I recently discovered the books of Kelly Armstrong and have been enjoying them. So far I have read three of her books. Stolen continues the story of Elena, a female werewolf, that started in Bitten: Women of the Otherworld Book 1.

Kelly Armstrong expanded on the world she created in her first book to include more supernatural characters. Witches, sorcerers, demons, half demons, shamans, and vampires were added. Most of those types of characters have been featured in other books and movies over the years and there are some basic concepts about each that seem to always turn up. Armstrong added her own take to the different types of characters like she did with werewolves in the first book.

Since this is the second book to feature the same main character, some of I say about it could spoil events that happened in the first book if that book hasn’t been read yet.

Elena had been back at Stonehaven with Clay and Jeremy for eighteen months. She continued to work as a journalist and had resumed keeping track of the mutts. She also investigated people that claimed to have information about werewolves in an attempt to help keep the pack safe. Elena met Paige Winterbourne and her aunt Ruth because of information they said they had about werewolves. Paige and Ruth were actually witches and they knew that Elena, Clay, and Jeremy were werewolves. Elena was shocked and didn’t believe the women at first, but they did produce proof. They claimed that a group was kidnaping supernatural beings and believed the werewolves could be targets. After talking to Jeremy, they went to a special council meeting where the members were all supernatural beings to discuss the situation. Jeremy, Clay, and Elena were returning to Stonehaven when she was taken. Elena woke up locked in a cell at some kind of facility that was full of other supernatural captives, including a young witch named Savannah.

I liked Elena more in Stolen. In the first book, she was really still adjusting to certain things connected to being a werewolf even though she had been one for ten years. She didn’t want to accept some things, and had been fighting parts of her nature that actually hadn’t changed when she became a werewolf. She had worked through things with Clay and was no longer looking for reasons to think the worst of him. Elena’s attitude bothered me in some places when I read the first book. Thankfully that didn’t happen with this one. She was naturally upset about the situation she found herself in, but she didn’t get irrational. The book was written in the first person point of view from Elena’s perspective like the first book, making her the most developed character. Her thoughts and feelings about other characters were shared, though they were one sided views. I would have liked to have known some of what the other characters did after Elena was taken.

Someone could read Stolen and have it make sense without first reading Bitten: Women of the Otherworld Book 1. The plot was completly different and events from the first book really were mentioned. The returning characters, especially Elena, are more developed when the books are read in order. There would be a few minor spoilers if Stolen was read first. I actually read Dime Store Magic, the third book in the series first. That book focused on Paige, the young with that was introduced in this book. Elena showed up briefly in a few scenes of that book. Now I wish I hadn’t started with the third book because there were spoilers for Stolen in Dime Store Magic. I still enjoyed the book, but some things that were meant to be surprises weren’t for me. I did read at the author’s website that she is writing another book with Elena as the main character.

I thought it was funny how Elena found it so hard to believe that werewolves weren’t the only supernatural creatures in the world. Jeremy was more willing to believe because he’d heard older pack members mention other types of beings many years before. Elena learned about the other supernatural beings along with the reader. Not to much was shared about some of them, but that was because Elena didn’t spend much time with those particular characters. I thought that the addition of the other types of characters was interesting. I’ve always enjoyed books and movies with those types of characters. Some of what was going on in the facility did remind me season four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. People that enjoyed the show may also enjoy these books. People that don’t like to read about werewolves, witches, and demons should stay away from this book.

Mystery and suspense was present throughout the book, especially once Elena was captured. Paige and Ruth had known that a group was taking supernatural people, but they didn’t know why. Elena discovered several things once she was in the facility. She did figure out certain things fairly quick, but other questions remained until the resolution. I thought that there was more suspense in this book than there had been in the first book. A few scenes were very violent and not that pleasant to read. Some of what happened was disturbing and may be too upsetting for some people.

Romance played a much smaller part in Stolen. Clay and Elena were separated for the majority of the book. Their relationship had changed since the first book ended and enough was shared to get that point across. There were only a couple of sex scenes in this book. The scenes didn’t seem like they were graphic enough to upset anyone, but others may feel differently. The first book did have several more sex scenes so anyone that was bothered by the scenes in that book may not feel the same about Stolen. People that are offended by sex scenes in books or who just don’t like to read those scenes may way to avoid this book.

Stolen was a very entertaining, suspenseful book. People that read and enjoyed Bitten: Women of the Otherworld Book 1 would probably enjoy this book as well since it featured the same main character.

There are different versions of Stolen available. My copy has the title as Stolen: Women of the Otherworld Book 2. The part of the title referring to the series title has been left out in some copies. There is a version of the first book, Bitten, that has the part in the title referring to the series title and other versions without it. My copy has it. As far as I can tell, the series title hasn't been included in any versions of the third and fourth books.

www.kellyarmstrong.com

Women of the Otherworld Series
Bitten: Women of the Otherworld Book 1 ~ Stolen ~ Dime Store Magic ~ Industrial Magic ~ Haunted ~ Broken ~ No Humans Involved ~ Personal Demon ~ Living With the Dead ~ Frostbitten ~

Recommended: Yes