Kelley Armstrong - the outstanding, the overwhelming, the otherworldly

As you may have noticed, I'm a huge fan of Canadian author, Kelley Armstrong. When I was younger, I wasn't always an avid reader, but when I discovered Kelley Armstrong's young adult series, The Darkest Powers, I knew instantly that I was destined to be one.  To my utmost joy, I was promptly swept of my feet by the excitement and adventure of the novel. I became an enthusiastic reader of anything Kelley Armstrong and quickly uncovered her elegantly evil adult series, The Women of the Otherworld, which I adore even more.

For those of you who have been living under a rock all your lives, The Woman of the Otherworld is a fantasy series in which werewolves, witches, sorcerers, vampires, necromancers and half-demons interact in the today's human world. You'll find yourself caught up in an action packed adventure, a  perplexing mystery, or a bloodcurdling escape plan.

While I enjoy every character of The Women of the Otherworld series, I must say Elena Michaels, the only known female werewolf, and the other pack werewolves are by far my favourites. I feel like they're the original cast, having been featured in the first two novels, Bitten and Stolen. Kelley Armstrong depicts the pack werewolves beautifully. They aren't brutish and buff (well, except for Clay, Elena's lover), but they're confident, clever, witty and always, always hilariously sarcastic (Oh, how I love the sarcasm). Plus, when I read about any character in the series, be it a werewolf, a witch, a half-demon, or a necromancer, I am astounded by the realism that is brought to each novel. I mean, these characters could be anyone, anywhere, at anytime.

Oh, and the horror aspect! There is always just the right amount of gore - never leaving you disappointed, but not going as far as making you sick. Truly, she has manages to keep the gore in a lovely balance with the rest of the novel. The creepy Oh God Don't Open the Closet Door bits are just perfect. One of the main reasons The Women of The Otherworld  series is one of my favourites, if not my favourite, is because of the novel's quick and entertaining pace. You get just enough information, but you don't find yourself skimming through pages and pages of the discription of a single room. That's probably why reading turned me off when I was really young.

Of course, just because you spent the night finishing of a very fast paced novel, doesn't necessarily mean you're going to stick around for the next one. That's where the characters come in. And the characters are mind blowing. Whenever I finish one of Kelley Armstrong's novels, I always think I've found my all time favourite character. Then I start the next novel and find a whole new character that I just can't stop thinking about!

But like I said before, I was first hooked on Kelley Armstrong's young adult series, The Darkest Powers, before The Women of the Otherworld series. The Darkest Powers series is a trilogy that follows Chloe Saunders, fifteen-year-old girl and her group of friends as they try to escape and flee the clutches of the Edison Group, a team of scientists intent on experimenting on supernaturals.

The Darkest Powers is as equally entertaining as The Women of the Otherworld and as full of excitement and adventure. Personally I prefer The Women of the Otherworld, but that's simply due to the more mature, developed details of the novels (as it is the adult series).

While Kelley Armstrong is still popping out books for the Women of the Otherworld (and I pray that she will continue to do so), The Darkest Powers trilogy has actually come to a close. Fortunately the beginning of a follow up trilogy called Darkness Rising has just realised it's first novel, The Gathering. This series is still about the Edison Group's experiments, only the books take place on Vancouver Island and are narrated by a young girl, Maya Delaney. Other then The Darkness series' and the Otherworld series, Kelley has written numerous short stories and serial novellas that can be read for free online at her website, http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/

Here is a list of the novels that can be found in The Women the Otherworld series and The Darkness series'.

The Woman of the Otherworld:

1. Bitten (2001)
2. Stolen (2002)
3. Dime Store Magic (2004)
4. Industrial Magic (2004)
5. Haunted (2005)
6. Broken (2006)
7. No Humans Involved (2007)
8. Personal Demon (2008)
9. Living with the Dead (2008)
10. Frostbitten (2009)
11. Waking the Witch (2010)
12. Spellbound (to be realised August, 2011)

The Darkest Powers:

1. The Summoning (2008)
2. The Awakening (2009)
3. The Reckoning (2010)

Darkness Rising:

1. The Gathering (2011)
2. The Calling (to be realised April, 2012)