Bitten (Otherworld)

Normally you cannot tell a book by its cover, however the publishers of this particular novel were very clever with this jacket and it suits the novel perfectly. Red, being blood and passion, are what this story is about. Elena as a main character is an amusing and interesting character, and the other characters Ms. Armstrong surrounds her with are absorbing and so very unique. I really enjoyed the writing style, considering this is the first book written by the author, and the plot was interesting, not overpowering, and didn't have a quick supernatural and easy solution to it which was appreciated. I comment that it was not overpowering because this story is not about events, it is an in-depth, personal, and hairy look at a woman/werewolf trying to find herself. She's had a trauma-ridden childhood, and when she found Clay she found what appeared to be the perfect man for her. Until he bit her. The story focuses on Elena's and Clay's relationship mainly, as Elena stumbles her way to self-discovery, and trying to find happiness. I came away from the story very uplifted, as the ending was joyful. It had reality involved in it (no one is perfect, not even the main characters), it had bittersweet sadness, and it also had some sex (a warning to the squemish). I very much enjoyed the book, especially since there are so few out there with a Canadian tint to them, and supernatural romance as well. Overall I really enjoyed reading this novel. It was not all-consuming like some books can be, but it was very emotionally charged and I loved it.

Do you ever do that approach/avoidance thingie? Where you run up to something and at the last minute veer away? This book/author and I had been doing that dance for months for no good reason. I heard nothing but positives on this series. I'm very well read in this genre. But everytime I picked up this book I would look through it, put it down and choose something else to read. So I finally read it. Very well written, tons of good characters, great settings--but--meah. What I didn't like was the idea of the last and only female were. I didn't like the sneaky way she became a shifter. I didn't like the obsessive nature of the romance where only negative elements occured because of love. Not a recommend from me, but everyone else likes it so I'm just on the outside with this one.

The book begins with the lovely Elena searching for a place to safely shift into her wolf form. You soon get an in depth look into the torture that takes place within Elena. Trying to deny her animalistic need and plunging her self into so called normalcy. She left her pack behind after feeling betrayed by her one true love, Clay (Clayton Danvers).

Desperately trying to suppress her inner wolf , she moves to Toronto and begins work with a popular newspaper. Soon after, she begins to create quite the double life for herself, living with her architect boyfriend, Philip Madden and sneaking into alleys in the middle of the night to shift, when she can’t hold the wolf at bay any longer.

When contacted by Jeremy Danvers (leader of the pack she turned her back on and father figure to Elena), he summons her back to the home she once new, Stonehaven. Finding that she can’t ignore Jeremy’s demands to help with an investigation pertaining to a local woman that was found murdered on Stonehaven’s land, Elena reluctantly returns to her former home.

Being face to face with her past and her ex-lover Clay, Elena is forced to embrace her the animal within…and the passion that still burns deep for Clay.

I definitely give this book 5 stars!

It’s a really great read!

It is imaginative, romantic, sexy, electrifying and suspenseful. Bitten tells the story of Elena, a female werewolf, who lives her daily life among normal people. She has kept her real existence a secret and is put in a predicament when her werewolf pack calls her to them when they run into some trouble. She leaves on a temporary basis to assist the pack, but finds the situation to be much bigger and more dangerous than expected. It takes her more time than anticipated to help clean up the trouble that is confronting the pack, and in the process she is dealing with the emotional reunion of the pack and her feelings for her previous werewolf lover/boyfriend. She also has to deal with her human boyfriend who is back at home waiting patiently for her return. I won't give away the entire story by telling you more, but you will treasure this book. Two of my friends had read it before me and they loved it also. I finished this book and immediately picked up Stolen, Kelly Armstrong's follow up book about Elena.

I will preface my review by saying that I do not like were stories. I find them brutish, dim, and dull. Naturally, upon discovering that this book was about weres, I placed it right back onto the shelves and kept walking. Two years later I happened upon a marvelous new YA series called Darkest Powers written by none other than Kelley Armstrong. I was enthralled with Armstrong's ability to create a world so palpable that I felt as though I could reach out and touch the characters. She even swayed my stubborn mind to find a fascination for a few supernatural species that I once hated. After quickly devouring the two books within the Darkest Powers series, I decided to set my sights ahead to her adult fiction works. As Bitten is the first book of her Women of the Otherworld series, I had to bite the perverbial bullet, set my discriminating thoughts about weres aside, and immerse myself in the mind of the one and only female werewolf. I l.o.v.e.d. it! I won't summarize the book, others have done that much better than I ever could, but I will touch on a few hi-lights.

Elena is an admirable heroine. Riddled with flaws and self doubt, she provides a narrative that is so honest, despite her lack of self awareness, and so endearing, that you can't help but like her. She isn't "nice", on the contrary, she is snarky, moody, aggressive, and a tad bit self involved. However, knowing her background allows readers, or rather, allowed me to understand these traits and sympathize with her logic. I wanted to shake her at times, I gritted my teeth more than once, but she wasn't despicable and she certainly isn't meek as so many heroines often are. In fact, she even kicks a little arse and the men of The Pack view her as an equal as does her love interest, Clay.

Clay, what can I say about Clay? He just might eclipse my fictional husband, Jace Wayland. Clay is intelligent, and yes, he's good looking, temperamental, witty, loyal and honest. These traits alone would make a girl swoon, but even more appealing is his possession of a child like exuberance that is so disarming it gave me butterflies. I know, spoken like a true sap. From the moment I was introduced to him in this story, I knew two things, he was utterly and irrevocably in love with Elena and that I was going to like him, a lot. I was right.

Bitten contains a tight, cohesive and compelling plot, but more importantly, it contains well developed, winning characters that I won't soon forget. Elena's path of self discovery is woven beautifully throughout the book and I can't wait to read more about her, Clay and The Pack.

While I am sure I am not the target demographic for this book, I have to confess that I found it to be a strong entry in the paranormal romance field, with a fresh take on werewolf society, complex and interesting main characters, and vivid narrative description. That this is a first novel makes it even more impressive; I am not surprised at all that Kelley Armstrong has had a number of additional works published and developed a strong following. The only thing that keeps this from a five star rating is that the minor characters are less well differentiated and some of the tactical decisions in the encounters between the Pack and the Mutts are not too smart. Still, those are minor concerns in an original, gripping take on werewolves in modern society and the passion that surrounds their lives and their loves. Donald J. Bingle, author of Forced Conversion.

I was a fan of the tv show so I decided to read the book, in fact I bought the first 3 books before reading any of them. I enjoyed the familiar story with some added benefits of knowing more of Elena's thoughts and backstory. Unfortunately, I read the sequels and they didn't keep my interest. Even so, the first book was still worth reading.

Eana is a young attractive woman who just wants to live a normal life. The problem is that ten years ago a werewolf, who just happened to be her fiancée, bit her. This of course made her a werewolf. The only female werewolf alive. She has left her wolf family, the pack, and is now trying to settle down and live a normal life. Unfortunately, she still has all the werewolf needs, like the need to eat enormous amounts of food.
When the pack leader calls her to return to the pack, she is forced to confront her inner demons, or should I say, inner werewolf. She is also forced to deal with her ex who is still in love with her.
The plots is a mixture of love story, and also thriller as Elana and her pack hunt down and try to stop killings of the pack members.
I enjoyed every part of this book. Thankfully it was all relatively logical, considering the subject. Without a doubt the writer is a gifted writer and made the werewolves seem real.

Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite authors and Bitten is one of my favorite books, though Industrial Magic is by far the best book in the series. I do have a few suggestions for people who couldn't get into the book. First, do not listen to the audio book. The narrator is has a monotone voice and just doesn't do the novel justice. My friend listend to the cds instead of reading Bitten and it took me forever to get her to read Stolen, the next in the series, because the narrator wasn't able to catch the author's humor and sarcasm. Now she has read them all and is eagerly awaiting the next book, No Humans Involved, and can't believe that she almost gave up on the series. For those who feel that things were left unexplained, like Jeremy's financial situation, Clay's childhood--why he is how he is, and Elena and Clay's relationship I highly suggest that you go to the author's website, [...], and read her free e-novellas. I like her e-novellas better than some of the published books in the series, much bettter than the third in the series Dime Store Magic. The online novellas are a good background source for the series, especially the werewolves. For those who didn't like Bitten I highly suggest that you continue with the series because it is well worth it. By the time you get to Industrial Magic chances are you'll be a fan of the series and of Kelley Armstrong.

I had read reviews on this book, so decided to give the series a try. Glad I did, and will go on to "Stolen". The main character is Elena, the only female werewolf in the world. In fact, there are only 35 werewolves. Right there, you know this book is going to be different. She really isn't happy about being a were, and tries to escape that world, but the ties are there, and she returns. The world has a vicious side, and don't get too attached to the characters, cause they do get killed. It's a dark look, at the Otherworld, and makes for a more realistic story. Of course, it is a fantasy, so not all that believeable, but I like the darkness to it. Not just another paranormal love story, with a predictable ending.

Bitten is more than just a werewolf book. Yes, it follows the story of a werewolf named Elena and the trials and tribulations of her pack. There's plenty of action and sex. But what is so exceptional about this book is the complex emotions invoked by our main character.

Elena never wanted to be werewolf. She had a miserable childhood, shuffling through the foster system, enduring horrific abuse. She survived, clinging to the idea that she could make a normal life for herself; grow up and create the kind of family she never had. But in college, her fiance Clay, took away her dream of normalcy, when he bit her and turned her into werewolf. That was about a decade ago and she still hasn't forgiven him. Instead, she's abandoned her pack and started a new life. She hides what she is and works to pass herself off a normal woman, especially to her live-in boyfriend, Phillip.

But she is forced to return to the pack when her alpha, Jeremy, calls her for help. There is a rogue wolf in pack territory and they need Elena to help sniff him out. Clay is there, making matters more complicated. And as the story progresses and the rogue-wolf plot becomes more dangerous and deadly, we see Elena fighting the pack, Clay, and herself and she tries to figure out where she truly fits in.

Armstrong makes it easy to see both sides of Elena's warring emotions. The hurt and resentment for Clay is understandable in the context of her horrific life. Yet, at the same time, it's so apparent that these two have something epic between them. Clay loves her so much, and that is even more meaningful when compared with how little he values almost anyone else. Elena and Jeremy are his whole world. And it's clear that no matter how hurt Elena was by his bite, her heart will never be free of him. He is an undeniable part of her. Her relationship with Jeremy is almost as fascinating. She is so insecure about his feelings as he remains inscrutable. He gives her orders that on some levels feel cruel, but when you look more closely, you can understand why he makes the decisions he does. And even if it's not clear to her, it's clear to me, that he loves her.

Elena's relationship with Phillip definitely muddies the waters. It's hard not to be a little turned off that she jumps from his bed to Clay's without a shred of guilt. I suppose that shows where her heart lies, but it paints her in an unflattering light. Armstrong makes no bones that Elena is far from perfect, but perhaps that makes her a better heroine.

There is a lot of action in the book. Several people die and not just fringe-characters. I thought the story arc was exciting and took some unexpected directions, which I enjoyed quite a bit. This was a great introduction to the Otherworld series. 4 1/2 stars.

This book is a page turner from the start. Elena is not your everyday herione of a book. she has a lot of issues and deals with things as they come. Truly a refreshing charactor. Elena was bitten by her fiance who is a werewolf. She has never forgiven him for it, and finds herself the only female werewolf to survive. She decides that she is going to go to the city and try to have a normal life, such as it is. She gets engaged to a nice "normal" man, and is living her life, when she is called back to the "pack" to deal with some renegade werewolves, or "mutts". When she gets there, she has to deal with her ex, the pack that she belongs too, and some "mutts" that have managed to organize themselves enough to create havoc. This is a strong woman, who makes no apologies for what she is. I am going to get her next book, "Stolen" as soon as it comes out.

I read this book because I like the werewolf theme. I also wanted to read something from a feminine perspective. I read "Moon Called" by P. Briggs and I thought that was okay. This book was an okay read, but not something that I would call a page-turner. It's basically a romance novel interspersed with the werewolf theme. Had it been a werewolf novel, with just a little bit of romance, then I would have liked it more. Personally, I have no problem with lovemaking, but I don't want to read about it for 1 1/2 pages. I saw this book as being a collection of linear events, with very little excitement. There are perilous events, but you can see the outcome far in advance.
I do not find the character of Elena that interesting. The book is about her struggle to decide which of two men she loves, and whether or not she wants to be part of the werewolf pack. Not much of a story there. This would make a great movie on the Lifetime network.

I do not watch Lifetime.

This novel had things I thought I would like. A reluctant werewolf trying to live a normal life. Instead all I found was a whiny character who always seems to make bad decisions. When she leaves her live in boyfriend of a year she waits one whole day before cheating on him. But its ok because she justifies it as being loyal to the other guy? She talks about how shes killed other wolfs and even spends much of the plot trying to do just that, but when one tries to kill her back she freaks out and spends the next chapter crying and having a panic attack.

The pack Alpha is useless and completely incompetent. Does he make one good decision in the whole book? The whole plot of the book is brought on because he cant or wont do his job.

I couldnt finish it.

Bitten sucks you in from page one, and refuses to let go. She feeds you just enough information to tantalize you to turn the page, and always dangles more titilating stuff just around the corner. Things that you should have seen, you don't...people you think are a certain way, aren't.

If I hadn't seen it on paper, I wouldn't believe it was her first book. In my opinion, the rest of her books don't hold a candle to this one (being that she never intended Bitten to be the first in a series), but her inventiveness and writing style keep me coming back for more.

She is working on her fifth (or is it sixth?) book now, but she still makes time to maintain a website ([...] write her fans, and participate in discussions on her website. She listens to her fans, and has since created a handful of novellas dedicated to the prequel of Clay and Elena (introduced here in Bitten), which, in my opinion, are better than any book she's written, outside of this one.

A roleplaying game, based on her works, has also been created ([...] and is excellently done, as well.

I decided to pick up this book after the store had recommended it and the average review was high. All reviews and the book descriptions said there was a strong heroine and those are the kind of books I like. There are several things wrong with this book, but I think the fatal flaw is the heroine, Elena.

Elena has an abusive background which is good for future character strength and development in most stories, but not in this one. It is mostly dismissed after it is described so it really has almost no value to the rest of the story other than to give you creepy vibes at her choices.
In my opinion a strong heroine would at least be somewhat accepting of her current situation. Not so with Elena. She cannot accept being a werewolf, being in a pack, that she has feelings for the man she was going to marry, or that she is lying to herself about almost everthing.
The heroine is self delusional, weak(not a good trait in a werewolf), winey, and extremely annoying. This book reminds me of a B-List horror movie where you are always yelling at the T.V. "Why are you doing that!" because there were so many times where that is exactly what I was doing.

The writer is extremely descriptive and that is good most of the time, but she takes a little after Laurell Hamilton in that some descriptions are just to much or are a second or third description of the same thing.
The secondary characters were fleshed out pretty good and intregal in the story line... in the beginning, but started falling short towards the end.
On a good note there were very few stupid editing issues to distract.

I finished this book with effort and high hopes for the second because I do like the ideas and creativity of the author, but who knows?

Bitten sucks you in from page one, and refuses to let go. She feeds you just enough information to tantalize you to turn the page, and always dangles more titilating stuff just around the corner. Things that you should have seen, you don't...people you think are a certain way, aren't.

If I hadn't seen it on paper, I wouldn't believe it was her first book. In my opinion, the rest of her books don't hold a candle to this one (being that she never intended Bitten to be the first in a series), but her inventiveness and writing style keep me coming back for more.

She is working on her fifth (or is it sixth?) book now, but she still makes time to maintain a website ([...] write her fans, and participate in discussions on her website. She listens to her fans, and has since created a handful of novellas dedicated to the prequel of Clay and Elena (introduced here in Bitten), which, in my opinion, are better than any book she's written, outside of this one.

A roleplaying game, based on her works, has also been created ([...] and is excellently done, as well.

"Bitten" is the first book that I have read of its kind,. Wow!! What a book. Definitely different. I found that I had a hard time liking Elena..but that was what was so great about her ..she was real and she was strong. Though i will say that I will never understand how it was so upsetting to her to live with the Pack...my God!! To be surrounded by all of those hot men who just coddeled you all day long!!! Im there!!! Clay was so sexy and I loved his devotion to Elena even though he didnt always make the right decisions regarding how he should handle things between them. I will say though at Nick was my fave..OH MY!! WHat a house full of men!! Whew!! Anyways, Id recommend this book..it is definitely different and entertaining, though I will tell you now that if you are at all offended by violence, then this is not the book for you. Oh and one last thing...I LOOOVE THE FRONT COVER!

Growing up as an orphan left Elena Michaels vulnerable to the charm of Clayton. However, instead of marriage, two kids, and a picket fence, Clayton bites Elena turning her into the world's only known female werewolf. The werewolf gene is male with only the females converting by being bitten and almost all die from the Change. Elena joins Clayton's pack in remote Stonehaven, New York for awhile, but soon leaves to return to her Toronto home to try to live a human life even if she runs naked at four in the morning.

Her former pack leader Jeremy demands Elena return to help fight a rogue pack. However, the enemy captures Clayton. They demand Jeremy give them Elena in exchange because they want to turn her into a breeding farm of purebred lycanthropics. None of these males factored in Elena's reaction to the bartering.

Werewolf readers will enjoy BITTEN, a well-written horror novel with a fast-paced story line. The werewolf packs seem real as if the species exists mostly because of Elena who is the consummate heroine that makes the novel work. The change of Clayton from psychopath to hero seems a bit contrived, but fans will still want to run along side Elena and any future tales by Kelley Armstrong starring this wonderful lead female.

Harriet Klausner

I decided to read these books after watching the show on Netflix. I enjoyed the show immensely but the book is so boring and all over the place. I couldn’t get into how the author writes. It’s so boring and drawn out. Her writing is all over the place and just not my style. Incredibly dull.

I am so glad that I gave this book a chance! There are so many werewolf/vampire books out today that it is hard to pick a winner and Bitten is definitely one of the best.
The book is centered around Elena, a woman trying to come to terms with her new life as a werewolf and the person who put her in this predicament. Elena is a strong female character who throws as many punches as she receives.
I can not leave a review of this book without mentioning Clay. He is the alpha male and let me tell you he is glorious. He never gives any excuses for who he is and he shows his loyalty to those he loves 100 percent of the time. I think this book would have been completely different without him in it.
I will continue on with the series and I am going to look into more of Armstrongs books.

This book got me back into reading. I bought three books from a local store and did the "my mother told me to pick the very best one..." rhyme as to which I would read first. Bitten was it and I went out the next day, after finishing Bitten, and got the rest of Kelly Armstrong's books. I fell madly in love with the idea, the characters, and the love story inside.

Based in modren times Elena is the only female werewolf, ever as far as their history goes back. She is a prize among her kind and was taken in by The Pack, an exclusive group of werewolfs that are like family. Not completely happy with her life as a werewolf or the circumstances where she was changed lead her to "run away". When her Alpha calls her with a request, she can't say no. Both her mind and pack law dictate it. She returns to her former home and realizes she left more than she was ever really willing to give, including a life as herself without shame or hiding.

The story leaves holes, but the good kind, not giving you back story instead of real plot story and confusing the purpose of the book. However, at Kelly Armstrong's website you can download back stories and side stories from all your favorite characters. I highly recommend reading the entire series. You don't have to read them in order but you miss important character introductions and the entire series is well worth reading. Every character is funny, interesting,and relateable.

#1 in the Otherworld Series, I picked up Bitten because there was much praise given it by fans and other authors. I enjoyed the concept, and a couple characters stood out, including Clay, Elena's werewolf love, and Jeremy, the werewolf Alpha pack leader; however, I found that Elena seemed to lack true character depth. She had a very hard life growing up. Her first true love, Clay, bit her and turned her into a werewolf. She despised him for many years. The danger to Elena's life comes when Jeremy calls her back to Stonehaven, away from her life in Toronto--where she is trying to live a normal life, with a human fiancé, a job, and an apartment--to help control some pesky mutts (werewolves without a pack) that are causing trouble and killing humans. The details in both the fighting and the sexual scenes felt very blaze and left me thinking "that's it"? Her relationship with Clay and the pack members is clear, and she proves to be an asset, but from the very first page to the very last, I found myself uninterested through an adult perspective. If I had read Bitten as a 16-year old, I would've enjoyed it. Very good plot and a few characters stand solid to continue as fascinating characters, but overall I wasn't impressed with the bland writing style. This is definitely a teen book in my opinion. Not captivating enough as a paranormal romance novel for mature adults.

I like her.

Once you have read as many vampire, werewolf, ghost, necromancer.... aka Anne Rice, Laurell K. Hamilton, Christine Feehan, Sherilyn Kenyon books as I have and fallen in love with all of their characters....

I really didn't expect to find another.... have to have!

Kelley Armstrong is a great writer.

Elena is the subject of this book. A female werewolf.

Once I the things I noticed immediately is that the is very little landscape, wardrobe, physical description detail....

and although it works really well with Anita (Laurell K. Hamilton).... I love that Elana's story does not need it.

The writing stands on its on.

Great characters. I am in love with Clayton. One of the werewolves in the pack.

I am in love with how simple and clean this book is written.

And this is only the first in four now... I have read them all in a very short week and half period.

Kelley Armstrong does not try to sell you something you might or might not believe by making up new worlds or fantasy details... she just takes what you see everyday in the world and tells you what lies within it.

Its packed with a the story and the dialogue within the story and the characters internal struggles.

The plot is that there are rogue werewolves roaming around. Elena is forced to come back home to the pack and abandon the life she is trying to create outside of the only real, safe world she has ever known.

She is the only female werewolf. Lucky dog, hugh?

Beyond that the hunt is on. And believe me you are off and running with the wolves around every corner.

A huge who done it and why? And along the way... Kelley is making introductions to characters that play roles in the later books...

I hope I have somewhat inspired you to give her a chance.

I cannot wait for the next installment.

I wasn't totally blown away by Bitten, but it was enjoyable. It's the kind of book I would only read in my free time. Half mystery novel, half romance novel. Predictable. The dialogue was a bit sketchy sometimes, mostly because it was used to explain details that either didn't need blatant explanations, or it included things that would have been better said within the story. I think what saved it was the premise and interesting werewolves.

There were a lot of sex and "changing" scenes. I almost quit halfway through after about the third time the main characters changed, werewolf flirted/rough-housed, ran in the woods, tore meat apart, and sometimes had sex. I probably won't read the rest of the series, but I wouldn't rule it out on a rainy day.

I just finished reading Kelly Armstrong's BITTEN. And to say the least I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has been a while since I have read a novel where the characters and the world they live in are so real and believable.

Yes it is a werewolf novel. Yet it is not a Laurell K. Hamilton book with vampire politics, werewolf bodyguards, and revival wolf packs. It is not a world where the supernatural and the everyday are one in the same. Armstrong's werewolves are original to her. They are real people with their own miniature society within the human world. In some ways their lives are similar to ours and in others they differ. I found it intriguing that one of the werewolves was an anthropologist. It is ironic and a play on how humans study apes and wolves to better understand humanity. Here, Clay, the anthropologist, is studying about humanity from an outsider's perspective.

I found the protagonist, Elena, a powerful character. She is damaged enough for one to sympathize with. Yet she has overcome her tragic past and has risen above it causing the reader to feel admiration towards her. On the other hand is sarcastic, funny, strong willed, and doubtful. I think these qualities make her all the more real and likeable.

If you are looking for a horror novel, this is not one. It is more of a drama with some thrills to keep you reading.

I haven't read a book this bad since James Patterson's You've Been Warned. To begin with the plot and character development are weak! The reader is introduced to Elena; the only female werewolf in existence. I thought that fact in and of itself would make for an interesting read but the author does not take the time to really delve into the significance of it. Elena herself is a complete contradiction...she fights to be included in the planning to take down a couple of "mutts" (aka non pack affiliated werewolves); she also fights to assert her independence and maturity but the minute she's giving the opportunity to prove her supposed skill and usefulness she complete hoses everything. She makes the most asinine decisions, appears to be unable to fight her way out of a paper sack, and she can't cross the street without needing backup from the pack that she's fought so hard to be rid of. Throughout the book; she whines constantly! Her character is a complete disappointment if you're looking for a strong female werewolf. You'd be better off looking to Laurell K Hamiliton's Anita Blake for that. Aside from the weak main character; the overall plot and storyline are weak and inexplicable. You have rogue mutts who are looking to destroy the pack and killing civilians in a small town and what does the pack do? Well, they let their members get picked off one by one while they formulate a plan that bears no semblance to anything that might rid them of the mutts. Before you witness how inefficient and ineffectual the pack really is; you'd believe the mutts wouldnt pose a big problem. In reality; you'll be surprised that any individual member of the pack survives the rampant stupidity of the whole. Bottom line is that I will probably never read another book in this series...it was too painful!

Elena is a werewolf. Not by birth and not by choice, but it's a fate she's learned to live with. Her abrupt introduction into the were world was softened by support from the local Pack. After years alongside them, though, Elena has finally struck out on her own. Now she's got a solid relationship, a steady career, and in spite of the difficulty hiding who she is, she's doing alright. But when the Pack summons her, Elena knows she has no choice but to return. After all, they've vowed never to contact her unless it's an absolute emergency. And this is an emergency. Survival of the Pack means staying under the radar and a mutt is preying on humans in Pack territory. If they can find the mutt and stop him before it's too late, the Pack might be safe. If they can't contain the mutt, all hell could break loose!

Elena has been a peripheral character in some of the titles I've read, but this is my first time reading her story. In fact, I've discovered that she's by far the most popular lead in the series (in terms of number of books), serving as narrator in Bitten, Stolen, Broken, and Frostbitten as well as a number of shorts.

Elena is strong and opinionated, in fact she's all around the perfect heroine for a slightly gritty, slightly romantically tinged, paranormal series!

As for the series itself, I love the various elements that go into each story. They're thrillers, they're mysteries, there's some romance (as mentioned), and then there's the paranormal aspect. It's our world as we know it but with weres and witches and demons and ghosts sharing our space.

I want to feel the excruciating pain of the Change. Be able to run free, and smell things from a mile away. Feel the fear of humans and creatures alike. Taunt them, play with them, let them know that I am able to kill every last one of them without a swift, easy movement. I want to be part of the Pack. Hunt down Mutts who are causing enough trouble to deserve death. I want the curse. I want to be a Werewolf.

Elena is not a teen like other heroines in most novels. She's in her thirties so that's a change, possibly for the better. Her mind is not being plagued with thoughts of high school crushes and what she should wear tomorrow and if Bobby is into her and will ask her to the Winter Formal. She grew up with a rough life. Her parents died when she was young and she was moved from foster home to foster home, never finding a place that would keep her long enough. Until she was bitten, then she found a family. The Pack. All she wanted was the perfect life. A life she never had. Kids, a husband, a job. Everything everyone dreamed of. But she can't. She's cursed.

Elena is living with her boyfriend Phillip when she receives an urgent call. Mutts are attacking the people in Stonehaven, the land where Elena used to live with the Pack and they need her help to track them down. But not only does her "family" live there, the one who changed her does too. It would be impossible to miss him, even with a bag over her head. You may have guessed it already, but this novel is also a Romance Novel. About 25% of it.

Now, aside from the awesome wolf scenes. There is the occasional human scene where we get to learn more and more about Elena as a person. I do admit that these scenes were a bit slow, I, myself, would rather read about her messing with some human and attempting to kill some evil doers. But a novel can't be all fun and games. We have to learn about some things the hard way.

But, perhaps that is just me. I'd rather read the werewolf side rather than the human side because I'm a guy. During her werewolf moments it is more about the adrenaline and the hunt. Where her human side is more about the emotions. Not to mention the steamy sex scenes where the guy is described yet not the girl. Talk about let down. Not in a pervish way. I'm a guy, I'd rather read about girls. Not graphic but whatever.

Kelley Armstrong's writing was a bit of a mix for me. Like I said, when she was in werewolf mode everything was exciting. Only to be brought to a more calmer side during her human mode. It changed too much for me to fully understand and grasp her style. There wasn't really a consistency with her writing. But how she wrote the story itself, I actually like it. Except for the ending. While it is shocking, it was just another girl novel for me. The way that a certain character was treated, left behind and forgotten broke my heart. Not because I've been there before, perhaps it is, but because I feel for people like that. Just because she had a connection with one person doesn't mean that she should just forget the other.

Perhaps, that's what threw me off at the end. Aside from the writing, the romance scenes and the ending, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just don't think it's one of her best works though.

Armstrong bursts onto the writing scene with her first novel of The Women of the Otherworld series, "Bitten." In this werewolf-gone-bad story, the main character, Elena Michaels must face her past and herself if she is going to help stop a killer and protect those who care about her the most.

A bit different than the average werewolf book I've read, I found the characters to be believable and engaging. It has an edge to it that is gritty and more real than a lot of the "supernatural" books out there. The story moved along nicely, with a bit of romance on the side, but not so much as to detract from the storyline. I will warn though that there is the occasional graphic violence. Still, if you have a strong stomach, it's a great read.

This novel took me from the first page to the last without ever relenting it's stranglehold on my interest. It had all the themes of a classic novel: man v. man, man v. himself, and it simply took those and applied it to werewolves, and a strong heroine. The story itself takes the myths surrounding werewolves and turns them upside down, gone are the days of silver bullets and full moons, this reinvents the werewolf, convincingly, and with ease. The things we knew about werewolves are going to change, and the history of the werewolf has been altered thanks to Kelley Armstrong. If you need a gift solution for a friend pick this up, there is nothing wrong with a little horror/romance/thriller/comedy to end your day. Especially if Kelley Armstrong has anything to do with it.

Much as I like Armstrong's books, I found Elena to be incredibly unsympathetic. What I hate about the ending is when she ends up with Clay, the werewolf that turned her. She comes to the realization that the predator and the loner were in her all along and all becoming a werewolf did was bring out her true nature. Yeah, and? This doesn't excuse Clay turning her against her will. How any self-respecting woman doesn't ban someone from her life for something so unforgivable is beyond me. And the cheating on her human boyfriend (repeatedly) didn't help me like her. She's halfway married to an amazingly patient and loving man, Clay betrayed her in a horrible fashion, but hey, Clay f**** like a Trojan so there is that.

Elena is ruled by her worst impulses in so many ways. She is the queen of the temper tantrum, and throws an incredible one when Clay is kidnapped, to the great detriment of their chances of ever getting him back. She's stubborn and contrary, and not in an empowered way but more like an if-mom-says-to-close-the-door-leave-it-wide-open way. She whines and pouts and stomps and slams her way through the story.

I gave it three stars because it's part of a series which I like as a whole, but really the book by itself would be two stars. If I had read this book first, I think I would not have read anything else by Armstrong ever again.

Other people have summed the plot of this novel, so I'll just give you my impression. This was a highly readable werewolf story and I highly recommend it. So many vampire/werewolf/witch books can be fake and unbelievable with poor dialogue. Here, the 'pack' mentality described within this book is carefully explained through believable examples. Elena is neither the damsel in distress nor the dangerous, leather-clad sexual icon - she's just very real. Also, there's a lot of interesting action in this book, which is a welcome departure from the stale/redundant plot lines too common in books today.
I couldn't put it down. I fell asleep reading it last night in bed and had to finish the last 20 pages it at work this morning, hiding the novel from the view of my co-workers by sticking it inside my day planner. I can't wait for the next two.

This is the first werewolf book I've read, outside of watching Wolf and An American Werewolf in Paris, and I'm impressed. I was intrigued by the concepts of the werewolfs themselves. I liked that they could change without the full moon, but when it took Elena thirty minutes to change in the alley I was shocked. She was changing in Toronto, and I assumed such a trait came as naturally as breathing, but I'm not the writer and cannot be so presumptious.

I had a problem with Elena on many occasions, though. I felt her place in the Pack would bring a different perspective to things. Men and women think different. In my opinion, there was nothing feral about her, as maybe Armstrong would like you to believe. At times she seemed to be a woman out of sorts, and incapable-which I didn't like.

Another issue I have is Clay, as has been stated many times. Although Elena had a man at home, it only took a couple kisses from the blond hunk to get in her pants. I expected a little more backbone. Make the guy put in some work for the tail. Elena had no remorse for her cheating, and she was supposed to be engaged. Her emotions were lackluster, and was Clay's sexpot at his whim.

Philip, oh brother! Your fiance bring her cousin to the house, and he gives you the cold shoulder? Elena and Clay are talking and giggling, and as soon as Philip comes in, Clay's a deaf-mute? I don't think any man would stand for that. Elena had chose Philip for his characteristic similarities to Jeremy, but he was a complete pushover, and the Alpha wasn't. I'd hoped she would make the right decision at the end, but I was disappointed.

The fight scenes were dull, and unimaginative. The Pack seemed unfazed with the lost of their comrades, which troubled me, having known each other for years.

Everything else I liked about the story. It moved along nicely, and I was thoroughly engrossed.

Loved it, from the first page to the last !!!
I've read other books featuring werewolves (Hamilton, Harris, King), but none remotely like this... Other books talk about the change and how it's painfull but that's about it... This one describes how it is like to actually be a werewolve, how it's like to run, to smell everything, to live with al these urges... How it's like to play with your pack members in wolf-from...

Bitten tells the story of Elena. She had a really difficult childhood and is just starting to come to terms with it all when she's bitten and becomes a werewolve...
10 years later she's left her pack and moved to the city where she lives with her boyfriend. Things aren't easy, living with a human and in the city, but she's managing.
Then her former pack leader calls her: there's an emergency "back home", so she goes back to her pack members and Clay, the man she loves with whole her heart, or hate with whole her heart, depending on whitch minute of the day it is...

I liked the TV show, and I usually like the book better, so I tried to read this. I stopped reading it based on the first RAPE of Elena, near the beginning of the book. I just cannot support an author who perpetuates the rape culture, using themes like 'if I tie you up after you struggle to get away, it makes it easier for YOU to not tell me no'. WHEN will folks get it into their head that only YES means yes?

I couldn't get past the 2nd chapter because the writing is so bad. The descriptive style is heavy and distracts from the story with awkward attempts to set the mood. Story sounds intriguing and I love a good urban fantasy but I'll have to check out the TV series instead of this book.

I have always been more of a vampire girl, so I was initially cautious to start this series, as the first book is about werewolves. Kelley Armstrong's writing makes me wish her world was real!! I loved Elena's character, how she struggles between a "normal" human life, and that of someone who spends half her time as a wolf. The descriptions of the characters as wolves made me want to be one of them and learn more about the dynamics of pack life. Of course, Clay is a huge part of why I love this book and want to keep reading this series! I highly recommend it and would put it on par with the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris!!

It was ok this is about the 4th time I tried to read this book and the only time I actually finished it. I have read stories that have better writing, and are not so hard to get into. But all in all it was an ok book, I don't know if I will keep up with the series but I at least was finally able to finish this one.

Bitten is one of the best first novels I have read in a long time. Kelley Armstrong proves that you can still take an old, tired and overused storyline and make it great and entertaining. Her book is sexy, intelligently written and highly entertaining.
Elena is a young woman who was once bitten by a werewolf, which inevitably turned her into one as well. Only problem is that in Armstrong's world, only males are allowed to be werwolves as the curse is passed down through the male line. But she survives the change and The Pack, an organized group of werwolves, decide to keep her alive.
She does not like her life as much as she ought to and so she escapes to Toronto, only to be brought back to her New York dwellings (the home of The Pack) when strange murders start occuring. She is quickly thrown into a plot involving a group of Mutts (werewolves who are not part of The Pack and who only want to cause trouble for the organization) who only wants to see The Pack disappear.
Violent, dark and often wittingly funny, Bitten is a very original novel that takes the werewolf legend and plays with it amazingly well. The book reminded me of the early efforts from Anne Rice; Armstrong, just like Rice did with vampires, rejuvinates the legend on her own, putting a much-needed life back into the genre.
Any fans of the genre should be pleased with this book. And non-horror fans will also find something to like here; Armstrong's prose is very beautiful, straight to the point and extremely colorful. This one is not to be missed!

Thanks to the reviews and checking out Armstrong's website, I began her Women of the Underworld series with Bitten. And I wasn't disappointed! I'm becoming more & more fond of Werewolves and their Pack-World since reading the Mercy Thompson series by Briggs. The thing that really got me hooked w/ Bitten was the first chapter, describing the book's heroine Elena & her independence that's fiercely driven by her Were-self. Sort of a force she can't control within her. Personally I related to that so had to read more about this woman who was torn between two worlds: the one she created and the one she was destined to. Needless to say, I've begun the next book & will continue on!

I just finished this book, and really enjoyed it. The main character, Elena, is struggling to maintain her life in mainstream Toronto, and keep her lycanthropy a secret from her human boyfriend. One day, she is contacted by the Alpha of the Pack she fled. Curious, and unable to reach him by phone, she returns to the Pack, to learn their existance is under threat by renegade loner-werewolves (mutts).
Elena is sucked back into Pack life, whether she likes it or not. And also is sucked back into the bed of her werewolf ex-lover, Clayton.
My thoughts are; some characters were disposed of too quickly (Peter, Logan and Koenig, to name a few). Perhaps this was because they weren't main important characters. I'm wondering if a sequel is on the horizon- as there are many loose ends, and questions left unanswered.

It's not often that you find a book that is both genre fiction and literature, but I think Kelley Armstrong's "Bitten" comes close. It has the 'can't put it down' quality of a well plotted out piece of genre fiction and fleshed out characters. I have to admit I'm a bit of a speed reader, but I picked it up this afternoon and finished it five hours later. I just couldn't put it down.
After surviving a tragic childhood, is betrayed by the one person she thought she could trust and turned into a werewolf without her consent. ... It's not that she neccisarily hates being a werewolf, it's just that after having such a messed up childhood, she can't stand having her choice taken from her without her consent.
It's a story about love, sex, murder, and becoming comfortable with self.

I really liked this book! It was like a cross between Dennis Danvers's moody, contemplative and atmospheric WILDERNESS and LKH's kick .. and smart .. Anita Blake. It was thoughtful and well-written, and yet still contained plenty of sex, violence, and witty repartee. It is about the only female werewolf in the world. Elena is trying to live in the human world, but gets called back home into the stickiness of werewolf politics. Armstrong doesn't down play the uber-alpha nature of male werewolves, but this isn't a romance, so her heroine doesn't have to struggle in a futile and irritating way, then give in for the sex scene and the lifetime commitment. Elena is strong, but not agressively independant. She is witty, but not uncontrolably brash. She is wounded, but not broken.

A thriller based on werewolves living in contemporary north America vying for power while trying to remain unnoticed by humans. I enjoyed the book because although obviously werewolves are paranormal, the world and the crimes were very mundane. I don't mean that to mean dull, but very real and believable. It is a testament to the talent of the author, except for the existence of werewolves, there wasn't much effort needed to suspend reality.

I thought it started a bit slow. I generally enjoy more dialogue driven books and the author was a bit descriptive for my tastes. But even with my extremely low tolerance for vivid pictorial descriptions, I found the book entertaining. I will definitely check out other books by this author.

Not really a romance, not really a horror story, BITTEN is a funny and hip take on werewolf lore.
Elena Michaels is a young journalist in Toronto. Orphaned at an early age, she was shuffled from one abusive foster home to another. All Elena ever wanted was a bit of normalcy, and she thinks she has it with her boyfriend Phillip...except Elena Michaels is a werewolf; the only only female werewolf in the world, bitten by her ex-finance while in his werewolf form.
In her debut novel, Kelley Armstrong provides a fresh twist on the werewolf theme. Amstrong handles Elena's inner conflicts and vulnerabilities well in a totally believable tale.
With its deft blend of wit, humor and sensuality, BITTEN is an engaging read.

Bitten is a terrific debut novel, and a great werewolf tale that sucks you in and keeps your attention. I'm a fan of Laurell K Hamilton, but Bitten gave me a new appreciation for the limitations of the lycanthrope portrayals in the Anita Blake series. Perhaps it's to be expected, since so many creatures and monsters exist in Anita's world, no one group can be fully developed and explored. One of my difficulties with Anita's tales is that it's hard to focus sometimes. She careens from one problem to the next so quickly you barely have time to assimilate the differences between the monstrous groups she's dealing with.
That problem doesn't exist in Bitten. To the contrary, Bitten is so focused on the werewolves, and on one small group of them in particular, you are able to get much more involved with them, their lives, their struggles. One of the things I really enjoyed about Bitten was Ms. Armstrong's attention to detail, including emotional detail. All of the characters rang true to me in their reactions and dealings with each other.
Elena is a wonderful character. She's not always likable, but she's real. She is a reluctant werewolf who just longs to be human, and her uncertainty and anger at her situation are palpable. It's a miracle she functions as well as she does in the human world, though we actually see her less there than you realize at first. Despite her longing to be human, she revels in her wolf characteristics and is continually troubled by the duality of her nature. She tries to delude herself, but she's rarely successful and I respected that even when I didn't particularly like her actions at times.
I appreciated the nature of the relationship between her and Clayton, the werewolf who bit her and still wants her, despite Elena's continued resentment toward him. Their bond is fascinating and multi-faceted -- in many ways they are reflections of each other. I was happy with the initial resolution of their conflict and hope to see more of them. Likewise, the relationships between Elena and Jeremy, and Clayton and Jeremy are well-drawn and fully realized. Antonio and Nick suffer a bit by comparison, but their roles are lesser, so it's not a fatal flaw. Philip was weak too, but I suppose he had to be.
I was very pleasantly surprised by Bitten and hope that it is the first of a series which will expand on the well-crafted themes and give us new insights into the absorbing characters. Great job, Ms. Armstrong!

Ouch, that's an unforgiveable pun, but I couldn't resist!
I had the feeling at the beginning that I had barged into the middle of a trilogy without having read the first of the series. However, realizing this is a first novel, I knew this wasn't so. But we are given so many bits and pieces about how the lady became a werewolf and became part of The Pack before leaving it to try to lead a more normal life, that I did kinda wish that those had been put into a prior novel. Oh well, maybe a prequel will someday be written?
Other than that, this is one terrific read. You can throw out your previous conceptions of werewolves. These guys wouldn't be too bad to have polite discussion with. Maybe they're a bit sanitized, a bit PC, but not annoyingly so. They can still get mad enough to kill a human if necessary.
There is one point in the later part of the tale that drug a bit and read a little too much like a romance rather than a supernatural story, but once that sequence was over, the story regained its pace and continued to a satisfying conclusion.
So I can't feel justified in giving it five stars, but it's definitely worth reading and rates four stars.

"Bitten" is a wonderful re-telling of the old werewolf tale. Kelly Armstrong brings Elena (who is telling the story) to life, as well as the other characters. Elena is one of the only female werewolves out there, bitten by her intended -Clayton- and turned. Elena, however, doesn't like being a werewolf so she leaves The Pack and moves to Canada, where she finds a normal life and a normal boyfriend. However, when The Pack's leader, Jermey, calls on Elena to return home, Elena knows she has no choice. However, Elena tries not to fall back into the life she once knew, of The Pack, and tries to resist Clay's attempts to woo back her love. However, when Clay is taken captive by a rouge band of Mutts (werewolves outside The Pack), Elena must make her choice.
Kelly Armstrong is a GREAT writer and creates characters you actually care about. It's a "howling" (bad werewolf humor) good read.

A disappointing and hard read. The author's attempt to portray the heroine as a strong woman only came across as an unlikable self righteous, bratty bitch. It was a fairly straightforward simple plot, no twists, turns or surprises, you knew who the bad guys were and that was about it. Various characters show up and are killed before you even have a chance to care. Others were fairly one note and very bland by the time their turn comes around you still don't care. I had to force myself to finish and it couldn't happen soon enough, lots of pages wasted on uninteresting boring information that leads nowhere most times. The ending picked up a bit but overall, left much to be desired.

Seeing as I watched the tv show before reading this, I already knew the outline of the story and what would happen. Yet I still enjoyed it very much. Elena is a very different character in both, and even though she was whiny and stubborn sometimes, it was understandable. I think the biggest difference was Clay. You learn so much more about him in this book.

I've always loved werewolf stories, mainly because I like the idea of a Pack. A group that is bound together but no by blood. That would protect and support its members. I love it. Maybe that's why I enjoyed this book so much.

Not only would I recommend the book, I'd recommend the tv show as well (it's also called "bitten"). It's really good

Elena Michaels is just trying to fit in and lead a normal life. But that's kinda tough when you're a werewolf. She's living with her unsuspecting boyfriend when she gets a call from the Pack. What follows reads like a hard-boiled detective story complete with a romantic angle, wild sex, and plenty of gore. There aren't many werewolves in the world but it turns out that what's left of them are feuding. Elena gets caught up in all of it and she's a prize of sorts because she's the only female werewolf. This was a diverting read and the pages turned easily. The sex scenes were kinda fun too. (See page 87 for the first one). I've also heard that this book has been optioned as a movie which may star Angelina Jolie (I could see that). But looks-wise, I pictured Elena more like a younger Sigourney Weaver. This book is the first in a series featuring Elena and would probably appeal to anyone who's O.D.'d on Anne Rice's books.

I COULDN'T PUT THIS BOOK DOWN.
ELENA MICHEALS IS A WEREWOLF. THE ONLY FEMALE WEREWOLF IN EXISTENCE. SHE LEFT THE PACK AROUND A YEAR AGO AND HAS NEVER LOOKED BACK, BUT NOW SHE RECIEVED A PHONE CALL SAYING THEY NEED HER HELP, AND SHE KNOWS SHE NEEDS TO GO BACK.
SHE HAS MADE A GOOD LIFE FOR HERSELF HERE IN THE CITY, SHE WENT TO COLLEGE, HAS A GOOD JOB AND A BOYFRIEND PHILIP, WHO SHE HAS BEEN LIVING WITH. (WHO DOESEN'T KNOW WHAT SHE IS)
MUTTS HAVE BEEN KILLING PEOPLE IN HER PACK AND HUMANS ALIKE. ONLY TO LEAVE THEM ON THE PACKS PROPERTY. THE MUTTS HAVE BEEN MAKING "NEW" MUTTS WHO HAVE NO CONTROL OF THEMSELVES YET.
WHEN SHE GETS BACK TO THE PACK IT FEELS LIKE HOME AGAIN, BUT SHE DOESEN'T WANT TO FACE IT....YET.

With all the talk I was a little disappointed. I had a hard time getting into the book, and didn't connect with the main characters as much as i normally do.
I already have the second book, so I will give both the series and the author at least one more change to hook me.

I do however like the TV series now that it is out.

I've owned the paperback of this book for years. I picked up a copy at a local book store for $2. My copy was one of six or so. I came here looking to maybe get it in digital format so I wouldn't have to travel with a paperback. I'm pretty shocked at the $10 price tag, $10 for an older hardback? Sure but digital? It's an interesting book but not $10 interesting. The price hike I'm sure is due to the TV series (mediocre show at best) which I feel is entirely unwarranted and greedy. I'm beyond glad I picked up this series in a bargain bin and didn't get absolutely robbed.

This book is a lot of fun, and maintains a great pace that keeps the reader engaged and eager to turn the page to find out more. It is very diverting and a nice way to spend a few hours. I watched the tv show first, and there were many similarities (even some verbatim dialogue) but you can enjoy them both in any order. A great choice for lovers of fantasy and a steamy (but not overly emphasized) relationship!

Kelley Armstrong is a progeny when it comes to supernatural writing. Her books leave you breathless with their racy romances, the constant struggles, and the exciting stories. She does all of this effortlessly and you have no choice but to plummet without stumbling straight into her world.

She has created such a strong presence in all of her characters that everything about them makes them seem real! You get so caught up in their stories that you feel you are a part of them. I cannot say enough good things about Kelley!

I bought this book becasue of the rave reviews here at the store, and also because I like werewolf stories. I was disappointed. For a werewolf book, it was well written. I think the genre lacks quality writing, and this one stands out. It's a big fish in a little pond.

As a book outside the genre, it was uneven. It started out well, but petered out and became boring as it wore on. The ending was anticlimatic. The 2 main characters (no spoilers) were at times obviously walking into dangerous situations and appearing completely idiotic as they did so. I could see it coming, but the wary werewolves couldn't? They seemed to me TSTL and only by unbelievable (literally) circumstances, they did.

I gave it three stars because it was an above average werewolf book, and a below average work of fiction.

A good premise -- what if the lone female werewolf, trying to live in the human world, was commanded to return to the Pack to help them fight for their very survival.

I can see why it was a HUGE hit. Seriously. I also wonder why more males don't read romance books. You know, to figure out what makes chicks tick. Because this one was a housewife's wet dream (ummm, is that possible). You know, the one chick in werewolfdom, who can't decide what she wants, has to travel back to her Pack to face an unknown threat.

Now the Pack, of course, are all males. All perfectly sculpted males with flowing curls, brilliant smiles, and they love to get naked. And they all want Elena (the heroine) in some regard (daughter figure, sex figure, sister figure, whatever).

Of course, the Threat is really just MORE werewolves who also want Elena. You get the idea.

And darn it all -- she just can't decide who she wants!

Lots of sex...but not `guy' sex, sadly. Lot's of `they rode the wave of passion'...yada, yada. I really should've read the sex scenes, you know, so I could use that in my everyday life to get more sex for myself. Like who knew that tying the chick to a tree was one of their fantasies? Now I do. Now I do.

As usual, this is the first book in a long series (the Women of the Otherworld) and I have a feeling that they'll probably get much better, more complex, and more textured worlds.

It's hard to rate this book because I'm not the target audience. Of all the books I've read recently, this is one I can truthfully say isn't meant for me. All this passion and stuff really makes my robotic innards squirm.

Ryan McFadden
Author of 'Women of the Apocalypse'
[...]
Women of the Apocalypse

I could not put this book down once I started reading. Kelley Armstrong has created the richest, multi-layered, fascinating werewolf culture that I have ever read. Elena, the main character, is bitten by her fiance, who is a werewolf. Her journey from that point on is heartbreaking, horrifying and traumatic. It takes her ten years to come to terms with her new life and the fact that the man she loves did this to her. The relationship between Elena and Clay is fascinating. This may be paranoral fiction but how Elena deals with Clay is totally human. The emotions she has to fight through to accept her new life are terrifying. When the pack comes under attack she returns to help and and ultimately face issues about where she belongs in the world and with who. There is action, romance, believable decisions made by her when she decides these important issues, and a good mystery to be solved along the way. There is a blurbb on the cover that says "Armstrong is up there with the big girls of the genre like Laurell K. Hamilton--Kansas City Star. I feel Kelley Armstrong has far surpassed Laurell Hamilton right out of the gate. There is nothing this rich or believable in LKH books, especially of late. Ms. Armstrong is a better writer and she knows how to create a relationship between 2 characters that is fascinating along with a good mystery.

As I began to read the book, I found myself thinking, "where is the main character's emotion?" There simply didn't seem to be any attachment or feeling to anything. I kept reading. It becomes very obvious *why* the first portion of the book remains so sterile from the main character's point of view.
The author's world vision is fresh and interesting. I enjoyed the writing style very much. Go ahead and spend a little extra for the trade paperback; it's a worthy read. I will eagerly look forward to reading the next in the series.

I loved this book! I am so glad I picked it up. Elena Micheals the only female werewolf is trying to come to terms with what she wants, and what she needs. She wants a normal human life, but she needs and wants her pack. Eventually Elena goes back to her pack to help with pack business, where some mutts are causing trouble within the pack and they all have to figure out who's doing it and put a stop to it.

I loved all the characters in the story! Jeremy, Clay, Nick, Elena.
I am glad Elena chose to stay with her pack and work on her relationship with Clay! The plot was good, kept my attention, it was well written and I felt connected with all the characters. I can't wait for more!

Of all the supernatural creatures, werewolves have always been my favorites. So, I really enjoyed this new start to an urban fantasy series. Elena is a werewolf, and an intriguing character. This may not make the lists of the best literary novels of the 21st century, but it certainly is a lot of fun to read. It's not on the grim side, or the cutesy side, but is solidly entertaining and definitely exciting. The romance borders on the silly side, but I am curious to see where the next book in the series goes!

I wouldn't say that this is really a romance and more of a horror novel. However, even I, "dedicated romance reader that I am was bowled over by this book. Excellant story telling, strong strong heroine. I usually don't like books written in first person, but this was excellant. Basically about a human woman who got turned into a werewolf by being bitten by her boyfriend. This story tells about her struggles in trying to fit into her old human world along with her family pack world. Very realistic feeling, I couldn't put this book down. I can't wait to read the sequals and more of this author's books.

Kudos to the reviewer who mentioned that this author mostly "tells" rather than "shows". But rather than having to read the whole book you can sum it up thusly: werewolves like to run. A lot. I mean a whole lot. They like to eat a lot. And sloppily. And drink water. They like to howl. (So far this sounds like my dog.) There is only one female werewolf so while she and her mate (who everyone can see from the beginning she is passionate about and is really quite bored with the milqtoast human she has cursory involvement with.) have sex, I'm not sure what the others do...except maybe fight over her. So, there you have it.

I actually saw the TV show first and was really excited to read another book about shapeshifting. Unfortunately this book was a little too boring for me to catch my attention to want to actually read all the way through. Maybe one day I'll get through it. Until then I'll stick with the TV show.

Bitten has already got a good synapsis written, so I don't want to waste anyone's time with retelling it. The book was a very fast paced read which can be easily compared to the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of books by Laurell K. Hamilton. It's written from first person and has a generally strong willed female main character. Bitten was overall very well written, and it (much like Anita's books) as a "can't put it down" read. The characters were fairly 3 dimensional, and the plot easy to follow. I found the purchase worth the time and cost to read, but only once. What left the above mentioned "bur" with me was the main character's utter lack of fidelity. The novel begins with the classic conflict of a werewolf wanting their humanity (not a new concept in films or literature, but a good one, none the less.) By trying to live a human life, denying the beast within, the heroine settles down with a decent man who loves and cares for her. She claims the same love in return, yet the moment she's back with her pack, she has sex with an old flame. Now, where this is believable and part of the character's progress in no longer denying her beast and accepting who/what she is, I found it somewhat disturbing on her choice of a partner. There were a small score of mentally stable werewolves in the pack who would have been happy to usher a relationship meaningful or purely sexual with the heroine. Instead, she chose the most mentally unstable one of the group. The sex scenes and "romance" left a residual feeling of a fantasy to be with the "bad boy" instead of a solid, thinking, and rational character movement through a story. The sex scenes also tended to lend to that feeling of it being a female fantasy, instead of lending to the plot - a sort of "wallpaper" for cheap thrills. Overall, its worth a single read. For others, who either aren't bothered by this aspect, or even want to read a bit of fast, thrilling, and sometime erotic fiction about a werewolf, it would be well worth picking up.

I picked this book up without knowing anything of Kelley Armstrong. I was looking for something "different" and Kelley offered that right up. In the beginning, you are right there with Elena. She's still trying to make this transition in maintaining something of a "normal" life and she hides nothing to the reader. The book reads almost like a diary entry. I enjoyed seeing everything from Elena's point of view.

When she gets the call from Jeremy, she knows right then and there that things were going to change...whether she wanted it or not.

As the reader, I always had a thought in my mind that Elena subconsciously wanted to go back to Stonehaven because that was her home. Her relationship with Clay threw me through a hoop a bit. At first I didn't want her to get back with him because I all the things that he had done to her and for the sort of person he was. But when it came across just how much he loved her and how much he was willing to change for her, then I thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

I didn't like the end too much, mostly because it was sort of obvious what she was going to do. Though, I am interested as to how things will progress from there.

The writing is amazing and there's no way someone can stop reading this book half way through. It is a real page turner and I look forward to reading more of Kelley Armstrong's books.

This book is very well written compared to many of the supernatural series. It hooks you in and makes you see these "fantasy" characters as real humans with problems just like the rest of us. I hate leisure reading, but have enjoyed the works of Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison, and Charlaine Harris. These are not as heavy and detail oriented as Ann Rice novels, which is the reason they appeal to me. There is just the right amount of character development and details to provide effective imagery.

"Bitten" by Kelley Armstrong. I highly recommend this book. It's an exciting story filled with interesting, believable characters. Well, mostly believable. Some of the descriptions seem a bit unlikely - for example, Clay, the main character's on-again/off-again love interest, is incredibly smart, incredibly attractive and incredibly vicious (with a well-known sadistic streak), but he has a heart of gold and is committed to loving Elena (the main character) for all eternity. And Jeremy, the smooth, smart, steady, loving father figure, is an untrained artist who accidentally discovered he's a genius, and whenever they need money he just throws a painting together and rakes in gobs of cash. Elena is by far the most realistic character in the book, and is clearly the one that the author expects most readers to fully sympathize with. Which is unfortunate at times, because it seems that the author cannot imagine that any reader would actually really want to experience what it's like to turn into a wolf. Elena treats being a werewolf as a curse throughout the book, despite the fact that she seems to REALLY enjoy herself when she transforms into her wolf body. The scenes of her running through the woods in lupine form, chasing deer with other werewolves, romping in the grass and playing tag as wolves, are presented wonderfully and joyfully, as if being a wolf is one of the most beautiful things in the world. But the author seems to present Elena as totally schizoid, because when she's not a wolf she loathes the idea of turning into a wolf, and refuses to accept it for the joy that it can be. Although I highly recommend "Bitten," I get the impression that the author just can't sympathize with the idea of wishing to be a non-human animal, and she would probably think that the many of us who do are a bunch of fruitcakes if she ever found out we exist.

This is a story about Elena. She is one of three bitten werewolfs (the rest are hereditary). She is the only Female werewolf which makes her very valuable among the Pack and the mutts. Elena feels very betrayed by the wolf that bit her. Her deep angst of this betrayal is very real. The wolf that bit her was selfish and only wanted her for himself. Elena struggls not only with the betrayal but being a monster. She is very confused. She doesn't think she should accept being a werewolf so she tries for a "normal" life with a "normal" boyfriend in Toronto. She fights her werewolf tendencies and has pretty much convinced herself that she is happier this way. When the Pack Alpha calls her to come home to help, she goes but tries to resist being integrated back in the pack. Especially with Clay. As Elena helps the pack track a mutt, she is tempted by the werewolf nature in herself. Clay tries to wear her down by telling her how much he loves her, that he wants her to stay, playing with her in wolf form (which were some of my favorite scenes in the book) and trying to seduce her. Elena fights these temptations. She could never forgive Clay for what he did. Elena must eventually make a choice between humanity and her werewolf nature. She must either forgive Clay or forget him. It is not an easy choice for her...
This is my first written review, but I just had to write something about this book. It was amazing! It is actually shocking that this is Kelley Armstrong's first book and I hope the rest in the series she has started to author are as good as this one.
The characters physical descriptions are very scarce. The author forces you to rely on the character's actual personality for your sympathies and approvals. I could really feel Elena's confusion and turmoil. I could understand why each choice had a lure and a draw back. It took me about three quarters of the way through the book for me to decide which choice I WANTED Elena to ultimately make. It was almost to the end before I was sure which she would make.
I first saw this book on a listmania list. So I tried it. At first it took me a bit to get into it. After I was a quarter of the way through I was hooked and finished it in one day and night. After I finished it I re read the beginning to find were my struggle was. I think it is because her prolouge is written in present tense. Then the rest of the book is written in the standard past tense.
All in all I absolutely loved this book.

This is my first read by this Author. I was a fan of the Series and found out they were actually books, so I took to reading them. Well I must say, the book is so much better than the show! I loved the writing and I thoroughly enjoyed the Authors writing style. Also, the romance is incredibly steamy. Can't wait to read the next one!

SPOILERS!!! First, I think the werewolf world that Armstrong has built is ridiculous. I like the individual ways the werewolves act, but to have only 35 werewolves worldwide is, well, ridiculous. And to have "the pack" with only 7 members, quickly reduced to 5, just doesn't leave that much room for more stories about other werewolves. All the other werewolves are not good enough. They are just mutts and often have to be killed. So how are they going to maintain a worldwide population of 35? And (MORE SPOILERS!!), in future books they kill more mutts, like they were expendable. And then suddenly there is a Russian pack (again in a future book). And they kill more mutts. Armstrong seems to be painting herself into a corner. Secondly, I find Ehlena, whom I really want to like, to be a weak character who makes poor decisions and often reacts in panic. The fact that she is the "only" female werewolf is also a sticking point for me. With all these out of control mutts trying to make new females, it's hard to imagine that none of them can succeed. All that being said, Clay is one of my very favorite characters ever! Gorgeous, smart and pragmatic. What more can you ask of a hero?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it gives a more logical view as to how werewolves could exist in the real world. Their attempts to integrate canine pack power politics into everyday existence is a refreshing change from the uncontrolled slobbering beast Hollywood always seems to use.
I was going to give it five stars, but I followed it with the brilliant "A taste of blood wine" by Freda Warrington and this highlighted the fact that good as Bitten is it's far from perfect. Overall a good first effort I await the sequel .

I enjoyed the beginning of the book very much. I thought it was wonderful! The setup, the werewolf concept and its portrayal, the writing style is all excellent. Elena turns into a wolf, goes on a run, holds her ground against a pair of coyotes who attack her in a ravine in Toronto. She struggles to keep her secret from her boyfriend, Philip, who doesn't know she's a werewolf, while growing attached to his family, who seem like the family she always wanted and never had.
Then it started to go downhill, as the main character got less and less sympathetic as she was completely unable to hold any conviction for long. She let every man who tells her to do something force her into doing it, no matter how little she wanted to do it.
First her boyfriend, Philip, who is a convincingly good person and I wanted to see more of, forces her to go help Jeremy (her werewolf foster parent, who taught her how to control her shapeshifting and instincts) against her better judgment. Then Jeremy forces her to stay, likewise.
At the point where her ex-fiance, Clay, got her to have sex with him (though she didn't even want him near her), I was annoyed with the book. I kept reading, and it kept happening. Clay makes her go hunt with him and Nick even though she doesn't want to go.
Now, admittedly, her history of childhood abuse makes her like this. It is fully convincing, as I know women like this. But she's completely deluded about herself. She thinks she's learned to say no, but she hasn't. Even in the entire book she seems unaware of this basic tragic flaw of her character.
Part of the story is her having to choose between Clay and Philip. I won't really say who she chooses, but, at the end she goes to talk to the one she's dumping.
If, when she went to talk to him, he'd told her to stay, I'm sure she would have. But as he lets her go, she leaves him. That makes me angry. I suppose it's a sign of a good quality book if the characters make you angry, but it isn't enjoyable. I doubt I'll read anymore of this author's books about this character.

This is such a outstanding book that I would have given it more than 5 stars! Kelley Armstrong is such a good author, this is too good of a book to be true! Anyways its about a woman about 30 years old name Elena. She lived in an apartment with her boyfriend name Philip who she thinks she really love. Her life is perfect right? Wrong there is one thing, that Philip doesn't know about her...something she moved to Toronto to get her mind off. Shes a werewolf. Elena wasn't born a werewolf but was bitten by her previous boyfriend who she had no idea was a werewolf until he bit her. Now she is the only female werewolf to ever exist. Anyways she moved to Toronto to get away from the werewolf pack. But then Jeremy, the leader of the pack, called her and told Elena to phone him back. But when she tried no one picked up the phone, so she got worried and went back to New York. If you want to know what happens next please read it. I was really glad that she and Clay, her previous boyfriend, had a relationship while she was there. To read the prologue of this book go to Kelley Armstrong offical website which is [...]

After reading Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson novels I thought it would be hard for me to love another story about werewolves but I was wrong. Bitten is fantastic from beginning to end. Elena is a great character you can't help but fall in love with. This story focus's around Elena, a werewolf trying to find a normal life away from her Pack, which is where she has been for the past 10 years ever since she was bitten. She thought she was happy and found her normal life, when she receives a call from the pack leader to return, she then in thrown into situations where her past is brought to life along with a past love, Clay. She then finds herself in a whirl wind of situations where she has to make choices that may or may not help her with this threat and eventually to the decisions that will change her life forever.

Kelly Armstrong did a fantastic job developing these characters and making them relatable and lovable. The story is constant and you find yourself up late unable to put it down.

The only downfall of this series is that the author in future books of this series does not stick with Elena who is her most sought after character along with Clay. This book as a standalone is excellent and you will not be disappointed!

This is the first in a series. The book focuses on Elena, a werewolf. She has left her "pack" to go to Toronto and try to live in the human world. She has limited success but is now involved with Phillip, a human. As she is working on this relationship she is summoned back to help the pack defend their land from "mutts". This brings her back to Clay, a man from her past. Elena must confront the fact that she is trying to bridge worlds and also confront her past.
Good action, good mystery, good romance with some good sex scenes. I enjoyed this book and have already ordered books 2 and 3 in the series.

I picked this book up without knowing anything of Kelley Armstrong. I was looking for something "different" and Kelley offered that right up. In the beginning, you are right there with Elena. She's still trying to make this transition in maintaining something of a "normal" life and she hides nothing to the reader. The book reads almost like a diary entry. I enjoyed seeing everything from Elena's point of view.

When she gets the call from Jeremy, she knows right then and there that things were going to change...whether she wanted it or not.

As the reader, I always had a thought in my mind that Elena subconsciously wanted to go back to Stonehaven because that was her home. Her relationship with Clay threw me through a hoop a bit. At first I didn't want her to get back with him because I all the things that he had done to her and for the sort of person he was. But when it came across just how much he loved her and how much he was willing to change for her, then I thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

I didn't like the end too much, mostly because it was sort of obvious what she was going to do. Though, I am interested as to how things will progress from there.

The writing is amazing and there's no way someone can stop reading this book half way through. It is a real page turner and I look forward to reading more of Kelley Armstrong's books.

This book is very well written compared to many of the supernatural series. It hooks you in and makes you see these "fantasy" characters as real humans with problems just like the rest of us. I hate leisure reading, but have enjoyed the works of Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison, and Charlaine Harris. These are not as heavy and detail oriented as Ann Rice novels, which is the reason they appeal to me. There is just the right amount of character development and details to provide effective imagery.

"Bitten" by Kelley Armstrong. I highly recommend this book. It's an exciting story filled with interesting, believable characters. Well, mostly believable. Some of the descriptions seem a bit unlikely - for example, Clay, the main character's on-again/off-again love interest, is incredibly smart, incredibly attractive and incredibly vicious (with a well-known sadistic streak), but he has a heart of gold and is committed to loving Elena (the main character) for all eternity. And Jeremy, the smooth, smart, steady, loving father figure, is an untrained artist who accidentally discovered he's a genius, and whenever they need money he just throws a painting together and rakes in gobs of cash. Elena is by far the most realistic character in the book, and is clearly the one that the author expects most readers to fully sympathize with. Which is unfortunate at times, because it seems that the author cannot imagine that any reader would actually really want to experience what it's like to turn into a wolf. Elena treats being a werewolf as a curse throughout the book, despite the fact that she seems to REALLY enjoy herself when she transforms into her wolf body. The scenes of her running through the woods in lupine form, chasing deer with other werewolves, romping in the grass and playing tag as wolves, are presented wonderfully and joyfully, as if being a wolf is one of the most beautiful things in the world. But the author seems to present Elena as totally schizoid, because when she's not a wolf she loathes the idea of turning into a wolf, and refuses to accept it for the joy that it can be. Although I highly recommend "Bitten," I get the impression that the author just can't sympathize with the idea of wishing to be a non-human animal, and she would probably think that the many of us who do are a bunch of fruitcakes if she ever found out we exist.

This is a story about Elena. She is one of three bitten werewolfs (the rest are hereditary). She is the only Female werewolf which makes her very valuable among the Pack and the mutts. Elena feels very betrayed by the wolf that bit her. Her deep angst of this betrayal is very real. The wolf that bit her was selfish and only wanted her for himself. Elena struggls not only with the betrayal but being a monster. She is very confused. She doesn't think she should accept being a werewolf so she tries for a "normal" life with a "normal" boyfriend in Toronto. She fights her werewolf tendencies and has pretty much convinced herself that she is happier this way. When the Pack Alpha calls her to come home to help, she goes but tries to resist being integrated back in the pack. Especially with Clay. As Elena helps the pack track a mutt, she is tempted by the werewolf nature in herself. Clay tries to wear her down by telling her how much he loves her, that he wants her to stay, playing with her in wolf form (which were some of my favorite scenes in the book) and trying to seduce her. Elena fights these temptations. She could never forgive Clay for what he did. Elena must eventually make a choice between humanity and her werewolf nature. She must either forgive Clay or forget him. It is not an easy choice for her...
This is my first written review, but I just had to write something about this book. It was amazing! It is actually shocking that this is Kelley Armstrong's first book and I hope the rest in the series she has started to author are as good as this one.
The characters physical descriptions are very scarce. The author forces you to rely on the character's actual personality for your sympathies and approvals. I could really feel Elena's confusion and turmoil. I could understand why each choice had a lure and a draw back. It took me about three quarters of the way through the book for me to decide which choice I WANTED Elena to ultimately make. It was almost to the end before I was sure which she would make.
I first saw this book on a listmania list. So I tried it. At first it took me a bit to get into it. After I was a quarter of the way through I was hooked and finished it in one day and night. After I finished it I re read the beginning to find were my struggle was. I think it is because her prolouge is written in present tense. Then the rest of the book is written in the standard past tense.
All in all I absolutely loved this book.

This is my first read by this Author. I was a fan of the Series and found out they were actually books, so I took to reading them. Well I must say, the book is so much better than the show! I loved the writing and I thoroughly enjoyed the Authors writing style. Also, the romance is incredibly steamy. Can't wait to read the next one!

SPOILERS!!! First, I think the werewolf world that Armstrong has built is ridiculous. I like the individual ways the werewolves act, but to have only 35 werewolves worldwide is, well, ridiculous. And to have "the pack" with only 7 members, quickly reduced to 5, just doesn't leave that much room for more stories about other werewolves. All the other werewolves are not good enough. They are just mutts and often have to be killed. So how are they going to maintain a worldwide population of 35? And (MORE SPOILERS!!), in future books they kill more mutts, like they were expendable. And then suddenly there is a Russian pack (again in a future book). And they kill more mutts. Armstrong seems to be painting herself into a corner. Secondly, I find Ehlena, whom I really want to like, to be a weak character who makes poor decisions and often reacts in panic. The fact that she is the "only" female werewolf is also a sticking point for me. With all these out of control mutts trying to make new females, it's hard to imagine that none of them can succeed. All that being said, Clay is one of my very favorite characters ever! Gorgeous, smart and pragmatic. What more can you ask of a hero?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it gives a more logical view as to how werewolves could exist in the real world. Their attempts to integrate canine pack power politics into everyday existence is a refreshing change from the uncontrolled slobbering beast Hollywood always seems to use.
I was going to give it five stars, but I followed it with the brilliant "A taste of blood wine" by Freda Warrington and this highlighted the fact that good as Bitten is it's far from perfect. Overall a good first effort I await the sequel .

I enjoyed the beginning of the book very much. I thought it was wonderful! The setup, the werewolf concept and its portrayal, the writing style is all excellent. Elena turns into a wolf, goes on a run, holds her ground against a pair of coyotes who attack her in a ravine in Toronto. She struggles to keep her secret from her boyfriend, Philip, who doesn't know she's a werewolf, while growing attached to his family, who seem like the family she always wanted and never had.
Then it started to go downhill, as the main character got less and less sympathetic as she was completely unable to hold any conviction for long. She let every man who tells her to do something force her into doing it, no matter how little she wanted to do it.
First her boyfriend, Philip, who is a convincingly good person and I wanted to see more of, forces her to go help Jeremy (her werewolf foster parent, who taught her how to control her shapeshifting and instincts) against her better judgment. Then Jeremy forces her to stay, likewise.
At the point where her ex-fiance, Clay, got her to have sex with him (though she didn't even want him near her), I was annoyed with the book. I kept reading, and it kept happening. Clay makes her go hunt with him and Nick even though she doesn't want to go.
Now, admittedly, her history of childhood abuse makes her like this. It is fully convincing, as I know women like this. But she's completely deluded about herself. She thinks she's learned to say no, but she hasn't. Even in the entire book she seems unaware of this basic tragic flaw of her character.
Part of the story is her having to choose between Clay and Philip. I won't really say who she chooses, but, at the end she goes to talk to the one she's dumping.
If, when she went to talk to him, he'd told her to stay, I'm sure she would have. But as he lets her go, she leaves him. That makes me angry. I suppose it's a sign of a good quality book if the characters make you angry, but it isn't enjoyable. I doubt I'll read anymore of this author's books about this character.

This is such a outstanding book that I would have given it more than 5 stars! Kelley Armstrong is such a good author, this is too good of a book to be true! Anyways its about a woman about 30 years old name Elena. She lived in an apartment with her boyfriend name Philip who she thinks she really love. Her life is perfect right? Wrong there is one thing, that Philip doesn't know about her...something she moved to Toronto to get her mind off. Shes a werewolf. Elena wasn't born a werewolf but was bitten by her previous boyfriend who she had no idea was a werewolf until he bit her. Now she is the only female werewolf to ever exist. Anyways she moved to Toronto to get away from the werewolf pack. But then Jeremy, the leader of the pack, called her and told Elena to phone him back. But when she tried no one picked up the phone, so she got worried and went back to New York. If you want to know what happens next please read it. I was really glad that she and Clay, her previous boyfriend, had a relationship while she was there. To read the prologue of this book go to Kelley Armstrong offical website which is [...]

After reading Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson novels I thought it would be hard for me to love another story about werewolves but I was wrong. Bitten is fantastic from beginning to end. Elena is a great character you can't help but fall in love with. This story focus's around Elena, a werewolf trying to find a normal life away from her Pack, which is where she has been for the past 10 years ever since she was bitten. She thought she was happy and found her normal life, when she receives a call from the pack leader to return, she then in thrown into situations where her past is brought to life along with a past love, Clay. She then finds herself in a whirl wind of situations where she has to make choices that may or may not help her with this threat and eventually to the decisions that will change her life forever.

Kelly Armstrong did a fantastic job developing these characters and making them relatable and lovable. The story is constant and you find yourself up late unable to put it down.

The only downfall of this series is that the author in future books of this series does not stick with Elena who is her most sought after character along with Clay. This book as a standalone is excellent and you will not be disappointed!

This is the first in a series. The book focuses on Elena, a werewolf. She has left her "pack" to go to Toronto and try to live in the human world. She has limited success but is now involved with Phillip, a human. As she is working on this relationship she is summoned back to help the pack defend their land from "mutts". This brings her back to Clay, a man from her past. Elena must confront the fact that she is trying to bridge worlds and also confront her past.
Good action, good mystery, good romance with some good sex scenes. I enjoyed this book and have already ordered books 2 and 3 in the series.

I really liked this first novel of the underworld series. the store has been suggesting it for along time and I'm glad I finally listened! It was a bit slow in the beginning so if you can get passed the first 40 pages it is great! A real page turner after that! Romance, thriller, and mystery all in one! What more could you ask for? Waiting for the next one!

At first, I had a hard time getting into the story. But then after a while, it grew on me and I was eager to find out what else was going to happen.

A new twist is added to werewolf lore, and Kelley Armstrong does a decent job of making werewolves work in a modern society. The characters are fairly well-drawn, although Elena's love interest is a little too much in the mold of a romance-novel hero for my tastes.

Still, a fun read, and it springboarded a potentially interesting series. The sequel is also fun.

In Kelley Armstong's "Bitten," we are introduced to the character Elena Michaels. Elena is a writer living with her boyfriend in Toronto. Elena is also a werewolf. Trying to conceal this part of her identity in the big city and from her boyfriend is no small challenge, but Elena is making it work. At least until she receives a call from the Alpha of her pack, asking her to return home because they are having a situation with renegade werewolves who are threatening to blow the pack's cover. What Elena soon learns is that the new, renegade werewolves are actually vicious killers and rapists in their human forms who have been turned to werewolves in the hopes of destroying Elena's pack.

Sounds pretty good, huh? That's what I thought when I read the back cover. Turns out that it wasn't anywhere near as good as it could have been. For starters, the story moved soooooo very slow. I was ready to give up on this novel about 125 pages in because nothing was happening. I stuck with it though. It did pick up some, but the rest of the novel and the ending were lackluster. Being that I love the supernatual type fantasy novels, I was prepared to be blown away. Instead I was just disappointed because the plot had potential, but the author dropped the ball.

I will say that I have read all of the other books in this series and they are fantastic. I am glad that I didn't give up on this series, but I did not enjoy this novel at all. I would recommend skipping it and going straight to "Stolen."

first book I've read along these lines. I found it very engaging & wanted to keep reading. read the 2nd book & am now listening to the audio books for the next several in the series. Not all were available in audio version so I had to read in Kindle the first 2. They kept me interested more than enough to continue listening to or reading the rest of the series which is about 13 books.

Hmmm.

I'm going to write the review I wish I'd read before I found this book.

This is about werewolves, as you may have guessed.

And of course there's a turf war going in the novel, and lots of scenes of violence.

That doesn't bother me much. It's a war, and casualties occur.

What does bother me is I can't figure out who the "heroes" are in the novel.

Imagine you read a book in which two groups of serial killers were fighting a secret war for supremacy.

Any ordinary citizen who gets in their way, or threatens their secrecy, is murdered, casually, callously, by either side.

One side proclaims THEY are the real deal, and have the right to set the rules for who gets murdered, and who doesn't.

Well, surprise ! This isn't about the Chicago Mob in the 30's, it's about werewolves in the present day.

There's no good guys in this book.

Even the heroine, Elena, is a cold blooded killer. She's killed and EATEN humans before being trained to control her impulses.

At the beginning of the book, she's living in Toronto, trying to resume a normal life. This is after having casually murdered a man who had discovered the truth, that werewolves are real.

The shock of how easy that murder was scares her straight, for a time anyway.

Her mentor, Jeremy, seems a good guy, until you learn he "disappeared" a lab technician who had gotten a look at a sample of werewolf blood and was about to spill the beans.

Oh no ! We can't have that ! Got to dig another grave in the forest, get the shovels out.

I've read several different novels in this genre, and I can't recall any that treat murder so casually.

And the irony is, Elena hates the rogue werewolves for doing exactly what she has done, killing humans. And that irony completely escapes her.

I'm Hooked! Love this series and love the characters. Elena brings the reader threw the pain of her past in order to understand the choices she makes in the present and for the future. After a lot of soul searching, she finally realizes home is where she is most happy - back with her only true family.

Why Bitten doesn't live up to the hype:

Elena: you can throw the words strong willed as many times as you like, but that's never going to change the meaning. Badarse does not equate strong willed. While I will admit that I would certainly not pick a fight with her, her will is easier to snap than a toothpick.
Also the characters are pretty bland, they don't stand out well and are easily forgettable.
Armstrong is a pretty good writer if you like the way she goes about it(and it much, much higher in quality when compared to a certain S. Meyer), unfortunately she's just not very good with characters, story, and maintaining the suspension of disbelief.
This isn't a literary masterpiece, but it's an okay read if you're into guilty pleasures and pure enetertainment.

This book is every bit as good as everyone says it is! I first read a short story written later that provides the back story for this book, and it did not compromise my enjoyment of this book, and let me care about the characters immediately, since I already felt I knew them. So I would encourage new readers of the Otherworld series to start with "Beginnings" in the anthology "Tales of the Otherworld".

I have read this book at least 20 times already. The second I finished it I ordered Stolen the second novel from Canada. I couldn't wait for the US release. I am also a frequent visitor to Armstong's website were she features a prequel novella.
This book is so entertaining. It draws you in. It has a little of everything, mystery and danger, romance and some personal insights.
It is told from the point of view of Elena, the only female werewolf. The problem is Elena doesn't want to be a werewolf she wants to be human. Her "pack" though calls her back home to help deal with a problem. There Elena encounters all the things she hates and loves about being a werewolf.
Elena is a strong female character but she is not perfect. She is selfish, scared, brave and lonely. Although her problems are centered around being a werewolf they are the same things that any human would face. She has doubts and insecurities about where she belongs and how those she loves feel about her.
At the end of the novel after all the action, romance, and intrigue, Elena figures out where she belongs, but it isn't the happily ever after perfect ending. She knows that it will be tough but it will be worth it now that she has embraced her wolfy side and found where she belongs.
It is a great first novel, and can be enjoyed by those who are into supernatural fiction.

I seem to be in the minority, but I did not enjoy this book at all. The main character is, of course, the "only female to ever survive becoming a werewolf" but this was only the start of her amazing speshulness. I felt the plot got swallowed up by the author's need to self-insert and 'play' in her world, and the only reason I finished this book was that I was on a plane and had nothing else to do. The plot fishtails several times, and isn't all that interesting to start with. In short, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth concerning the author in general, and will likely skip her books in the future.

An edgy, somewhat bitter werewolf heroine; the gorgeous antisocial werewolf who turned her, that she can't forgive. Now there's a romance that you think can never take off! Watching these two warily circle around each other throughout the book is delightful. The murder they are trying to solve is interesting but it is the relationship between these two which is the heart of the book.

I really wanted to like this book. I read part of the prologue before I bought it. The book starts out with a strong, female character with some weakness, but it seemed like she was an interesting character. I was really looking forward to it. Then I read the whole book. Few books are as anti-woman as this. The entire plot is how the heroine is wrong about everything, and only the men in her life are right about anything.

First, the set up of the culture in the books does not make sense. There is no way for a community of any creature, population to survive with fewer that 35 members, all but one of them male. First Elena would have been treated by all the males as a potential breeder, this would not have been some through away goal at the end of the book by the main villain, but all the males, if they didn't want werewolves to die out. Also, there is no way that Elena's pack could have controlled more than New York State as there were maybe ten members of her pack. The fact that I can't believe the Armstrong's world building makes this book something in cannot get engrossed in.

There were two disturbing scenes in the book. In the first, Elena decides to read the memoirs of an older werewolf who goes on at length about how sexually satisfying killing the women while having sex with them. This is not treated as sick and twisted, but a tongue and check examine how masculine and isolated the werewolf community is. Then there is the sexual assault between Elena and Clay, this scene is portrayed as hot and sexy instead of disturbing.

Most of all, I found the heroine to be difficult. For the most part, Elena, presents herself as a Strong Woman (TM), smart, successful, independent, however, she is almost always in the wrong, and the men in her life, especially Clay know what she needs more than she does: Elena wanted to be a werewolf deep down, she wanted to have sex with him, her boyfriend was just a daddy figure. Then, even though she ends up saving the day, the it's OK that her pack doesn't thank her for it.

I would recommend not reading this book.

Smart, sexy, adventurous - these are just some of the words to describe this book. Not only is it a good introduction to the characters of the Otherworld, but it's a fast-paced, well-thought out story as well. Armstrong has a clear understanding of who her characters are and their place in their world right from the beginning. I haven't read any of the other books in the series yet, but I know that I won't be let down.

It didn't change my world view or inspire me to be a better person, and I spent the whole book vainly hoping for a threesome between Elena, Clay and Nick, but it was a pleasant, diverting read on my recent vacation. I'm usually more of a vampire, rather than werewolf, novel fan, but I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to reading the sequel to "Bitten".
I just hope that cutie Nick gets a little more action in the next book.

What would happen to werewolves if they actually existed today? How would they survive? What would their lives be like? Kelley Armstrong sets out to answer these questions, and much more! This was a very interesting book. I loved every minute of it.
I can't wait to pick up the other book, from the same author, about the life of a vampire. Hopefully, Ms Armstrong will next explore another myth or legend... Maybe Bigfoot?

I love this story. I'm a huge fan of the hero's journey and this was an excellent example. From being called to the adventure--a literal phone call--and refusal, to the atonement with the father--Jeremy--plus everything before and after.

My only real complaint is that the book seems to have been written as if it would be a stand alone novel, this makes it almost not fit the continuity of the rest of the series.

If you enjoy the hero's journey, paranormal romance, or just werewolves, you'll love this book.

I've read it at least five times.

I read this book based on the reviews here, but afterwards I felt like I had been cheated. While the basic premise is interesting, there are several "hoary old cliches" that bring this down, For example:

- all the Pack members look as if they stepped off of the cover of GQ, while the "mutts" were all described as less than perfect;

- all foster families were were dysfunctional with the males interested in sex with the protagonist while their wives looked the other way;

- the courts would not allow a single woman to adopt, no matter what;

In addition, the subplots were thin, with one glaring example being a wedding ring worn by a major character not being noticed or questions by a character supposedly trying to make any kind of conversation.

this book was bought for me while i was in the hospital. i don't usually go for the paranomal books...but i have to say, this was written excellently in first person. it gave good background where needed and seemed entirely believable. i was quite impressed with ms. armstrong's novel and as soon as i'm out i will be purchasing the next in the series to read. kudos to thought out characters, plot, and a intriguing and exciting read...i look forward to the rest of the series.

I've found all of Kelley Armstrong's books a little slow out of the starting gate - they don't grab me until about page 100 but once they grab you can't put them down easily. I wasn't too happy about the occasional graphic sex scene but it wasn't enough to make me stop reading all together. The book was good enough that I do look forward to reading the other books in the series.

I avoided this novel for a very long time on the basis that I don't really enjoy reading about people who miraculously change into animals every full moon. Big mistake. This novel isn't about werewolves, it's about a captivating young woman who has survived a life of abuse only to find herself desperately searching for the family and security she's never had. It's a beautiful story. I was afraid that the entire book would focus on the free feeling of running with the wind in your hair and the agony of changing from man to beast and, although these do have their places in Bitten, that's really not where the focus is. Don't be put off by the entire werewolf genre -- this deserves, nay requires, a read.

This is the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series.
It is easy to read and attracted me by being more along the lines of Buffy rather than the more traditional supernatural horror story.
The characters are easy to relate to and very well written. I strongly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys supernatural fantasy but is scared of the darker horror stories out there!

Kelly Armstrong is my new Laurell K Hamilton. I devoured Bitten and couldn't wait to fill my library with the other books in this series. It's a new perspective of the supernatural world that really delves into the characters' lives, not just their supernatural abilities. Armstrong weaves a strong tale but also gives you insight into her alternative universe that keeps you wanting more.

One of the best werewolf books I have read in a long time.
The main character Elena, is sexy, intelligent and the only female werewolf in the world.
Living with an all male clan is not easy, and after a while she leaves her friends and starts a new life.
But she cannot leave her past behind her that easily. For soon her pack calls her home again to deal with some trouble that has arisen.
Anybody who loves horror, or a good romance will like this book, and even if you dont do read it. Its a great book and I'm hoping the sequel Stolen comes out soon!...

Okay I am a huge vampire/lycanthorpe fan, and to any fan of those "other worldly beings" I would highly recommend this novel. I enjoyed the story line. You truly felt for the main character Elena. You understood all of her motives throughout the book. You understood her dreams and especially her reactions to the loss of her dreams. I truly enjoyed all of the various characters with all of their flaws. I would recommend this book to all!

I first read this book a few years ago and reread it about 3 months ago. This book got me started in the Otherworld series and I have reread most of the books in the series multiple times. The characters are great. The books are fast paced and super interesting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves sci-fi and fantasy books.

I liked this book as an intro to the series. Elena could be a bit annoying at times with her relationship with clay and denying who she really is. Also some pretty gory parts but being a werewolf novel I suppose that is par for the course.

Humanistic heroine. Well developed characters, complexity and detail for a commercial novel. Looking forward to reading more of Ms. Armstrong's work, within this series or other work, hoping it is still well written, with a complex plot, believable "world" and entertaining.

This review pertains to the whole series, rather than solely to Bitten.

Pros:
* Good writing
* Likeable characters
* Generally well-plotted

Cons:
* Every book has at least one attempted rape, or rape theme (Haunted has a particularly awful scene featuring a raped pre-teen begging for her mother--that's not the kind of thing I read for entertainment. That scene actually stayed with me for a couple of weeks, and led me to stop reading the series. On the other hand, I suppose it was vividly written.)
* Pretty gory--if you like horror it probably won't bother you. It got to be too much for me.

Depends on your point of view:
* Lengthy, detailed sex scenes (these might have been more fun to read if I hadn't usually been trying to rock my baby to sleep at the same time).
* Not very much humor. The books take themselves pretty seriously.

Of all the recent Fantasy/Thriller novels flooding our world, Kelley Armstrong's "Bitten", is definitely one of the better ones. It is not fussy or overwritten and there is nothing amateur about it.

I wanted to read this book. As I was browsing through my library I came across two more of Kelley Armstrong's books that I had forgotten I owned. Shame on me. They are now on my TBR pile.

I bought this on audio book for my commute and found myself not being able to leave it in the car and bringing into the office. I also bought the sequels, unfortunately only available on paperback but still well worth it and also hooked from the first chapter. It wasn't as much as a horror novel as it was a drama, suspence, fantasy with a touch of steamy romance but it was still extremely interesting and wonderful! I hope they someday get around to making it into a movie and the rumor of Angelina Jolie playing the lead is true as well!

I figure you can look at the other reviews to get the plot and all so all I am gonna tell you is to buy every book in the series, especially Bitten, Stolen, and Broken. I love Clay, Elena, and Jeremy; Lucas and Paige (Industrial Magic and Dime Store Magic) and Eve (Haunted) are great too. The characters are great, their relationships are complex, and the plot is interesting. You can always borrow one of the books from your library to see if you like anything about them before buying the others.

This book urges you to keep turning the page to find out Elana's story.

You can totally feel a connection with the characters and their stories, and I love how the narration switches between Elana and Clay. That way you get both side of the story in one book! I love Elana's strength and straight forward look on life, even as she is dealing with the biggest change in her's.

I've read over 10 of Kelley Armstrong's book's and loved everyone.

I purchased this book at a bookstore just having read the back cover; not knowing if Kelly Armstrong was a good author or anything about her stories. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this book AND the entire series. I really like reading the story of how the only female werewolf on the planet came to be. How she tried to hide it and make a life for herself. Kelley Armstrong really has a good thing going with this series. I can't wait to read Book #7!

Wow!
Just WOW!
I adore this book. There are wonderful characters, a completely original plot ('cept it still follows the line bad guy wants something good guys have, goes through hell and puts everyone through hell in an attempt to get it scenario, but since the reasons are original it works). The characters are original, witty, funny, werewolves... I haven't mentioned that yet have I?? but these aren't your conventionally "half-man, half-god-knows-what-the-hell-thats-supposed-to-be... a wolf?" werewolves. When they change they become full wolf... including tail.
When Elena Michaels left the _Pack_ she thought she would try to return to a _normal_ life. Good bloody luck. Besides having to change in alleyways, lie to her live-in boyfriend, and make it to dead lines, she also has to try to ignore her pack. But when her Pack needs her she has to go, lying further to her boyfriend. When she returns to her Pack you're introduced to the main man in her love-life... Clayton Danvers. Six foot of muscle, blond slightly curly hair, blue eyes, werewolf, and completely head over heels for her. Just not _normal_ enough.
The bad guy/good guy scenario starts here, filled with sarcastic remarks, sex romps in the woods/backyard, house, make-outs in front of hotel rooms... its great.
I have read this book dozens of times, and probably will a thousand more. The seuel _Stolen_ is good too.

I found this to be an interesting read, though different from the television show. I keep drawing comparisons between the two. Not sure which I like better, but am leaning toward the book. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

**SPOLIER** Wow, this book is sooo long. I think it may be because it dragged on forever! There was no point to this book! It went in circles over and over again! And Elena is such a sl*t!. I can't help it. How could she do that to both Philips and Clay. And serious? How could Clay even still want her? She so annoying! The whole book was pointless. I don't understand why she went back to her home town JUST to go back back home... And why home?? Why would she want to take the evil back home where it can find Phillips, too? And why would they think that the evil won't follow her back there? Wouldn't it be the first place they look for her? DO NOT READ THIS BOOK unless you need it to sleep. Nothing happens until the VERY END. THERE'S NO ROMANCE at all if you're looking for something that will make your heart beat. This one will only pist you off.

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...

Alright,I didn't know what to expect when I bought this book, but I was 100% pleasantly surprised. I loved it! In fact, this is my new favorite book now, overtaking Interview with the Vampire. I love the romance between Elena and Clay and how she keeps on trying to fight it. Its a mix between a dark fantasy and romance book, combining the two perfectly. For anyone who loves anything about the paranormal, but this book. You won't be disappointed.

I picked up this book in the bookstore looking for something different. I had started Twilight, but found the writing style a bit too sophmoric for my taste. I wanted to give the genre another chance and have absolutely fallen in love with this series. The story is told in a way that keeps you interested and wanting to read more. Kelley Armstrong has a great way of giving you enough information to know what's going on, but not so much that you figure out the ending too soon. I've since read the next three books of the series and am still hooked.

I stumbled across this book by accident... a mis-click with my mouse and it appeared on my Kindle. Now, I simply can not get enough of Kelley Armstrong. If you like variety in a series, supernatural fantasy, a touch of romance, full of action, then these books are for you.

This is the story of Elena, the worlds only (known) female werewolf. How she became a werewolf is quite a twisted tale, which is another thing I enjoy - that it's not always happily ever after for the protagonist.

The only thing I would've liked to have known about this book, prior to purchase, was a warning label cautioning me to the addictive nature of the book! Hazardous to your social life - all you will want to do is read.

Definitely worth reading. I liked the strong main characters and the interaction between them. It made me want to be a werewolf just so I could live with the pack. It's a modern werewolf story that I think Laurel Hamilton (Anita Blake) fans will enjoy. Lot's of fun, but too short. I polished it off in less than 48 hours over Thanksgiving. Please write more Ms. Armstrong!

This book is about Elena who is a werewolf. She decides to live in the big city and get away from the pack and try to live a normal life. Her current boyfriend has no idea she is a werewolf and things seem to be working out ok until: she gets a call to come back to the pack for an emergency.
She does return and her life is in much turmoil while she is there. She finds things out about herself that she has been afraid to admit.
There is action, a good plot and a nice romantic twist to the book. I liked the book a lot. I would recommend it to anyone who likes paranormal (werewolf) stories with romance.

I thought this was a great book to read.The only part i didn't like was that two of the members of the pack got killed.But other then that it was a great book to read.Plus i love the way clay and gang act as a family sometimes then they act like a wolf pack.This is the first book that really writes about the animal side of being a werewolf.

Loved every moment of this book and can't wait to read the others in the series!!

I stumbled upon this book in a secondhand shop and am so pleased I took the plunge and purchased it!! I've been looking for a new series and author to read and here it is!

Loved that there was a great balance of action and romance and most of all that the characters (including the heroine) are so real!

A breath of fresh air and highly recommended!

I wanted to like this book even though Elena was very annoying. Clay is her love interest even though she had another man at home. Then comes the "sexy" rape scene. If this isn't rape or some form of sexual assault then what is?

*****Spoiler****

He ties her to a tree then rips her shirt off. Then he starts molesting her. Elena's told him to untie her at this point. Then he pulls her pants off and sticks his fingers inside her. She had not given him the go ahead but he then takes his pants off. Once he's ready to shove himself inside her, he stops and says he won't force her and he'll stop if she tells him to. She's still tied up and he's already molested her at this point. She says NOTHING, not yeah, baby, keep raping me, but nothing. He then has sex with her. After she's moaning and loving the whole rape fantasy, he unties her.

I don't get all these rape fantasies lately. Is this what's supposed to be attractive now in a male love interest? I like males who are aggressive in fiction, but not when it comes to forcing themselves on a woman. Then there's the weird thing where the chick says no, but she really means yes and then the sex is great so it's a good thing he forced himself on her in the first place.

Am I missing this trend with women? I couldn't respect either character after that scene and I stopped reading. I know it was supposed to be sexy or something, but it was weird and made me think he was a violent pervert and she was an idiot with rape fantasies. Then she starts whining in the next part about how he forced her to become a werewolf. Yeah, but Elena clearly you like being forced. Whatever.

I get that these are werewolves and not humans, but it's not sexy. Maybe I missed the part where the writer explains how rape is common in werewolf culture so this behavior is normal or something. Anyway just writing that the guy is hot and her soul mate so it's okay that he rapes her because he knows her well enough to know she'll dig it isn't entertaining. I wanted to read the rest of the series, but I'm not sure I trust the writer to give me decent characters that don't cheat and rape. Just weird that this was written for women, by a woman.

Unless you think rape is sexy, don't read this book. I wish I had been warned.

This is very brightly written book that treats us to a slightly less stereotypical look at the wearwolf world. While the main character can get anoying at times (while she whines her way through her angst), she grows up nicely in this book. I really enjoy how Armstrong looked at and used real wolf behavior in her telling of this story; it really added a new dimension to the usually stale werewolf genre.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were flawed but likeable. This is the first book I've read dedicated solely to werewolves and there was never a dull moment. The author really brought out the playfulness in the wolves and the sense of freedom during their runs.

The main character,Elena, is the only female werewolf in the world. She is torn between the human world and the pack life. While she is trying to figure out what she wants and where she belongs, tragedy strikes the pack and her loyalty is put to the test.

This book had it all: a good mystery, action and romance (steamy scenes without any sappy stuff.) Can't wait to read Stolen, the next installment in the Women of the Otherworld series.

This is such a great book. I usually find books about werewolves about the same (same story, same plot, etc.). This book is GREAT though. Elena Michaels is a stubborn character who just wants to be normal, but can't due to her werewolf blood. I guess you could say the book is about her acceptance of that. She will capture the heart of any reader! Bitten is a book full of mystery, fantasy, horror, and most of all, promise.

Warning: Once you enter Otherworld you will be reluctant to leave. My first taste of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series was in the form of an audio-book and I was unable to turn my MP3 player off. I found myself sitting the car after I arrived at a destination. "Just a minute more," I told myself, but it was usually 15-20 minutes more in reality. I have now read or listened to the available audio recordings of all of the books in this series and have also enjoyed Armstrong's young adult books, the Darkest Powers series, which are well worth investigating. I am an avid reader of Romance and Para-normal Romance but can honestly say that the characters of Clayton and Elena, with their strengths, flaws, and vulnerabilities, remain my all time favorites. I love that Kelley Armstrong continues to gift us with stories of this couple, and appreciated their appearance in some of the later books in the series as supporting characters. Clayton's unwavering devotion and commitment to Elena and her happiness keeps him on the top of my ideal mate list. Get "Bitten", and then get ready to become enchanted with Otherworld and its inhabitants.

What words can describe this book? Sexy, hot, beautiful, and suspenseful. I'm proud to say Bitten by Kelley Armstrong was the book that led me to the world of paranormal romances. How can a girl not fall for the infamous pack of wolves? Only thing I can hate is the fact there is NO Jeremy or Clay for me to pursue. The heroine, Elena, was an easy character to love, she was strong but with the personality of a human with compassion, which most werewolf girls are lacking. Clay is the epitome of perfect from his southern accent to his 'V' shaped back. If you are looking for a werewolf book with enough romance, intimacy, and a intriguing plot, then this is the book for you, don't pass it up, trust me, and I think it's about time a movie came out for this.

While driving on vacation I listened to this book on tape. I really enjoyed it and the miles just flew by. This is a story of modern day werewolfs set in Upstate New York and Canada. The book is on my top ten ever list. If you are a horror story lover then you will enjoy this horror mystery. Elena, the main characters life is complicated as her new boyfriend is unaware that she has to turn into a wolf a few times a week to stay sane. The story is about how she became a werewolf and her "pack" a group of very old werewolfs that make you rethink everything you have ever read about classic werewolf stories. They are not blood thirsty human killers but a subspecies of alternate humans that coexist secretly in modern society. Lots of action and thought provoking drama. A must read!

I never got bored reading this book! There is always something going on and it keeps you reading. I couldn't put this book down, I was up late trying to read as much as I could. Kelley Armstrong adds a new twist to werewolves, she makes being a werewolf seem like something exciting, nothing like what you normally think when you think of werewolves. I loved how she wrote the characters and how she wrote in general. Elena is sarcastic and smart, I found myself smiling or laughing about some of her remarks. It's a really good book and if you're into supernatural things, you'll love it!

I liked this book but unfortunately, after skimming the rest of the series, I've decided not to continue with it. I know, that's so stupid but I only do that if I'm really on the fence about whether or not I want to continue with a series. While I liked this book, it didn't grab me enough to continue. There are just too many other series I've been wanting to start.

This was suggested on my the store recomendations. The mystery was wonderfully creative and the had me suprised when I would read the characters thoughts and reasons behind what they were doing. The love story with Clay was mesmerizing and adictive it kept me reading all the way through.

This book is a very different werewolf story. Instead of making the werewolves sound like monsterous killers like so many books do! It made them sound like actual civilized beings that are only trying to live their lives peacefully among humans even helping the humans by keeping a tight leash on the Mutts. And I absolutely LOVE the relationship between Clay and Elana. I wish I had one like their's!! This is a VERY impressive book for a first time author like Kelley Armstrong. She's VERY good at what she does and I hope to see a third book coming out in this series because it's one of my favorite books that I can't put down no matter how many times I've read it.

I've enjoyed the book, its quirky and interesting, however, I sure hope that Elena gets over the neuroses that seems to consistently plague her throughout the book over the next books because it can get somewhat annoying in the long run. I'll read the other books though.

WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD by Kelly Armstrong. I've only read the first in this 11+ book series, but BITTEN had a profound impact on me. I've loved Armstrong's other series, so I shouldn't have been surprised I'd love this one too.

Bitten drew me in a kept me reading until the end, and after I was finished I put the book down, and never picked it up again. The characters are briefly memorable, some of whom have very drawing personalities (Jeremy and Clay, being the two prime examples), one of which is not the main character. Elena, the only female werewolf, was annoying and whiney and the only thing keeping me reading was to see how things ended up with the characters I actually liked.

The book is not badly written, but the author takes a unique look into the world of werewolves (presenting the story with the only living female, turning werewolves not into mutaed half man half beast creatures, but large, beautiful wolves- a factor I did enjoy greatly) and then fails to embelish on anything but her awkward character relationships and somewhat foolish and arrogant plotline. As a main example of this: Elena is the only female werewolf. This in itself could make an interesting story, but alas Armstrong spends only a couple pages explaining its signifigance, and never really returns to it again.

Overall, the book is just too choppy and generic to be anything more than another passable fantasy book, mostly appealing for teenage girls.

I bought this book after perusing the relatively compelling first chapter which, consistent with the jacket, suggests the novel is about a professional 30 something woman going through life disguising the fact that she is a werewolf. But that's not what its about at all. Instead, after the first chapter, the heroine, Elena Michaels, is summoned back to "the Pack", the benevolent mafia that keeps order in the werewolf world, to help them in their struggle with a rogue evil werewolf.

After about 60 pages, I knew I had made a mistake, but I waded through the entire story anyway. First, its really badly written. The prose is wordy and repetitive, there is a lot of awkward exposition, and the Buffy like flip irony the heroine adds to the narration is forced and annoying.

Second, the plot is pedestrian and uninteresting. There don't seem to be too many werewolves (about 30 or so world wide) and "the Pack" numbers less than 10. I was unconvinced that with numbers this small, the pack could realistically be a threat to any werewolf who decided to do what he wanted in some remote part of the country or the world.

Third, this book is at its heart a harlequin romance where the background plot doesn't really matter. There are a lot of sex scenes, and the main story is about a woman torn between the rakish and wild werewolf who made her a werewolf, without her consent, and the safe protective architect she has met in the city. Guess which one she chooses. And imagine what reviewers would be saying if a man wrote a novel in which the main character chose the man who bit her and changed her without her permission, and decided it was what really made her happy after all. If they ever have a harlequin series for horror novels, this one would be a good start. But in the meantime if you want an intriguing take on the werewolf myth, check out Whitley Streiber's The Wolfen, not this book.

It's hard for a book to keep me entertained. Probably because so many of them sound alike or are so predictable. However, Bitten is an excellent book. The character Elena is the girl next door that can kick butt and has a sense of humor!

Kelley Armstrong's debut novel, "Bitten", is a really good book from start to finish. It is about Elena Michaels the only female werewolf. For the past year she has been trying to live a normal life in Toronto with her boyfriend Philip. Her old life sucks her back in when she is needed in New York to help with some trouble. I don't want to say to much and give the book away. This is a wonderful book and I can't wait to read Stolen!

I happened upon this book while I was looking for the latest Laurell K Hamilton book. What a great find! If you like Laurell K Hamilton (especially her early novels), you'll LOVE this one! Action, adventure, mystery, and a dab of sex. I can't wait to read more of this series - I can only hope they're as good.

Canadian Elena Michaels is the only female werewolf in the world, but she's managed to lead a reasonably normal life, minus the 3AM "walks". But her Pack wants her back, and lives are at risk. Usually I'm cynical about book heroines, but I liked this one, and I liked the story. (A+)

I loved this book. Elena is one bad chick and really enjoy her story. The book was fast paced and left you on the edge of your seat. I saw some bad reviews on here...please don't let them influence you. This is one of the best books I have read in a while and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

I must admit that I was quite disappointed with this book.

The writing was ok but not more than that and a page-turner it is certainly not.

What does make this book reach the OK mark is that the author does a good job of making a believable character out of the werewolf Elena. One can easily belief that a werewolf could operate in modern society and everything that happens in the story is very real and believable.

Bitten is a book that I could easily put down, not to be picked up again until maybe days or a few weeks had passed.

I guess the fault partly lies with me, I had expected an exciting tale and this is more of a drama.

I thank my lucky stars that I managed to come across this novel, because it is by far the best series i have come across since Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Full of mystery and action, Bitten is a fanatastic novel that holds you until the very last page, and leaves you wishing for more.

If you're tired of the Anita Blake approach to the supernatural world, where everyone seems to sleep with everyone else, then try Kelley's Women of the Otherworld. There's still a little sex, but the story isn't ruled by it.

I would recommend this novel to anyone, and those that have read it at my request have been pleasantly surprised.

As reviewed on KayFrayBooks

As a reader, you really start to feel the internal struggle Elena is dealing with as she tries her hardest to be “normal”. She is basically living 2 lives. She has the pack at Stonehaven, and Clay of course, and then she has humanity in Toronto with Philip. It goes beyond that though. She not only hides her wolfy instincts, she also hides any of the abrasive aspects of her personality. What can you expect though, given that she never had a stable home.

Most writers seem to have trouble providing a unique voice for even just 2 characters, not the case with Kelley Armstrong. She creates a unique voice for Elena as well as a “wolf” voice. When Elena is narrating in wolf form, she “says” things she wouldn’t when human.

This book is very heavy on the narrative and light on the dialogue, so there are times when it feels like an information dump. Honestly, that is one of the main reasons that I didn’t give this book 5 stars. There is a fine line between world building and creating an information overload that can get boring.

Not to mention, the more detailed the world, the more chance there is for inconsistencies. In Armstrong’s world, there are only “35 wolves at last count” which seems like a small number for so much history and so many rules. Especially considering that only like 5 of them are Pack. I also can’t figure out why Elena cares if werewolves die out completely given that she hates what she is so much.

And then we have Clay. He is one big walking contradiction. He’s sweet yet fierce, intelligent but almost childlike in his emotions. He balances between the stalker/obsessed and possessive/protective sides of the scale. He really doesn’t have a full range of human emotion, at times acting like an overly intelligent animal ruled by instincts of the wolf.

He was so young when changed, and on his own for so long, that he was more animal than boy when he was found by Jeremy. In fact, he didn’t even remember how to be human. It sounds odd, but the fact that he is so emotionally stunted is a large part of his charm. He is more honest and genuine than most humans.

Any fan of shifters, werewolves or paranormal romance should read this series. It really isn’t one to be missed.

I actually read this book out of order in the series, third in order instead of first. I think they skewed my feel for this book, because I missed the different characters in the third and fourth books.

I enjoyed it, it was well-written, but I did find it a bit disturbing how easily they had the heroine have sex with the werewolf that bit her. Also the way it was acceptable to kill anyone who might threaten the pack, even by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

That being said, I tried to put myself in the mindset of the characters, to see their point of view. You felt their pain, all of them seemed to have an issue in the past, the writing is very evocative. I simply enjoyed later volumes better.

This is the first in the series. The characters are strong and are woven repeatedly through the series. The books just get better and better. It was fun to encounter old friends in subsequent books. Exciting and well worth the time. My husband and I love this series.

This book is the best in it's ever expanding genre. The heroine is witty and strong and her male counterparts are *sigh* enough to make any girl wish to be bitten.

I highly recomened this book and all Kelley Armstrong's others.

She even has more to read on her website!

Armstrong is fabulous for book lovers who each time can't wait for the next one to come out.

I can't say enough good here. Just know if you read Bitten you'll love it and eagerly reach for more.

Gets its hooks into but at the end of the day it isn't that satisfying a read. Feel manipulated by the rapey stuff and fake tension, writing is simplistic, still enjoy the series overall, till something better comes along.

Entertaining story, but the main character is really annoying. She's very self-centered, fickle, overly confrontational and whiney. Certain points are beat into your head throughout the book, such as her bad childhood, and being the only female werewolf in existence. The rest of the book was very well done. I did like most of the other characters. They were just like overgrown puppies most of the time. This is the first book I have read by this author and I think I'll try her other books at the library before spending $7 on another one.

I worried about reading this considering I have seen the TV series and enjoyed it greatly. I was hoping the book wouldn't change that. There are differences but I felt they worked in the book and I am sure the TV people needed to change things for viewing reasons. I can't wait to read the next.

Long story short I've got no books to read and little cash. I was looking thru the stacks for that one book that would entertain me and stay in my budget, when I saw this. The title and cover intrigued me. I opened it to the first page, read the first little blurb of story and was instantly hooked. I'm not even a quarter of the way thru but I'm already impressed and in love with this book. I'll leave a fuller report when I'm done, but I've read enough to recommend it to anyone who like romance, horror, mystery, angst, humour, or the paranormal.

It took me a few years after this book was published to finally get around to reading it. I'm glad I did. It was very enjoyable and the author's ability to create the world and life of a werewolf made the reader feel as if she/he was right there living it. I'll have to check out more of Armstrong's work if this is an example of it.

Both the book and the new tv series are equally as thrilling. There are several variations so you shouldnt read the book expecting the same exact story. Kelley Armstrong is a great author and everything I read by her I cant seem to put down!

First BOOK OMG!! Loved it!! I Love a STRONG female character and love interests and a awesome story to keep you gasping for more! I couldnt put it down! WOW to all of the above!! I am so going to read Stolen!! BRING IT ON!!

This was a very good first novel with an original twist on the werewolf genre, as others have noted. I would have given her 4 stars if she had delved a little bit more into Clayton's character, I felt that there was alot more that could have been told about him while Elena was gone from The Pack. I was also curious about Elena's relationship with the other men in the pack. I hope to see this more in future books, as I assume this is meant to be a series.
Definitely recommend this book and will read others by her as they become available.

This is the first in the series. The characters are strong and are woven repeatedly through the series. The books just get better and better. It was fun to encounter old friends in subsequent books. Exciting and well worth the time. My husband and I love this series.

This book is the best in it's ever expanding genre. The heroine is witty and strong and her male counterparts are *sigh* enough to make any girl wish to be bitten.

I highly recomened this book and all Kelley Armstrong's others.

She even has more to read on her website!

Armstrong is fabulous for book lovers who each time can't wait for the next one to come out.

I can't say enough good here. Just know if you read Bitten you'll love it and eagerly reach for more.

Gets its hooks into but at the end of the day it isn't that satisfying a read. Feel manipulated by the rapey stuff and fake tension, writing is simplistic, still enjoy the series overall, till something better comes along.

Entertaining story, but the main character is really annoying. She's very self-centered, fickle, overly confrontational and whiney. Certain points are beat into your head throughout the book, such as her bad childhood, and being the only female werewolf in existence. The rest of the book was very well done. I did like most of the other characters. They were just like overgrown puppies most of the time. This is the first book I have read by this author and I think I'll try her other books at the library before spending $7 on another one.

I worried about reading this considering I have seen the TV series and enjoyed it greatly. I was hoping the book wouldn't change that. There are differences but I felt they worked in the book and I am sure the TV people needed to change things for viewing reasons. I can't wait to read the next.

Long story short I've got no books to read and little cash. I was looking thru the stacks for that one book that would entertain me and stay in my budget, when I saw this. The title and cover intrigued me. I opened it to the first page, read the first little blurb of story and was instantly hooked. I'm not even a quarter of the way thru but I'm already impressed and in love with this book. I'll leave a fuller report when I'm done, but I've read enough to recommend it to anyone who like romance, horror, mystery, angst, humour, or the paranormal.

It took me a few years after this book was published to finally get around to reading it. I'm glad I did. It was very enjoyable and the author's ability to create the world and life of a werewolf made the reader feel as if she/he was right there living it. I'll have to check out more of Armstrong's work if this is an example of it.

Both the book and the new tv series are equally as thrilling. There are several variations so you shouldnt read the book expecting the same exact story. Kelley Armstrong is a great author and everything I read by her I cant seem to put down!

I personally did not enjoy this book much because I am not a member of the gender it was written for, but I must acknowledge it is a well written book, and if you are someone who has purchased DVD's of every season of Charmed you will like it.

The story is about a werewolf named Elena who is trying to make up her mind about which man she is going to spend her life with. Her choices are: a) the kind warm gentle thoughtful supportive too nice human b) the ultra violent badboy stone cold killer hot lover werewolf. Both men wait patiently, and monogamously, for her to make up her mind while she enjoys having sex with both of them. (proving that women's fantasies are just as puerile juvenile lame and stupid as men's fantasies are) Along the way there is violence and mayhem involving a group of renegade warewolfs ("mutts") who want to move in on the territory of the pack Elena and her stud puppy are members of. If this sounds like your cup of tea... enjoy! I donated my copy to the bookshelf in my employers break room where it is sharing space with the bodice rippers and true crime stories the secretarial types there like to read.

First BOOK OMG!! Loved it!! I Love a STRONG female character and love interests and a awesome story to keep you gasping for more! I couldnt put it down! WOW to all of the above!! I am so going to read Stolen!! BRING IT ON!!

This was a very good first novel with an original twist on the werewolf genre, as others have noted. I would have given her 4 stars if she had delved a little bit more into Clayton's character, I felt that there was alot more that could have been told about him while Elena was gone from The Pack. I was also curious about Elena's relationship with the other men in the pack. I hope to see this more in future books, as I assume this is meant to be a series.
Definitely recommend this book and will read others by her as they become available.

Werewolves jockey for local power, no horses involved.

A woman gets involved in having the whole lycanthropy thing, and throws a bird among the bird dogs. She has to fit in, deal with those that she gives the horn, old human boyfriends, and all that sort of thing. A rather low-key focus at times makes this all a bit on the tedious side.

Read this book when
I was younger loved it then. When they made a tv show out of this book

I reread the book and was surprised by how closely they followed the book and how much
I remembered it/

It is rare to find strong female heroines in the realm of sci-fi/fantasy. Kelley Armstrong gives us a stunning character in Elena Michaels, a female werewolf coming to terms with her nature. I enjoyed the twist of having men run from a female werewolf as opposed to the often-used device of a hapless woman being chased by a (male) monster.

Kelley Armstrong has a good grasp of what she wants to do with werewolf emotions and doubts. In that, she is innovative and skillful. Unfortunately, she has a very hard time of fitting it into a believable, hermetic plot. There is no real pace, the rules and motivations are all jumbled and change from scene to scene. If you want a sappy werewolf love story with gratuitous sex then read it by all means. If you're interested in a good, pacy story, well... Run for you lives.

I work at a bookstore, and for awhile I had been eyeing this book because it just *looked* interesting. Oh I know, don't judge a book by it's cover... but sometimes you can't help but do it. Admit it.
The thought of reading a werewolf book kind of irked me at first, as this was not usually the type of book that I would normally read. But as I kept reading... I couldn't put the book down! It's fantastic and I'm anxiously waiting for the sequel.

Kelley Armstrong has got herself a winner in this series! Bitten is one of the strongest, most original stories I've found in a long time. While the novel starts out a bit slow, it is truly worth the read in the end. Clay and Elena are superb characters. I can't wait to read more of them!