Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong (PNR)

Blurb from Amazon.com

As a curious child, Clayton didn’t resist the bite–he asked for it. But surviving as a lone child werewolf was more than he could manage–until Jeremy came along and taught him how to straddle the human-werewolf worlds, gave him a home…and introduced him to the Pack. So begins this volume, featuring three of the most intriguing members of the American Pack–a hierarchical founding family where bloodlines mean everything, and each day presents a new, thrilling, and often deadly challenge. As Clayton grows from a wild child to a clever teen who tests his beloved mentor at every turn, he must learn not only to control his animal instincts, but to navigate Pack politics–including showing his brutal arch nemesis, Malcolm, who the real Alpha is…
Anthology contains: Infusion, Savage, Ascension and a new story narrated by Jeremy.

To buy, click here
Men of the Otherworld: A Collection of Otherworld Tales (Women of the Otherworld)

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Now, I know I was totally hatin' on her book Thirteen and for good reason I think but I do have to say, I like her earlier books alot. Ok really I just like the shapeshifter related books. I think the characters are great and that she really did some unique writing with Bitten, her first book in the series. I know there's a huge fan following for her books but this is my blog and so I get to say what I feel, LOL. Anywho, I would recommend all her books except for Thirteen and only because I think she did it to herself. She leads you up to the conclusion of the series but doesn't deliver, or at least that's my feeling. I did however decide to go back and read a few of her prequels. She wrote a ton of short stories based on fan requests to add to some of the back-history of some of the characters you meet in Bitten (which is the first original book in the series). The book picks up in the middle of the main character, Elena's life and so there are characters and history that you know nothing about, so these short stories filled in those blanks. The stories were originally released on her website but were so popular that they later released them in a series of books (two actually) and a few graphic novels. The first of which was called "Men of the Otherworld". If you didn't know, the original 13 books of the series are done from female perspectives and are solely from their point of view. The books are either a continuation of a characters story or the beginning of a new characters story. I think there's roughly around 5-6 ladies total. Anywho, before my discovery of Kelley Armstrong, I guess she asked readers what they wanted and the majority said they wanted stories from the main men's point of view. So she did so and thus the book is entitled Men of the Otherworld. So onto the review now that that's out of the way, whew!
Ok so, unlike Thirteen, I actually very much enjoyed these little short stories although the main story is about Clayton and Jeremy. Even as a stand alone story and even if you didn't know the main characters, Armstrong does a great job drawing you into it. It's a sweet story told from the child's point of view. It makes you want to just grab Clay up, hug him and keep him safe. What I really like is even those these stories, you would think, have not much in common but the characters, at the end of it, you realize that all the short stories are following a family line and by the end, it all makes a weird sort of sense, again even if you have never read any of the other books. I think if you want to dip your toes into the Kelley Armstrong world, not knowing if you'd like it or not, this would be a great one to read. She also did another short story accumulation with reader requests but based on the women. It's a nice follow up to the Men's and I'll be reviewing that one next.

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4 out of 5 books