Bitten

Rating:
Summary: Literary Genre Fiction
Review: It's not often that you find a book that is both genre fiction and literature, but I think Kelley Armstrong's "Bitten" comes close. It has the 'can't put it down' quality of a well plotted out piece of genre fiction and fleshed out characters. I have to admit I'm a bit of a speed reader, but I picked it up this afternoon and finished it five hours later. I just couldn't put it down.

After surviving a tragic childhood, is betrayed by the one person she thought she could trust and turned into a werewolf without her consent. ... It's not that she neccisarily hates being a werewolf, it's just that after having such a messed up childhood, she can't stand having her choice taken from her without her consent.

It's a story about love, sex, murder, and becoming comfortable with self.

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: If memory serves me correctly, I would not have picked this book up just cause of the back blurb. But boy am I glad my girlfriend insisted on it. I think I read this book in 3 days or so. The suspense of a were living 2 lives unsure of which she really wants. The thought that they have to LEARN to live in our world in order to blend in, LEARN to be human, made this book an interesting read. The thought of other weres wanting us as humans to be the minority. Whoa! I just loves books that have a little bit of everything and this one definitely does....and then some! Don't hesitate to buy this one.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Werewolf Read
Review: This is a story about Elena. She is one of three bitten werewolfs (the rest are hereditary). She is the only Female werewolf which makes her very valuable among the Pack and the mutts. Elena feels very betrayed by the wolf that bit her. Her deep angst of this betrayal is very real. The wolf that bit her was selfish and only wanted her for himself. Elena struggls not only with the betrayal but being a monster. She is very confused. She doesn't think she should accept being a werewolf so she tries for a "normal" life with a "normal" boyfriend in Toronto. She fights her werewolf tendencies and has pretty much convinced herself that she is happier this way. When the Pack Alpha calls her to come home to help, she goes but tries to resist being integrated back in the pack. Especially with Clay. As Elena helps the pack track a mutt, she is tempted by the werewolf nature in herself. Clay tries to wear her down by telling her how much he loves her, that he wants her to stay, playing with her in wolf form (which were some of my favorite scenes in the book) and trying to seduce her. Elena fights these temptations. She could never forgive Clay for what he did. Elena must eventually make a choice between humanity and her werewolf nature. She must either forgive Clay or forget him. It is not an easy choice for her...

This is my first written review, but I just had to write something about this book. It was amazing! It is actually shocking that this is Kelley Armstrong's first book and I hope the rest in the series she has started to author are as good as this one.

The characters physical descriptions are very scarce. The author forces you to rely on the character's actual personality for your sympathies and approvals. I could really feel Elena's confusion and turmoil. I could understand why each choice had a lure and a draw back. It took me about three quarters of the way through the book for me to decide which choice I WANTED Elena to ultimately make. It was almost to the end before I was sure which she would make.

I first saw this book on a listmania list. So I tried it. At first it took me a bit to get into it. After I was a quarter of the way through I was hooked and finished it in one day and night. After I finished it I re read the beginning to find were my struggle was. I think it is because her prolouge is written in present tense. Then the rest of the book is written in the standard past tense.

All in all I absolutely loved this book.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I anticipated, but not bad
Review: First let me preface by saying that almost all books have to live up to the Anita Blake standard. That said, this one wasn't bad. There are some interesting politics here, with one lone female werewolf involved with nothing but men. I did think this moved a bit slowly though. Over all, a nice offering. I'm not in a rush to read the second.

Rating:
Summary: Right on!
Review: I really liked this book! It was like a cross between Dennis Danvers's moody, contemplative and atmospheric WILDERNESS and LKH's kick .. and smart .. Anita Blake. It was thoughtful and well-written, and yet still contained plenty of sex, violence, and witty repartee. It is about the only female werewolf in the world. Elena is trying to live in the human world, but gets called back home into the stickiness of werewolf politics. Armstrong doesn't down play the uber-alpha nature of male werewolves, but this isn't a romance, so her heroine doesn't have to struggle in a futile and irritating way, then give in for the sex scene and the lifetime commitment. Elena is strong, but not agressively independant. She is witty, but not uncontrolably brash. She is wounded, but not broken.

Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Read!
Review: I'll be honest, I had my doubts about this one. I've never been the type to be really interested in very many "super-natural" type novels, but this proved me wrong. The character of Elena is witty, intelligent, and sarcastic-perfect combination for a heroine. The pages keep turning, and before you know it, hours have passed. I highly suggest this book to all of you, and I'm sure you'll find it as enjoyable as I did.

Rating:
Summary: Very good first effort
Review: This was a very good first novel with an original twist on the werewolf genre, as others have noted. I would have given her 4 stars if she had delved a little bit more into Clayton's character, I felt that there was alot more that could have been told about him while Elena was gone from The Pack. I was also curious about Elena's relationship with the other men in the pack. I hope to see this more in future books, as I assume this is meant to be a series.

Definitely recommend this book and will read others by her as they become available.

Rating:
Summary: A fresh look at werewolves... outstanding!
Review: "Bitten" is a truly outstanding first novel by Canadian author Kelley Armstrong. It tells the story of Elena, a werewolf struggling between wanting to lead a normal life, and wanting to help out her old werewolf pack in thier time of need. The book is exciting and fun, and more importantly, well-written. Kelley Armstrong has a distinctive, flowing style that draws you in and makes it VERY difficult to put the book down.

I highly recommend this to fans of werewolf fiction, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Graham Joyce, and Laurel K. Hamilton.

This is a strong beginning to a new series, and the sequel, "Stolen" (due out in the US in June 2003) is even better.

Rating:
Summary: Fast Paced and Exciting!
Review: I never got bored reading this book! There is always something going on and it keeps you reading. I couldn't put this book down, I was up late trying to read as much as I could. Kelley Armstrong adds a new twist to werewolves, she makes being a werewolf seem like something exciting, nothing like what you normally think when you think of werewolves. I loved how she wrote the characters and how she wrote in general. Elena is sarcastic and smart, I found myself smiling or laughing about some of her remarks. It's a really good book and if you're into supernatural things, you'll love it!

Rating:
Summary: LOVE IT!
Review: This is such a great book. I usually find books about werewolves about the same (same story, same plot, etc.). This book is GREAT though. Elena Michaels is a stubborn character who just wants to be normal, but can't due to her werewolf blood. I guess you could say the book is about her acceptance of that. She will capture the heart of any reader! Bitten is a book full of mystery, fantasy, horror, and most of all, promise.