Bitten: Number 1 in series (Otherworld, #1)

by Kelley Armstrong

Elena Michaels is a model woman for the 21st century: self-assured, keenly intelligent, fighting fit. And like every modern woman, she has her secrets. Nothing extraordinary about that. Except that Elena really is extraordinary. In fact, she may well be the most extraordinary woman alive. She is, after all, the only female werewolf in the world...Ten years ago, against her will, Elena's lover turned her into a werewolf. Some days it feels like a gift. Most days it feels like a curse. A year ago, she decided to live as a human. Now she has to go back to New York State, her old home. Her pack is under seige by a new group of violent, psychotic werewolves that shows no respect for the old ways, and no respect for territory. Forced into helping her old friends, Elena soon slips back into the reassuring camaradarie of the pack, though she struggles against her dangerous, unpredictable desires. Hunting down her enemies, Elena prowls through territories usually barred to women. From dangerous back alleys to the dark, luscious forests of New York State, she must hunt and destroy the renegade pack before they destroy her.

• ISBN10: 1841493503
• ISBN13: 9781841493503
• Publish Date: 26 February 2004 (first published 7 June 2001)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Out of Print: 5 March 2012
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: Paperback (A-Format (178x111 mm))
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[booksandcats]

I kind of liked it, I liked Elena, I liked when she was her badass true self, I love that Clay had no trouble letting her be her badass self (I looove a MMC that likes his FMC just as badass as he is), I love Clay himself in his badassery.

I did NOT like that Elena was basically cheating for most of the book, I just can't stand cheating, like not at all, not even in the least. Hated it, made me hate her a little bit.

I liked the general werewolf thing, but honestly, I wasn't too captivated with the plot. Maybe it was those massive info dumps all the time to give us backstory. It felt like every two pages we got another two pages telling us some important backstory about one of the werewolves. And sometimes exactly those werewolves died two pages late. Glad I learned all about them.

I don't know, I'm torn. I liked Elena and Clay and their chemistry was hot and I love her struggles and overcoming them, and how she never absolves him for responsibility from his actions. I loved their chemistry, they were freaking hot together, but I just could not get into it since she was cheating. So since she is single by the end of the book, maybe I'll give book 2 a shot and see how I feel about that.
3.5 stars.

[mitabird]

2.5 stars

[Chelsea]

I love everything and anything about this story. It was one of my first dives into adult urban fantasy and started my love with that genre. I love Elena, Clay, Jeremy, and all the other wolves. Kelley is great at making you feel like you're a part of the story and the plot is fast paced and full of action. There's no way you can read Bitten and not fall in love with the characters, story, and everything else in between.

[Artemis]

I originally read this in 2011 but I hated it instantly. Then I watched the TV series and became intrigued again. Still not the best, I prefer the TV version but I upgraded to two-stars. Not sure if I'll continue on in the series.
Also slightly convinced I read a different book in 2011.

[Amber]

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

Bitten is one of those books that I have picked up to buy multiple times, but have always swapped it for another book that I deemed more important, or one that I was more excited for. Thanks to the new Canadian TV show, and the fact that this is Lauren’s favourite series ever, I finally managed to pick it up. Or, rather, Tatum bought it for me for my birthday so I had no other choice. It was either this, or read Code Name Verity, and I don’t want to be destroyed just yet, thank you.

I thought that the first one hundred pages were very slow, due to the fact that they were basically one giant infodump. I feel like the information that was thrown at the reader in the beginning could have been better interspersed throughout the novel, especially as sometimes Elena went off on tangents. I would have had less trouble getting into the book if the background information, and the world building, had been brought up at relevant times rather than all at once.

After I got through the first one hundred or so pages, I started to fly through it. Something happens at around that point that immediately grabbed my attention, and I was suddenly a lot more interested in the book. Once this happened, it was difficult to put Bitten down because the storyline and the mystery were intriguing, and Elena’s voice became more enticing after the infodumps were out of the way.

Elena is an amazing character, and I can see why everyone loves her. She’s strongwilled and intelligent, and yet she’s not without her flaws. Reading about her was a great experience, and also rather heartbreaking considering her backstory. I can’t imagine a better main character for this book, because Elena is just so perfect for it. She’s going through a lot at the beginning, such as living without her Pack – her family – because she strives to be “normal” instead of a werewolf. And not only that, she’s the only female werewolf in existence, which magnifies the problem.

And then, of course, there is Clay, Elena’s ex-boyfriend and the obvious love interest in Bitten. I read a few reviews prior to reading this book, and a few of them said that Clay was controlling and manipulative, and it put me off a bit. Having read a lot of paranormal romance about werewolves and other shifters in the past, I know that having a broody, somewhat controlling alpha male to protect the weaker female is the trend.

However, I didn’t get that vibe from Clay at all, and it makes me wonder if those who did went into this book with some sort of prejudice. To say that Clay is controlling towards Elena is ridiculous, because Elena has him totally whipped. He never once tries telling her what to do or how to act – with sincerity, anyway, because he knows that she won’t listen. On top of that, Elena doesn’t even really need his protection. She’s perfectly capable of looking after herself, and Clay only jumps in as backup. Yes, he’s her backup. I do not see why people are so against Clay, because I think he’s a great character and Kelley Armstrong managed to turn the typical dynamic that we get so often in paranormal romance on its head.

That said, I didn’t ship Clay and Elena. I’m sorry, guys, but I much preferred Elena’s relationship with Jeremy, whatever that might be. I just don’t think Clay can live up to the awesomely sexy Pack Alpha. It’s totally a crack!ship, and I’m likely letting down a bunch of WOTO fans, but that’s what I do best. That’s not to say that I don’t think Clay and Elena should be together, because they’re clearly made for one another, but come on, Jeremy is much sexier. I will have to resort to fan fiction.

I also thought that Kelley Armstrong did a great job with the secondary characters in this book, including Elena’s Pack, and those outside of it. I have a particular fascination with a certain Karl Marsten, which Tatum thinks I’m weird for, but I think Marsten is a great character who I hope turns up in later books in the series. I also loved getting to know the other members of Elena’s Pack, like Nick and Tonio. Again, I’m hoping they show up some more in future novels even though Armstrong switches up the female protagonists in those.

I’m so glad that Lauren and Tatum and the TV show finally gave me the push that I needed to start this series, because I had been meaning to read it for years. And now I’m buying all the books at once, because this is a great series to marathon. I’ve already read Stolen, and it was so much better than Bitten, you guys! I can’t wait to continue on because this series is addictive and the characters are all fabulous.

[Angie]

I'll start out by saying that I hated the prologue. It was too "This happened. Then I did this. I saw that. He did whatever. Then this, that and the other thing." It really put me off, but I figured it could only get better. Well, the writing style did get better, but the story just didn't grab my attention. I wanted to know more about Elena and Clay's relationship. Yes, they had a past, but why does she still give into him so easily? I don't know. I wouldn't say the book was bad, but it just wasn't for me. Perhaps I'll pick up the second book to see if I like that one better.

[elysium]

4.5 stars

When the book starts, Elena is trying to live anormal life in Toronto after leaving her pack. She has a boyfriend and a job but she doesn’t feel comfortable. Then she gets a call from Jeremy, the Alpha, and she hasto go back with pack. There she meets her ex-lover Clay, who turned her into a werewolf, and they clearly have some unfinished business. And then dead human bodies starts to pile on the pack’s area and it looks like Elena has to stay longer than she wants.

I loved Armstrong’s young adult serie before and I was really curious how her adult books would be. And I wasn’t disappointed! I enjoyed this from the start.

I liked Elena and I think she made great narrator. She was strong, kick ass-woman and no damsel in distress. And I was pleasantly surprised that while she is the only female werewolf in the world, not every single man was drooling after her and trying to get her to bed. Elena has been a werewolf for 10 years but she’s still trying to come to terms with it and hasn’t forgiven Clay for what he did. But during the book she’s finally starting to accept it little by little and noticing that the pack is her true family.

I loved Clay! He could be really rude at times but he clearly loved Elena. It was fun to read about their love/hate relationship and it felt realistic. Clay has some problems to accept the fact that Elena was living with a human man but finally tries to save his life because Elena would want it. Poor Clay, he tries so hard to win her back and she’s not making things easy.

What a great book and I love the writing style. I need to get the next book soon!

[Hixxup]

really good book, I liked how there was action pretty much right from the somewhat beginning. Loved it and can't wait to read the next one.

[celinenyx]

One of the best urban fantasy novels I've ever read. I completely adored the storyline, I adored the characters, and I have a weak spot for werewolves.
You even start to love the strange anti-social Clay and his cute attempts to get Elena back.