Women of Otherworld is a great series by Kelley Armstrong
Most who have dabbled in the series have gotten there through the TV series, Bitten, which matches the title of the first book in this series.
The Series consists of 13 Main Books.
7 Side books.
As well as 2 Trilogies and 2 Books set for Young Adults.
As the series progresses, the main character changes from book to book, when it comes to larger series this can be refreshing especially when you read/listen to longer series in a single setting.
The first two books are set through the eyes of Elena Michaels, a journalist, and the only female werewolf in the world. This factor alone gives Elena an elevated status in the worlds werewolf population. Unfortunately, to the Mutts out there, Elena smells like she’s in heat… And you can understand the issues that can arise there.
The world introduces the duality of the Werewolf world, the Pack Werewolves, and the Non Pack (Mutts), the Werewolf gene is passed down the male line, or through being bitten. At the start of the series, the North American Pack is under the impression that there are only 30 Werewolves in the world and it’s their duty as the Pack to monitor and track their movements, making sure the world doesn’t find out about the Werewolf population. The Pack is essentially a Mutt Secret Police Force to what is widely seen as a corrupt government (that sentence has nothing to do with the series - I was reflecting the views of the Mutt’s in general).
We follow Elena, as she deals with her Wolf and her human life. After she leaves the Pack to try and lead a normal human life, she is a rarity, having been the only woman to survive the bite. The change isn’t a pleasant thing. It’s agony; like having your organs burned out.
As stated previously, Elena is essentially a hot commodity in the Werewolf community, where she is considered a prize, and the ideal mate for all the Werewolves out there.
When a Werewolf impregnates a woman and the child is male they steal the child away, never communicate with the mother again, and raise the child. Either with the Pack, or hiding from the Pack. Sons are celebrated in the communities. With the added factor of hiding wolf nature, as knowing about Werewolves in general is a death sentence. The Pack keeps tabs on all Werewolves so if the secret gets out, multiple people can disappear…
Hence why Elena is a hot commodity, because her being a wolf means that she can continue a relationship, and not have the relationship severed if it’s a male child.
That said, I've given a base story setup and not going into details as it’s best to come across it naturally, but Elena’s story about being bitten appears early in the book and, well, I'm going to say it's brutal; but you’ll understand when you read (or watch) it.
The first book and the first season of the TV series are close to being the same. They switched some character deaths and changed the ethnicity of some characters, but apart from that the first season and first book are very similar. With the books, the story is focused on Elena’s viewpoint, whilst the TV show replaced internal monologue with other character perspective.
When season 2 of 3 comes out, the story is completely different from the main story, with some underlying similarities.
Whilst I highly recommend the Book, I will still recommend the TV Series as a gateway, saying that the books are better (as always), but it’s a pretty good way to see if you want to continue.
The refreshing factor of this series is that as the series progresses, the characters age and the main character of the book changes. They become referenced as secondary characters, so we don’t lose Elena altogether, and they can come back as a main character in later books. Some people don't like that a character, described as pointless, becomes a key character but that’s what actually makes the series more enjoyable. You get that other perspective.
As does in other supernatural universes the world progresses, and the species that get dragged into the story are well balanced (with the odd broken factor). Initially we have Werewolves - obvious by the TV series and the book titles - but eventually there’s Witches, Sorcerers, Half Demons, Necromancers, Vampires, and more.
Witches and Sorcerers are different species, but are of binary male/female gender, and they don’t mix.
Half-Demons, are literally the offspring of Demons, who tricked their way into someone’s Bed. Different Demon Spawn have different abilities.
Necromancers talk to the dead, and there’s a deep psychological factor to them.
Vampires aren’t the main supernatural species, and are just there like dirty laundry. There is a mystique to them nut, personally I like the fact that they’re irrelevant (there are many stories about the vamps, and they’re enjoyable, but I prefer having them as old luggage).
There are lesser species that are not worth a direct mention.
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of Otherworld Audio Book Narrator: Multiple (Different Narrators for Different Main Characters)
Rating:
Bitten: 8/10
Women of Otherworld: 9/10 (Series as a whole)
Additional Trilogies: 7/10
Bitten TV Series 6/10 (Season 1 7/10 Latter Series 5/10) - Still worth a Watch if only Season 1
Bitten can be streamed for Free on 7+
Or on Apple TV.
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