Review – 13 (Women of the Otherworld #13) by Kelley Armstrong

Description:
War is coming to the Otherworld. A sinister cult known as The Supernatural Liberation Movement is hell-bent on exposing the truth about supernaturals to the rest of the world. Their violent, ruthless plan has put everyone at risk: from werewolves to vampires, from witches to half-demons.

Savannah Levine – fiery and unpredictable – stands at the heart of the maelstrom. There is a new, dark magic inside her, granting her the power to summon spells of terrifying strength. But whether this magic is a gift or a curse, no one knows.

On the eve of battle, all the major players must come together in a last, desperate fight for survival – Elena and Clay; Adam and Savannah; Paige and Lucas; Jeremy and Jaime; Hope, Eve and more…They are fighting for lives.

They are fighting for their loved ones.

They are fighting for the Otherworld.

Thirteen By Kelley Armstrong

Reading the finale to Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series is bittersweet. I fell in love with her work after I read Bitten, (book 1). I was looking for a grown-up book centered around shifters/wolves, and I have to say, it’s still one of my favorites. Elena and Clay have this chemistry that can’t be denied. (-Yes, I admit a special place in my heart belongs to Clayton Danvers) In most urban fantasy series, the stories are written in first person point of view, and star a central narrator throughout. Initially this is what I expected of the Otherworld series; Elena to lead us through the series. When reading Dime Store Magic (book 3), featuring Paige Winterbourne, a coven witch as the narrator who we’d met in the previous book, I was a bit apprehensive about the departure from the norm. But after a few chapters I fell in love with Paige, and eventually Lucas and realized that Kelley was on to something. Witnessing the Otherworld from the eyes of different players gave the whole ‘world’ more depth. I stumbled on to the series several years into it, I got the joy of reading the first 8 books back to back. (That’s my favorite way to dive into a series, all gluttonous!) :)The prologue and epilogue in Thirteen go a long way in helping the reader understand the vision that Kelley had from the series early on, and I applaud the evil genius at work! This waiting a whole year between releases is HARD!!

I would say each of the books could be read as a stand alone, except these last two. That said, you would enjoy them more if you are familiar with all the books. I felt like the cliffhanger at the end of Spellbound (book 12) straight through to the conclusion of Thirteen, really seemed like one long book. So much so, I was glad I re-read Spellbound just before I started Thirteen.

The last three books feature Savannah Levine as the narrator. We met Savannah early in the series (Stolen, book 2) and we’ve watched her grow up in the ‘family’ of our Otherworld leading ladies since the death of her mother at the young age of 12. She’s an anomaly born to a powerful witch/half demon (Eve Levine) and a high level sorcerer father (Kristof Nast). She’s now a full grown, beautiful, athletic leading heroine, blessed with long raven hair, unbelievably long legs and piercing Nast blue eyes.

Savannah’s magic has always been strong and as much a part of her as breathing, she’s gifted with magic from both parents giving her more power than most and all the dark connections to make it fun. She’s lost her spells in Spellbound and it rocks her to the core. She learns to look at life in totally new way without the gifts she’s always taken for granted. Savannah’s cocky and unfiltered the way teenagers and young adults sometimes are, but losing her power is a dent in her signature bravado. She still hasn’t gotten her full power back, and it’s weakness she never planned on having to cope with.

Her longtime crush and now co-worker at Cortez-Winterborne Investigations, Adam Vasic,(he’s an adorable, sexy demon half-breed with the ability to induce flames right from his fingertips!) has evolved from pre-teen fascination to an adult attraction. Adam has always been fun and sweet and behaved appropriately given the large age gap between them. But in the back of my mind I was always hoping they’d be an item eventually. I think Savannah thought she’d turn 18 and he’d suddenly admit his love for her was more than just the close friendship they’ve shared, and it’d all be cake. She’s had his attention for so long she sort of takes it for granted. She’s been disappointed it didn’t escalate like she planned. I think it’s for the better- Savannah had to really grow up before he took her seriously and I loved watching their relationship evolve amidst all the chaos swirling around the last two installments. Adam too, has grown so much from his initial appearance in the series, and in many ways they have matured together, making them a perfect match with a deep bond built over years of funny banter and harmless flirting.

Thirteen picks up immediately where Spellbound ended. The state of the Otherworld as we know it crumbling and all the metaphysical laws we’ve come to believe are being broken. Lord Demons are orchestrating minions on the surface, celestial beings are crossing over, and chaos ensues at every corner. Savannah is right in the thick of it as usual! The paranormal mystery unfolds little by little and never disappoints.

Kelley’s gift for romantic tension and witty dialog are apparent throughout Thirteen. Her characters are so strong you can feel their personality in every scene. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite. I will say there were several places that had me in knots and in tears. Every major player we’ve seen in every previous book is here! I am amazed she was able to tie all the stories together so neatly.

Thirteen is an action packed roller coaster and the twists and turns are so enthralling you’ll want to read it cover to cover in one sitting. Of course, getting to the heat between Savannah and Adam, is a big motivator as well, the sexual tension has only been building forever!

I am sad to see the Otherworld close, but I’m hoping for a future series from Kelley Armstrong. She’s a major player in Urban Fantasy and I have no doubt she’ll be back. ~Ava