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Stolen

Kelley Armstrong

5 stars
18,671 (40%)
4 stars
17,285 (37%)
3 stars
8,075 (17%)
2 stars
1,393 (3%)
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436 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,617 reviews
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Choko
1,200 reviews2,583 followers
October 22, 2017
*** 4 ***

A buddy read with my friend V at the MacHalo Freaks!

"...“Another werewolf thing. Like most animals, we spent a large part of our lives engaged in the three Fs of basic survival. Feeding, fighting and... reproduction.” ..."

This was so much fun! Not ha-ha fun, but it was engaging and very intense! The first book was mostly us being introduced to Elena and Clay, her lover and mate, who had turned her into the werewolf she is now. Despite them being comfortable and lovey-dovey at this time, it wasn't all rainbows and roses after he bit her and made her into the first living female werewolf. He has his excuses, but Clay is very much a sociopath, only keeping within the "norms" because of his very limited contact with people at large and the strong handed guidance by his Alpha, Jeremy. He is gorgeous and loyal, so I guess there are things to be said about his personality, but I think personally, if I had to deal with him, one of us would have been dead by our third encounter. The way he treats regular humans is horrible and I strongly dislike that... However, Elena is mostly OK, for a girl who has many reasons not to trust anyone, particularly male, having been abused as a foster kid and later with Clay's betrayal...

"...“I never tell that story. I hate it. Hate, hate, hate it. I refuse to let my past explain my present. I grew up, I grew up stronger, I overcame it. End of story. From the time I was old enough to realize that my problems were not my fault, I'd decided not to shift the blame to all of those foster families, but to get rid of it. Throw it out. Move on. I could imagine no fate worse than becoming someone who tells the story of her dysfunctional childhood to every stranger on the bus. If I did well in life, I wanted people to say I did well, not that I did well "all things considered." My past was a private obstacle, not a public excuse.” ..."

I like Elena even with all of her issues, maybe because of them. She has been dealing with the Pack's rule enforcement outside of the territory and someone has scheduled a meet to sell her information on some mutts. It turns out, the appointments open her eyes to more supernatural creatures and a danger hovering over all of them. Someone is hunting them and they are disappearing, causing alarm for all. Despite the confidence that she could handle herself and her safety, Elena gets captured and the bulk of the book is her and her relationships with her captors and the others captured. We even get a newly made werewolf and to me, that was the most interesting dynamic in all the arcs... I am not giving up the ending, but you guys have to read it, even if the first book seemed to info-dump heavy to flow easily. I will be the first one to admit that the first book was more of a chore than a pleasure, but this second book is nothing but action and tension... Give the second book a try before quitting the series, that is all I need to say:)

"...“Now I was standing in a forest grove with a witch, a half-demon, a vampire, and a shaman, planning to put an end to a nefarious plot to usurp our powers and alter the path of humankind. Talk about your conspiracy theories.” ..."

The author writes in a manner that draws you in and you need to know what happens despite yourself. It is not a fancy prose, nor is it pedestrian in any way, but it fits the manner of storytelling and the Urban Fantasy Genre of the early 2000's. Although it is a bit dated, it is worth giving a try - you will not be disappointed!

"...“I was very strict on that point. No devouring classmates." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Other parents warn their kids not to talk to strangers. I had to warn mine not to eat them.” ..."

Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you need in the pages of a good book!
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Heather
293 reviews13.9k followers
September 15, 2009
I was thoroughly entranced by Bitten and could not wait to devour Stolen. While I was initially hoping for more of the same, i.e., Clay, Elena and The Pack, I knew that the Were world would not be the main focus of this story. I have to admit, at first I was a bit put out. Who cares about witches, demons, vamps and the lot? I want to run, and hunt and drool over Clay! Regardless of my hopes, I sat down with Stolen and attempted to put my pre-conceived notions aside, after all, Kelley Armstrong hadn’t failed me yet, and after having finished Stolen, I wondered if she ever will. It was superb!

Bitten fans be warned, Stolen is nothing like it’s predecessor, I wouldn’t even consider it a sequel, as Bitten was written to be a stand alone novel and it is obvious from the start that Stolen was written with the intent of it being the beginning of a series. Therefore, I offer this advice, as you read Stolen, try to think of it as the first book of a series that just so happens to include your favorite characters from Bitten. Rest assured, Clay and Jeremy are still present. There are still chemistry filled moments between Clay and Elena, their relationship still evokes butterflies and laughs, though thankfully, they have moved beyond their troubles that plagued them in Bitten. Elena continues to narrate and provide us with her snide, aloof comments and preconceived misconceptions; however, the world as Elena knew it is gone.

As Stolen opens, Elena is following a lead about a potential werewolf killing. What Elena finds; however, is an intent pair of witches desperately attempting to contact her with the hopes of enlisting the pack's assistance in tracking down a scientific group who is capturing people for an occult menagerie. Initially skeptical, Elena becomes a true believer when she herself is stalked and ultimately captured. What follows is and action filled story, overflowing with new and intriguing characters that will leave your heart racing and your adrenaline singing as you gobble up every last word.

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Woman Reading
431 reviews270 followers
April 7, 2021
3.5 ☆

Stolen is a mostly fast-paced sequel that can nonetheless be read as a standalone. It is written in the first-person POV of Elena Michaels, who had a rough childhood.
I never tell that story. I hate it. Hate, hate, hate it. I refuse to let my past explain my present... I could imagine no fate worse than becoming someone who tells the story of her dysfunctional childhood to every stranger on the bus. If I did well in life, I wanted people to say I did well, not that I did well "all things considered." My past was a private obstacle, not a public excuse.

After the events of the debut novel Bitten, Elena finally accepts her dual nature as a werewolf and the only female one to boot. This book reveals more about Clayton and Jeremy - the other key werewolves in her life.
"You, Clayton, and me. Three housemates, all with rotten childhoods. What are the chances?"
"Clay had a good childhood."
"Barring the small matter of being turned into a werewolf at the age of five and spending the next few years hiding in the bayou, eating rats and drunks."
"I meant after that. After you rescued him. He's always said that he had a good childhood at Stonehaven."
"When he wasn't being expelled from school for dissecting the class guinea pig?"
"It was already dead."

"I was very strict on that point. No devouring classmates." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Other parents warn their kids not to talk to strangers. I had to warn mine not to eat them."

In Stolen, Armstrong expands her world to introduce more supernatural beings. The first hint of trouble comes in the prologue, as an unidentified person is pursued through the woods by baying dogs and armed men. Armstrong briefly sketches the background or lore of the other supernatural types, who have united against a common enemy. From the GR synopsis - "ruthless Internet billionaire Tyrone Winsloe, who has funded a bogus scientific investigation of the "other races" and their supernatural powers" - is the villain.
Now I was standing in a forest grove with a witch, a half-demon, a vampire, and a shaman, planning to put an end to a nefarious plot to usurp our powers and alter the path of humankind. Talk about your conspiracy theories.

Stolen caught my interest right away and the storyline progressed quickly. I can't say though that the plotline was original. Even Elena quipped that it had been done during a subpar season of "Buffy the Vampire." The villains were also overused tropes - the sadistic tech mogul and the detached Asian (racial stereotyping!) scientist. Moments of emotional lightness from Elena's relationships mitigated the tension.
“Making me choose? Darling, we live with the guy. We share a house, bank accounts, even vacations. We're never alone and I've never heard you utter one word of complaint. You have never asked me to choose, and you have no idea how grateful I am for that, because if I ever had to pick, it would be you, no matter what that meant for the Pack.”


#1 Bitten 3.5 ☆
#6 Broken 3.5 ☆
#7 No Humans Involved 3.5 ☆
#10 Frostbitten 4 ☆

Men of the Otherworld #1 3.5 ☆ rounded up
Tales of the Otherworld #2 3.5 ☆
Otherworld Nights #3 3.5 ☆
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Danielle The Book Huntress *Pluto is a Planet!*
2,611 reviews6,192 followers
July 7, 2010
Stolen was nothing like I expected. Well, I wasn't sure what to expect, actually. Ms. Armstrong expanded the world she created in Bitten, to encompass other paranormal beings, adding witches, sorcerers, demons, and vampires to the mix. I liked how it was very much in the mode of realistic and everyday. The origins of these beings are not clearly stated, but speculated on. She doesn't ascribe good or bad characteristics to them overall, other than the sorcerers tendency to be more on the bad side, mostly due to the bad blood between them and witches.

This ended up being a slowly-unfolding, but at the same time, intense read. There seemed to be a strong underlying theme to this story about the necessity of violence. Accordingly, there's quite a bit of violence, most of it warranted, as Elena and the other paranormal beings she becomes acquainted with find themselves fighting for their lives and freedom. There's also some violence that made me squirm. Some of the actions of Elena, Clay, and Jeremy fall very much in the moral gray area, if you were to consider them human beings, with the ascribed moral absolutes that go along with humanity. However, they are not humans--they are werewolves, and their actions tend to show that aspect of their natures. Even still, Elena, Clay, and Jeremy are different in their approaches to situations. Jeremy is the most self-controlled--his actions governed by reason and what is best for the Pack. Elena is more likely to help others who are not Pack. Clay thinks only of his mate, Elena, and the Pack. Nothing else matters to him. He'll take care of others to make Elena happy. But, otherwise, he wouldn't go out of his way to do something that didn't benefit the Pack. In essence, Clay is pure wolf, even though he walks in human skin. As a whole, they kill, and it's more out of expedience at times, than an absolute need to do so. But, Elena doesn't make excuses for her actions. She admits that there would be another way, but this way turns out to be the best for the circumstance. While a part of me was somewhat troubled by these killings, I couldn't escape the reality of the fact that those that Elena, Jeremy, and Clay killed were men and women who had showed a lack of respect and value for the lives of the paranormal beings they had stalked, kidnapped and held captive. And, faced with the villain in this story, it's clear what is worse: to kill out of necessity, or to kill for the fun of it. Tyrone Winslow is a geeky, billionaire computer genius who decided that he likes the idea of a real life death match in which he makes the paranormals run for their lives, with no sure chance of escape. Why? Because he's a megalomaniac, craving power, and even in the most petty ways. Because it's fun for him, and because he can. He came off as petty and completely objectionable, showing how loathesome he was in his power struggles with Elena, and how he interacted with his employees at the place where they were imprisoning the paranormals. For all my qualms about the killing of people in this book, I didn't feel too bad for him when Elena and Clay turned the tables on him. He got his just deserts.

Stolen introduces the witch characters Paige and Savannah, who will play major roles in this series. I must say my interest was perked, and I do look forward to reading their stories. However, the highlight of this story was seeing Clay and Elena, and their relationship. Clay would do just about anything for Elena. His love is powerful and steadfast. And in this story, you can see that Elena does love him just as much, whereas in Bitten, she was running from that feeling and trying to avoid acknowledging that she loved Clay. They just felt right together. Jeremy was fascinating, and there was tantalizing bits of him in this story that make me want to see more of him.

Stolen was a book that took some investment on my part to read. But it turned out to be worth the time spent. It wasn't quite as fascinating to me as Bitten, and I'm not sure why. But I did like seeing the development of Elena. She seemed more multi-faceted in this story. I saw more of her humor, and her emotional depth that I didn't quite see in Bitten. Although slow-moving at times, this was a good follow-up to Bitten.
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Brownbetty
343 reviews164 followers
July 19, 2009
This is the seventh girl-werewolf book I've read in the last seven days. I swear I didn't plan this, I just have no sense of self-preservation when it comes to books. I think I'll need werewolf detox after this, although I'm not sure what would do it. Someone's autobiographical account of the summer they spent in Ireland, learning to love the peace and quiet.

Here's what I love about Elena; she's an unreliable narrator, and a sociopath. She doesn't know she's a sociopath. She talks about how, unlike her lover, Clayton, she just can't kill without remorse; this is a total lie. She just happens to perform a slightly different calculus than Clayton when deciding whether or not to kill someone, and comes down on the 'not' side slightly more often.

However, since she values fitting in, and is aware that humans tend to frown on cold-blooded murder, she would like to not be a murderer. Which is why she hesitates to kill.

Okay, the book doesn't actually say that, but that's my reading, and I stand by it.

In this book, Elena is wolfnapped by your standard cadre of unhinged scientists and crazy billionaires, and manages to rescue herself in trying circumstances. Warning for threats of sexual violence, and intermittent skeeziness. Also, this book is where the reader first meets Paige, who comes across as fairly annoying, which is awesome, although I think it may be why I never really like Armstrong's books where she is the protagonist.
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Briar's Reviews
1,828 reviews507 followers
July 30, 2018
Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors, and not just because she's Canadian! Her Women of the Otherworld series has always and will always knock my socks off!

This novel follows Elena yet again, but as the title suggests - this time she is "Stolen". This book amps up the action, making it equal (if not better) to the original "Bitten" novel. I found this book so strong as a sequel, that it was really hard not picking up the third book immediately after this one! Elena and her pack, as well as the rest of the ladies that eventually lead this series, are a force to be reckoned with! Kelley knows how to write her characters strong and passionate!

This series is definitely for adults (although, there is a YA series if you're interested...), due to some of the brutality the story can get into. It's not an R rated novel, but the themes are better suited for adults (some mature YA audiences could easily read it, I know I originally read these as a teenager).

I also really enjoy Elena and Clay together. Their relationship isn't the smoothest, and it has it's rocky moments, but they work really well together. Knowing that their relationship builds well over multiple books, I can look back and be impressed with how Kelley built them over time. The other characters and their relationships are also very strong, but these two really shine in the Elena books.

Kelley will pull you in and have you hooked almost instantly. If you haven't read anything by her, get on it! I love this author, and she always meets my expectations and surpasses them!

If there was one series I'd highly recommend, it's this series! It has drama, action, adventure, romance and comedy all packaged into a fantastic Canadian series! It's well worth the read, and worth every penny I've spent on this series (even when I accidentally bought doubles and triples of the books, because I forgot the order...whoops!). If I did have one recommendation, try not to read this series far apart from each other. I find it's a great binge read, because the story is so full of lore and excitement!

And if you couldn't get enough of this series, there's a television show based off of the book (it's pretty close for first season, but second and third are loosely based - but it's still incredble!).

Five out of five stars! Can I make that six out of five? No? Darn. I guess it'll stick to five!
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Wren (fablesandwren)
675 reviews1,501 followers
September 17, 2020
WrensReads Review:

So Stolen is the second book of this marvelous series. It is as well written and introduces important characters for the books to come. It also introduces other types of super-human type species.

That's right folks, there aren't just werewolves anymore.



For example,

Half Demons: Father is a demon, Mother is a human. They get superhuman powers from their good ole' dad
Witches: Women with magic
Sorcerers: Men with magic
Shamans: Something about being able to deal with spirits

But, luckily for us, it is still narrated by our favorite female-werewolf: Elena.

This story starts out that Elena and Jeremy meet two women who claim they have evidence of werewolves existence. They play the part of people who believe, but the two ladies actually tell them about their (Elena and Jeremy's) personal life and their pack. Hits too close to home. They claim to be witches.

She doesn’t believe a word they are saying.

Then she gets attacked. She believes words they are saying.

They go to this "meeting of the otherworldly-ins" and they believe they are getting set up. They really just don't want to deal with the fact that there are other supernatural beings out there and want to go back to just focusing on themselves and their own ways.

Elena gets attacked… again again.



This time though, she is captured and taken to some scientific headquarters were they have other super human people and know all about her (why does everyone know about her, seriously? Was there a newsletter we missed?) and want to know everything more about her species and others alike.

Obviously that’s not okay. How would you like to be captured by a hunt-crazed, lust-driven lunatic, an unstable business woman, a science-driven mad man, a teleporting cocky half-demon with a bunch of other messed up super people?

This is one of my favorite stories in this series. It is interesting to see how humans react when they find out about the super-natural word. In all seriousness, this would be exactly what would happen because humans would hate to know there is something out there that is better than them.

And they would want to have it for themselves. So they can be top dog again.

I love this series and I love Armstrong’s writing. I don’t know how many more times I can say that and not be labeled as a creepy fan-stalker girl. Sorry not sorry.

Read these books. You won’t be disappointed I SWEAR.
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Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁
1,258 reviews8,706 followers
April 4, 2022
Since reading The Most Dangerous Game in middle school (high school?), I've, and I'm sure you've, come across six or ten other variations of it--movies, tv shows, books, etc. This one is probably my favorite.

That said, The Most Dangerous Game and any variation of it cannot help but be seriously creepy.

What makes Armstrong's version better than the others is that it combines scientific (paranormal) research with the standard hunting of sentient beings. Also, Stolen takes that hunting to the next level by using the leftover (after all the data has been recorded) supernatural beings for the hunts. Werewolves are witches and demons are WAY more exciting to hunt than your average human, right?

Like I said. Creepy.

This book is also where we learn that the Otherworld series is not going to be limited to werewolves.

Not as amazing a story as Bitten, in my opinion, but still very good.
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Kat Kennedy
475 reviews16.2k followers
May 10, 2010
I've just finished Stolen which is the sequel to Bitten.

As you can expect with Bitten, the writing was the same quality. The old characters that we love (the ones that appeared in this novel) were great.

The storyline was intense and gripping.

I got frustrated with the "Stolen" part of the story and wished that there'd been just a little more Clay sneaked in.

Other than that, if you liked the first then you'll like this book!
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vale pao
644 reviews358 followers
November 22, 2010
Not what I expected, which is good as I thought I would not like this book much. I did like it more than the first installment in this series though. Still, I need more. Something was just missing, but the series is really good, definitely worth to read.

In Stolen we get to read about Elena again, the heroine from book 1. Elena is a werewolf, and the only female werewolf that has ever existed. In book 1 we see how she struggles to understand her wolf and accept it. It took her a while but she did. She also accepted Clay, the werewolf she fell in love with and the one who turned her into one without her permission. While in book 1 it got a bit annoying to see them fighting and Elena trying to avoid him, in this installment we see them extremely in love with one another and totally comfortable with it, which was a very positive change. Clay is super hot, I just love him, he is this super strong and powerful werewolf who is more wolf than human. He also is extremely overprotective, jealous and narrow-minded, qualities I usually hate but Clay made me love them. I just love this couple. It's like they could be very annoying analyzed separately buy by being together they get the best of themselves out for us to see.

But this is not a romance at all, actually there is almost no romance in it as Elena spends 70% of the book in a prison. I know it sound bad, but it isn't. It took me such a long time to get to read this book because many had told me this and I thought it would be totally lame, but it wasn't, not at all. I loved the plot. We see Elena imprisoned by a crazy multimillionaire who wants to study and torture supernatural beings. It sound like a stereotype but it isn't, because the whole time you get new info to understand things and you get to know the characters and sympathize with them a lot more.

Now I'm not giving 5 stars to this book because I needed a much more shocking and powerful ending, one which was as good as the rest of the book. But we do not get that. It is as if the author got without any more pages left and decided to finish the book with a closing phrase. Not good. I need more. I will be reading more books in the series, although I am extremely disappointed to see they are not about Elena and Clay, but about Paige, a character I did not care at all.
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Wanda Pedersen
1,862 reviews369 followers
September 24, 2018
2.5 stars

I read this book to fill the Shifters square of my 2018 Halloween Bingo card.

I just don’t know quite know why this series doesn’t grab me. It had been a year since I’d read the first book and I was actually looking forward to this second installment. The assumptions in Urban Fantasy are always ridiculous to those who don’t like the genre, but this one seemed a bit more ridiculous than most.

Take an ultra-insensitive billionaire, add his secret prison for supernatural creatures, and shake it up with the plot line of Richard Connell’s short story The Most Dangerous Game, and you get Stolen. The first book limited itself completely to werewolves and was all about Elena coming to terms with her life as a member of that community. Hey presto, this book suddenly produces a whole range of other supernatural folk not hinted at in book one—vampires, witches, demons, shamans and sorcerers. Might as well go whole hog, I guess.

I’m not sure why some authors can do this successfully (for me) and yet I find this version annoying. I find Elena to be a disappointing main character, not nearly as mentally strong as I would like her to be. What good is supernatural strength if you haven’t got the brains to back it up? Her relationship with Clay is also an irritant—they are incredibly irresponsible, often stopping in the middle of something crucial for a quickie. The sex seems gratuitous to me, not really moving the plot along, just thrown as “characterization” I’m guessing.

However, I haven’t given up. I will persevere with book three to see where Armstrong takes the concept from here. Just not until I’ve wrapped up all my various reading challenges for this year.
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Shannon
1,221 reviews2,162 followers
January 11, 2009
A wonderful, wonderful sequel to Bitten.

Elena is investigating someone selling info about werewolves but finds her contacts to be a pair of witches instead, wanting to warn her about a secretive organisation who are abducting creatures of the otherworld: witches, shamans, half-demons, who want a vampire - and a werewolf.

After dealing with her incredulity (for some reason, despite being a werewolf herself, she never considered the possibility that there'd be other supernatural races around), she and Jeremy, her Pack Alpha, attend the meeting between the two witches, Ruth and Paige, a shaman called Kenneth, a vampire called Cassandra, and the half-demon Adam. Alliances are formed but Jeremy intends to make his own strike with or without their help - until Elena is taken and locked in an underground cell.

There's more gruesomeness in Stolen, and one horribly sadistic billionaire funding it all. It was actually painful to see a strong, proud person like Elena made to almost grovel in order to stay alive - I so wished she would just tear the place and the people apart, but that would hardly be sensible. Plus I got my wish in the end.

I really saw the similarities between this series and Keri Arthur's Riley Jensen books - Arthur was no doubt greatly inspired by these slightly earlier books, and the influence is there. I love both series but this one is more satisfying in its prose and characters.

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Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*
2,434 reviews1,062 followers
December 4, 2018
“A guitar twanged from the far-off radio. Country music. Damn. They'd resorted to torture already.”

Even better than the original because it puts characters I'm already into in a complicated and intense situation.

The psychology and horrors that went on behind the doors was fascinating. You'd imagine horrors if kidnapped by these men, especially with the troubling prologue, but as Elena and the readers find, it's way more layered than just being kept in a cage and experimented on. Not only does she go through the fear of that, she sees the different personalities and powers that be imprisoned, has to figure out to trust. She sees the struggles between the staff and that they're all there for different gains. She goes from fearing one horror and struggling to survive one situation, then the game changes completely on her where she has to start all over again.

The lead up with the supes meeting was interesting - no longer is the book about a lone werewolf pack, but we get unique witches, Adam (loved him, he's fascinating), and other critters. In the short time they're on page I saw a leveled and unique inner society for each supe group, especially the internal dynamic of the witches. I realize the author was laying this out for future books which would concentrate on Paige's perspective.

As before, Clay and Elena's bond works well. Their relationship is just adorable sweet and naturally there, it slides on as perfect fit like a well worn glove. Jeremy is always around when needed, popping out of bushes and random areas to where it's nearly comical. Unlike most supe societies that irritate me, the bonding of this pack works so well it feels like a true family and genuine affection.

It wins with pacing, anticipation, the horror of being caught, the fascinating time spent inside the prison, the saving wrap-up, a finale battle that suited Elena's personality and rang true - top this off with great characterization, and I think this could easily become a favorite series. Add in some working humor and it gets even better. Just a shame it's told through multiple POV's depending on which book, but I still may bite and try the others out for taste.
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Tatiana
1,401 reviews11.7k followers
September 13, 2009
"Stolen" is a sequel to "Bitten" and book #2 in Armstrong's "Women of the Otherworld" series. As Armstrong herself have said, "Bitten" was meant to be a stand alone book while "Stolen" was written as a part of the series; the difference between two books is apparent.

Like "Bitten," "Stolen" is written from Elena's POV. But we are quickly taken beyond Elena's werewolf setting as she is suddenly introduced to a completely foreign and new to her world of supernaturals - witches, vampires, shamans, half-demons, sorcerers, etc. She also finds out that someone kidnaps the supernatural species for experimentation. At some point Elena is kidnapped herself and has to find a way to save not only herself, but other supernatural captives while covering the traces of their existence from the public.

In this book Armstrong introduces the entire group of new supernatural characters which from what I know she uses in her future books. The new world IMO is messier than her werewolf world created in "Bitten." Maybe I just need more time to get used to the idea. While I am accepting of werewolves, vampires, and maybe witches, the idea of half-demons is a bit of a stretch for me. However do not despair, the things we loved in "Bitten," are present here - Elena/Clay passionate relationship (only this time with much less drama), deeper exploration of werewolf world (we witness first hand what a newly bitten werewolf has to go through physically and emotionally), and finally tight and action-filled plot.

I will definitely continue on with the series and I am eager to see what Armstrong does with the characters she has introduced in this book.
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Lois
1,760 reviews467 followers
April 15, 2021
I had forgotten the casual racism in the handling of the supernatural races.
Werewolves are largely white. There are mixed race wolves but its made clear in the books & short stories that's from WOC mothers. As the gene so to speak for werewolves is almost exclusively passed from father to son, this means werewolves originate in Europe.
The closest the author comes to introducing a Black primary race is 'voodoo priest' which is listed as a minor and unpowerful race. As are Druids but it appears most supernatural races have their origins in Europe and are primarily white.
Even though this is set in North America the only supernatural attributed to the Indigenous Peoples of the America's are 'shamans' who are real life religious figures and I'm not sure appropriate in this context as fantasy 'races'.🤔
Anyway this aged poorly and I don't like it as much as I remember 🤷🏾‍♀️
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Pam Nelson
3,219 reviews100 followers
August 23, 2021
This series is in my friend challenge for the year, and I have read Bitten 3 times but I didn’t think I had ever read Stolen until I started to read it. Then things just felt so familiar, as events happened I realized I had read this one before and loved it.

Clay is still my favorite, and Elena well she grows on me more in this book. I almost feel like some time has passed since book one, which is good I think. She is more accepting of Clay and her relationship. (That is how I feel anyway.)

We also learn of more paranormal beings in this book, and their characters I am hoping are going to become important in books to come.

This book had ACTION, I capped that because damn man there were a lot of descriptive scenes but also a LOT for wheels turning. You never predict what is going to happen, you’re always on your toes wondering what is going to happen next. I loved this it makes listening so enjoyable. I wanted more I didn’t want it to end.

The female Vampire we meet, doesn’t seem very friendly but I am intrigued, also the witches, I am not big on magic but for some reason, I quite enjoy the back and forth Paige (a witch) and Clay have it's like siblings and I like that, she gives as much as she gets. I am excited to see where that storyline is going to go.
Adam the half-demon seems funny and remorseful for his abilities.
But it’s the pack master that I want to know more about I want to learn more about Jeremy and see if maybe he will ever get his HEA.

I guess only time will tell.

I liked the narration, not as much as I liked the narrator from the first book but say la vie.
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TJ
2,691 reviews163 followers
December 19, 2019
3.5/5.0

*2019 re-read*. Still amazed at the incredible characterization, still a bit squigged by the excessive violent tendencies - but, again, incredibly realistic if the subject matter is wolves.

Original review:
"Stolen" continues the story of Elena Michaels, a young woman turned werewolf, where the book, "Bitten" left off. The relationships between Elena and her pack, especially Clay are just as real and engaging as in the former book. Ms. Armstrong shows an amazing gift in painting life as it would be as a half human/half werewolf with incredible depth and understanding. The downside in this book is the inordinate amount and graphic nature of the violence. It's not the generic "they killed the man" type or even the "they blew up the building with everyone in it" type. It is the personal description of each kill with graphic imagery used repeatedly with relish that just isn't my cup of tea.
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Catherine
523 reviews539 followers
July 29, 2010
This is a really hard one to review. I think my opinion was skewed because of unmet expectations. I think if I gone into this book cold I would have enjoyed it a lot more. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but my opinion teeter-tottered throughout it. I finally decided on a four star grade because the end did pick up and once I was able to put aside my reasons for reading it immediately after Bitten I got caught up in it. I'd say that Bitten is a high four star while this one is a low four star.

When Bitten ended we left Clay and Elena on a hopeful note. Nothing was really worked out, but the promise that they would try was given. I was so excited to pick up this one and watch their relationship heal itself. For me, that's half the fun of reading about a couple. I don't just want to see them together, I want to watch them get together and strengthen their relationship.

When I started this book I was shocked to find out that approximately six years had passed since the last book. I was pretty pissed off about it too. All my expectations about watching them build their relationship collapsed. I was pretty surprised to see that even though she was still with the Pack and still with Clay, she wasn't really with Clay the way that a six year commitment implies to me. They're still in basically the same spot spinning their wheels. It was actually kind of sad for both of them. I guess I didn't miss as much as I originally thought...

The beginning of this book was very slow going. My attention kept wandering and I had to struggle to make myself focus. The attention is no longer focused on just the werewolves. For a good chunk of the beginning half there's barely any werewolf interaction at all. The focus is all on the new type of supernatural creatures we meet and the organization hunting them. I did enjoy learning about the different groups, but what caught me most in the first book was the feel of the "otherness" of the werewolves and their interactions together. I felt that that aspect was really toned down in this book. Yes, there were gruesome moments, but the mentality of it felt different.

Around page 200 is where the pace started to pick up for me. We were still focused on only Elena, but her personal demons started to come into play. It seemed like her captivity and isolation dug beneath her skin enough to break through her persona. We got to see the despair and the insecurities and the depression. It was great getting that raw view. I loved how Elena admitted she wasn't over her past and probably never would be.

When Elena was back with Clay I found it extremely irritating that they never talked through anything. Their mode of operation seems to be to ignore everything and move on. It drives me nuts. You'll get to see how they solved the issue of his betrayal of her 12 years ago, and you'll see why I feel that way. I don't understand how they could have been back together the last 6 years and never have sat down and talked these things through.

I loved the glimpse we got of Clay's point of view (sort of). I felt it added nice perspective for that time period. I loved Clay in this book. Even though we saw him infrequently his presence was still felt. I hear the next book is about Paige. I hope, for both her sake and mine, that she isn't as irritating in that book as she was in this. I was on Clay's side about her and I loved the nickname he gave her. Xavier and Adam seemed like interesting characters and I hope to see more of them in the series.
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Steve Naylor
1,677 reviews100 followers
January 18, 2018
Rating 3.5 stars.

This story is a little departure from the first book in the series Bitten in that this story is not only about werewolves. In this story we are introduced to vampires, shamans, witches and half-demons. All of these beings apparently exist and this is the first time the werewolves learn about their existence. The reason that the werewolves find out that these other creatures exist is something is hunting supernatural creatures.

Elana is kidnapped about 1/5 of the way through the book and the story mainly focuses on her and her interactions with her kidnappers and other prisoners. It was fairly interesting. The Who, What, When, and Where of the story is pretty good. But, just like the first book the biggest problem is the why. If there was just a better reason for the kidnapping and everything that happened the story would be much better. It is kind of like in the movie Forest Gump when he runs across the country multiple times and its an amazing story and everyone thinks there is some great purpose behind it. Then he say's " I just felt like running".

I could never understand the reason why the rich guy behind the kidnapping was doing it. There were a couple of possible hints but no real reason.

Other than that I still like the character Elena and I like her relationship with Clay, even though the more interesting relationship is betwen Elana and Jeremy.
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danny
42 reviews1 follower
July 10, 2008
Not quite as good as the first book, but still worth reading. I think forming a series out of it somewhat lessons the impact of the story. One of my favorate things about the first book was that it said that there were only a handful of werewolves in the world. There are so many supernatural stories that imply that there are hundreds or thousands of Vampires or werewolves or whatever, so much that they have their own complex societies. But to propose that there were only a few werewolves denounces all that, and I found it very refreshing.
But the second book befuddles that by introducing vampires, witches, demons and sorcorers; with a complex society of supernatural creatures. Ug! But, setting aside all that, the book is quite good. It maintains the same level of intensity and the characters are just as well developed. The plot was a little cliche, but it was all right. It kept my interest and left me waiting for the next book. Which is all that can be expected from a sequel.
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Heather
214 reviews63 followers
October 21, 2019
Enjoyed this supernatural novel featuring strong women taking care of business, in nail biting scenarios. So far, I am finding this to be a fun series to read!
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alicat ♡➹♡
666 reviews6 followers
March 10, 2018
4.25 stars.

Wow, this book was so much different from the first one - and in a good way. I liked it quite a bit better - I found the story much more riveting and we were introduced to some few great and not so great characters. The bad guy in this is seriously a true sociopath that makes Clay's psychotic tendencies seem vanilla.

Speaking of Clay I loved seeing him and Elena in a crazy yet functional relationship. They seriously have sex in the most random places but it totally reflects their personalities and super close connection.



As usual Clay is a bit crazy and not always so nice, though I feel he is eventually getting along with everyone quite well. Elena is much more connected to her humanity which is a blessing and curse when she is kidnapped and has to deal with her own imprisonment, but those of other people she comes to feel responsible for.

I loved meeting the new characters - the witches, vampires, and my favorite the half-demons. I really thought Xavier and Adam were great. Paige seems decent - and I'm looking forward to reading her book. I do hope that Adam is in it!


For me the main downside was I felt one part kind of dragged . Overall very entertaining!
Suzan
1,581 reviews11 followers
April 3, 2012
I love this book as it's pivotal in expanding Kelley's Otherworld. Elena narrates again and I love all the little nuances and themes in it, how everything serves to build her character and history. For example when she gives her reasons for not usually telling Clay she misses him or never saying she loves him outside of the bedroom cause she see's it as giving him too much power to hurt her like others have done. she knows it's stupid and says so herself but it's something she still has to overcome. Also the way Ty Winsloe's treatment of her scares her not because of the power he holds in the story or because of him but because of how it reminds her about her bad childhood experiences in the foster homes she was in. All these things build her to a truly substantial character.
One of my favourite parts in this story (apart from her reunion with Clay and her revenge on Ty) is when she's just sat with Jeremy and he's telling her antedotes of Clay's childhood, through her we learn a little more about Clay and Jeremy's past's and childhood's. We also see the introduction of new supernatural races in this, the witches, half-demons, shaman's, vampires and sorcerers. I will admit that in this book I wasn't fond of Paige when I first met her but towards the end she was really growing on me, espeacially when she threatened to cut off and box a certain part of Adam's anatomy! She's a character that in future books becomes a favourite of mine alongside Elena. I also love Adam's character, he's so boyish but (being a half-demon) has a dangerous edge. Cassandra has never grown on me like the rest of the characters but the male vampire we meet briefly at the end does.
Again, parts of the book made me sad as characters I liked were killed but alot of it made me laugh, like Xavier's antics, he was definetly a fence character, neither truly on one side or the other.
This book had a few twists in it that when I first read it I didn't really see coming but it kept me hooked from start to finish with everything going on in it and the new characters being brought in to the series. Elena only had me mentally berating her a couple of times when her insecurities came into play making her think things that weren't true and overreact to a couple of things. She has come along since Bitten in that she has 100% accepted that she belongs with Clay and the pack, she hasn't given up her independant streak but nor is she running away anymore. She's accepted her life even if she hasn't yet forgiven Clay but she still has a lot more ground to cover. She still has to overcome alot of her insecurities and learn to be open with Clay. Learn to NOT be afraid to tell him outright that she misses him when they're separated and that she loves him, afterall Clay has more then proved he's never going to abandon her or leave her for any reason. She has to learn to believe and trust in that. I also love the fact that at the end Clay has now got the idea of kids in his head much to Elena's horror! Lol, I laughed when she made the comment about hiding her birth control pills from now on! This book is an amazing sequel to Bitten and well worth picking up!
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Jane Stewart
2,462 reviews848 followers
December 2, 2013
Not engaging, and I was annoyed with stupidity at the end.

Each time I put the book down, I was not eager to get back to it. It was more like an assignment - to finish it.

The first book in the series “Bitten” was very good. It was mostly about the relationship between Elena and Clay and another. “Stolen” is the sequel. There is no relationship development. Elena and Clay are already a thing with no changes in this book. Other characters and their relationships and interactions were not special enough or intriguing enough to draw me in. Instead, this story is bad guys vs good guys. It was ok but nothing special. It reminded me of TV and movies. Some new paranormal creatures are introduced: half demons, witches, vampires, and shamans.

The ending was stupid and left a bad taste in my mouth. See Spoiler.



DATA:
Narrative mode: mostly 1st person Elena, with a few parts 3rd person. Story length: 551 pages. Swearing language: strong including religious swear words. Sexual language: none to mild. Number of sex scenes: 2 briefly described and 2 referred to. Setting: current day east coast U.S. with a little Canada. Copyright: 2002. Genre: paranormal urban fantasy.
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Alkyoni
111 reviews168 followers
May 8, 2012

These books are hard for me to rate.

I really like Armstrong’s writing. I like how she finds room for the little things that help the reader understand the nature of her characters. It was something that I appreciated in the previous book and it’s in this one as well. I liked how she worked with the suspense in Bitten but I liked even more what she did with Stolen. For the most part of the book, Elena is imprisoned by a group of people that kidnap preternatural creatures in order to study them. It is a very atmospheric thriller, claustrophobic at times, and it kept me at the edge of my seat thought the book.

The problem with me and this series is that I don’t have any feelings towards these characters. I don’t like them, I don’t hate them, nada. Maybe it’s a matter of chemistry, like when you meet someone and they are fine but you just don’t have anything to say to each other.

So, sure, I wanted Elena to escape and do nasty, NASTY, things to the main villain that tortured and humiliated her, but that’s it. I don’t have any particular interest in hearing about her after that and I’m glad that the next book is from another character’s POV.

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Ashley (gotbookcitement)
710 reviews83 followers
January 31, 2022
Review to Come

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4.3/5

I enjoyed this. I liked this better than the first book. We didn't have to go through that slow process of being introduced to the world. I did like the expansion of the Otherworld in this. I'm really pumped to keep reading the series.
Ty Winsloe is awful.
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MAPS - Booktube
922 reviews239 followers
Read
October 25, 2022
Bien contente d’avoir retrouvé Elena et sa meute.

Le tome ne manque pas d’action. Personnellement les scènes de chasse ne sont jamais mes préférées et il y en a quand même plusieurs dans ce tome.

On a droit à un solide vilain qui m’a fait rager solide!

J’étais assez surprise de l’empathie d’Elena dans certaines situations. J’avais l’impression qu’elle était davantage égocentrique. Faut dire que ça l’aurait sûrement servi aussi. 😅

Quelques longueurs mais un bon divertissement.
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Siobhan
4,491 reviews469 followers
May 30, 2016
The Otherworld series has been sitting on my to-read list for far too long. Thus, there was more than a little bit of excitement when my friend gave me the first book for Christmas. There was even more excitement when she gave me book two for my birthday. Now… well, now I’m annoyed that I have so many other books sitting on my bookshelves, as I really need to grab the rest of the series.

Trust me; I am hooked as can be.

Okay, so the first book wasn’t all that I expected it to be. It was a good read, yet I had expected something more. In short, I had been expecting a five star read. Nevertheless, I did truly enjoy it. I was pulled into the world, and I enjoyed the story and the characters. It left me wanting more. The second book had much the same effect as the first – it was a great read, yet it wasn’t quite as brilliant as I had been hoping it would be.

I’ll start with my favourite aspects.

There is such world building in this book! In the first book we are shown the werewolf world. We come to understand the pack: the laws, the roles, and the issues they face. This was all well and good. For me, however, werewolves are not my favourite aspect of the supernatural world, thus I was left wanting more. Stolen amended that for me.

In Stolen, the supernatural world comes to light. We are introduced to many of the other supernatural creatures that exist. Witches, vampires, and demons. Our world explodes, as we’re given more than just this one creature to focus upon. It should come as no surprise to find out I really enjoyed this aspect. There was so much to learn, so many new things coming to light. New laws and mythology, alongside new characters.

Ah, the characters. There are so many new characters introduced. All with their own things to bring into the story. As with the first book, everyone has an important role to pay. In some cases, there are characters we do not learn much about – but this all points to what is to come in later books. It’s a promise that we can expect more in future books. And I can safely say I cannot wait to see what comes to be in the later books.

Then there are the things that grated on me somewhat.

The story itself was great. I knew it was to be a good one. However, certain things seemed to be too dragged out. Elena’s time in captivity seemed to drag on more than I would have liked. Whilst so much learning occurred in this time, whilst so much came to happen, I wanted more of the ass kicking to occur. It seemed, to me, as though the story slowed down at some points. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but I wish there had been slightly more action throughout her time in captivity. It was fun, but it could have been better.

Overall, it was another great read and I seriously cannot wait to continue on with the series.
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Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller
725 reviews1,200 followers
February 19, 2015
I absolutely devoured Bitten, the first book in the series (I’d been trying out different urban fantasies over the last several months and Bitten was easily one of my favorites). Then someone mentioned that it had been adapted for a show in Canada and, even better, that it was on Netflix. Flash forward two days (because I binge watched it) and I was completely hooked! I knew I loved the author’s writing, the characters, the story, and the show, so you’d better believe I scrambled to get ahold of the second book.

There was only one problem: the first book was meant as a standalone, so reading Stolen felt like reading another first book.

Normally, this would feel like a tragedy, as I love seeing the progression of a plot line over several books. In this case however, it kind of worked. Stolen was at least told from Elena’s perspective, and the writing was just as killer as ever. And the show “Bitten” did a fantastic job tweaking the story in a way that allowed them to end with a cliffhanger, which means the second season will at least give me that continuation I so desperately crave. Everybody wins… well, I do anyway.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of Stolen. Just as with the first book, I was completely absorbed, dragging it out whenever there was a spare moment to see what happened next. I read a lot, but I seldom feel addictively drawn back to a book, and Kelley Armstrong has managed to do that not once, but twice to me… needless to say, I will be continuing on. Although I admit I am a bit nervous about that. You see, she changes characters from here on out, and I’m so attached to Elena that I’m afraid I won’t enjoy it as much. At least I can be sure that whatever direction the story takes, the writing is going to be superb! And the craft – Armstrong has an incredible instinct for story, which makes me think I will love whatever tale she decides to weave together.

Overall, I wish I hadn’t waited so long to pick up this author. I can definitely see why she is considered a staple in the urban fantasy genre. I would highly recommend her to anyone who enjoyed authors like Patricia Briggs and Kim Harrison. I would doubly recommend the show to fans of True Blood – it was great for all the same reasons… in fact, I may have loved it even more.

Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.nikihawkes.com
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