Rating: 
Summary: An Apprentice Bests the Masters
Review: Anne Rice and Stephen King could learn some lessons from Kelley Armstrong.
1) Lighten up. Humor is a good tool to help move a book along. Armstrong writes great dialogue in which different characters have distinctly different voices, and sarcasm and attitude roll off the paper.
2) Keep the plot moving! Readers don't need to have our plots bogged down by long internal debates raging inside character's head. Armstrong has a knack for giving us the information we need without putting us to sleep.
3) Entertain us. This book's twists and turns and sex are all well-done, and manage to keep the pages turning long after the clock strikes midnight.
This book was lots of fun, and will be passed on to many of my friends.
Rating:
Summary: Avid Reader & Reviewer
Review: Dime Store Magic is the third book in the Women of the Otherworld series. At the conclusion of Stolen, Elena, Paige, and the rest of the supernatural interracial council rescued Savannah and destroyed the facility that was kidnapping supernaturals. Savannah had been kidnapped with her mother, Eve. She was murdered shortly after the kidnapping, leaving Savannah alone and at the mercy of Isaac, an evil sorcerer and Leah, a half-demon Volo. Dime Store Magic begins a year after Stolen. Paige, a coven witch, has custody of Savannah, a 13-year-old angry witch. Paige has her hands full trying to guide and protect Savannah, who is experiencing teen-angst with an unhealthy dose of rage.
Leah, the half-demon Volo has decided to join forces with a Cabal, a high ranking sorcerer who is also CEO of a large corporation. This particular Cabal, Nast, is very powerful and also Savannah's father. The fight for custody is more then a legal matter. Nast wants Savannah for her power and will do anything to acquire her. Paige finds herself fighting not only Nast, but also everyone else in her life to protect Savannah. Paige's once uncomplicated life becomes a living hell that seems to have no end in sight. To make matters worse, Savannah, at 13, is very immature and full of rage. She is angry about everything and is prone to using her powers in a reckless manner. Consequences are something Savannah does not understand. Dime Store Magic is a wonderful, fun book to read. The Paige who was introduced in Stolen gains a great deal more depth and is a great heroine. She deals with these betrayals and attacks with a strong moral outrage and strength of character. She is not about to back down and shows her true feisty nature. What makes this book work is Paige's voice. It is unique and interesting. Kelley Armstrong did a wonderful job creating the Women of the Otherworld. Kelley Armstrong is the author of Bitten and Stolen, the first two books in the Women of the Otherworld series. Industrial Magic, the fourth in the series will be released late in 2004. Be sure to visit Kelley Armstrong's website at www.kelleyarmstrong.com
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Book
Review: Dime Store Magic is the third installment in author Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series. This novel switches course a little and follows the adventures of Paige Winterbourne, a young-adult witch, and her 13 year-old ward Savannah Levine. The two previous novels in the series dealt primarily with the world of werewolves which the author portrayed as revelling in the physical, yet possessing sensitive and passionate tendencies as well. The world of witches and sorcerers presented in this novel is far more subtle and cerebral. Teenager Savannah Levine is on the cusp of puberty, a special and vulnerable time among witches. A cabal, roughly a combination of a corporation and a Mafia family run by sorcerers, covets young Savannah in order to harness her budding power for their own benefit. As her guardian, Paige Winterbourne tries to protect Savannah despite challenges from supernaturals of different talents, and betrayal from her fellow witches. Along the way, they are assisted by the young sorcerer lawyer, Lucas Cortez who develops a warm love-interest with Paige. The author crafts her characters so skillfully that the reader will easily flow into the world she has created. As in her previous novels, the reader will enjoy how plausible the characters are despite their supernatural abilities. The only downside is that readers of her series will quickly become addicted to her well-crafted work, counting the days until the next book is published. Top ratings are well-deserved.
Rating:
Summary: Very well done.
Review: Even though this book kept showing up in my Amazon recommendations I kept ignoring it due to the romance novelesque cover art. Boy am I glad I finally picked it up! It is very entertaining and a great read. Although it is not completely stand-alone, you don't actually have to have read the earlier books in this series to understand what's going on. Unlike many middle volumes, the synopsis of past activities is pithy and well integrated into the ongoing text so that it does not negatively effect the pacing. I liked it so much that I read all 450 pages in three days over a weekend.
Here's the scoop: Even though this is another alternate America where supernatural beings wander around with the rest of us novel, Armstrong's semi-original plot, creative storytelling, and outstanding characterization make this book very special indeed. Paige is an interesting, savvy heroine whose open-minded approach to witchcraft puts her at odds with her coven and the local community yet ultimately becomes her saving grace when the bad guys attempt to kidnap her ward Savannah. Savannah's teenage angst, personal loss, and struggle for independence is realistic yet not overdone. The whole cabal vs. coven theme is very well done indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Action, gore, romance, humor -- what more do you need?!
Review: Hey, I finished an actual book in its entirety without skimming! For this fact alone I give this my hightest rating. Because I still haven't got around to reading Bitten (which I bought when it was first released in hardcover) or its sequel Stolen I had to pay very close attention to the first few chapters to get acquainted with Armstrong's world. It also took me a few chapters to figure out who was who and what they had to do with the current story but once I got caught up the pages began to fly. There were a few conversations between Paige and Elena that I thought added nothing to this story but I may change mind when I go back and read the first two books.
I liked Paige early on. She's tough and gutsy and vulnerable as well but a little too trusting of certain people (though I'm betting this aspect of her personality changes in the sequel). Savannah was also a very believable teen dealing quite well with all of the gore and upheaval in her life. I particularly enjoyed the wise-a*s humor and the non-stop tension (sexual and otherwise). It reminded, in a way, of the earliest Laurell K. Hamilton books.
Armstrong's world where witches and cabals work behind the scenes while modern day life ticks on was interesting. The fact that the "supernaturals" have to hide their abilities from normal folks was a nice touch but the jabs at Wiccans who are all portrayed as stereotypical loonies who live to rip off their clothing and romp in the woods got old quickly.
Dime Store Magic was a page-turner despite my little quibbles. Now I'll have to dig out Bitten . . .
Rating:
Summary: Armstrong does it again, great third WOTOW installment!
Review: I am hooked on Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. I loved Bitten and Stolen and couldn't wait to read Paige's story. Dime Store Magic is non-stop action from beginning to end. Twenty-three-year-old Coven leader Paige Winterbourne decides to look after teen witch Savannah after rescuing her from a scientific compound where pyrokinetic half-demon Leah and sorcerer Katzen held the child captive. Looking after a teenage girl, especially one with powers that can be used for both good and evil, isn't easy, but Paige has managed just fine. That is until Leah returns with a legal custody petition. But when human laws don't work, Leah and a group of powerful sorcerers known as Cabals break havoc upon Paige's life, making her appear like a Satanist and a murderer. The people of East Falls, Massachusetts, are outraged and disgusted with Paige. Even the Coven elders no longer want her in their lives. But with the help of a young, well-intentioned sorcerer, Paige, once an immature know-it-all, is forced to grow up and learn how to utilize the strongest and most potentially fatal magic spells to keep herself and Savannah safe. There are many twists throughout the novel.
Paige was stubborn and somewhat irritating in Stolen, but in this installment she has shown a great deal of maturity that comes from protecting young Savannah. I thought I wouldn't like Paige as much as Elena Michaels. However, I think she's a compelling heroine. I like her way of thinking and her quips when handling the bad guys are also great. I especially love her interactions with Lucas Cortez -- the geeky, wordy lawyer-slash-sorcerer. Witches and sorcerers are sworn enemies, and the bickering between Paige and Cortez are the funniest bits in the novel. I wasn't sure about the switch of storyline that went from werewolves to witches at first, but the transformation went smooth because this novel picks up right where Stolen left off. I miss Elena, Clay and Jeremy though. I hope there will be novels centered on them again in the future. Anyway, this novel enthralled me from beginning to end. My one complaint is that Adam, Paige's best friend, doesn't play an important role in this installment. The aforementioned character showed a lot of potential in Stolen. I cannot believe that he, with the exception of a few phone conversations he had with Paige, wasn't part of this story. Other than that, I loved this novel. Kelley Armstrong is a great author and an awesome new voice in paranormal fiction. I cannot wait to pick up Industrial Magic next month and Haunted early next year. In the meantime, I cannot recommend Dime Store Magic enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Springboard for the Continuation of the Series
Review: I liked Stolen but I thought that it lacked a bit because I wanted more about Elena and it didn't give enough about her. Then again, it didn't give enough about the witches and half demons to grab me completely either. I started this book a bit wary having been so invested in the werewolves but I was pleasantly surprised by the content. Paige Winterbourne is 23, she's lost her mother and is the guardian of 13 year old Savannah, who we meet in Stolen. Savannah is the daughter of a good witch gone bad and as it turns out, her father is a sorceror and next in line for leadership of a very powerful Cabal. The Cabal, aided by the wicked Leah (who we also met and grew to loathe in Stolen), decides they want Savannah and sets out to sabotage Paige's life to get her. Paige has to face a whole lot of stuff at once in this book. I hate weak women characters and so when I read a few reviewers complaining that Paige was weak, I had to see for myself. I totally disagree that she is weak. First of all, she's 23 years old and has just lost her mother and is trying to raise a 13 year old who is more powerful than she is. The Coven that she is the leader of doesn't respect her authority, she wants to change things for the better but is stopped at every turn. Then these sorcerors come in and frame her for a whole host of things. Her once solid life has turned totally upside down, everyone wants her to give the child up but if she does, the child will go evil and she also promised her mother to take care of her. So despite her fears, despite the fact that she faces losing everything she's ever thought was important, she holds to her promises and fights. That's not weak, that's incredibly brave. She's not a demon slayer, she's not a superhero, she's a witch and not an incredibly powerful one at that but she keeps on fighting. I won't do any specific spoilers but we meet some new characters with potential to be the mainstay of the next book, Lucas Cortez being the main one, another rebel against the strict class based system of their supernatural world. The book is well written, the characters are nicely fleshed out and have interesting interactions with each other. The story is definitely unfolding into something much larger and I will be anxiously awaiting Industrial Magic when it comes out this fall.
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre Book
Review: I love Kelley Armstrong's werewolf books. Bitten and Stolen really captured me to the point where I read them both in one sitting. Dimestore Magic was not one of those reads. The heroine, Paige, was REALLY annoying. She doesn't have a backbone or any commen sense. She really lacks the edge and strength that Elena (heroine from Bitten and Stolen) has in abundance. The other characters didn't really impress me that much either. That being said, the book is not terrible. It is just not up to par with Kelley Armstrong's other books. If you haven't read her other books I recommend starting with them.
Rating:
Summary: Another great novel by Kelley Armstrong
Review: Kelley Armstrong continues to out do herself with this addition of the 'Women of the Otherworld' series. The plot centers around Paige Winterbourne who is striving to help the witches of the world and bring them pack to their former glory. Again her writting brings here characters to life and you can actually empathize with them through the story!
Rating:
Summary: great writing and a great story
Review: Kelley Armstrong is a believable writer. Not only that, she's an excellent writer. Her three novels (Bitten, Stolen, and Dime Store Magic) all exist within the same supernatural world, yet nothing is cliche or over-dramatic in her story or her prose. Armstrong's brilliance is her ability to write believable characters in an "otherworld" plot. Not many writers these days can claim the same.
Like some of the other reviewers, I was wary of an entire book on Paige, since she wasn't exactly my favorite character in Stolen. But I devoured this book in four hours, and am waiting with bated breath (pun intended!) for Industrial Magic, the next installment.
Give her a whirl. You won't be sorry.
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