Waking the Witch (Otherworld, #11)

by Kelley Armstrong

Columbus is a small, fading town, untouched by the twenty-first century. But when three young women are found dead - victims of what appear to be ritual murders - things start to get very dark, and very dangerous ...Private investigator Savannah Levine can handle 'dark and dangerous'. As the daughter of a black witch, she has a lot of power running through her veins, and she's not afraid to use it. But her arrival in Columbus has not gone unnoticed. Savannah may think she's tracking down a murderer, but could she be the killer's next target? Of course she could always ask her old friend (and half-demon) Adam Vasic for back up. But Savannah has her own - very personal - reasons for keeping Adam well away from Columbus. And in any case, she can rely on her own powers. Can't she ...?

• ISBN10: 0525951784
• ISBN13: 9780525951780
• Publish Date: 27 July 2010 (first published 1 July 2010)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 27 August 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Dutton Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 309
• Language: English

Reviews

[Chelsea]

Not my favourite of the series, not even my favourite with Savannah. This was more of an introduction book to the finale. It set up a bunch of things we'll see in the next two books but it made this book a little boring at some parts.

[celinenyx]

3.5 Stars

Waking the Witch is the first book that marks the final trilogy of books within the Women of the Otherworld series. Only two more books to go, and then it's all over. We've met Savannah as a little girl about five books ago, and she has grown up into a twenty-one year old woman now.

With Paige and Lucas out of town, it's finally time for Savannah's solo investigation. In a small town there have been three murders, bodies found at the same location, and there is evidence of supernatural happenings. But what's really going on, and as a young woman herself, is Savannah in danger?

If you've followed this series, by now you've been on a very long ride. You have had over five different narrators, some better than others. Some books in the series are more paranormal romance, others urban fantasy. In the later book I'm seeing that they're leaning more towards some kind of paranormal mystery genre - paranormal creatures (witches, half-demons, werewolves) trying to solve crimes that may or may not have been committed by other supes. It makes for nice stories, but I was kind of expecting more than just a decorated mystery.

The same goes for Savannah. She was a spunky kid, she was slightly evil and rebellious and had awesome magic powers that surpassed both Paige and Lucas. I was really excited to be reading about Savannah's magic, but was sorely disappointed in that respect. She only uses the most basic spells: knockback spells, unlock spells, lightballs and energy bolts... It's basically all we've already seen from Paige. She only does one cool spell in the entire book, and that made me a bit sad. I hope there is more magic action in Spell Bound.

Waking the Witch is a decent paranormal mystery. It has plenty of breaking and entering, listening in on people, interrogating town people and going through suspects like cookie monster goes through cookies. It's engaging, but I didn't see the Savannah I was looking for yet except for at the very end. Waking the Witch is the only Women of the Otherworld book that ends on a cliffhanger as far as I know. Even though I've been a bit disappointed with the last books in the series that I've read, I'm still looking forward to the next one.

[Melanie]

This books was really good. It was much better than I thought it would be. The only fault I give it is that it is unfinished. The story continues in [b:Spell Bound|7797032|Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld, #12)|Kelley Armstrong|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|10767072], which comes out next year. Kelley Armstrong does not do the "unfinished" story often and I have to say, it is not something I am very fond of. I will be waiting for the next book.

I will say. I love Savannah. I was not sure how much I was going to like her as a narrator. We see her mature quite a bit. She is almost a "responsible adult" (I am not sure she would want to hear that. :) )