Stolen

Kelley Armstrong is amazing.
She never fails to write an amazing novel. This is the follow up to Bitten and is just as good.
Stolen is just my type of book. Fast paced, thrilling, some romance and of course, paranormal.
The main character, Elena is smart, sexy, funny and clever. An exceptional character, as are all of Kelley's characters.
The plot is very interesting and new. Unfortunately The Pack isn't in the novel much, that includes Clay. Yet Kelley's new characters are almost as good.
I don't even know what to say, this is my favorite series and my favorite author. I can't even explain how amazing this book and all of Kelley's other books are. A MUST read.

There is something incredibly gripping about Kelley Armstrong's writing. It could be the way she develops the sense of crippling despair that fights to bring Elena down, or perhaps it is her ability to weave a world that, regardless of the impossibilities, houses characters that are touchable and real in ways that most supernatural beings are not.

In Stolen, Elena is investigating someone selling information about werewolves but finds her contacts to be a pair of witches instead, wanting to warn her about a secrete organisation who are abducting creatures of the otherworld: witches, shamans, half-demons, werewolves. After dealing with her incredulity, she and her Pack Alpha attend the meeting between the two witches, Ruth and Paige, a shaman called Kenneth, a vampire called Cassandra, and the half-demon Adam. Alliances are formed but Jeremy intends to make his own strike with or without their help - until Elena is abducted.

There is more gruesomeness in Stolen, between the demented scientists, inhumane guards and one horribly sadistic billionaire funding it all - it was actually painful to see a strong, proud person like Elena made to almost grovel in order to stay alive. However, despite the agony of reading through Elena's captivity and wishing that she could unleash the wolf and send her captors to hell, Kelley Armstrong maintains a high-paced, action-packed narrative that pushes the reader onwards throughout the pages in hopes of finally, finally attaining some form of release. And Armstrong knows how to deliver.

Although i personally enjoyed Bitten a bit more, Stolen was still a very good follow up of our favourite female werewolf Elena and the pack. Unfortunately the Pack takes a bit of a back seat in this one - which to me is a little unfortunate as my favourite moments are the ones with Clay and Elena. They bring the most playfulness, sex and humour to the book.

In this particular novel, Elena is introduced to the rest of the Paranormal and Supernatural world. She initially does not believe it. Even after meeting the witches, Paige and Ruth Winterbourne who cast minor spells to show Elena, she still showcases a bit of denial. It is not until she witnesses the threat that the two witches are attempting to warn her about actually attempt to attack her and the witches, does she finally grasp the reality that werewolves are not the only "mythical" and "legendary" creatures out there.
Elena is unfortunately kidnapped by said threat after a supernatural committee meeting of sorts, and she is imprisonned in an underground compound, alongside other supernaturals that include a young witch Savannah, Ruth, a voodoun priest, sorcerer, half-demons, another werewolf, and shamans.
Not too surprisingly, the biggest threat these supernaturals have to deal with are in fact Humans. The worst of the bunch is Ty Winslow, who this greedy power-hungry man who uses these supernaturals almost as playthings for his enjoyment. Once he's tired of one, a new and improved version of a supernatural has arrived, or their use has run out at the compound, Ty essentially plays a Tag/Hunting game, where the runner or the hunted do NOT get out alive. He's really twisted this guy!!!
The other humans include: Matasumi the scientist, Tucker the military guy, Carmichael the doctor, and then there is Sondra Bauer - read the book to find out her role in this book!
So while Elena is trapped, she is essentially trying to figure out how the heck she is gonna escape this place. Who can she trust? how is she to bypass the crazy security system? and where is she to begin with? Unfortunately those she begins to trust are eventually killed, and she is ultimately made a fool of by a couple of the characters who aren't what they seem. There are a lot of twists and turns, but i would not call them surprising or shocking.

This book has a lot of death and violences at times, and although i don't particularly find it descriptively graphic, well it's still a little on the gory side. Let's just say, many throats do get ripped out!!!

Overall, i thought this book brought many elements i enjoy to read including: suspense, action, humour, and of course a little love makin' never hurt anyone :) . I do wish the rest of the pack was used a bit more as mentioned but in the end i still felt satisfied as a reader! Elena the Werewolf is still super cool in my books!

Enjoy!

This was an excellent follow-up to Bitten. Kelley Armstrong has done a wonderful job in conveying the same suspense throughout the whole novel as she did with its predecessor. Along with a whole new cast being introduced, the story of the Pack remains intriguing. Armstrong has set up this series perfectly. A must read!