans, and necromancers who keep their existence hidden from world at large.

Savannah was the real draw in WAKING THE WITCH. She is an imminently likable heroine who is comfortable in her own skin, has a capable cool attitude, and a fearless tenacity when it comes to justice. Not to mention three hot guys (a detective, and two half demons) who wouldn't mind driving off into the sunset on the back of her wicked cool motorcycle.

WAKING THE WITCH proves once again what a good writer Kelley Armstrong is. This story abounds with subtle humor, concise yet vivid characterizations, and best of all a captivating plot with a touch of romance. My only real complaint is that the ending kind of came out of nowhere and the lead in for the next Savannah book leaves a few too many things unresolved this time around. Of course that just makes me want to read the next WotO novel all the more.

Sexual Content: References to sex. A brief non graphic sex scene.

CLIFFHANGER ENDING !!!!!!!!!!!! ARGUH NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO ! it was so intense, it was just almost there and then it hit the fan and .......the end.Crispy Hell, I want to know what happens and I don't have the next book yet.Savannah has grown up to be a big girl with big girl problems and a dark past that haunts her to this day. She gets her first case to solve on her own well kind of on her own men keep popping up. Her lust for Adam is still not going anywhere but her lust for another boy/man is a Detective from Dallas is heating up the look out. Then there is her new semi partner on this case and he's not so bad himself. Savannah does her best, she follows the leads and in this town it's not easy, small town police don't care for her much nor do several of the town folk. Things go from hassled to disastrous quickly, lives end and others are changed forever.What a charged read this was I was totally cheering for Savannah. On the edge of my seat. i was not expecting to like this book at all, I've not liked her as a character before. I was wrong, she's good. Now if she'd just do what want her to do......

"Haunted" is the 5th Women of the World novel and this time narrated by Eve Levine. You might remember Eve as Savannah's half-demon/witch mother who died before the events of the 2nd book in the series "Stolen." In this story Eve is called upon by Fates to pay back their favor by hunting down the Nix - a demon who invades human bodies, compels them to commit atrocities and feeds on the chaos that follows.

Considering that Eve is a ghost and roams the afterlife world, you can understand why I was extremely reluctant to read this book. How can you possibly relate to a ghost? However, Armstrong manages to pull it off and "Haunted" is actually quite an entertaining, fast-paced adventure story, full of action and interesting characters. There is even some hot romance between Eve and her long-time sorcerer flame and Savannah's father Kristof (who is also incidentally dead). The mythology is completely new and encompasses angels, demons, various hell dimensions, necromancers, etc. I can't say this is my favorite Kelley world (I much prefer her werewolf and vampire mythologies), mostly because the rules and boundaries of it are hazy. But I appreciate Armstrong's imagination and some of her afterlife ideas are quite neat.

In conclusion, an advice: if you only like Kelley's werewolf stories (they are my favorite too), this installment can be easily omitted, because nothing affecting Clay and Elena happens here. But if you are a "completist" and read your series in full, don't be afraid, this book is not as bad as it at first seems. In fact, "Haunted" is IMO better than Armstrong's witches' stories.

Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld is one of my favorite fantasy series out there. Armstrong does a wonderfully balanced mixture of paranormal, fantasy, suspense, horror, and romance that keeps me anticipating the next installment. I couldn't wait for the fifth book to come out. Haunted is not my favorite one of the series, but it is still a gem of a read. We have read about Elena Michaels, the only female werewolf in the world, in Bitten and Stolen and have also read about naive and spunky witch Paige Winterbourne in Dime Store Magic and Industrial Magic and now it is the turn of ghost Eve Levine. Eve was a powerhouse to be reckoned with in the supernatural world. She was a half witch, half demon with knowledge of sorcerer spells and black magic. After she dies in a misguided attempt to rescue her daughter from being locked up in a paranormal research compound (Stolen), Eve spends her afterlife years watching her daughter Savannah, wishing she'd have the opportunity to talk to her at least once. In the afterlife, Eve reunites with Kristof Nast, former sorcerer and top dog of one of the most powerful Cabals in the world, and father of Savannah. Eve's only job has been to keep an eye on haunters and spooks, but is now given the difficult task of catching a demi-demon known as the Nix -- a task that three high-rank angels had failed to complete. The Nix gets into the minds of people that have murderous thoughts and intent, but don't dare to commit the actual act. The Nix inhabits the bodies of these would-be killers and does the dark deeds for them. She enjoys the chaos those deeds make, and her ultimate satisfaction lies on betraying the same people she's helped commit the fatal acts. Capturing the Nix isn't easy and Eve has to keep track of all her moves. But then things become all the more dangerous when the Nix targets Savannah. There are various twists throughout the novel.

This is the most complex installment out of the five books. There are many plot layers and scene changes that the reader must keep track of. The afterlife in this book is not unlike those of the living when it comes to having jobs, homes and partners. However, there are the supernatural aspects of portals, dimensions and other things that set this alternate world apart from the living one. The Nix is one creepy villain! The stories centered on the murders she helped commit were few of the scariest I have read in a long time. The details are gruesome, with a lot of horror and gore into the mix. The ones that freaked me out the most include the one with the mother who murdered her kids to make her philandering husband suffer and the one set in Colonial Massachusetts where a young woman murders her parents. They are incredibly told -- just like standard ghost stories. The plot thickens throughout the novel and a lot of twists and turns take place. However, things get a bit slow toward the end for me, but the final pages bring the action and wonderful storytelling back. The great thing about this book, like the other four, is that there is a lot of humor, bantering and quips between the characters. I have always liked Kelley's humor in these books. As said earlier, she does a superb job in mixing different sub-genres together and creating awesome dialogue. As for the characters, Eve is a very compelling heroine. She has some great qualities that did not come about when characters in the previous novels talked about her. She was obviously deeply misunderstood while alive. Another person who doesn't come across as imposing and intimidating as I had originally thought is Kristof. I loved him because he seemed like a loving, caring father. He also wants Eve to let go of the past and move on. I enjoyed reading about how these two star-crossed lovers reunited in the afterlife. This love story is the most compelling one in the series thus far. This novel is similar to Bitten in that the heroine must come to terms with what she is and get closure. And as for the other characters, the angel Trsiel and the Fates are quite interesting and Luther Ross, Poltergeist and Nymphomaniac (because he teaches and sleeps with nymphs, lol) is hilarious. Jamie the necromancer is back in this installment. She is a fun character and I like that she has a crush on alpha werewolf Jeremy. Paige and Lucas also appear in this book, but most of the scenes with them are of Eve watching them from afar. The werewolves and vampires aren't featured in this book, which is disappointing. The good news is that the next WOTO novel will be about Elena, Clay and the other werewolves again. And I am keeping my fingers crossed about there being an installment centered on vampire Cassandra. All in all, Haunted is yet another awesome installment in this riveting series. Bitten and Industrial Magic are still my favorites, but this one is also a definite keeper. I look forward to reading Broken with utmost anticipation.

Eve Levine is a ghost. In "Industrial Magic" she makes a deal with The Fates and, if Paige and Lucas are returned to life, she'll owe The Fates a favor. In "Haunted," they've decided to call it in.

What they want seems to be impossible. The Nix, a demi-demon, has accidentally been let loose in the world. For, oh, several hundred years. She's been nearly caught but has escaped. Eve's task is to track her down and bring her in, so to speak. She's scared witless but she isn't alone: she has the help of Kris (who is her daughter's father and the love of her life) and Tsriel, an angel.

The Afterlife, according to these books, is very different from what most of us think of as "Heaven." Eve encounters various things: a pirate's enclave and a school for poltergeists, for example. There is a version of what hell must be like but, in this case, was reserved for the worst among us: serial killers and like that.

The story goes back and forth between Nix and Eve, which can get confusing. I had to look back a few times to remember who this person or that person was. I have to say, as you can probably tell by the lackluster thoughts here, I didn't really care for this book. I am a big fan of Armstrong's but this one just didn't thrill me.

On the plus side, we see more of Savannah, of Paige and Lucas (who got married between Industrial Magic and Haunted) and Jaime. Since Jaime is going to have her own book coming up, that's a good thing.

I have read all of the books in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series and while Haunted, the newest in the series, is different from what we have seen so far in the other books, it is just as good.

This book centers around Eve Levine, who has been mentioned and appeared in previous books in the series. I thought that of all the heroines to date, Eve was the best one that Armstrong has written. She is tough, funny, realistic and not a goody two shoes. She does what she has to in order to survive and never lies to herself. In other books, she was painted as a bad guy but in this book you see Eve's true motivations and get a glimpse of things from her eyes, making her an interesting heroine.

This book also is different because of the setting and the cast of characters. This book takes place in Armstrong's version of the ever-after for supernaturals. We meet all sorts of characters that range from the Fates, demons, ghosts, werewolves, angels, necromancers and of course one angry Nix. Their is an interesting plot to the story which leads our heroine from one adventure to the next. The book never slows down- it is action packed from beginning to end. I like how Armstrong ties in the adventure to the dilemmas faced by Eve in regards to her own personal "demons."

The only reason I did not give it five stars is that at times it seemed the after-life was kind of unrealistic. If this is Armstrong's idea of life after death it does not seem to be such a bad thing.

But all in all, one great read. She has a great story, fast paced adventure, one tough heroine and an interesting universe. This book was also more humourous than the others so far which adds to the overall package. I cant wait for the next Women of Otherworld story and I really hope the author considers a book devoted to Jamie the Necromancer.

Good Job Ms. Armstrong!

I ordered Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong, the cover says Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong, but the content is some other book by Christine Feehan. Any suggestions on how I fix that?
The "Returns" section makes no mention of how to correct receiving the wrong content.
When I tried to re-download, the book now has a different cover and states it is currently not available to customers in Africa! How weird is that?

Action packed urban fantasy with ghostly time travel, fates, nasty evil bad things and even angels. Phew. I really enjoyed visiting the murderers and seeing inside their heads in this world. There were some tear wrenching moments and a lot of death. I love the devotion Kristof had for Eve, he was a wonderful character.
Eve, a part demon witch ghost is obsessed with watching her daughter and trying to communicate with her. The rest of her after life has become a shadow, even the love of her life and after life Kristof. He has always been there and still is, even if it means she will never be there for him.
When a murderous demon escapes the hold of the Fates, they search out Eve to work with an angel to help bring her in. This new works sparks something in Eve and awakens something inside. She travels through time with Trsiel, an angel to visit a few of histories most notorious murders.
I really loved the story the time travel, the powers , the evil badness, but I did not like the very ending. It was just a bit cliche'.

Savannah is a witch, the daughter of a witch and half-demon, and an up and coming private investigator for a supernatural agency. On her first solo case she is investigating the death of three young women. Things start to get complicated fast after Savannah is threatened, the brother of one of the victims becomes a victim himself, and Savannah's powers start to act up. Will she survive to solve the case?

When I picked this up, I didn't realize it was part of a series. The cover didn't say anything about it. That being said, this was a great story that stood alone until right near the end. Then all kinds of characters appeared that obviously came from previous books in the series. I got a bit confused about who was who and what bearing they had on the story. The ending itself made me mad. It stopped without a true ending, like so many series books.

I listened to this as an audiobook, so I had the benefit of a narrator. The voice fit as a 21 year old woman. Youthful and expressive. I didn't enjoy the voice used for the bad guy near the end though. It was just too over done. But overall, it made for good listening.

Eve Levine, Savannah's mother, has been dead for several years but that doesn't stop her from looking in on her daughter and trying to protect her and reach out to her. In fact, Eve's spending her death wishing she could be alive again rather than getting a job and settling down with Kris, her lover and Savannah's father.

When she was alive, Eve broke the rules. As a witch she practiced sorcerer spells and dark magic. In death, Eve hasn't learned to stay within the rules. The Fates are about fed up but they have a Nix on the loose on Earth and Eve may be just the person to find the Nix and bring it back. The Fates have to find something for Eve to do before she causes any more trouble in the afterlife. Eve accepts the job before looking into all it's details and finds herself being groomed for angelhood. She has an angel helping her in her search for the Nix. Working with Trsiel is frustrating as Eve learns angels have even more rules to follow and they don't really protect humans either. With Kris's help they manage to find the Nix and then the Nix turns on those Eve loves most.

It's a race to get the Nix before the Nix can hurt Savannah, Paige, and Eve's friends. But Eve has to learn to think before she acts. Some things are more important than power and spells as Eve searches for ways to protect her loved ones.

The characters are continuations from the previous books. This book however seems to have a more light-hearted undertone to the interpersonal relationships and communications. The story is multi-layered and multi-threaded but it can be read as a simple action adventure.

Kelley Armstrong's "Haunted" is the 5th installment in the Women of the Otherworld Series. In "Haunted" we are introduced to Eve Levine, former coven member and mother of Savannah, Paige's young charge. Oh yeah, she's a ghost. Having died in book 2, "Stolen," before the reader joins the action at the compound, Eve is hanging out in the supernatural aferlife. She attempts to watch over Savannah, but cannot effect the living world. The Fates come to Eve with a proposition. Instead of meddling with the living, she should help them catch a killer. A demi-demon Nixen has escaped the Hell dimension the Fates created for her and is partnering with humans who have the propensity to kill. The Nix taps into the desire to kill and sends the people on murderous rampages. Eve must help bring the Nix back to her prison with a little help from Kristof Nast, Savannah's father, and an angel named Trsiel.

I really enjoyed this novel. I think it may be my favorite in the series so far. I was entranced with the Nix and the flashes of how she persuaded her partners to commit their crimes. I also enjoyed Eve. She was painted as being so evil by the Coven Elders and other characters, it was nice and surprising to actually get to meet this character for myself.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes supernatural mysteries and thrillers.

Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite writers: she writes about strong preternatural women and thoug they're set in an fantasy world, they are completely believable. And unlike most writers, she has the guts to change her main character and thus avoiding the way most series end up: going downhill, because how much can you make one person do and keep it still believable ? So she takes a character she introduced in another books and makes that her main character.

In book 5, Eve Levine is that main character. In the first two books we had a werewolve, in books 3 and 4 a witch, now we have a witch/half-demon/ghost.

Her being a ghost, a big part of the book is set in the afterlife. Eve was not a "good" person like Paige, but she was a good mother and loved her daughter above everything else. So much, that she can't let go of her after she died: Eve spends most of her afterlife checking up in Savannah, though there is nothing she can do if anything would happen to Savannah. So she tries to find a way to get involved in the real world.

But then the Fates give her a job: a Nix they caught a few 100 years ago, escaped about a hundred years ago, and they've had a lot of trouble a) finding her and b) catching her. The Nix has been found three times, but escaped three times, with great damage to those they send after her. So now they send Eve "where angels fear to thread" as another review said it. And they were quit right ! Because, to catch the Nix, they need someone who can think like she does but is still a decent person. (The Fates had tried sending a serial-killer after her, but that didn't go too well).

Catching a Nix is already a full job, but Eve needs to find time to check up on Savannah and there is also Kristof, Savannah's father. And the only thing he regrets about his life is letting Eve and Savannah go, so he's not about to give her up, now that he found Eve in the afterlife !

So, if you want to know if Eve finds a way to contact Savannah, catch the Nix and avoid kristof, you better read the book !

"Haunted" marks a departure of sorts in the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong in that the central character is a spirit/ghost. Eve Levine, who in her lifetime was a half-demon, half-witch, is also the mother of teen witch Savannah. Though Eve is now a ghost residing in the afterlife, she is very much still a fixture in her daughter's life, watching over her scrupulously. Eve is given the excruciating task of apprehending the Nix, a demonic figure that feeds off chaos and pain. The Nix has escaped the confines of hell and is now unleashing chaos in the world by possessing those who have the urge to kill and egging them on to indulge in their blood lust. Well, Eve's reservations about tackling this assignment is put aside when her beloved daughter Savannah becomes a target.

This fifth installment is much darker than the earlier books, and there is plenty of action, violence and gore. It provides a fascinating look into the afterlife as imagined in the otherworld, and Eve Levine is a multi-faceted character that carries this story credibly. Highly recommended for fans of the genre.

I'm reading this series in order, and have to say Elena is my favorite. I think the first book of this series is the best, which is not "the usual' for most part. I really enjoyed the first two in this series, then got to Paige's stories, that seemed to change the series in some ways. So, I am glad to get back to a darker tale, with this story. Eve Levine, is a somewhat good/bad character. She's a tough gal set out on a mission to get even a tougher opponnet. Along with Kristof, and an angel, the story unfolds, and we find out a lot about Eve and Kristof. Those 2 main characters have an interesting relationship, that only gets better. That alone kept me interested, and throw in a good 'bad guy hunt', and we have a good story. Glad tne next installment is back to Elena,though. She's my favorite, and will most likely stay that way, but Eve is a good read.

Savannah the teenage witch, is no longer a teenager. Savannah 's now twenty-one and minding the detective agency while her guardians, Paige and Lucas, are on vacation when Savannah gets the opportunity she's been waiting for - a case of her own.

I enjoyed Savannah as the narrator in Waking the Witch, and I enjoyed watching the investigation of the possibly ritual linked murders of three young women unfold and watching Savannah pick up clues that the local police have missed. But as the story progresses there are definitely some sad moments - so this is not a feel good read.

Even though Savannah gets a pretty good handle as to what's been going on with the killings, Waking the Witch leaves the story without real resolution. In fact author Armstrong gives Savannah's world a good hard shakeup at the end because as it turns out this is just the first of three books starring Savannah, and we readers are left with a 'to be continued' when all is said and done.

"Waking the Witch' is an entertaining book, but it's not really a supernatural thriller. Savannah Levine-Nast has metamorphasized into a nice young woman with very sporadic tantrums, and is much less entertaining than she was when she was a firecracker of a character with the nastiest personality this side of Rush Limbaugh. In this outing she is off on her own to solve a mystery in a small town, and while there are supernatural elements, the fact is that this whole book could have been done without any supernatural happenings, and not lost a beat. Armstrong seems to be writing for a younger audience here, and the book was missing her usual sexual sizzle, and the violence has been turned down. I enjoyed the book, but it wasn't what I wanted.

Reading this is like going to a fancy steakhouse, but all they have on the menu for the night are hamburgers. Satisfying, but not as much as it could have been.

"Haunted" sort of a detective novel in a fantasy setting. The main character, E--, is a ghost who regrets the foolish risk that got her killed, leaving her daughter S-- to grow up without her. E-- can teleport around the world and to an afterlife relm for creatures with magical talent. Near the beginning of the novel, E-- agrees to repay a major debt by finding and arresting another ghost, N--, who is possessing people and causing them to commit atrocities. The question is, how to locate a trecherous ghost who doesn't wish to be found? (This is simplified; you'll enjoy the details as you read.) E-- is portrayed as a tarnished soul, someone of dubious morals but who usually does the right thing.

There's a lot of enjoyment to be had reading this novel. "Haunted" is a stand alone novel, fast paced and entertaining. The universe is intersting and unique. The interaction between living creatures and ghosts and other spirits was intreguing.

My problems with it are thus. First, the author slanders an inocent woman, Lizzy Bordon. Lizzy was found inocent at her trial, and recent re-investigations into the case again found that she was innocent. Someone else murdered her parents, and then she was most likely tortured by strangers for the rest of her life by similar accusations, due to the catchy poem. Perpetrating this lie seems unnecessarily cruel. Second, the "afterlife" portrayed is pretty bland. What is the purpose? Why are they there? Really, it sounds BORRING -- stand around and pretend to do what you've been doing for your entire life. Yawn. So, while that aspect of story was entertaining, I really think the author could have done more with it. Third, E-- says she is morraly corrupt, yet she doesn't act that way. Thus, the "I used to be so bad when I was alive" musings got old.

"Haunted" is overall an interesting and entertaining fantasy nove, well suited for a lazy afternoon.

Every book I read of Kelly Armstrong I like better than the next. Unlike many people on the store, I loved the two books revolving around Paige. However, have just finished Haunted last night, I like it even better. Armstrong managed to still have a read that is thoroughly engrossing, characters that you fall in love with, and an imagination that never stops twisting while adding in very dark, demented story lines that at times were disturbing and shocking. She did a perfect mixture of dark and light reading. Light enough to make you feel like you are on a fantastical journey and dark enough to be taken seriously and make you hold your breath while turning the page. She also masterfully intertwines the characters from her other four books that lets you get back in touch with them while never taking away importance from the main character of the moment. I saved this book until I knew I would have a large chunk of time to devour it. I am glad I did, I was not able to put it down. I CAN NOT wait until the next installment. Kelly is quickly becoming my favorite author.

So I officially have a new favorite character, Savannah Levine! She has made appearances in other books in this series but this one is all hers. When we first read about Savannah, she is a lot younger and a bit of a brat. In this book, she is in her early 20's and has grown into a feisty but good girl. I hope she is featured a lot more in the series. I also appreciate how Kelley Armstrong makes each book have the main characters personality. I noticed it so much when reading this book. It's great how when you read about Elena, the whole book has her persona then read this book and it is all Savannah, and yet they all gel together. Love this series, don't want it to end.

Like all of Armstrong's books I've read, this one was great! Not as great as the first three but still, this wasn't a disappointment at all. Eve is a great character. I love that she's not uptight about the rules and I think this is the first female character we see who doesn't always think things completely through before acting. She mostly follows her gut reactions like her daughter, Savannah, does. I really like Jamie's character and was glad to see her return and have a bigger part in this book. I can't wait for a book from her point of view. I was also surprised to at how big of a role Lucas and Paige got in the scheme of things. I was expecting just a brief mentioning. This books plot was great, it kept you on your toes and was inventive. You know Eve isn't going to die because she already is dead, but Armstrong worked around it and made it so you still worried about the characters safety. She added a lot of twists in the story and the nix was like watching Eve try to catch smoke. This was such a great read. And I can't wait for Broken to come out.

I've read all of Kelley Armstrong's books, and this one kept me reading like no other! The exploration of Eve's character in her afterlife was captivating, and functioned to explain much of Savannah's character. Eve is one tough broad - dead or alive! There was intense action sprinkled throughout, and Eve's relationship with Kristof added a nice element of romance that was not overdone.

Eve's afterlife is by no means boring, and the "laws" she must follow are both frustrating and fascinating. In her pursuit of the Nix, a powerful being inhabiting the bodies of suggestible women and using them to do evil, Eve visits the women used by the Nix to discover her whereabouts. We find out that the Nix was responsible for Lizzie Borden's murderous ways as Eve relives the event with Lizzie over and over again. This kind of creative license is used throughout the book, and Armstrong has made this an absorbingly fun read!

My only criticism? The ending. I won't spoil it, but I thought it was just a little too inconsistent. Eve is informed of an absolute law, but that law is "bent" for her in the end. I thought this was a little weak & was disappointed. Still, I recommend the book for a fun voyage into the supernatural world with some really great characters we've already come to know and love (or not!).

Nine year old Kayla is sneaking into the guarded building her mother was killed in. She had done this a hand full of times before, but this time would be different. Claire Kennedy was killed here a week ago and there had to be a connection between Claire's death and her mothers murder.

Lucas and Paige are out of town for the week on a vacation - in which Savannah smuggled their cell phones away from them - and now twenty-one year old Savannah is trusted to be in charge of the PI office in their absence. Jesse Aanes, a half demon PI from Seattle who has worked with Lucas before, shows up wanting to run a few cases past Lucas. Jesse is investigating the murder of 3 twenty-something year old girls - two from last fall, one from 10 days ago - abandoned in the same vacant building appearing similar, in a quite small depressed town - Columbus Washington. This poor little town hasn't seen a murder in ten years. Jesse believes there is a supernatural connection to these cases from the crime photos he has. Savannah is excited. This would be her first solo case after five years of working under Lucas and Paige. She offers to take this case for Jesse while he finishes up the current case he's on.

This book was a great quick read for me. The pacing was constantly moving forward and it wasn't diluted with heavy unneeded material, and the mystery kept growing in suspense for me driving me forward to read more and faster. This is a great book to jump in the series at even though it's the eleventh book. I learned a lot of history of Savannah and start off with her on her own adventures. Through the book you learn of the additional characters around Savannah; Page, Lucas, Adam, and a few others. In meeting a few of the characters in this deprived town there was one I hope to see more of as I just fell in love with, Kayla.

I liked how Kelley answered my thoughts when I had a question. Like when Savannah easily uses several spells in a row in a short time frame, Kelley acknowledges this and explains it. A great style I enjoyed here is in reading this book from Savannah's view, you get glimpses of her history and heritage. I am very curious to learn more about her and when Paige and Lucas became her guardians. Savannah has moments where she compares what she is doing to what Lucas or Paige would do or what they would say to her. I felt I got to know them through Savannah.

Kelley's writing style is easy to visualize and follow. The story starts off easy, but pulled me in to Savannah quickly. She really felt like a relatable character and one that was personable. I wanted to read more about her. The further I went the more in depth the mystery got. I enjoyed how the mystery turned around in the book. I found myself flipping back through the pages to reread sections to try and piece it together myself.

This book could be read by some mature Young Adults. Savannah is responsible with alcohol even though she is old enough to drink. There is mention of sexual activity and acts, but no details. Savannah does have a moment in the book where she is kissing, but she does not let it go further - she has her limits.

I really enjoyed the case with Savannah and look forward to reading more with Savannah, as the way this book ended Kelley has to come back to write more on Savannah and I will be waiting. But I am also ready to go buy the other books in the series as I loved what I learned of all the characters.

Kelley Armstrong has been one of my favorite authors ever since I picked up Dimestore Magic. After I read that novel, the next time I went to the bookstore I looked for other novels by her. I had seen the phrase "Women of the Otherworld" on the cover, and that gave me a clue that there might be other books....that, and the page with the other book titles lists. LOL. I found Stolen, Bitten and Industrial Magic. I believe I read them out of order, but since two out of the first four books were about Clay and Elena, and the other two were of Paige and Lucas, it didn't seem to matter too much if I read one before the other. It all seemed to work out.

Because of all of this out of order reading, I first read about Savannah, this novel's main character in Dimestore Magic. I enjoyed the rather smartassed character of the teen-aged, very powerful young witch. Throughout a lot of the coming books we get to read about Savannah, but Waking the Witch is told from Savannah's point of view.Savannah is now 21 years old, and is trying to remain a good person, but it's evident that she doesn't quite think like Paige (her guardian). In fact, one of the things I like about this series is that Ms Armstrong seems to be able to write first person from a variety of character's POV, and each star of each book has her own "voice". Savannah's voice is sarcastic, young and assertive. She's not quite human either, and therefore doesn't have quite the same ethics or morals that humans are supposed to have, though she does work at maintaining some ethics.

In Waking the Witch, Paige and Lucas have finally taken a long vacation. They own an investigations company (Cortez-Winterbourne Investigations) and Savannah has worked as "executive assistant slave" to them for a few years. She's been more than ready to take on a case on her own and finally gets a chance when a half-demon PI named Jesse brings a case for Lucas to look over. Savannah ends up taking the case, agreeing to do the "legwork" while Jesse finishes up another case he's been working on. Savannah goes to a small town, driving there on her hog (a motorcycle, not a bespelled pig - LOL) which of course, brings her to the attention of the town sheriff, as well as a few other townspeople.

What follows is an interesting mix of urban fantasy and an old-fashioned detective novel. Three women have been murdered in two separate incidents. There are questions about whether the murders are connected, though some are trying to make it seem that they aren't similar at all - though the women were all found in the same spot. There is no lack of suspects either. Suddenly, Savannah meets another man who is also trying to investigate, and the police chief at first wants nothing to do with either PIs. Someone also starts taking shots at Savannah - dangerous things keep happening to her. There are the beginnings of romantic feelings, without overwhelming the story - nicely handled. I find that I still enjoy Savannah's personality - both the grown-up personality in this book, and the previous books' teen-age Savannah.

The story is entertaining. There are some very colorful characters, a commune, a small girl that is more mature than some of the townspeople, some intense situations and some comical situations. The dialogue is good, with snarky bits between some of the characters and some touching dialogue with the youngest character in the book. It's been a while since I read a detective style novel - every urban fantasy always has a bit of mystery to them, but this one focused on the detecting of a mystery, with Savannah working out clues, motives, etc. Kind of reminded me of an up-to-date, rather dangerous magical Nancy Drew, but with edge. I liked the mix of urban fantasy and detective novel vibe.

As with most of the novels in this series, this can be read as a standalone novel - but there are 10 other books with differing main characters and narration styles. I have enjoyed all of Kelley Armstrong's books - some better than others, yet all of them are interesting and entertaining.

`Waking the Witch' is the eleventh book in Kelley Armstrong's ridiculously popular paranormal series, `Women of the Otherworld'. It is also the first book to be narrated by long-running, fan-favourite character Savannah Levine.

Savannah's guardians, Paige Winterbourne and Lucas Cortez, are on a much-needed Hawaiian vacation. . . and while away Savannah is in charge of their Private Investigation business. So it happens that when telekinetic-demon and fellow PI, Jesse Aanes, walks through the door with a burning-hot case and too much on his plate it's Savannah who he hand-balls it to.

A triple homicide in a sleepy town called Columbus has the townsfolk somewhat spooked and pointing fingers at the local Loathario and a cookie-cult complete with a charismatic-pervy male `leader'. Savannah is on her first solo case, and befriends a little girl whose mother was one of the three female victims. Savannah also cosies up to an out-of-state detective called Michael Kennedy, who happens to be the brother of one of the murdered women.

But as Savannah digs and delves she discovers that the murders may be a case of Columbus not suffering a witch to live. . .

I am a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong's `Women of the Otherworld' series. I love the immersive paranormal universe she has created, and the cast of strong female characters that she has introduced readers to. Armstrong's series is one of the most popular and long-running urban fantasies out there, and for good reason. Ms. Armstrong effortlessly intertwines fantasy and mystery, with healthy doses or paranormal romance.

But it's safe to say that devout `Otherworld' fans were at once sceptical and curious for Savannah's first narrated story. Savannah first appeared in the second novel, `Stolen', and has had both main and minor roles in many books since. She is the one character of the `Otherworld' series who readers have read an almost full character-arc of. We were there when her mother died, when she discovered her true paternity and lashed out at the truth, when she was a bratty handful for Paige and in her calmer years when she finally accepted Paige and Lucas's devotion. . .

Savannah has always been a character of extremes - capable of great compassion for those she trusts and loves, and willing to inflict bouts of rage tempered with severe magic upon her enemies. Being the product of a witch mother, sorcerer father and with a sprinkling of demon blood thrown in Savannah is perhaps the most powerful of all the supernatural `Otherworld' characters.

Savannah's long-standing appearance in the `Otherworld' series is both a help and a hindrance to her narrating her own book. On the one hand, fans have seen Savannah at her brattiest worst - from the time she was 12 right through to her stint as an angry teenager. . . and now at the tender age of 21 and only just tapping into her powers and flexing her independence.
On the other hand, because Savannah has been a constant throughout the series it is high-time that fans read her 360-degree turn-around.

`Waking the Witch' has had mixed reviews, and I think I know why. . . but for me this book was a wonderful introduction to Savannah as a grown woman. She is coming into her powers, getting to know herself and Kelley Armstrong is laying groundwork for fans to read the last-stretch of Savannah's story.

`Waking the Witch' is primarily a whodunit murder-mystery. And really, it's one of Kelley Armstrong's finest pieces of intricate writing. The book is drenched in noir and heavy with magical foreboding; complete with red herrings, curveballs and a twist ending that will leave you gasping. It is brilliant! Particularly because Armstrong combines a small-town mystery within the big supernatural universe to make for one layered and knotted plot. . . But I can understand that the heavy mystery element may put-off some fans. For one thing, the `mystery' is very dependent on fans knowing (or remembering) the plots of past `Otherworld' books. This may be a problem in a series in which the narrators change, and fans have been known to only read the books narrated by their favourite characters. `Waking the Witch', unlike most all `Otherworld' books, can't be read as a stand-alone without the rest of the series as reference. An understandable grumbling-point for those fans who were left in the dark to those delicate past-book references. . . but for someone who has stuck with the `Otherworld' series for 10 books, it all came to a head in `Waking the Witch' and I savoured every intricacy.

Another possible annoyance for `Otherworld' fans may be the lack of romance in `Waking the Witch'. . . this is a double-edged sword, me thinks. Yes, all other `Otherworld' books have been written with heavy doses of paranormal romance. But you have to remember that Kelley Armstrong has planned to have Savannah narrate books 12 and 13 (bringing her to the possible end of her publishing contract) and I think she is setting up an over-arching, slow-burning romance for Savannah.

Savannah's long-term crush is Adam Vasic. Adam is 33 to Savannah's 21 - but he was a part of the rescue team who saved her in `Stolen' and has been a staple of her romantic fantasies ever since. Savannah is convinced that Adam is her soul-mate, but he has never shown her anything but friendship. In `Waking the Witch', Adam comes on board to help Savannah in her investigation and he seems to be accepting her sudden transformation from 12-year-old to kick-ass 21-year-old PI in his mind's eye. I think Adam and Savannah are each other's HEA. . . but it will take a while to get there, for various reasons (least of which is Adam getting used to the idea of Savannah as a woman and not a little girl).

I think the romance is there in `Waking the Witch', but only as groundwork for more heated encounters in book 12 `Spell Bound' and TBA book #13. Still, fans who have gotten used to heated and instantaneous couplings between Clayton Danvers and Elena Michaels, and Paige and Lucas, will no doubt feel a twinge of disappointment that Savannah's romance is more slow-burning. But I think it will be worth it when she and Adam finally `ignite'.

I hear fans complaints about `Waking the Witch', which has had very mixed-reviews. But I think this is one of the best `Otherworld' instalments yet. The mystery is superbly noir, and Savannah Levine as our heroine is a delicious conundrum. On the one hand she is disturbingly powerful for one so young, and constantly straddling the line between white and black magic. But as she proves in `Waking', Savannah is a formidable foe when you hurt those she loves. . . I, for one, am completely fascinated by her as a character - mostly because it feels like she can tip the scales either way. Savannah is at the fork in the road where she has to decide whether to be `good' or `evil' and fans are along for the ride. . .

When Eve Levine (while alive, a witch not afraid of using Dark Magic to reach her goals and protect herself and her daughter Savannah) is called by the Fates to do them the favor owed (see Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld, Book 4)), she is taken by surprise. It seems that there is a nasty spirit out there - a demi-demon called the Nix - who has escaped from her hell dimension and is periodically possessing murderous young women, who only need a little encouragement to get their lethal tendencies going. Even more surprising, Eve finds herself teamed with an angel (Trsiel) to accomplish this.

While Eve and Trsiel race the clock to try to find the Nix before she causes more havoc, Eve also struggles with her feelings for Kris Nast, who is in the same Afterlife dimension and who is doing his best to convince her to try starting over with him. Kris is, however, concerned with her obsessive need to watch over Savannah and often calls her on this.

A fast-paced and fun read, "Haunted" is just kind of book that book-lovers can devour in a few hours. Eve's restlessness, impatience and dark sense of humor is balanced out by Kris' patience and the need Eve has to complete what she has started.

This series of books continues to be a joy to read. I do hope Ms. Armstrong keeps 'em coming for a good long while.

This is was a really great book. In Haunted, we finally get to know a little more about Kelly Armstrong's most famous character next to Elena Micheals. The black witch/half demon Eve Levine. Since Eve was killed in stolen. Things have been okay for her in the afterlife. She can't be killed. She has a nice home and has even resume a relationship with her former lover Kristof Nast. However Eve still wants to look out for her daughter, Savanah. But when the Fates recruit her for a job. Things get crazy for Eve. All she has to do is kill a demon called "The Nix". Which seems simple enough, that is until the Nix discovers who Eve is and goes after Savanah. Now Eve must litterally go through "heaven and hell" to stop the Nix and protect Savanah. This is one of Kelley Armstrong's best books, yet.

Yet another great read from the a series, only she can make you fall in love with a character you dislike. Eve may have bored on evil, but now she's just a ghost mama always looking out for her daughter she can't really help from the other side. In her afterlife she may not be perfect but she is far from evil using all her powers tonight against evil instead of aid it. Maybe we can all find redemption no matter what we have done.

While Paige and Lucas take a much needed vacation, Savannah is left in charge of their PI agency. She's been chomping at the bit to do some solo investigations, so when a murder case pops up she chomps at the bit. At first the murders don't seem to have anything to do with the supernatural, but as she gets further into her investigation she realizes things are more than they seem. She quickly gets in too deep and has to swallow her pride and ask for help. Even with assistance, she may have bitten off more than she can chew as she realizes something is wrong with her powers. In a town where everyone seems to be hiding something, it's up to Savannah to find the culprit before she becomes the next victim.

I enjoyed seeing Savannah all grown up. In my mind prior to reading this book, she was just the rebellious teenager with too much power for her own good. She was angry at the world because her mother died, and Paige and Lucas seemed to take the brunt of it. Now, however, she really has matured, and while she will always be a little less sympathetic than others, she still has a determination to try to do the right thing. She has a lot weighing her down with everyone's assumption that she is just like her parents. In this book she is struggling to make a name for herself outside of her parent's "dark" legacy. This makes Savannah a little over hesitant to accept help when she needs it, but I understand her need to prove herself. I think in time as she really grows into herself, her parent's reputation will matter less and less.

I've always loved Adam's character. He always could be counted on for a little fun and recklessness, and I always wished there would have been more of him in the books. At this point in the series he has grown up as well, going from the complete slacker he used to be to a full fledged member of Paige and Lucas's PI agency. It was kind of nice to see this more responsible side of him and his fierce protectiveness of Savannah was admirable. Savannah's feelings towards him are completely obvious from the start even though she believes he just doesn't see her that way. However, I think she may be wrong, I think there might be something on his side as well that is more than just friendship, however, only time will tell.

This book was really good, and I really love how much Savannah's "voice" added to this series. I think the next several books are from her perspective as well, and I'm really eager to see where things end up. I typically do not care for series that rotate the character's perspectives, but Kelley Armstrong proves time and time again that not only does it work brilliantly for the Otherworld series, but the books are so much better than if we were stuck with just one narrator. Along with the narrator rotation, this also is one of those series that is always shaking things up and the cliffhanger ending of this book is complete proof of that. I have a feeling Savannah is in for one heck of a mess in the next book, and I can't wait to sit back and enjoy the ride.

I will admit to being very reluctant to read a book that revolved around Eve. I've already complained about how the previous books are starting to convince me that this evil witch wasn't so very evil. It's amazing what this author can do, though, because by the time I was a quarter of the way through the book, I was rooting for Eve all the way.

This book is from Eve's perspective. Sure, we get visits from Jamie, Lucas, Paige, Savannah, and even a cameo from Jeremy, but it is mostly starring Eve and her ex/not-so-ex Kris. Oh, and there's angels now. Huh. The fates we met in the last book, so I guess angels shouldn't be so far fetched. While some of the other books might have been filled with some sunshine and rainbows, this book was certainly a bit darker and more gritty. Eve is in the afterlife, breaking all the rules but managing to keep her own set of rules unbroken. She barters instead of owing, always paying all her debts. One such debt was earned in the last book for Paige and Lucas. When the fates call her in, she accepts without question, tasked with hunting down a demi-demon (a "Nix") who is responsible for a whole string of serial killers.

One downside to this book is it was filled to the brim with history and backstory. It's kid of essential for the true story of this Nix to be told, but did fill up a lot of pages along the way, slowing the action down a bit. Aside from that, it had all the goodness you've come to expect: lots of paranormals, a snarky necromancer, an unlikely love story, and sacrifice a'plenty. Oh, and angels. They seem like the oddest thing to throw into this story about a "black witch," but I guess the fates are crazy.

At the end of the story I took a peek to see what the next book was about and was a little startled to see it didn't have anybody's name in it from this one. What about Tsriel (did I spell that right?)? We spent a whole bunch of time learning about angels to just drop them now... Maybe we need all this information at some point in the future...

In life, Aspico half-demon and witch master of the black arts Eve Levine ran away when she realizes she is pregnant with the heir of a cabal sorcerer. Three years after Eve's death, she haunts the home where her daughter Savannah lives, hoping to find a way to breakthrough into the mortal world. Savannah's father Kris who lives on the same ghostly plane as Eve believes the woman he loves most should get her own life preferably with him and forget about making contact with their daughter. He believes Eve needs something worthwhile to do so that she won't constantly looking in on Savannah.

The fates have a very special job for Eve to perform. They need her to capture a Nix who escaped from a supposedly secure level of hell. A Nix is a very dangerous supernatural being because it provides the human it possesses the chance to act on her darkest desires. Some of the most notorious female killers were possessed by a Nix. While Eve is chasing after the supernatural creature, the Nix discovers who really matters to Eve and intends to destroy them unless Eve can find a way to send her back to Hell.

This romantic urban fantasy is absolutely incredible. It is innovatively original and the storyline is a magical creation. Eve learns that her tie is to Kris and she must stop visiting her daughter. She intends to succeed in her quest but she might have to give up her lover to save those she loves in the mortal realm. Kelley Armstrong's latest work is refreshing, exciting, and a great work of urban fantasy.

Harriet Klausner

I loved the first few books Kelley Armstrong wrote, but this one left me feeling like i did not know Savannah. If you have not read Counterfeit Magic, then you may not be disappointed in the main character. Sadly for me i think i had known this book took place before Counterfeit Magic, i could see her character growing. Its a spoiler but in the other book before this one, she gets into a ring and trounces another witch. Now, i can understand the poison affecting her, but come on, she went threw her paces with a semi pro to see how well she would do in the ring, and yet in this book she doesn't give it a second thought? I guess its just me going to in-depth. The other point, i understand each book goes to a different character for Kelley Armstrong to show off. Yet i think its just to damn complicated with Savannah. Ok now i am ranting... Anyways, some good points are, well not much. I liked the ideas, but it seemed rushed to me, then again reading from one person's perspective would be hard to follow, kind of like Rachel Morgan from the Hollows series. I hope spellbound is better. With regards the Thompsons, i think that was B/S. Where/when did the villian have the time to send the package from Portland? Plus mail delivery would definitely take more then a day to get it there. I know its a book, but seemed like an easy fit to put the blame on Savannah once again. Better you of made some bad happen at the end of a book for Elaina or Paige, hell even Jaime. I guess its just leaving this book with such a hated ending then the normal rose smell we have come to love.

P.S. No messing around with Kate and Logan! I so wanted to see some of the fun Elaina and Logan had before he was killed off, but never saw it, which i loved seeing the by play between the two in Beginnings, even the short time on the phone in Bitten. I think he got the short end of the stick, and hope his name sake does not have an early death...

I enjoy in how this series of books doesn't forget the characters of the other books and keeps the connections, but never so much that it takes away from main character of the book you're reading. Kelly Armstrong is, in my opinion, doing a good job of letting you see the characters through the eyes of others, and still the characters remain who they are. You as the read get a more 3 dimensional look at people. The good, the bad and what the character him or herself don't know about themselves. That's a tough thing to do, but Kelly seems to be doing it well.

Eve in this book helps to develop all the other worlds that Kelly has created. There are many dimensions and you get a good look at the complexity and how things are connected, but not connected.

I'll admit this isn't one of my favorite books of this series, but I do appreciate the enhancement and the intricacies of the relationships throughout this book.

Whoa! When did little Savannah grow up? I've been reading Kelley's books for awhile now, and I've always liked Eve and her daughter Savannah. So-called "bad girls" are just more interesting for some reason. But suddenly Savannah is grown up and going out on her own while Paige and Lucus are on vacation? Boy, I feel old.... *L*

This is a good addition to the Women of the Otherworld series. Savannah is a powerful witch who, while still relatively young, has a good head on her shoulders and will make a great investigator some day. Not wanting to "bother" her guardians while they're on a well-deserved vacation (okay, not wanting to tell them what she was up to!), Savannah heads off on her first solo investigation. Crush-worthy Adam is just a phone call away as her back-up, and she knows that he'll be there in as fast as he can should she need help, but Savannah wants to prove herself. There are unexpected developments, but Savannah doesn't do too badly and shows that she's able to handle herself okay.

Gave this one a 4/5 rating as I really enjoyed it! Savannah is a great character, and it's been fun watching her grow up. Kelley is an awesome writer, love all of her books, and I can highly recommend this if you like urban fantasy with strong women characters. Already looking forward to seeing what Savannah gets up to next!

Armstrong's 5th outing in the Women of the Underworld series is diverting, but doesn't achieve the same high quality that her previous books had, and is the first of her books that I can not award five stars to.

The trouble with this book is that there are long pieces set in the afterworld that do not add to the story, but seem to exist soley to entertain the writer. Eve's long visits to "Ghost-World Pirateland" and "Serial Killer Hell" in her hunt to catch the villain do not move the plot along nearly enough to justify the almost 100 pages Armstrong devotes to them, and only serve to bog down the action. Likewise, the final battle between Eve and the Nix, which also involves old favorites Lucas, Savannah, and Jaime, the necromancer, takes way too long to come its conclusion, and features a plot device that was never hinted at.

I enjoyed this book, but it's the first one by Armstrong that I will not be giving to any of my friends to read. I'm hopeful that her next book, which will feature Elena and the werewolves, will regain the taut suspense that Armstrong's earlier books had. Stephen King's best writing was done when his editors had the guts to edit him. Let's hope Armstrong is amenable the next time an editor offers a suggestion.

Like almost all of the other reviewers, I enjoyed Armstrong's first two books, "Bitten" and "Stolen". The rest of the books - Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic and now Haunted are all mediocre at best.

As a writer Armstrong's main problem is that she doesn't make her characters likeable. Elena in the first two books was very likeable, as were several other characters in the book. However Paige (who would go on to the lead character in the following two books) introduced as a very unlikeable and irritating character, so much so that I almost didn't buy the next two books. The same thing happened with Eve - she was unlikeable in Paige's books. Now I hear the next main character will be Jamie, who is also downright irritating and annoying!

Obviously once you get to "know" the character you do warm to them, but I feel that Armstrong sets her readers up to dislike characters and then in the next book we're supposed to embrace them.

Additionally, as others have pointed out "Haunted" was fairly self-indulgent. The plot was paper thin in part and even the inclusion of some of the previous cast of characters couldn't save me from viewing the book as very very ordinary.

Here's hoping Armstrong returns with something amazing for the next Elena book!

Savannah and her guardian, Paige, have been two of my favorite of Armstrong's characters since they were introduced to the series. Usually Paige and Lucas are the stars of the show so I was really excited to find out Savannah was going to be the main character for the next few books. I was glad to see that Savannah hasn't lost her attitude even as she has matured. Waking the Witch really shows Savannah coming into her own as she takes on more than her share of the responsibility while eventually learning to admit when she needs some back up.

Savannah is really put through a lot in this book while trying to put the pieces of the murder together. While following up with the usual suspects, she also has the insight to dig deeper into the story and go at things from another angle. In the end though, the killer was someone I never saw coming and Savannah didn't see it until it was almost too late. I think I need to re-read some of the earlier books as I'd clearly forgotten some of the back story that would have helped me understand the big reveal a little more. I still wouldn't have put things together any faster but at least I might have remembered the events Armstrong was building from.

The ending really left me wanting more and I can't wait until Spell Bound comes out in 2011 to continue with Savannah's story.

The three homicides in Columbus, Washington imply that a supernatural serial killer is on the loose. Portland, Oregon twenty-something witch Savannah Levine of Cortez-Winterbourne Investigations (one bolt would change the name to Levine Investigations) and hybrid human-demon investigator Jesse Aanes make inquiries.

Savannah wants to prove that she has the mental and physical toughness to go it alone. She believes her witch powers will enable her to obtain the information needed to determine who the culprit is. However, to her chagrin when she casts a spell,her powers fail her. Meanwhile their unknown adversary continues the killing spree with no end in sight unless Savannah and Jesse find the serial killer.

This is an entertaining twist to Savannah's saga as her traits as the tough sassy child of Stolen remain in the adult though more under control. Making matters difficult for her is when she most needs her bewitching skills they seem to vanish. Filled with wonderful spins and a horde of corpses, Waking the Witch is a wonderful Otherworld urban fantasy mystery as unlike her heroine Kelly Armstrong's bewitching ability to entertain remains as strong as ever.

Harriet Klausner

In the fifth book of The Women of the Otherworld series, "Haunted," we get to travel the afterlife a bit with Savannah's infamous mother, Eve Levine. When the Fates send her after an escaped ghost/demon killer, Eve must make some hard choices between the life she left behind and the future she can yet have.

This book was bloodier than the previous ones and even bothered me at times. However, I still really enjoyed it. Eve has been somewhat of a mystery until now. Painted by some as the Devil herself, we saw in the last book that she really wasn't so bad. Now, in this book we can get to understand her a bit better, as well as the various levels of the afterworld which hopefully will come to play in future novels. I would recommend this book.

Kelley Armstrong has once again developed another interesting and, much to my suprise, likeable character. Though Eve is a far cry from Paige and Elena, her story is still compelling and, unlike some other readers, I had no problem transisting to Eve's ghost world. Perhaps the supporting characters, such as Triesl and the Nix, were a little on the bland side, but I found Kristof and other minor roles extremely interesting. Definetly pick this one up if you are a fan of the other books in the series or if you enjoy your fantasy laced with romance and mystery. Also, if you are an avid Armstrong reader and haven't checked out her website I suggest that you do. It will help fill in some missing parts, such as Lucas and Paige's wedding and the specifics on Eve's death. [...]

Eve Levine has impulses toward both good and evil. She's been a ghost for a while now, frustrated by her inability to help her daughter in any tangible way. There's a guy, ice half-demon, who supposedly learned how to be a Poltergeist and affect the living world telekinetically.

Eve would love to learn this skill, or get her hands on an amulet that'd let her possess a living person, or really have any way to protect her daughter, Savannah. But Savannah's father, Kristof -- now also a ghost and trying to win Eve back -- thinks she needs to move on. She might lose him if she can't.

So she takes the job offer the Fates came up with, track down a half demon called the Nix, and help an angel put it back in the supernatural hell it belongs in.

I think Haunted is Kelley Armstrong's best book. I have read Bitten, Stolen, Dime Store Magic, and Industrial Magic. Bitten was annoying; after a great first chapter or two, it devolved into a trite romance novel of the bodice ripping sort plus some werewolves. The heroine, Elena, had an annoying way of doing things that you knew and she knew she shouldn't; an inconsistent characterization; and couldn't stand her own boyfriend (and no wonder; he's awful; too pretty and too smart to be true, and lacks all respect for her).

I'm not sure how the other reviewers found her more sympathetic than Paige or Eve. Paige was better, and Eve is the best yet: tough and conflicted but at least she doesn't sabotage herself constantly. Kristof is also a much better romantic interest character.

There were odd inconsistencies, but they weren't story breaking. Overall I think Haunted shows that Armstrong is improving as a novelist and with any luck she'll keep getting better.

More of a Who-Done-It Mystery than Armstrong's usual UF leaning towards, PNR, Waking the Witch (Women of the Otherworld, Book 11) covers everyone's favorite juvenile delinquent, Savannah Levine. Highly engaging, action packed and full of leather-clad, kick-butt snark, the latest addition to Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series will not disappoint her fans. There were a few tid bits that left me a bit frustrated, but overall it was a great read and in fact enjoyed it more than some of the later WOTO books.

REVIEW: Savannah Levine is all grown up and ready to take on her first solo case. She's been dying to take a stab at it, but Paige, Lucas and Adam have been holding her back. With Paige and Lucas on a much needed vacation and Adam participating in a conference, their absence just might land Savannah her first gig, courtesy of Jesse a friend of Lucas' and a fellow PI.

The case takes her to the depressed town of Columbus, Washington, investigating the death of three women, shot to death and displayed in what would seem like a ritualistic murder. Savannah's goal: find the killer. Things get a bit trickier though as more dead bodies start showing up and the prime suspect and his wife try to intimidate her through brute force and a little surprise magic of their own.

Following in the 10th installments footsteps {Frostbitten} Waking the Witch is all mystery and very little romance like most of Armstrong's other Otherworld novels tend to be. There is some hinting at a bit of romance, but in the end this is a mystery and you are there to follow Savannah as she solves her first case, not fall in love.

Hard-hitting and snarky, Savannah as a character did deliver with her prickly personality and reckless behavior. Yet, overall there was a bit of disappointment with her, some of which might hold a spoiler or two, so I will try and keep it light. For one, Savannah has always been an enigma to me, the product of some really sketchy parents and then the unlikely victim in a few instances, I do believe Savannah should be a little more twisted than how she is turning out. MHO. Yes, she doesn't obey all the rules, but I think I would believe a little emotional fallout with her, than what happens in Waking the Witch. I know Armstrong is capable of this, because of what she put Elena through (Bitten, Stolen...) in the beginning of the series. WW just seemed a little shallow, Savannah a lot more well-rounded than I would think possible. Secondly, the rehashing of the nemesis. I'll just say, that a new one might have been better played. And lastly, I feel the book was a bit drawn out and then it left you with a cliffhanger so-to-speak. It just seem forced and then the last minute HELLO to make you die to read the next book. I'm not saying I didn't like this book, I did. I went through it quickly...it was fast-paced and intriguing, there were just a few bits and pieces that I found gave the book a shallow feel when Armstrong can be so, well robust. Fans should enjoy this - and I know a lot of people say they don't enjoy the ones that have Paige and Lucas in them...well have no fear, they only show up in a few phone calls.

RECOMMENDATIONS: It is recommended that you read a few of the Otherworld series before you read Waking the Witch (Women of the Otherworld, Book 11). You don't have to read all of them though. Some are relevant, such as: Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld, Book 4), Haunted (Women of the Otherworld, Book 5).

Armstrong had me until page 278. The novel that had the potential to be the most satisfying in a summer of genre-flops suffers from a rather unfortunate series of concluding twists. Prior to a rather jarring shift in the narrative, Waking the Witch is an entertaining look at Savannah Levine, all grown up and "on her own" as she tackles a case without supervision. The twists are numerous, and the mystery involved is enthralling ... right up to the Great Revelation. Still, fans of the series are likely to enjoy it, and I'm looking forward to the next one, which is apparently due out this November.

Armstrong shifts her Women of the Otherworld series once more. Just as Elena's narration of the werewolf stories segwayed into Paige's perspective on the world of witchcraft, Eve takes over as the main character. Her story rivals Elena's for excitement - and I certainly I like this installment much more than the previous two. Eve is a fun character and all of the adventures undergoes are exciting. The rather bittersweet ending is stronger than most of the other conclusions. I just read the description for the next book in the series, Broken (Women of the Otherworld, Book 6), and I am just thrilled because it will be a return to the werewolves!!

I have read all of the "Otherworld" books, some I liked and some not so much. This book was a mixture of the two feelings, I felt like the story was good, but not a whole lot happened and what did happen seemed so far fetched.......I know that it is a book about paranormal beings so I shouldn't be surprised about it being far fetched, but it was just one of those books where so many things came in to play to make one thing happen, if that makes sense. That being said, I liked the character and that surprised me because she was never my favorite member of the series. I had hoped for a little more between her and Adam, but I guess that's where the cliffhanger comes in, will she get her powers back and get the guy? Did she even really lose her powers in the first place? I'm hoping the author comes through with a good book next time, I'm starting to wane a bit on this series and I need some motivation to keep going.

A creepy small town, shady rich folk, a mysterious commune suspected of being a cult, and weird ritualistic stuff are all very appealing, and narrator Savannah Levine has a great voice when she's not talking about her hotness. (Yep, she's up herself.)

The witches, sorcerers and demons in this series have never really appealed to me. The spells are deliberately vague and seem too easy for their casters. Savannah (and why doesn't anyone shorten her name to "Sav"?) whips 'em out willy-nilly, and I'd complain about this except that the author has predicted my concern and will seemingly address it in the upcoming sequel.

The bad girls are far and above my favourite characters here, which may say more about me than it does about them. Megan steals the show, and the other bad girl is great fun (I won't name her for spoiler reasons).

This is a solid four-star read, but I'm feeling a bit flat about it, perhaps because I'm reviewing this so long after reading it.

Eve Levine is a dead witch. Because she has broken all the rules, she expected to end up in a Hell for witches. But, to her surprise she finds herself in a supernatural holding place, if it is not heaven... it is definitely not hell.

Of course, Eve needs to be a superpower. She thwarts the Fates whenever she can... In the process, she finds herself indebted to them (the Fates). That is when the real story begins. Eve as supernatural bounty hunter for evil supernaturals.

Anyway, the story and the character are enjoyable. I started keeping Armstrong's books so that when I am out of reading material, I can re-read them. So sad. LOL

Like most fans, I got hooked on this series with the very first, the book that introduced the werewolves, "Bitten". When Kelly left the werewolves to tell the story of Paige, who I couldn't stand in "Stolen", I was annoyed. And I ended up loving the Paige oncw we had the story from her view and the stories of both "Dime Store Magic" and "Industrial Magic". I was a bit skeptical I would have the same change of heart towards Eve though after hearing over and over again in the previous books how evil she was.

But in the end, Kelley Armstrong managed to do it again. Eve is a strong, fun, quick-witted charecter who shares many traits with both Paige and Elena while still being her own person. I think in the end, Eve's my favorite yet and I really hope in the future we get another story from Eve. Hopefully one where she can interact with the charecters from previous stories more as I found the chapters where she was with Lucas some of the most fun of the book.

It was a fast paced, very fun read. I can't believe I feel this way but I'm kinda not looking forward to leaving the witches to go back to the werewolves for the next book!

I've read some of the reviews and I'm not sure why so many people dislike the main character Eve. One reviewer was angry because Kelley Armstrong turned Eve, a "bad" character, into a "good" character. I don't think that is what she did at all. In all the other novels, besides Industrial Magic, Eve was only mentioned by reputation, which was rather bad. I think the "change" in Eve's reputation was no more than getting a more intimate perspective of her character, the truth behind the reputation. Which is exactly what she did with Clayton's character in her novellas--showing that her characters have more depth to them than merely the stock good and bad characters we see so often in other author's novels.

Then there was a reader that said that this was the first of her books to read and that it was very confusing. She also said that she felt no sympathy for the women whose bodies were being taken over by the nix, seeming to think that Eve was trying to save those women the Nix inhabited. She was trying to save the victims of the women that the Nix inhabited, not necessarily the women themselves. I think the reader maybe wouldn't have been so confused if she didn't start in the middle of the series and if she had read a bit more carefully.

Except for Dime Store Magic, all of Armstrong's novels have been outstanding. Dime Store Magic was good when compared to other authors I've read, but my least favorite of the series. I highly recommend this series to anyone and everyone. I recommend that you begin with Bitten, the first novel and read them consecutively.

My daughter and I both read & enjoyed this book.
The hardest part was waiting a year for book 12...
which is finally out! Like us, you feel compelled
to go back to the beginning and read the other books.
It is well written and keeps you spellbound. We
both finished it within the week and then ordered
other books by the same author. Kelly Armstrong
books appeal to all ages and flow perfectly from
page to page. If you like the supernatural world:
Kelly Armstrong is an author you should check out.

Haunted was a surprising interesting addition to the Women of the Otherworld series. Eve and Kristof dead are way more fun than they ever were alive. I was completely fascinated by the history of the Nix and the infamous women it had inhabited in the past. Eve and Savannah are both interesting characters, but whenever they focus their energies on each other, the story seems to come to an abrupt halt. Haunted seems to remedy some of that and once through the muck, there is no stopping these characters. Definitely one of the better books in the series.

This book was chillingly good! I absolutely love the action and excitement that is contained within. This is one of my all time favorite series! Kelley Armstrong does an amazing job at making you need more! Love, love, love!!!

This is Kelley Armstrong's fifth book in her Women of the Otherworld series. I found it to not be as captivating as the first two - which were fabulous - or as solidly fun as the second two - which were entertaining.

The good: The plot is solid and tight as always - she doesn't leave unexplained holes. There is good, funny dialogue. Armstrong has a great imagination and her version of the afterworld(s) was original.

The bad: (1) There was too much new background information. One of the strengths of her other books (except perhaps Industrial Magic) was that she only gave you as much info about her world as was necessary. The stories were also fairly contained, so that you didn't need a lot of explanation to understand what was going on. In this novel I felt like she had to spend way too much time giving you the backstory of the ghost worlds, so you'd have any clue what she was talking about. Granted, her whole world was created from scratch, unlike the novels set in the "real" world, but I still didn't like all of the exposition. (2) The plot and the ghostworld in general seemed unnecessarily complicated - they spent a lot of time flitting about. (3) I also didn't find her main characters as interesting as those in the other novels. I don't think they were as well developed, and the conflict and the emotional bonds between them did not seem as real as those between Clay and Elena, especially.

Still, I'd recommend it to Armstrong fans.

I am an avid Kelley Armstrong fan but this was not one of my favorites. I didn't feel like I got to know Eve - or care about her - as I have many of the characters in her other books. There were some good scenes but they were interspersed with too many scenes meant to give us background information. I found myself checking too many times to see how many pages I had left to read so I could finally be done with the book. Haunted was good enough to want to know how it ends, but not good enough to really get excited about it.

I believe Armstrong has gotten even better. I wasn't sure if I would like a ghost story, but she blended the ghost world with the real world wonderfully. In this series Eve is "hired" to catch an evil serial killer that escaped from a form of hell. Eve uses her unique talents and mind to track down the evil nix. Only the nix has her own way to make Eve pay, and that is to go after what Eve loves the most, Savannah.

I don't want to say any more, you'll just have to read. I will say that this book stays fast-paced and will be hard to put down. I'm looking forward to what Armstrong has next for us on her agenda!

Even as a child, I found "cliffhangers" to be infuriating, not exciting.

I read only one (1) Anne Rice book because she and her publishers pulled this trick. Although what happens to Paula and Kayla interested me some, it is not enough to support Kelley Armstrong and HER publishers pulling the same stunt -- even if I think she is a better writer, even if I've previously enjoyed most of her books. I refuse to be manipulated into buying part two in her serial.

I'll join Leah in her new hell first.

Having loved Bitten and Stolen, liked Industrial Magic and Dime Store Magic, I looked forward to reading Haunted.

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I found this story less interesting and less focused than Armstrong's previous novels. The idea of Eve Levine is interesting, but obviously not compelling enough to carry an entire novel. Eve's total self-absorption is off-putting in the extreme (*supposedly* she's not obsessed with controlling the living world, just concerned about Savanna). Armstrong makes the argument that Eve can't be as evil/morally bankrupt as everyone believes because Eve loved and protected her daughter. That argument is specious and unconvincing given that even arguably evil people, like Hitler, often love and protect their families.

Kelley Armstrong can do better than Haunted, which is merely a uninteresting story with minor flashes of humor.

And for good reason. The Angels sent by the Fates to recover the escaped Nix have not fared so well.

Still, Eve Levine is up for the job. This Nix has partnered with some of the most ruthless serial murderers of all time and now she's after the people Eve herself cares about.

Eve's playing a high-stakes game with her present life in the afterlife and the people still alive that she cares about in the balance. In my opinion, this is the best of Kelley Armstrong's series so far, a genuine page turner. "Haunted" is both well-plotted with interesting characters you can get involved with.

Haunted just like the rest of the series is filled with a range of characters. Some you wish were real because you'd like to have them as friends and others your glad are not. My only objection to Kelly's books are that they are impossible to put down once you start and there are not enough of them.

I just finished reading Haunted and I loved it. Got hung up in a few places, wondering if others got hung up there too. One was the cave (won't be specific because I don't want to be a spoiler!), but what was the purpose of that thing? It wasnt scary and we knew Eve was getting out, so that part made me want to skip over, and I really hate to do that. One other thing, again not being specific for those who have not yet read (although the book has been out awhile), something happened between Paige and Lucas that, because this was from Eve's perspective,I would have liked to have a little more information about. I love, love, love Lucas and Paige and I feel a little left out! Maybe more about it will come out in the next few books I haven't read. I hope so!

I have loved all of the 5 books in this series. I like this one the very best. Contrary to what some reviewers have said, I like the familiarity with the characters and I also like the growth and development of the characters. This book was interesting with unexpected plotlines. Usually by the 5th book in a series, plots tend to become a rehash of the same old thing. However, with this Armstrong's books, it goes beyond what has gone before in new and surprising ways. The development of the supernatural worlds is always enjoyable. I dont expect Faulkner or Hemmingway when I read an Armstrong book, I expect fun and pleasure and that is what I find always.

Again, Kelley Armstrong amazed me with this book. It was even better then the last one. This serie, for those unfamiliar, deals with the lives of real, modern witches, werewolves, demons, vampires and such. It is well written, interesting and I am surprised it is not more popular.
If you want some great reading about the supernatural, these books are for you.
This particular book deals with Eve, a witch that is now a ghost. She goes on a quest for the Fates. I won't say much more except : Awsome!

I always dread it when Armstrong is about to switch main characters; I loathed Paige in Stolen and then wasn't ready to 'leave' her after Dimestore Magic and its follow-up, Industrial Magic. The newest book in this series tackles the wickedest witch of them all, or at least the wickedest in the series. Eve turns out to be as likeable and strong willed as Paige and Elena, and has the edge on Elena by being funny.

I watch the calender so I won't miss the debut of a new Kelley Armstrong title and this one was no disappointment. Eve is obsessed with watching over her daughter, Savannah, from the other side of death, and even her attraction to Savannah's father Kristof can't distract her. When asked/ordered by the Fates to find a supernatural being that is wreaking havoc in the 'real' world, Eve jumps on it as a chance to make contact with Savannah. As the book spins on, Eve gets less involved with her daughter and more involved with her job. Hints are dropped that there is more at stake in this job than the capture of a supernatural baddie, but the events flow quickly enough that Eve can't question or quibble as much as this obstreperous woman would like.

I haven't checked Armstrong's website to see whether Eve gets another book of her own, but I look forward to seeing her again.

Haunted by Kelley Armstrong, is another fantastic adventure in the Women of the Otherworld series. Haunted has a very unusual main character - Eve Levine, Savannah's mother and a ghost. Eve was a black witch and a half-demon when alive. She believed witch magic had been corrupted and diluted, as Paige discovers in Dime Store Magic. Eve has done many murky things to gain sorcerer and witch spells that she was able to use. This quest for greater power made Eve careless, which lead to her death before the events of Stolen occurred. While her death was a peripheral plot line in the series, the consequences where far reaching for Savannah. Much of Dime Store Magic was the result of Savannah coming to terms with her mother's death.

Haunted gives a great deal of insight into how Eve and Savannah are so much alike. Eve will not let go of Savannah and spends a great of her time in the afterlife checking up on her. Eve has been reunited with Kristof, Savannah's father, but will not allow him to be more then a friend. Kristoff is not your average Cabal sorcerer. He has regretted not pursing Eve and Savannah for 15 years and is determined not to make the same mistake a second time.

The Fates, overseers of the supernatural afterlife, have decided to call in the favor that Eve garnered at the conclusion of Industrial Magic. Eve is being sent on a mission to track a Nix, a Germanic demi-demon nymph who feeds off chaos. This particular Nix has been jumping from woman to woman giving them the necessary drive to murder. The Nix feeds off the chaos and anguish these murders create. Eventually she grows weary of her partner and devises a way for them to be caught and create even more chaos. The Fates have sent three previous hunters to catch the Nix and return her to hell. Each has failed leaving the Nix to continue her reign of terror.

The Fates hope Eve, with her unusual talents will be successful is catching the Nix. With the help of Kirstof, an angel named Trsiel, and the infamous necromancer Jamie Vegas, Eve sets out on a course that changes everything.

Haunted starts out slow and is hard to relate to at first since all the main characters are not corporal beings. Once the plot with the Nix begins to unfold, the characters transcend death and the afterlife they live in begins to make sense. Kelley Armstrong is author to be lauded. Instead of cranking out another adventure using werewolves, witches, or sorcerers, she has created an entire mythological inspired afterlife that exists as another layer to the series. The world Eve and Kristoff inhabit is fascinating to read about. The living and the afterlife are connected, but the dead cannot touch, feel, or communicate directly (except through a necromancer) with the living. Eve has been desperately searching for a way to influence and protect Savannah - at the cost of her sense of purpose. The afterlife is supposed to be a nice retirement of the worries of the living. Eve is definitely not ready for any sort of retirement.

Haunted is well worth reading. Kelley Armstrong has created an entertaining novel and stretched her wings. Many writers in her position simply rest on their laurels, but Kelley has instead decided to create something entirely different. And it works as an entreating piece of fiction.

Kelley Armstrong currently resides in Ontario, Canada with her family. She has published five books in the Women of the Otherworld series; Bitten, Stolen, Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic, and Haunted. The sixth in the series, Broken, will revisit Elena, Clay, and the werewolves and is to be released in May 2006. A mainstream novel titled Exit Strategy is forthcoming in 2006. She has an extensive website at [...] Her website contains original novellas and short stories from the Women of the Otherworld series.

Every book in this series just keeps getting better. Just when u think you've figured out which characters u like the best. Kelley Armstrong throws u a curve ball that changes ur mind. She is an awesome author and I'm working on reading everything she writes. Keep writing Ms. Armstrong I'd be terribly bored without u.

Again, Kelley Armstrong amazed me with this book. It was even better then the last one. This serie, for those unfamiliar, deals with the lives of real, modern witches, werewolves, demons, vampires and such. It is well written, interesting and I am surprised it is not more popular.
If you want some great reading about the supernatural, these books are for you.
This particular book deals with Eve, a witch that is now a ghost. She goes on a quest for the Fates. I won't say much more except : Awsome!

I always dread it when Armstrong is about to switch main characters; I loathed Paige in Stolen and then wasn't ready to 'leave' her after Dimestore Magic and its follow-up, Industrial Magic. The newest book in this series tackles the wickedest witch of them all, or at least the wickedest in the series. Eve turns out to be as likeable and strong willed as Paige and Elena, and has the edge on Elena by being funny.

I watch the calender so I won't miss the debut of a new Kelley Armstrong title and this one was no disappointment. Eve is obsessed with watching over her daughter, Savannah, from the other side of death, and even her attraction to Savannah's father Kristof can't distract her. When asked/ordered by the Fates to find a supernatural being that is wreaking havoc in the 'real' world, Eve jumps on it as a chance to make contact with Savannah. As the book spins on, Eve gets less involved with her daughter and more involved with her job. Hints are dropped that there is more at stake in this job than the capture of a supernatural baddie, but the events flow quickly enough that Eve can't question or quibble as much as this obstreperous woman would like.

I haven't checked Armstrong's website to see whether Eve gets another book of her own, but I look forward to seeing her again.

Haunted by Kelley Armstrong, is another fantastic adventure in the Women of the Otherworld series. Haunted has a very unusual main character - Eve Levine, Savannah's mother and a ghost. Eve was a black witch and a half-demon when alive. She believed witch magic had been corrupted and diluted, as Paige discovers in Dime Store Magic. Eve has done many murky things to gain sorcerer and witch spells that she was able to use. This quest for greater power made Eve careless, which lead to her death before the events of Stolen occurred. While her death was a peripheral plot line in the series, the consequences where far reaching for Savannah. Much of Dime Store Magic was the result of Savannah coming to terms with her mother's death.

Haunted gives a great deal of insight into how Eve and Savannah are so much alike. Eve will not let go of Savannah and spends a great of her time in the afterlife checking up on her. Eve has been reunited with Kristof, Savannah's father, but will not allow him to be more then a friend. Kristoff is not your average Cabal sorcerer. He has regretted not pursing Eve and Savannah for 15 years and is determined not to make the same mistake a second time.

The Fates, overseers of the supernatural afterlife, have decided to call in the favor that Eve garnered at the conclusion of Industrial Magic. Eve is being sent on a mission to track a Nix, a Germanic demi-demon nymph who feeds off chaos. This particular Nix has been jumping from woman to woman giving them the necessary drive to murder. The Nix feeds off the chaos and anguish these murders create. Eventually she grows weary of her partner and devises a way for them to be caught and create even more chaos. The Fates have sent three previous hunters to catch the Nix and return her to hell. Each has failed leaving the Nix to continue her reign of terror.

The Fates hope Eve, with her unusual talents will be successful is catching the Nix. With the help of Kirstof, an angel named Trsiel, and the infamous necromancer Jamie Vegas, Eve sets out on a course that changes everything.

Haunted starts out slow and is hard to relate to at first since all the main characters are not corporal beings. Once the plot with the Nix begins to unfold, the characters transcend death and the afterlife they live in begins to make sense. Kelley Armstrong is author to be lauded. Instead of cranking out another adventure using werewolves, witches, or sorcerers, she has created an entire mythological inspired afterlife that exists as another layer to the series. The world Eve and Kristoff inhabit is fascinating to read about. The living and the afterlife are connected, but the dead cannot touch, feel, or communicate directly (except through a necromancer) with the living. Eve has been desperately searching for a way to influence and protect Savannah - at the cost of her sense of purpose. The afterlife is supposed to be a nice retirement of the worries of the living. Eve is definitely not ready for any sort of retirement.

Haunted is well worth reading. Kelley Armstrong has created an entertaining novel and stretched her wings. Many writers in her position simply rest on their laurels, but Kelley has instead decided to create something entirely different. And it works as an entreating piece of fiction.

Kelley Armstrong currently resides in Ontario, Canada with her family. She has published five books in the Women of the Otherworld series; Bitten, Stolen, Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic, and Haunted. The sixth in the series, Broken, will revisit Elena, Clay, and the werewolves and is to be released in May 2006. A mainstream novel titled Exit Strategy is forthcoming in 2006. She has an extensive website at [...] Her website contains original novellas and short stories from the Women of the Otherworld series.

I liked this book much better than, "Bitten" and "Stolen." Eve is one of the better characters; she is far more complex and interesting. If she was a "good guy" she would be a boring protagonist. That's why I like reading about her more than Paige or Elena; they stand for the forces of good, blah blah. Eve is morally ambiguous, and this is what makes her an exciting character. The end has been given away in other reviews, but I don't think the ending is a betrayal of her character. It's another facet that is bound to be explored in future books, as Armstrong toys with an angel with commitment problems and a nasty streak. The next Eve book will be a fun journey.

Every book in this series just keeps getting better. Just when u think you've figured out which characters u like the best. Kelley Armstrong throws u a curve ball that changes ur mind. She is an awesome author and I'm working on reading everything she writes. Keep writing Ms. Armstrong I'd be terribly bored without u.

After not hearing too much about Eve in the other books, I was a little worried about how much I would like her as a narrator. After reading a few chapters, my fears evaporated. The majority of her story takes place in the afterlife. That is always interesting to me because the writer can be as creative as she wants since no one knows anything about it. Eve is a kick-butt chick and I really enjoyed her story.

This is the first book I've ever read by Armstrong and it certainly convinced me not to pick up another one. I'm on page 198 (I hate to quit reading a book, even a bad one!) and I just can't waste anymore time on it. It barely gives insight to the main character EVE, and certainly doesn't make her likeable. I don't care what happens to Eve. The author jumps around different dimensions, there are a lot of things she does which do nothing to advance the plot. I would have edited the hell out of this book and added a lot more character development to it.

Eve is trying to find some evil demon called "Nix", who enters women who are conflicted or dim-witted enough to follow her advice to kill people. Ummm. These women are selfish, or not very bright...it makes you not really care if Eve catches Nix or not, because they can't really be saved anyway and they cannot be made into better people.

AARRGH, I'm just so pissed I wasted a week on this book!

Synopsis
Savannah finally gets a chance to her first solo case while Page and Lucas are on vacation. What starts are a simple investigation into the deaths of three women becomes increasingly more complex the more she looks into the little town's secrets. Not to mention that something seems to be getting a little bit weird with her powers...

Review
Not one of my favorite of the Otherworld series, but not my least favorite either. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Savannah, which is a good thing since pretty much none of the other characters show up in this story besides an occasional name drop. Savannah is certainly still learning the ropes of her chosen profession, no matter how cocky she seems, plus she seems to have the inevitable inability to ask for help when situations get tricky. The book reads quickly, and is fairly involving once you get into the mystery. For me, though, my favorite part was the last paragraph which simply left me salivating for the next chapter...

My Recommendation
If you are an established fan of the Otherworld series, you will enjoy this one. If you aren't I recommend simply starting at the beginning. But I am a huge fan of the Elena/Clay stories as opposed to the witches...
4/5 - Wait for a Sale/Coupon

I grabbed this book the moment it hit the shelves. I've read the other books in series and enjoy the unique attitude towards magic and the super natural. Kelley Armstrong has recreated witches and werewolves. But her view of the afterlife - ugh I felt like I was in Beetlejuice all over again. Its slow to start, pulls you through the afterlife as if you jaunting around Disneyworld (complete with pirate village and haunted mansion). Come on, for a woman who has written Bitten and Dime Store Magic this was a huge let down.

I would have loved to spend more time with the character Nix and the archangels but instead got dragged around with a reformed bad girl. Boring.

Lets hope Armstrong sharpens her claws for the next book.

I read the library copy of Waking the Witch because I am between jobs. Like so many other reviewers, I had looked forward with anticipation to the Savannah's independence. Too bad, her first book was an uninteresting mystery. I found myself not caring whether she solved it or not nor trying to solve it myself.

I was disappointed that an excuse had to be inserted for Savannah's spells to sometimes fail. It would be more believable if they failed sometimes, just because every activity fails sometimes. I was also disappointed at the late insertion of a cadre of witch hunters, whom we have never heard of before in the series, and the cameo appearance by Eve. Both felt like afterthoughts.

The possession of a secondary character by a minor character from Dime Store Magic also felt tacked on as an afterthought. I wish Kelley Armstrong had thought the plot through better and ended this episode with this book. Better yet, I wish she could completely rewrite this one. This is one of the few books in the series that I feel no need to purchase.

Kelly Armstrong's "Women of the Otherworld " is fantastic. Not just a great story(although it is) or great writing- but she is brave enough to let her books and characters evolve. Most series get a solid formula- it sells- they keep working it until no one can stand to read it any longer- (Laurel K. Hamilton)- How many bad things/ new powers/ etc can happen to one charcter- by letting the different charcters take the lead in the books- for as many books as each requires- Armstrong lets us remain in the world she created and see it from different viewpoints. She does this knowing not every reader will like every leading character and their viewpoints/ choices etc. I like that the characters and author seem to control this series rather than what the fans THINK they want. Plus they are not formulatic- not the usual- fated lovers coming together or a super character always coming to the rescue.

Even though Haunted was not my favorite- I will continue to explore this series.

Armstrong's ability to write about a possibly complex situation without confusing the readers is amazing to me. I had expected to have more trouble following this one once I realized where the majority of the book takes place, but that was never the case. She kept it smooth with the same brilliantly written dialogue and characters we've come to expect. Big thumbs up! W/o

I don't normally read contemporary paranormal novels, but I do love a good mystery. So, when I received this book as an unrequested review copy from the publisher, I decided to give it a chance. The characters were engaging, and Savannah managed to have a "bad girl attitude" without turning me off. The pacing was very good. The suspense was created by the physical danger to Savannah and the others during the investigation (and, though I was never convinced Savannah wouldn't survive, I did wonder about some of the other characters). The mystery part was interesting and kept me curious enough to read the whole book. However, I did figure out what was going on (as much as someone who hadn't read the previous books could) before Savannah did. So, overall, the mystery part was interesting but a bit...complex...to pull off brilliantly, especially when some of the complexity was resolved by having the body count increase. While the mystery was wrapped up by the end of the book, some major issues were left unresolved to create a cliffhanger ending.Overall, I thought the novel was enjoyable and worth reading, but I'm unlikely to read the sequel.

Paranormal Content: Witches and half-demons. References to werewolves, zombies, etc.
Magic Content: Spells ("she cast a ____ spell"); telekinesis; burning fingers.
Sexual Content: A brief non-body-part explicit sex scene. A fair number of references to sex.
Bad Language Content: A fair amount. Averaged about 1 bad word every 1.3 pages.
Gore: None.

As other reviewers have said, this is NOT one of the best books in the series. All of Kelley Armstrong's books are readable, but most are books you want to re-read. I don't expect to ever re-read this one. The ending was the worst - an improbable cliffhanger with insufficient explanation. It needs another book to explain it, but I'm going to have to move this author to my "don't buy the hardback" list for a while to see if this is an aberration or if she's being pushed off the Laurell K. Hamilton cliff by her publishers.

2.5 stars, rounded up to a very, very, very generous 3-star rating.

Waking The Witch is an installment of the Women of the Otherworld series that I don't see myself ever re-reading. This is sad because I had been looking forward to finally reading a Savannah book for a long time.

I remember Savannah a 12-year old spoiled, petulant girl and later a determined, brash, strong, selfish woman and a powerful witch who hates authority, goes after what she wants, can kick ass, despises humans and whose only weakness is her girl crush on Adam. That's who she was as we saw her through the eyes of Paige, Jaime, Elena and other narrators of earlier Otherworld books and that's the way I loved her. The Savannah we get in this novel is pretty much a boring and timid Hope Adams clone who is apparently slightly depressed, has no spunk and no guts to actively pursue a man of her dreams preferring instead to settle for random hookups. Who is this woman? Let me tell you, not someone I care to read about. I expected this book to be about a young woman who would raise mayhem and unleash her super powers. I expected Savannah to go after Adam with all her determination and forces. I expected sparks to fly between the two. No luck here.

Now onto the plot itself. You know, I wonder why Armstrong started writing urban fantasy because it seems she prefers writing mysteries. I have nothing against mysteries per se, but if not grounded in paranormal, hers are weak. This book can be considered urban fantasy only because the main character is a witch. Otherwise, substitute cover spells with hiding in dark corners and knockback spells with a good kick, and there is nothing paranormal left in this story. The mystery itself is mediocre at best, because there is absolutely no way for readers to guess who the villain is. Speaking of the villain, the villain's motivation makes hardly any sense, the final result can be achieved much easier without this convoluted plan and murders.

Some readers also mention the cliff-hanger ending. Yes, there is one, but it is lame and unnecessary IMO. It surely won't make me lose my sleep.

To sum it up, Waking The Witch is a throwaway addition to the series - the mystery is lame, the narrator is boring, and romance is non-existent. But somehow it is written better than the majority of new UF and this is the only excuse for my very generous rating.

I feel that this book was half finished and under developed. I was very angry when one of the characters was killed as I felt it was totally unnecessary and a very over used plot device and it make reading the rest of the novel very difficult. I felt cheated and an author should never have their audience feel that way.

I am a big Kelley Armstrong fan, especially the Elena books. But this book was dissapointing. Not only was it slow but it ha a boring cliffhanger. One of my favorite things about her books is that while they complement each other the plot lines are alway finished. I felt like I was not reading a book writen by KA but by someone else. Hopefully she wil go back to her old writing form.

Kelly Armstrong has no idea how to write good mystery, which is common in urban fantasy. The world building fits right into her Otherworld seamlessly, and I wish the rest of the book shared that level of professionalism. (Not much in the way of new spells.)

The characterization is lacking, with Savannah being too reckless and not 'true to her history' personality-wise. She's a selfish annoyance, especially when it's crunch time and she toodles about. The motorcycle is cool, but I had hard time with Savannah's actions in the context of the story (based on previous backstory). She reminded me of what I hated about Hope Adams from book eight, and this didn't make sense. Armstrong wrote her in a 'dumb young character template,' but I expected the earlier tragedy in Savannah's life would make her smarter and cautious. Not so. Romance-wise, the novel might as well have been labeled 'young adult' -- nothing major.

Finally comes the major mystery failure. I figured out everything before Savannah does. The villain was a disappointment, similar to a previous plot of Armstrong's. The actual 'searching' for clues was meandering, boring, and amateur. The ending is a cliffhanger, which means I spent the entire book reading without resolution. It wasn't a quality book where I was pleased by a cliffhanger. Instead of thinking 'oh I can't wait for the next one' I ended up thinking 'wow, what a waste of time, a good mystery writer wouldn't need a cliffy here because the story should be over.'

Not a good book in the series, library-copy advised. If Armstrong can't stop writing all her women of the Otherworld in the 'stupid brash young girl with something to prove' template, I can certainly stop reading them.

I just finished reading the book and decided to do this review while it was still fresh in my mind. It seems like with every book Armstrong just keeps getting better. She introduced some interesting new characters that I hope to see in other books. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the male lead. I really dont like Kristof, just like with Bitten and Stolen I didnt like Clay. Not to say that Kristof is as bad as Clay. I dont like that stupid matcho attitude they both share, always being rude to people who dont deserve it. In this book it was mainly Trsiel. At least with Kristof hes not rude to everyone like Clay is. Im probaly biased though, Trsiel is my favorite character in this book. I was really intrigued by him as he wasnt your average angel. I really liked the smart ass comments in the book. Each chapter had something interesting there was no boring parts. Im really glad she did this book. From reading the other books the impression I had of Eve was completely different. I didnt think I would like her much. Then I started reading and it was great. I didnt want it to end. I liked that bit with Jamie and Jeremy. Hes another of my favorite characters. I cant wait for Haunted although I wouldnt mind less of Clay.

Basically this story is Eve's story and it is about her being trapped in her afterlife that is not quite hell and not quite heaven. When the Fates call her in to repay a favor she accepts.

But the Nix that she is sent to bring back in is causing massive chaos and then it starts to affect Eve's life, by going after Savannah and her guardians, Paige and Lucas. Eve, with the help of Kristof, her ex-lover, must do all it takes to bring down this Nix.

I've really liked the Otherworld books so far (though the further I get into the series, the less enthusiastic I get). I do love Armstrong's characters, though, and have fun with each book. This one, however, was a *huge* disappointment. The book doesn't even end - I respect a good cliffhanger, but this didn't even feel like an end-of-the-book cliffhanger; it felt like the end of a chapter. So I was left at the end feeling cheated and a little angry about it.
Otherwise I didn't mind the book, but it's definitely not at the same level that the series started out at.

My recommendation: wait for the next sequel to come out, so they can be read back-to-back. The next book isn't out yet, as I write this review, so I don't know if it'll be any good, but it has to be better than not having any sort of resolution or denouement. What a cop-out.

First of all, I have read all her books, even the teenage ones and just like her writings. This book seems more like a teenage book instead of the adult books she has written. So that is why I only gave it 3 stars because it was tame to me. Story was good but just not up to the usual adult line. I really liked her teenage series with the young teenager characters and would like nothing more than to read more on the story with the other people from the adult series added to it. But with that said, I can't wait for the next book just like everybody else. Just kept the books coming because I will read them. I am only writing this because I'm hopeful she will read this and listen to us readers.

I was skeptical at first, wondering how on earth I was going to identify with a main character who has no physical form, but Kelley Armstrong got me again. By the third chapter, I was hooked.

Thanks to consistent and believable "rules" in the world of her work, Eve's afterlife came alive for me. I wanted to see her prove herself worthy of the task assigned her and redeem herself in the eyes of all the readers who saw her as less-than-honorable from Paige's perspective over the course of the last two books. And she didn't disappoint me.

We already knew Eve was a good mother. Even Paige told us that. But through HAUNTED, we come to learn that she is also a good person, with a strong, if a bit tarnished, moral code of behavior. Sure she kills, and she doesn't try to hide that fact or make excuses for it. But she only kills those who deserve to die, and by the end, I was wishing she could have added a few more notches to her belt, as there were several bad guys worthy of her particular brand of justice.

The best part of this novel by far was how incredibly real Eve's angst felt over being unable to help, or to let go of her daughter. I was literally brought to tears twice, once by her horror and frustration as Savannah faces death and Eve is unable to do anything but watch. And again when she is realizes the inevitable conclusion: that life is for the living and she must let Savannah go, for the good of them both. I couldn't help feeling that Ms. Armstrong was writing about her own reluctance to let go of her children as they grow up, and based on the dedication, I think I may be right.

In HAUNTED, Ms. Armstrong has given us all a gift, a truly touching story about a woman who recognizes life's precious moments for the miracle they are and learns to cherish them as she reaches emotional maturity just a little too late - in an afterlife that is anything but restful and boring. With her best work and most compelling heroine since BITTEN, Ms. Armstrong has claimed her place on my permanent bookshelf, and a little piece of my heart, as well.

I was very disappointed in waking the witch. First the story features Savannah, one of my least favorite characters. Savannah is the precocious and smug ward of Paige and Lucas.

I found Savannah as a character annoying. She is abrasive, young, smart talking brat. She bullies witnesses and readers with her opinions and sentiments, drives around on her motorcycle playing 'tougher than thou' and in general seems to have a chip on her shoulder. I honestly do not care about this character or what happens to her she seemed like such caricature. Waist length black hair, can fix cars, has super powers, can eat what she want, can order grown people around who are twice her age etc, she's daring, bold, and a private investigator- at 21. Yep. Kind of hard to believe.

My issue with the character is she is selfish, over confidant and often mean. She is distinctly lacking in empathy, (except the fakish empathy she expresses for Kayla) and even her romantic escapades were boring and far too convenient. I didn't care about her relationship with Adam, or the chip she has on her shoulders about everyone who gets in her way. In short Savannah's is annoying and not a character I have any desire to read more about, unless it is to read about her eatting some humble pie.

The mystery itself was very disappointing. If you haven't read the previous novels featuring this character it might not even make sense. In a mystery the villain should be someone in the existing roster of characters. For me, I felt the villain made zero sense. This was neither a stand alone book, nor one I recommend unless you have a high tolerance for this type of annoying brash heroine. The wangst at the end involving Adam, and her roll in the situation with Kayla and the children was particularly difficult to take.

As others have mentioned, Kelley Armstrong's previous books - Bitten, Stolen, and to a lesser extent Dime Store Magic and Industrial Magic - are excellent, but this one just didn't work for me. The idea of an afterlife with multiple dimensions is initially interesting, but I felt it ended up being rather overused. In one scenario the heroine of the story, Eve Levine, tangles with an island of "pirates" most of whom behave like bored executives in an role-playing corporate bonding exercise. In the end all the jumping between dimensions became rather like running around between a bunch of movie sets - from really BAD 50's movies. It's hard to get really worked up about characters who can't be killed or injured (since they're already dead) and Eve and her former (and would-be-again) lover, Kristof, are somehow two-dimensional, as if the Ms Armstrong can't really get worked up about them either.

The evil Nix also seems a little too omniscient and her escapes a little too contrived - the angel with the sword of death keeps missing his stroke! - as if the author is trying to eke out a few more pages. In the end I was just bored silly.

Let me first say I have LOVED the Otherworld Series from the frist book. However that has started to change. This book could be part of her YA series and that is not the kind of book I am looking for. Normally the books have a well thought out plot, this book was scattered and then ends in a cliff hanger. None of the other books have ever done that and this is not the normal writting style of the series. Again it is like her YA Series, which I am not a fan of. If I had wanted a book from that series I would have purchased one, instead I purchased a book that is supposed to be like the Otherworld Series and was left unsatisfied. I will give the follow up book a chance as I want to see if the story ends, but if it is the same fluff of this book it will be my last Otherworld purchase.

In order to earn her wings, Eve has to stop a Nix, a demon that possesses her victims, then uses their body to commit murder. Eve at present is a ghost, a rather rebellious witch who was killed in Stolen, leaving her daughter, Savannah, with Paige (Dimestore Magic, Industrial Magic). Until she was offered this assignment, Eve was content to keep an eye on her child's very interesting life from afar. Now, things change, and to up the stakes, it looks as if the Nix might want to make Savannah, Paige, and Lucas her victims. There is nothing, not even Hell, that Eve won't face to save these three. Fortunately, she is not alone. With the help of a full blood angel with attitude and Savannah's father, Kristoff, Eve sets off on what seems like an impossible, at times, quest. ***** Through it, readers learn more about Eve and Kristoff; and trust me, Kris is much more than the bad guy he seemed to be when last we saw him. Ms. Armstrong is an excellent writer in all respects, but she does seem to have a special knack for creating memorable heroes. However, all her characters are three dimensional, with realistic, yet not fatal, flaws that don't mar their perfection, merely make them endearing.

Savannah Levine is the daughter of a very powerful witch and sorcerer father, which leaves her with a lot of power and a strong compulsion to prove her self. has been working with her guardians at their privet investigating firm since they opened it ,and now with Lucas and Paige away on vacation she is left to run the office. Then a Jesse Anes, a half demon who has worked with Lucas a few times, stops buy with a job for them once Savannah check him out and he is legit she takes the job right away, it would be her change to prove she could handle a case on her own. She felt it was not necessary to let Paige and Lucas know the extent of her involvement in the case. She of course let Adam know what she was doing in case she needed help. He felt it would be good for her to get out there and spread her wings.

So off she goes to the small town in the middle of no ware to investigate the murder of three girls. What she finds in a town with a lot of secretes will not be what she thought she would find. There is a commune that has lots of young women and a one older man named Alastair Koppel. As she investigates this she see that not only are all the women scared to talk to her someone at the commune has been practicing a little bit of magic their selves.

Then there is the high class town prick, Cody Radu who was dating one of the victims at the time of her death. The rumor is it that he would feed Ginny Thompson drugs and alcohol to keep her in her place. If this was not bad enough he was also married to a women who knew of his indiscretions. Savannah had her own run ins with the wife and they were not pleasant in the least.

Then there is a strange presents that keeps following her around but she just can't pin point who it is following her but with her repeated run ins with Cody, she figures it must be him. But everything that she this is may not be exactly what she thinks it and she may find that the enemies are closer than she knows. Once the Claire Kennedy's detective brother showed up and started helping Savannah with the case to finds his sister's killer. But once she finds him dead and suspects' foul play, she knows is going to need a lot more help before this case is solved.

This was a great addition to this series; next to the first book I think this one is my favorite. Although I have not had a chance to read all of them in this series, I will. But I now very excited for the next book this one left me needing to know what's going to happen. I was very excited to see more of Savannah, Adam, Paige, and Lucas.This book had me sucked in from the beginning I had to know who killed the girls and why. I have to say it lots of twist and turns I did not see coming, this kept it interesting when I could product what was going to happen , even when I thought I knew what was going to happen it happened but with a twist.

I'm a huge fan of the Kelley Armstrong books. But more so the werewolves. I wasn't as much interested in Dime Store Magic and Industrail Magic (though i did relate more to Paige than Elena). Haunted got me excited about the Kelley Armstrong witches again. There was even a cameo of one of the dead werewolves from Bitten (Daniel if you didn't catch it). Haunted was fast paced and action packed all the way through. In Stolen we heard of Eve Levine from the point of view of others. Others who saw her as a dark magic practitioner and evil. But looking through her eyes, I got a whole new view on Eve Levine and I liked her a lot more. This was a stay up all night read. I liked it a lot and highly recommend it.

I am new to this author and this series. However, I have blown through five books in about a month (which is AMAZING as I have a 1-year-old at home) which means I gave valuable SLEEP TIME up to read them. The book was a great easy read with characters that you can't help but root for and villians you can't wait to see fail. Although I have a few more to read, I am already missing all the characters when I am done...

Why are authors so obsessed with re-writing evil characters and making them 'good' in their own books? I found nothing 'good' about Eve, she seemed a self-absorbed, irritating, twit of a heroine. The whole idea of the after-life bored me to tears. I much prefer her novels PRIOR to her introducing magic and other unbelievable phenomenon. The werewolves were great. The idea that there was a hidden culture of them existing beyond human ken, intriguing. Then she introduces a gazillion different kinds of paranormal creatures/elements and I think she has jumped the shark.

1 star. I couldn't even finish, and I love her writing.

Wow, and I mean wow. I have now looked at titles by Kelley Armstrong for a few years, but never divulged. Until a friend lent me "haunted" just a day ago, and after a full day of sitting at home with the cold I have read through this fantastic novel, and just got back from the bookstore, picked up Bitten, of which I am eagerly waiting to start! I am amazed and delighted, that something I once took a "passing" glance at, has piqued my interest in the fullest!

Read this author, she's great!!!

It is really disappointing but here is one more of my so-called favorite authors writing a mediocre story that does nothing to keep me anticipating the next one. Hopefully this series is not another that I stop reading like I did the Sookie Stackhouse series. The storyline in Waking the Witch was generic, flat and extremely predictable. Everyone knows who the bad guy is in the beginning of the novel. Armstrong does try to steer readers away from guessing who the bad guy is but all she does is create boring twists and turns that confuse the reader while doing nothing to entertain us. Furthermore, the romance in this novel is so hallmark. There is nothing interesting about it and yes, it is very predictable with no fun anticipation...you are kind of just thinking, get it over with already. I am just so happy that I did not buy it in hardcover and was smart enough to get it at the library. Save your money!!! This one is a snore.

I felt shafted after enjoying the whole book with no complaints then getting to the end and having NOTHING resolved. The cases were resolved but nothing going on with Savanah was tied up. Normally each book gives me some satisfaction before moving on to the next. This one was a great book but I was pissed after getting to the end and realizing I would have to wait till the next installment.

I waited until I was done with all of the other books in this series to read this one because I really didn't expect much of it (based on some of the reviews on here. To my pleasant surprise though, Haunted was every bit as good as the other books in the series. Eve is a very compelling character, and the plot of the book doesn't slow down at all from the moment it begins. Typically I enjoy Ms. Armstrongs' werewolf books in this series more than her witch based books, but this one defiantly ranks at the top of the series.

The character's voice (which seems even younger than the character's age) and the lack of depth in the story remind me of Armstrong's young adult books. It is not bad, but definitely not as good as her other books in the series.

This book was not quite up to my expectations after reading the previous books in this series. It is well written, but seems to lack somthing the other books had. I hope the next one will be better organized. Kelley Armstrong is a very good writer and going back to the characters from her first book may keep her on track.

Another winner!! It was nice to finally read a book from Eve's viewpoint. Throughout the series the only comments about her were how she was into black magic and a bad witch. This book showed how much she loved her daughter Savanahh, and the lenghts she would go through to protect her. Thought the angel twist was a little far-fetched (a witch dies, to become a ghost, to become an angel?) All in all, a great book though. :)

I loved this book. I was a little hesitant about buying this book since i found the previous two barely decent. This story was excellent the plot was well developed and fast moving, the only thing that dissapointed be about this book is that there is no sequel. I hope that there will be a sequel.

Haunted was an excellent and entertaining book. I have liked all of Women of the Otherworld books. Kelley Armstrong is a wonderful writer. This novel was interesting and the pacing was great. The characters are complex and life-like. I enjoyed every minute of this book and highly recommend it.

I picked up a promo copy at the RT convention and didn't get around to reading it until recently. That was a mistake. I thought it was a good story. I liked it enough to go back and read several other books by Kelley Armstrong. Ultimately it may not be the strongest of all her books but it's a character who is evolving and has great potential.

As usual, Kelley Armstrong delivers and leaves you wanting more in this fun to read book told from 21 year old Savannah's POV. Savannah is an interesting character and it was neat to see her all grown up from the 12 year old girl we first met. Definitely a must read for Kelley Armstrong fans!

Ok, I've read all of the author's previous books and this was kinda thin, but an "ok" story, but then I get to page 248 and it cuts off? a chapte worth of repeated pages and then cut to a page 283 I have no idea how the story has gotten to, Leah? in Jesse's body? A big chunk of necessay story is missing...anybody else have this issue? While I didn't get this from the store this time I will be returning it tomorrow to Barnes & Noble. I don't even feel like reading the end becuase it doesnt make sense.

What a flat story! Some alibi fireballs and blur spells to make a below average detective story 'interesting' and then a totally unexpected and out of context 'twist' at the end. I read all the previous books of the series and some took a while to get interesting, but this was by far the worst. I was so hoping for an upturn in the last third of the book. I'm glad I got this one only from the library.

I really did not like this book. I tried for over a week to get involved in it and finally gave up. Haunted did not have anything that caught at me and compelled me to read to the end like the first two books in the series. I could not even develop a liking for Eve. I loved Stolen and Bitten and have read both several times. Dime Store and Industrial were "good" but in no way measured up to the first two books. I was really looking forward to reading Haunted, but ended up very disappointed. I'm not giving up on the author though, Kelley Armstrong is a wonderful gifted writer and I hope her next book (Elena and Clay - finally - yeah!)will bring her back on top. So I'm not suggesting to not read Haunted - just prepare yourself that it isn't as good as her others.

This is my favorite book so far in the series. It has a bit of everything. For those that haven't read any books by Kelley Armstrong yet, what are you waiting for?? She has developed a world far superior than any other "supernatural" series I've read. I just wish there were more books, it looks like her next one isn't set to be released until next year. I definately recommend the entire series.

What a flat story! Some alibi fireballs and blur spells to make a below average detective story 'interesting' and then a totally unexpected and out of context 'twist' at the end. I read all the previous books of the series and some took a while to get interesting, but this was by far the worst. I was so hoping for an upturn in the last third of the book. I'm glad I got this one only from the library.

I really did not like this book. I tried for over a week to get involved in it and finally gave up. Haunted did not have anything that caught at me and compelled me to read to the end like the first two books in the series. I could not even develop a liking for Eve. I loved Stolen and Bitten and have read both several times. Dime Store and Industrial were "good" but in no way measured up to the first two books. I was really looking forward to reading Haunted, but ended up very disappointed. I'm not giving up on the author though, Kelley Armstrong is a wonderful gifted writer and I hope her next book (Elena and Clay - finally - yeah!)will bring her back on top. So I'm not suggesting to not read Haunted - just prepare yourself that it isn't as good as her others.