fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsfantasy book reviews Kelley Armstrong Counterfeit MagicCounterfeit Magic by Kelley Armstrong

This year Subterranean Press has published several novellas written by authors who’ve been on my radar but not necessarily at the top of my To Be Read stack. These little books are a perfect introduction to such writers because they’re easy to read in a few hours and I can get the “feel” or “flavor” of the authors and their worlds without spending a lot of time engaged in a longer novel, one that may not even be the end of the story.

Kelley Armstrong’s Counterfeit Magic is a perfect example. This 140ish page story takes place in Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld setting and features some of the characters from that world. Though I haven’t read anything by Armstrong before, I had no trouble jumping right in and immediately connecting with the same characters that Armstrong fans already love: Paige, Lucas, Savannah, and Adam.

The quick plot ostensibly involves a murder mystery at a supernatural fight club where Paige and Savannah infiltrate by setting up Savannah as a fighter. Those scenes were fun and the novella offers some sexy full-page black and white illustrations, some which portray Savannah in the boxing ring (see a few of them here).

But the real plot goes deeper and affects the characters more personally. Some of the “bad guy’s” reasoning seemed a bit illogical, and the tension wrapped up a bit too quickly, but I didn’t really mind this in a novella. More importantly, even though these characters were new for me (and the story was short), Kelley Armstrong succeeded in making me care about their lives. I liked them from the start and am interested enough in their past and future histories to pick up a few more Women of the Otherworld novels.

Women of the Otherworld — (Began in 2001) Publisher: An addictive, deeply enjoyable thrill ride on the frontier of the feral and feminine… a debut novel of astonishing imaginative power from the future queen of suspense. Elena Michaels slips out of bed, careful not to wake her boyfriend. He hates it when she disappears in the middle of the night, and can’t understand why any normal woman would crave the small hours of the morning, the dark unsafe downtown streets. But Elena’s skin is tingling, the pent-up energy feels like it’s about to blow her muscles apart — she can’t put it off any longer. She loves to run at the edge of the city, but she doesn’t have time to get there. She has to slink into an alley, take off her clothes and hide them carefully, and make the Change. Elena’s trying hard to be normal. She hates her strength, and her wildness, and her hunger for food, for sex, for running in the night, for the chase and the kill. She wants a husband, children… even a mother-in-law. Or at least that’s what she tells herself. And then the inevitable happens. The Pack needs her. The Pack she loves and hates is under siege from a bunch of disreputable and ruthless mutts who are threatening to expose them all, breaking all the rules that have kept them safe. The loyalty of her nature calls her home, and into the fight, which tests just who Elena is: the wild woman or the wistful would-be human.

Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead 10. Frostbitten Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead 10. Frostbitten Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead 10. Frostbitten 11. Waking the Witch Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead 10. Frostbitten 11. Waking the Witch 12. Spellbound Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld review 1. Bitten 2. Stolen 3. Dime Store Magic 4. Industrial Magic 5. Haunted 6. Broken 7. No Humans Involved 8. Personal Demon 9. Living With the Dead 10. Frostbitten 11. Waking the Witch 12. Spellbound 13. Thirteen fantasy book reviews Kelley Armstrong Men of the Otherworld fantasy book reviews Kelley Armstrong Men of the Otherworld, Tales of the Otherworld fantasy book reviews Kelly Armstrong Angelic novella fantasy book reviews Kelley Armstrong Becoming fantasy book reviews Kelley Armstrong Counterfeit Magic Kelley Armstrong Hidden fantasy book reviews Kelley Armstrong Chaotic fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviews fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviews fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviews science fiction, fantasy, horror, YA, and comic book and audiobook reviews

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  • Kat Hooper

    KAT HOOPER, who started this site in June 2007, earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience and psychology at Indiana University (Bloomington) and now teaches and conducts brain research at the University of North Florida. When she reads fiction, she wants to encounter new ideas and lots of imagination. She wants to view the world in a different way. She wants to have her mind blown. She loves beautiful language and has no patience for dull prose, vapid romance, or cheesy dialogue. She prefers complex characterization, intriguing plots, and plenty of action. Favorite authors are Jack Vance, Robin Hobb, Kage Baker, William Gibson, Gene Wolfe, Richard Matheson, and C.S. Lewis.

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