Thirteen (Otherworld) by Kelley Armstrong (Review)

Title: Thirteen
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Otherworld (aka Women of the Otherworld) book 13
Publication Date: July 2012
Publisher: Dutton
Source: Publisher for review
Available formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audio
Reading Challenge: 2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge

Thirteen is the final book in Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series. It also concludes a trilogy of books focusing on Savannah, a young witch, that includes Waking the Witch and Spell Bound. While there have been threats to the supernaturals in previous books, those threats were localized and focused, requiring only a few of the familiar series characters to neutralize. The trilogy that ends the Otherworld series takes the threat to a whole new level and every major character from the series makes an appearance to work together for the future of supernaturals and humans. Even the demons and angels show up for this fight, although it isn't always clear which side they fall on.

The Otherworld series was originally called the Women of the Otherworld until Armstrong felt constricted by the limitation to only female narrators. She worked some of the men into other books in the series and gave them their own short story collection, Men of the Otherworld. In true Women of the Otherworld form though the focus of the final books is on Savannah, a character we have watched grow up throughout the series.

The action in Thirteen is fast paced as Savannah and the others start out a step behind the group of supernaturals who wants to reveal themselves to the world by infecting those in positions of power with a virus giving them supernatural abilities. This is a book that goes full tilt ahead without stopping to let anyone take a breath. All of our favorite characters from past books make an appearance and we get to hear from many of them in their own chapters.

Thirteen is an emotional roller coaster as the confrontations are intense and various characters lives hang in the balance. Armstrong wraps up the series with a very satisfying conclusion that still leaves the door open a crack for the possibility of more. I love how the entire series is tied together with the book beginning with the prologue from Bitten and ending with a short story centering on Elena, the female werewolf who started it all.

If you haven't read the Otherworld series yet, I would highly suggest starting at the beginning. Although some of the books can be read as stand alone novels or read out of order, the build up to this final book will be better if you see the characters develop over time. The Otherworld series has been one of my favorite series and I'm very sad to see it end. But endings also mean new beginnings and I'm curious to see what Armstrong will be writing next.

Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Bookstore links are generally affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Related articles

• 5 bat! Review: Thirteen (Women of the Otherworld #13) by Kelley Armstrong
• A Fond Farewell to the Women of the Otherworld Thirteen Review
• Book Review: Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong

Witchful Thinking by H.P. Mallory

Title: Witchful Thinking
Author: H.P. Mallory
Series: Jolie Wilkins Book 3
Publication Date: February 28, 2012
Publisher: Bantam Books
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program
Reading Challenge: 2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge

Witchful Thinking is actually the third book in the Jolie Wilkins series, although it is the first to be published by a major publisher. The first two books, Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble and Toil and Trouble, are both self-published and most widely available in digital format. I did not realize this when I requested Witchful Thinking from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program or I would not have selected this book. I was able to borrow a paperback copy of Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble from my library to review but had no luck obtaining a physical copy of Toil and Trouble even though both the author's website and Amazon show that a paperback version should exist.

I'm actually not sure if one would be better off reading both of the previous books in the series or just starting straight in with Witchful Thinking. Because this is the first book from a traditional publisher, many people seeing it in a bookstore would have no idea that there were two books already in the series. The story takes this into account heavily with the prologue to this book being the first chapter from Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble. Having read that book, I could identify major sections of information dumping to catch the reader up on all that had happened when Jolie first met Rand. I had a little more trouble identifying pure information dumps from the second book only because I have not read it. Having missed out on that action, it was very clear that I was being brought up to date but I was not as clear on how much of that portion of the story was repetition and how much was simply being examined through a new lens based on current events. It felt like it took over half the book to really get into the current action. While this might be good for a first time reader, it was frustrating to know how much repetition was happening.

My biggest issue with this series, especially this book, is that I simply don't like the characters all that much. I must be used to much stronger female characters from reading a lot of urban fantasy. Jolie drove me absolutely crazy because she was such a doormat. Every time she made a decision, she would question herself and fill her own head with self-doubt. She changed her mind every time a hot guy entered the room and it didn't always seem to matter which one. She is told it is her destiny to be Queen of the Underworld and takes on the role even though she is constantly whining that it is one she doesn't want. She decides to rule in her own way only to have those around her change her ideas and block her at every turn. The constant whining about Rand and her inability to hold her own where he was concerned truly made me want to throw the book across the room at times. Rand had a lot of the same issues as Jolie as far as making decisions and changing his mind and not acting on his feelings and so on. I realize it is a paranormal romance, which is not a genre I read much, but does that mean the characters must be spineless?

I didn't particularly like the format of this book either with the use of diary entries. Some of them felt like just ways to dump information while others were more of Jolie's whining and uncertainty.

Without being too spoilery, I will say that the ending seemed an awfully convenient way to keep the series going but I'm afraid it will lend itself to even more repetition and information dumping in future books. I won't be sticking around to find out though as this is not a series that I plan to continue.

Related Post: My review of Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble


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Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Bookstore links are generally affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory

Title: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble
Author: H.P Mallory
Series: Jolie Wilkins book 1
Publication Date: September 2010
Publisher: CreateSpace (self-published)
Source: Library
Reading Challenge: 2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge

When I requested Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble from the library, I had no idea it was self-published. I had just won the third book in the series, Witchful Thinking, from the Early Reviewers program at LibraryThing and it is being published by Bantam in February. So I was quite surprised that Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble absolutely screamed self-publishing from the instant I saw it. The first thing I noticed when I picked it up off the shelf is that it is not the standard mass paperback size. The second thing I noticed were the fonts used and the blocky layout of the cover. The interior formatting is much the same with a very plain font, odd section breaks, and layout that makes me think of the original manuscript not a finished version of a book.

While I've read several self-published books, some very good and others not so great, I still start a self-published book with a bit of hesitation. I always wonder if the author chose self-publishing as their first route to publication or if it was the final way to get the book out there after traditional publishing avenues had been exhausted. I know H.P. Mallory has quite a following and since she has been picked up by a traditional publisher for the third book in this series, I figured there must be something to her writing.

The first book in the series introduces the reader to Jolie Wilkins, a young woman who can see auras and sometimes receives visions but doesn't realize that she is actually a witch with an unusual power. Rand Balfour, an extremely hot warlock, comes into Jolie's shop one day and hires her to help solve a mystery. When word of Jolie's success on the case spreads, she is drawn into a community she didn't know existed and into a war she knows nothing about. Jolie moves from Los Angeles to England to be under Rand's protection and the close proximity makes it hard for both of them to fight the growing mutual attraction.

I had a hard time getting started with this book. The paragraphs and even sentences seemed short and choppy while the characters were fairly flat in the beginning. I warmed up to the book once the story line really got interesting but every once in a while something would break my concentration and have me rolling my eyes. Now I admit that I read very few books that are considered romance of any sort but some of the descriptions and dialogue in the book just seemed over the top cheesy to me. My overall assessment is that I wanted to like this book more than I actually did but I enjoyed it enough to read the next two books in the series. I'm really curious to see how the writing progresses from this first book through the second and if it changes the feel of the series at all once I reach the third book which has the backing of a large publishing house and all that entails.

Update: I will be going directly from book 1 to book 3 in this series as Toil and Trouble is only available as an eBook. Although Amazon does have a listing for the paperback version, it does not seem to actually exist as my library is unable to obtain it through inter-library loan (they said it is 'in use at the one library in the country that owns it.'). I really wish I had realized that this series was primarily in digital format before requesting Witchful Thinking because I would not have requested it from LibraryThing.



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Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Bookstore links are generally affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.

2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge

Happy New Year! I hope your 2012 is off to a wonderful start. Ours has been nice and relaxing so far despite the lack of sleep last night.

Do you participate in reading challenges? I did in 2009 but found myself nearing the end of the year and having to rearrange my reading schedule in order to complete them. That was even with choosing challenges and levels that I thought would be easy for me to finish! For 2010 and 2011, I didn't do any challenges at all. Instead I let myself get a bit overwhelmed with review books until mid-2011 when I took a bit of a break from reviewing every single book I was reading and just read without any commitments.

For 2012, I plan to continue to limit my review commitments by only accepting books that I am extremely interested in. I'm giving myself permission to catch up on my personal to read pile and to borrow books from the library that have been on my reading list forever. With a baby on the way, I fully expect that my reading and reviewing time will be even more limited than it has been so I definitely don't want to take on too much.

With all of that said, I am going to join one reading challenge this year. Melissa at Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf is hosting the 2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge. This one should be right up my alley since I tend to read several of these types of books each year anyway. There are several possible levels for this challenge and I'm going to attempt the second one which is Maiden (6 - 10 books). I know I have three books on my reading list that will count and I'm sure I'll have more by some of my favorite authors as they get released. I'm not going to do a pre-list of what I'll be reading but I'll try to remember to update this post with links to my reviews as I finish books.

Check out the sign up post for all the official rules and join us in reading some witchy books this year.







Books I've Read (link to my reviews):

1. Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory
2. Witchful Thinking by H.P. Mallory
3. Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong
4.  

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Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Bookstore links are generally affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.