When Molly Everhart Trueblood doesn’t show up for her shift at Seven Sassy Sisters Herb Shop and Café, Jane Yellowrock goes to the house to check on her. There Jane discovers a black cloud of wild, out of control magic attacking the small home. How can Jane save the small family?
Kits further highlights two aspects of Jane’s life; her love for children, especially the Everhart girls, and the simple and honest friendship between Jane and Molly. The previous short stories have focused on Jane’s early life and her isolation from everyone else. Finding Molly and her small family is a beautiful moment in which Jane is able to have family and loved ones – people that she wants to protect.
This pivotal moment in Jane’s life is beautifully retold and plucks at the heart strings – a vulnerable and maternal side to the vampire hunter is highlighted. The potency of Angela’s powers are also a great foreshadowing for potential future storylines and the difficulties that Molly and Evan are forced to face.
In this story from the Jane Yellowrock universe, undercover agent Rick LaFleur has been working on gaining access to Leo Pellissier, Master of the City of New Orleans. But he wakes up naked and bound in an old barn, at the mercy of a magic-working tattoo artist and an insane vampire.
Rick’s tatts in Skinwalker are a great source of fascination and intrigue. The story behind this provided a small insight into this fateful moment is both tragic and left me with a feeling of an unfinished future together. I love this idea of fate and future, and the ways in which Jane and Rick seem to have ties to each other and each other’s lives.
Reading a story from Rick’s point of view changed the way that I perceived him. He becomes far sweeter and less of a pompous character when explaining his choices and movements. His journey into the police force and subsequent undercover work is beautifully explained, and many of his actions throughout the following storylines become far less insidious.
This short story was not at all what I expected, and it was such a pleasure to read. The change from Jane’s story was refreshing, and I thoroughly enjoyed finding more about Rick.
Fans are always asking about Jane’s early life and training, about how she went from the children’s home to rogue-vamp hunter. Well, here’s a small insight into how.
I love this short story – it takes us on a journey into Jane’s first job. It was so fun finding out more about Jane’s first day as a PI, and the way in which she had to prove herself to her new employer. The run down locale and shop front perfectly suits Jane’s persona, and it is incredibly easy to see her put in such a position. If Hunter had placed her chief protagonist in a place of good standing and a tidy, respectable front, it would be far more difficult to envisage.
Jane is beginning to come to terms with her dual nature in this story, and I love how she refers to Beast as the “crazy part”. Beast represents the id within us all – that part that just seeks pleasure and sustenance, without any real consideration for the future. We all have that inner voice in our head, but the presence of Beast makes it all the more real and to the fore. An aspect of Jane that she is constantly forced to negotiate with.
On her 18th birthday, Jane Yellowrock leaves the children’s home where she was raised, and heads north to her first job. But she makes a detour and discovers where she came from, who she is, and what she is.
I loved revisiting Jane’s first modern day experience of skinwalking. Reading Skinwalker, I had always wondered how she had discovered her paranormal capabilities, and this short story provided a great insight into this journey. It also provided more information about the importance of Jane’s gold necklace and the reasoning behind her name (Jane Yellowrock). I love that every detail about the protagonist’s life prior to the beginning of the first book was carefully planned and thought out by Hunter – an intricate reality that has layers upon layers, with more discoveries every time I read the story.
Jane is displayed as an outcast in the first few Jane Yellowrock books, and The Early Years gives us insight into the beginnings of these feelings. Her protective, Beast instincts also come to the fore in her protection of other outsiders. The feeling of inadequacy and loss of self echoes throughout the story until she literally finds her inner self.
Beast, with Jane Yellowrock in the background of her mind, observes the lumber camp of white men who are destroying her hunting grounds. She decides to take revenge on the leader of the lumberjacks.
It was incredibly interesting to read a little more about some of Jane’s first years. Not only is it a great way to gain insight into her first transformations, but it also gave me a glimpse into the desecration of the land by white man when they first arrived in the Americas.
This short story was beautifully written – it was structured from the Bobcat / We Sa’s point of view, and the difference in language was both startling and enjoyable. Where Beast is strong and always willing for a hunt and fight, We Sa is aware of her limitations and fearful of the consequences of her actions.
Throughout the other Jane Yellowrock stories, Jane’s connectivity with nature is alluded to, but never highlighted. This short story beautifully ties this intricate relationship into her story and illustrates that although her victims may have changed, Jane is still sassy and uses slightly obscure tactics to get the job done.
Title: Industrial Magic Author: Kelley Armstrong Series: Women of the Otherworld #4 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy, Paranormal fantasy, Strong women Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Orbit Year: 2004 5th sentence, 74th page: I’d just finished finding my fourth stray cat when a distant voice hailed us.
‘The blade pressed into my throat, and blood trickled down my neck. In that moment, it seemed that even to breathe might be fatal…’
Paige Winterbourne is in exile. Ousted as leader of the American Coven, she decides to turn her back on her old life and start afresh. But fate, of course, has other plans. A murderer is on the loose – someone with apparently superhuman skills and a grudge against the supernatural community. When Paige discovers that the killer is targetting children, she has to get involved.
Desperate to protect those she loves, Paige is thrown back into a world she thought she had left behind for good. But if she wants to stop an apparently unstoppable psychopath, she will have to find allies in some very dark places…
So far this has been my least favourite of the Women of the Otherworldbooks, but I still absolutely adore it! After Dime Store Magic, it was really nice to find out what Paige, Lucas and Savannah are doing with their somewhat changed lives. That, and finding out more about Lucas’ family and the difficulties of his life was fascinating – although it took a little while for the storyline to really build up steam.
Finding the potential culprit of the killings in the first half of the book seemed really bizarre to me at the time – the whole main point of the story is that someone is killing supernaturals. And needs to be stopped. And is found in the first half… ?? But, eventually it begins to make sense – a red herring that really does help to further along the storyline. Not only does the potential culprit lead to stronger ties within the characters’ relationships, but also to greater explanations of their new positions in life. Dime Store Magic led to upheavals in the lifestyles and very fabric of being in Paige’s life. This also had rippling effects to Adam’s life. I loved revisiting him, and all in all, although confusing, I found that just the reappearance of Adam in the story made the slightly odd red herring well worth it.
I loved how Armstrong likened the sorcerer Cabals to the mafia, not only literally throughout the storyline, but also in its very conception and creation. The idea of a paranormal gang running half of America and the supernatural community was really fascinating to me – mob and gang mentality has always interested to me, so combine this with a world of fantasy and I’m just hooked. The contrast between a rigid, utilitarian, money-making corporation with the prodigal son, Lucas, someone who works for a cause (and almost never money) really highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of each group.
The need of Lucas’ father to connect with him (beyond the running of the Cabal) emphasised the relationships between parent and child. This idea was explored a little in Dime Store Magic when Paige and Savannah are forced to deal with the loss and grief of a beloved mother, but the need to connect to an estranged parent is a major driver in the storyline and both characters’ lives. I love how Armstrong highlights the love between family – it isn’t easy, and it is almost never simple (even in amicable cases), but it is important.
‘I was bought into this world for one reason… A daughter born and raised to lead the Coven.’
White witch Paige Winterbourne has spent her whole life hiding her true nature. But when she takes over the guardianship of Savannah Levine – orphaned daughter of a notorious black witch – Paige’s carefully constructed world comes crashing down.
Someone is plotting to take Savannah and corrupt her already unsettling wild power. But how can Paige fight them without exposing her own gift – the ultimate taboo? And how can she trust the one man offering to help her fight, when he stands for everything she hates?
Dime Store Magic was a total change of pace in the Women of the Otherworld series. Going form Elena’s hard-edged, tough approach to life and her slightly psychotic lover to Paige and the trials of new-motherhood was a very interesting step. I loved the stark difference between the tone and personalities of the two heroines in this series. The inclusion of Elena and Clay within the storyline (even if it was a small one) also helped the transition between characters. This still felt like part of the same series, not just two books set in the same fantasy world.
The re-emergence of Leah was, admittedly a little terrifying. Take the woman who was partially responsible for all of the tragedy in Stolen and remove Paige’s back-up muscle. I was a little worried about how that scenario would end. But, as with all of Armstrong’s books (or at least the ones I have read so far), Paige and Savannah are able to find their own sense of power and embrace it. I think that this is what endears Armstrong’s book so much to me – the characters don’t necessarily start out as strong and independent, they are able to find their own power and self through the encounters that befall them.
Dime Store Magic begins with Paige Winterbourne at a crossroads in her life – the happenings of Stolen not only bought Savannah into her life, but it also led her to question her own self-assurances. She is forced to question her own infallibility and leave behind the delusions of youth. While her foundations are shaken, it takes a custody case, the appearance of an old enemy and the entrance of a sorcerer offering help that truly brings her world crashing down around her ears.
After being exiled and having her world completely destroyed, Paige is still able to come out with hope for the future. Another reason why I loved this book, no matter what happens to the heroine, there is always a happy ending, love and hope for the future.
Elena Michaels is a wanted woman. Ten years ago she was transformed into a werewolf by her lover. Her transformation makes her powerful. But in the wrong hands, it also makes her deadly.
And now, just as she’s coming to terms with it all, a group of scientists learns of her existence. They’re hunting her down, and Elena is about to run straight into their trap. But they haven’t reckoned on Elena’s adoptive family, her Pack, who will stop at nothing to get her back.
They haven’t reckoned on Elena, either. And that’s a very big mistake…
It’s taken me a while to read the second book in the Women of the Otherworld series. Mostly because I didn’t own it when I finished Bitten, and also a little because I have a LOT of other books that I want to read. But, even after all this time, it didn’t disappoint! I’m so glad that I have the whole series sitting in my bookcase, because I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.
Stolen reintroduced me to Elena and Clay, the most contemporary couple I have read about in a long time. I think that their very distinctiveness is what draws me so completely to this book. Elena is damaged. She admits that, the author admits that, we all get to understand that. And with no bones about her damaged, she has someone who is just as twisted as she is, albeit in other ways. Their ability to completely accept each other for this is so admirable. Plus, it’s nice to read about a truly damaged heroine – she’s not very nice at times, has an attitude and a tendency to completely disregard how her actions may affect others. Basically, everything that I can be at moments in my life, and the fact that she is blatantly aware of it just makes her storyline all the more impotent.
Stolenwas a story where the greed of science meets the insecurities of powerful men. As someone who studies science I’ve long been aware that the moralities of my actions and the ability to expand on current knowledge can be mutually exclusive. I loved investigating the point at which this can go completely wrong – using other human beings to expand on our medical knowledge is morally abhorrent, but it has the potential to give us new knowledge.
This book was a beautiful, well written reminder that the pursuit of knowledge is not the noblest pursuit – caring for one another is.
‘I’ve been fighting it all night. I’m going to lose… Nature wins out. It always does.’
Elena Michaels didn’t know that her lover Clay was a werewolf until he bit her, changing her life for ever. Betrayed and furious, she cannot accept her transformation, and wants nothing to do with her Pack – a charismatic group of fellow werewolves who say they want to help.
But when a series of brutal murders threatens the Pack, Elena is forced to make an impossible choice. Abandon the only people who truly understand her new nature, or help them to save the lover who ruined her life, and who still wants her back at any cost.
I first heard of this through the TV series, Bitten and thought that I’d buy the book out of sheer curiosity. I’m honestly a little over all of the paranormal romances (Twilight ruined them for me). But I read this book in a day. It was well written, with a strong, feisty (if not a little damaged) heroine. Exactly the type of book I love. 🙂
I enjoyed discovering more about Elena’s story as the journey unfolded – at the beginning she is just a blonde with a past and a secret. Yet, as the story unfolds, you find out about the past and the conflicts between the characters.
Unlike many of the paranormal romances and stories I’ve recently read, this one was a little edgy, not only in the characterisation of the heroine, but also through challenges she faces.
I am truly in love with edgy and stubborn heroines and this in combination of being placed within an all-male world made me want to read this story again and again and again.
Earth and Skye 