Twisted Kingdom

So, my challenge for the month was to read Kelley Armstrong. I had never read her before, so I had all her books to handle. I only had to read this one, though, so anything passed this is just an added bonus.

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Published by Sel Books in 2001

4/5

Living in Toronto for a year, Elena is leading the normal life she has always dreamed of, including a stable job as a journalist and a nice apartment shared with her boyfriend. As the lone female werewolf in existence, only her secret midnight prowls and her occasional inhuman cravings set her apart. Just one year ago, life was very different. Adopted by the Pack when bitten, Elena had spent years struggling with her resentment at having her life stolen away. Torn between two worlds, and overwhelmed by the new passions coursing through her body, her only option for control was to deny her awakening needs and escape.

But now the Pack has called Elena home to help them fight an alliance of renegade werewolves who are bent on exposing and annihilating the Pack. And although Elena is obliged to rejoin her "family," she vows not to be swept up in Pack life again, no matter how natural it might feel. She has made her choice. Trouble is, she's increasingly uncertain if it's the right one.

This book has been on my TBR pile for a while now. The second hand bookstore had all her books but one, so I decided to invest in them because I had heard good things. Then, they just sat on the bookshelf... So, Nath challenging me to read them was a very good idea!

I am very big on books that portray women in a positive role. It is so easy for authors to slip into the old-fashioned style of damsel in distress saved by the very handsome young man. I try to avoid books like that. I like to think that both sexes are capable of taking care of themselves if they have to. This book met the criteria. Following Elena, the narrator, through her adventures as the only female in a pack of werewolves. She had left the pack in an attempt to live a "normal" life. She had everything she thought she always wanted, but then the pack leader called her back because they needed her help and suddenly she could not ignore her "abnormal" life anymore.

I liked Elena. She gets the job done. She is supposed to listen to the Alpha, but she has an amazing ability to stand up to him at the same time. She can be annoying, but at the same time she is the only female in a bunch of males, she is a werewolf so that puts her outside her normal society, so she is always fighting to fit in. The other characters in the book are interesting too, though. Jeremy, the Alpha, gets the job done and is a compelling character. He is the brains of the operation. Then, there is Clay, he is the sex appeal, but do not get any ideas because he is already taken! Nick is the comedian who I think should be in the future books, but I see him only being a minor character. His father's character does not get developed very well, nor do the other two members of the pack.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I felt bad for Elena, because everyone has those moments where they try so hard to fit in and it does not work out for them. She is just a werewolf, but it is a very human problem. The pasts of these characters is also laid out, so they are given depth. I really enjoy this series! Thanks for challenging me to read it Nath, it was worth it.