What’s on my bookshelf? 5-16-12

Anyone who enjoys Kim Harrison, Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs should read any and everything by Kelley Armstrong. Think of the Twilight novels, only for adults, and with better writing.

I first discovered Kelley Armstrong when I had a gift card from Christmas and was sifting through the stacks at my local Borders bookstore. Dime Store Magic was the title I found. I looked at the front cover (all of her covers are … interesting, let’s just say).

I read the back cover, and I was intrigued. So I used part of my gift card and bought the book, and I’ve never looked back.

I’ve devoured every book in her Women of the Otherworld series. I’ve also read the majority of her other Otherworld stories. Armstrong takes a different angle on the vampires, witches and werewolf stories, making them her own and adding a whole lot more besides.

Each character has their own flaws, their own strengths, and their own attitude. One cool thing about these series is that while the books have different main characters, the characters from the other books make appearances in most every book, adding to a complete overall story. Probably my favorite character is Hope, a half demon (look into Personal Demon) which might be partially because of the fact that she’s a journalist by trade. All of Armstrong’s characters are richly developed, especially as you get the story both from their angle and from the angles of other characters, depending on the book.

Now, all of her main characters are women. Once you’ve read a few of her novels, however, you have to read her collection of stories called Men of the Otherworld. They tell you the history of some of the male characters, and it lets you understand them on a whole other level as well.

I enjoy another series of hers, the Nadia Stafford series, just as much as the Otherworld series. These don’t involve otherworldly creatures, but Nadia Stafford is a wilderness lodge owner by day, a hitman for the mafia by night. I’m rereading the two books in that series currently, and I can’t wait for her third one to be published.

I haven’t yet read her Darkest Powers or Darkness Rising trilogies, though I have two of them. I’m going to start on those this summer.

Suffice it to say that I am a huge fan, and I wish Armstrong continued success. All I ask is that she continue writing.

About Brittany Westerberg

I'm a lover of writing and books. I graduated from South Dakota State with a master's degree in communications in 2011, the same year I was first published. I'm a wife and mom, and I work in content and digital marketing in South Dakota.