Bitten

Bitten (2001) Kelly Armstrong

I had several people recommend Bitten to me as a supernatural fantasy I’d enjoy. I started reading it, wasn’t interested, and then took it with me to the dentist. I discovered that by the time I got to the first chapter I was sucked in.

This story had excellent world and story building. We slowly discover not only how Elenda became a vampire, but what drew her away from the pack and to Toronto to live as a human. However, the story is more than that. The discovery of Elena’s past unfolds as she tries to help her pack discover who is placing the pack in danger, and why. It is the pace of these tandem discoveries that drew me so deeply into the story. I wanted to learn how Elena became a werewolf, how she became the way she was, and what would draw her from a life she supposedly cherishes.

Elena herself is an fascinating character. It is very interesting how Elena’s ideas about friendship and sexuality are based upon her time in the pack. I’m not necessarily comfortable with all the sex in the book–not because of the details or amount of boinking, but because I was somewhat bothered by her ability to switch partners so easily.
As usual, every author who writes supernatural fantasy creates their own rules for the creatures that inhabit their world, and those rules are based (sometimes loosely) upon the folklore that exists for those creatures. How much the authors chooses to keep and how much folklore they discard is something I find fascination, and it is one thing that keeps these supernatural fantasies fresh for me. Not only are the characters unique from book to book, but the rules that bind those characters are unique from book to book.

If you enjoy supernatural fantasy, then I recommend Bitten. And if the first couple pages don’t grab you, read the first chapter before you give up. There is a fair amount of boinking, but it’s not ridiculous, and it does serve to show the nature of her relationships and how those relationships change.
Rating: 7/10

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