Haunted

I think I fall in love with this series the more I read it. Eve is easily one of my favourites and I'm glad she has a whole book to herself. Kristoff is also a surprisingly great character and I really love his relationship with Eve. He's the perfect partner for her. It was great to see such a powerful character struggle. Eve seems to be perfect in every way but she can't let go of the living world even though she's dead. I think this was a great story about how Eve finally accepts her death and that her daughter will be just fine without her.
I could have done with the chapters in the Nix's POV but besides that this was a pretty quick read.

A stunning return-to-form by Armstrong after what I felt to be a bit of a sag in Industrial Magic (and trust me, a sag for Armstrong is like a filler episode of Battlestar Galactica; it may not be the best of the series, but it's still better than 99% of everything else out there!). I was skeptical about reading an entire book from the POV of a dead woman, but she went and got me!

Armstrong's version of the afterlife is incredible. It's something I could have only dreamed of, and now is pretty much what I hope the afterlife actually is. Hell, themed cities? Come on! It's incredible!

She also introduced one of my new favorite characters in the entire series -- Trsiel! He caught my attention like a character hasn't done since Clayton way show more back in the first book (those who have heard me discuss this book in any length know -- Clay is my favorite character by a long shot!). To be honest, I almost expected Eve to end up with him!

I adored this book. Five stars! show less

4.5 stars

Oh Eve! You broke my heart. I actually didn't expect that. I thought I'd see a somewhat cool demon-witch-ghost that was scary as hell, with a heart as black as night and a major bitch. Yes, I had misconceptions and yes, I'm ashamed of that.

From the second book of the series, Stolen, we know Eve was a "bad witch", one that used black magic to get whatever she wanted and she used her powers to help the wrong people, the ones that payed the highest price for her services. We also know that she's Savannah's mother. What that book and the other 2 following books don't show you is that Eve is capable of love, she knows what's right or wrong, she is capable of suffering and she would do anything for her daughter. Also, she is an show more honorable woman, even though she is kind of bad *grin* - once she makes a promise, she keeps it no matter what. She's also vulnerable. Now, don't think she isn't bad-ass, because she is and she can kick major ass. She's just very, very complex. And not what I expected.

I loved that we get to see her getting a second chance at love. And with the love of her life, Savannah's dad. Kris was also surprising. Though I was expecting him to be more...Cabal-ish? Mean? Different from the other sorcerer and Cabal relative, Lucas Cortez.

There's one thing that made me too sad and the reason I can't give this book the highest rating: the ending. It didn't feel like a happy ending. I know, I know, the bad guy is captured and punished, Kris and Eve get back together, nobody dies and Eve gets to redeem herself. But I felt it was bittersweet. The very last scene left me kind of raw and on the verge of tears actually. And it wasn't in a good, "oh, I so understand what this character is going through" kind of tears, it was more along the lines of "crap, this is so unfair! *sniff*sniff*". That's basically the only thing that I wished was different. Other than that, I loved it and I hope there's another Eve/Kris story in the next books/short stories.

Now I'm off to read Broken. (I wanted to wait, read one book per month, for the entire duration of the Women Of The Otherworld reading challenge BUT: 1. I can't wait a month to read the next one, I love this series so much and 2. I'm ready for a certain someone and a certain hot male to get together, which I hope will happen in Thirteen. ) show less

Eve Levine, witch, half-demon and general supernatural bad ass is a ghost. She jumped the gun a while back protecting her daughter and ended up dead in an unmarked grave, now she’s pottering about the afterlife trying to find a purpose and stalking her daughter. Her whole life has revolved around protecting her daughter for so long – but there’s nothing she can do but watch in her afterlife.

And the Fates are vaguely irritated with her – because she does a very good job of being irritating. But they have a task for her and her very very unique way of looking at things – her ruthlessness, her highly grey moral code and her determination to get things done. And she owes them a favour after they let Lucas and Paige out of the show more afterlife.

So she has a task to hunt down a Nix – a task that has previously been given to angels who have failed rather dismally. The Fates hope someone with her grey moral code may have a better chance against the conniving, dangerous and devious Nix. Of course, her angel partner believes that the Fates have other schemes in mind

It also gives her a chance to grow and experience the afterlife beyond the obsession with checking with Savannah – but does she embrace her new role, especially since it comes with the ability to influence the real world – and possibly be Savannah’s real protector – but at the same time tie her to her mortal daughter rather than moving on with her afterlife.

Storywise, this is an extremely good mystery. Not that they don’t know who did it – but the sheer difficulty of trying to capture the Nix is a mystery in and of itself. She can teleport, she could be anywhere in the world, she flips from mind to mind leaving a path of destruction in her wake. The difficulty of finding her – let alone capturing and containing her – is a difficult puzzle on its own.

This involves a mystery that has them jumping back and forth around the US and Scotland, jumping to different historical murders, trying to find an edge and constantly surprising the Fates with Eve’s fun, twisty ways of completely leaving the Fates standing (and bemusement why they just won’t let her kill people!) as well as heartstopping when the Nix shows she’s a dangerous quarry to hunt and attacks Eve however she can as well – including through her family.

The pacing’s extremely good – there were no slow periods even when Eve was frustrated by lack of information and leads.

I love the twists, the realm jumping and all the different murders. The flashbacks to the minds of the Nix’s different partners are both fascinating and disturbing – this book really captures the mindset of the murde3rers in a way that is pretty chilling to read and really well written.

There are a lot of scenes in the book that are really well written with a lot of emotion- Eve’s fear, her worry, her anger, the grief of the victims, the rage of the attackers are all really well conveyed – it’s one of those books where you can feel what is being written.

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Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

I can't remember what were my original thoughts on this book; no doubt I enjoyed it because it is Kelley Armstrong after all but, Haunted made quite the impression on me this time around. I've always been a fan of Eve Levine's character. She's not a clear cut good guy or bad guy which makes her POV interesting to read because you never know what to expect. Armstrong's creativity really shines through in this installment by opening up an all new supernatural universe, that of the afterlife.

The world-building in this book is outstanding and limited only by Kelley's imagination which is pretty much boundless. Both of the main characters are dead so obviously the regular rules of engagement don't apply. Eve's show more assignment takes her to hell and back, literally, but only after she visits the pirate dimension first of course. Armstrong makes good use of this series' supernatural cast by having each character play a small but important role. The spotlight obviously belongs to Eve and Kristof but I liked how she found a way to include almost everyone.

The Nix steals the cake as this series' ultimate big bad to date. Every couple of chapters readers get to go back in time and relive one of this demoness' past atrocities, each more gruesome than the last. This girl thrives on chaos and has honed her evil ways over centuries. It takes a monster to hunt a monster so the fates send Eve Levine.

Eve's one of the more entertaining narrators of the Women of the Otherworld. I always expect that Paige and Elena will do the "right thing" but when it comes to Levine you never know. She's a bad guy turned good, kinda. Eve's a little more practical than most heroines and doesn't share their moral qualms. She fiercely protects those in her inner circle but the rest of the population is expendable. Levine will throw an old lady holding a baby in front of a bus to protect her daughter without a moment's hesitation. That's just the kind of person she is. Ooh, I forgot to mention that she's a half-demon / black magic witch on top of being a ghost and a potential angel contender. It's always all or nothing with Eve, she doesn't do anything half-assed, just another one of the reasons why I adore her so.

Haunted is one of the darker, more gory installments of this series but that's what makes it so exceptional. I'm happy that the story's going to veer back to the werewolves in the next book, Broken, but I enjoyed my stay in Eve Levine's world. show less

Eve has always been an interesting character to me, and was made even more so from the last book, where we meet her in the ghost world and she helps Paige. So, I was happy when I found out that the next book in the series followed her as a main character. She’s the sort of badass heroine who takes an incredibly pragmatic approach to situations; she sets her own moral standards and lives by her own rules. If a person is a bad person, kill them. Killing isn’t morally justified? Says who? That’s sort of Eve’s stance on a lot of situations.

This story is more of a thriller than anything else — an evil possession demon is on the loose; one who gives her host courage and power to do horrible things like go on a serial murder spree or show more shoot up a YMCA. She’s been running rampant for centuries, possessing such famous killers as Lizzie Borden, among others. In exchange for them helping page, the Fates have called on Eve to return the favor by helping them out and catching this demon. Along with the chase and investigation, we get lots of Eve and Kristoff moments; he still loves her and wants to make an afterlife together with her — one they never got while living, but she’s still hesitant. One of the best parts of this book is Eve’s slow acceptance/realization of just how much she loves this man.

It’s a fun read that had some nice plot twists while also staying within the realm of possibilities (though it’s a really, really big realm for this series). Eve has taken the place of one of my favorite characters ever. I’m not as invested in her relationship with Kristoff as I am with Paige and Lucas, but I like her overall way more than I enjoy any of the other characters. She’s just awesome and smart and complicated and really, really fun to have as a main character. As always, familiar characters make their appearances throughout the course of this story, and it’s always fun to see them from another character’s perspective. With the thriller aspect and the amazing characters Armstrong has created, you really can’t go wrong with this series, and this book is no exception.

Also posted on Purple People Readers. show less

Eve Levine is a black witch with a disregard for following the rules, and "kick-butt-ask-questions-later attitude" - it matters very little that she is a ghost. Eve has been inhabiting the ghost world for the past three years - popping out to check on her teenage daughter Savannah from time to time, and generally being resident pain-in-the-tookus to the Fates.

In Industrial Magic, the Fates did a little favor for Eve and now they're ready to collect. Eve must capture the depraved demi-demon the Nix, and return her wicked soul to the hell she so richly deserves. To find and defeat the Nix, Eve will need the help of celebrity necromancer Jamie Vegas and an angel named Trsiel. If Eve completes her task, she will quite literally earn her show more wings. If she fails, the Nix will send her to a place where she'll never be seen or heard from again. The stakes are high, and Eve thought she had this afterlife stuff all figured out...

I wasn't all that excited to start this book. I knew it was about Eve, and I just wasn't interested in her. She was killed in book 2, Stolen - a victim of a madman with more money than he knew what to do with. And I was ok with her story ending there. Fortunately though, I'm a "completest" - I can't just stop reading a series that I'm invested in. Otherwise, I would have missed out on a wonderfully entertaining story.

Haunted is every bit as good as its predecessors. Armstrong's writing gets better and better with each new book. Haunted is a truly original story in a series that is chock-full of original stories. She weaves together a masterful tale of the paranormal world that leaves the reader breathless with anticipation for the next book! show less