Elena Michaels is a successful journalist living in Toronto. To the outside world (including her nice "normal" live-in boyfriend Phillip,) Elena is an attractive, athletic young woman, but she has a secret - Elena is the only living female werewolf. After leaving her pack a year ago to pursue a "normal" future for herself - decent man, career, family - Elena is called back to help hunt some werewolves that are endangering the safety of the pack.

Bitten is a well-written piece of paranormal-romance goodness! Dark and delicious, the story and history of the pack made for compelling reading that was difficult to put down. Full of action and drama, the relationships between the pack members were complicated and emotionally truthful. The characters in Bitten were fantastic. Kelley Armstrong wrote a wonderfully realistic female character in Elena - complex, witty, and strong enough to stand toe-to-toe with the big-baddies. I also loved the sense of family that I felt when reading about the pack. The members of the pack were incredibly supportive of one another and protective.

Bitten was a pleasant surprise for me. When starting a new series you just never know what you're going to get, but Bitten was a remarkable debut novel for Kelley Armstrong. I read a lot of books in this particular genre and I was awed by Armstrong's originality. I am anxious to get my hands on the next book in the series, Stolen. ( )

Bitten is the first novel of Kelley Armstrong's that i have read. Considering the genre, I went in a bit cautiously. After all, this is a genre that has seen more than its share of abuse.

However, I'm pleased to say that I was pleasantly surprised by Armstrong's efforts. It wasn't perfect, but it is more than satisfying.

One of the first things that really jumped out at me is how Armstrong utilizes werewolves in her writing. Many authors fall into the salivating monsters stereotype that has run rampant in the werewolf genre. Armstrong takes a different tack and puts some welcome intelligence in her wolves. Her wolves have healthy pack dynamics and the wolf isn't necessarily something the human side has to chain down, but another part of themselves that can be enjoyed. These aren't rabid beasts with helpful plot contrivances, but predators with a human face. Especially intriguing was the idea of a werewolf who did not maintain a leadership position through violent means. Of course, not all of the wolves are civilized; however, Armstrong's take is different enough to be a relief from overdone stereotypes. Armstrong's tackling of the difficulty the wolves have living in an urbanized environment and their joy in nature was also interesting. I found myself really enjoying Elena's diversions and Armstrong's writing gave those scenes a pleasant touch of reality in an utterly unrealistic setting.

Another thing I was pleased to see is the rationalization behind the lack of female werewolves. This is a fact often taken for granted in other authors writings and it is utterly aggravating. Limiting the number of female werewolves without explanation seems to serve as a crutch for some authors. Either it serves to make their central female character special/unique/without competition or it allows the author to write with minimal female interference (which is odd considering so many authors in this genre are female). While Elena does border on the too special for words at some points, Armstrong does address this gender difference by weaving in some information that experiments had been done and that it is an issue of confusion for the werewolves themselves. It is not a complete answer, but it is enough to make the difference intriguing rather that annoying.

Turning from the werewolf side slightly, the human sides are just as complex. Clay in particular stood out. At first I was worried that Clay would just be another testosterone filled werewolf with an attitude problem. But he's not just a thug, he is an interesting character with actual motivations, desires, and feelings. His relationship with Elena isn't just one thing, hate or love, it contains multiple facets. I will say that I wasn't too fond of the first physical scene between the two characters - it was one of the few stumbles in the book for me.

Overall, Armstrong's Bitten definitely deserves a read if only to see how a fun a healthy and supportive pack dynamic can be. Other authors may like to lean on the easy plots of unstable packs, but I found Armstrong's pack dealings with the world around them and their relationships with out of pack werewolves to be more original and, subsequently, far more entertaining. ( )

Finally, a story that delivers more on the strengths of being a female (and a werewolf to boot) in modern society, than focusing on the whining and angst that has become so tiresome and common in "alternate world" novels today. Watch out Anita Blake, because Elena Michaels will kick your butt with nary a glance back!

"Bitten" is a awesome first novel because first and foremost-it is well-written, an achievement that many popular alternateverse authors cannot lay claim too.

The story is punctuated with the real world problems of city dweller Elena Michaels who has voluntarily left the shelter of her Pack and has turned her back on her true nature: being a lycanthrope. She is unerringly drawn back into the Pack, when they are faced with the double threat of exposure and a turf war that has spilled into the "real" human world.

Also, coming back to the Pack puts her once again into the path of her mate Clayton, whose relationship issues lay sticky and unresolved. Elena is more of a "get 'er done" girl, and while she struggles with her true nature, you don't hear her crying about it for long. No "whah-whah's" over spilt blood here, just a quick slash of a claw and she's takin' care of business!

Greeeaaat read, that delivers on all levels. Great action, characters, sex! It was hard to put down! ( )

This is one of my favorite books of all time. It's a journey of self discovery where the main character must confront the truth about herself. ( )

This dragged for me, although I really liked a couple of her other books. ( )