Bitten by Kelly Armstrong

Pages: 436
Rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Paranormal Fiction

Synopsis (from back of book):

Elena Michaels seems like the typically strong and sexy modern woman. She lives with her architect boyfriend, writes for a popular newspaper, and works out at the gym. She's also a werewolf.

Elena has done all she can to assimilate to the human world, but the man whose bite changed her existence forever, and his legacy continue to haunt her. Thrown into a desperate war for survival that tests her allegiance to a secret clan of werewolves. Elena must reckon with who, and what, she is is this passionate, page-turning novel.

Review:

I would first like to say that I would not call myself a paranormal reader. I have only read two other books, that I can remember, that I would categorize as paranormal. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer and "Minion" by LA Banks, both of which are series books. I didn't enjoy "Twilight" that much, maybe because of the hype or that it is targeted to teens, and I felt that "Minion" started off too slow. That being said, I don't normally seek out paranormal books. I don't know how I came across "Bitten" but I am happy that I did.

What made this book so enjoyable to me was not the werewolf element. It was Elena, she made the story interesting. I liked how Armstrong wrote the book in first person. It made it easier for me to connect with Elena and the conflict she felt between her human life and her werewolf life. While at times I hate some of her decisions, Armstrong made it clear that werewolf emotions are sometimes different than human emotions.

The one major problem that I had with the books was climax of the major conflict in the book fell short. Armstrong spend so much time in the book describing and plotting the danger that Elena and the "Pack" faced but when it came time to solve it, the scene seemed a little forced and disappointing.

I have signed up for the Series Challenge in 2009. I might add this Series to the list, I have to see how may plans go. But I would recommend this book to paranormal readers or people interested in trying out the genre.