Review: Waking The Witch (Women of the Otherworld, #11) by Kelley Armstrong

I’m a big fan of Kelley Armstrong’s earlier novels. Bitten and Stolen are by far my favorite books in the series, and while I didn’t love Dime Store and Industrial Magic, I still enjoyed reading about Paige, Lucas, and Savannah. I struggled through Haunted (not a fan of Eve, I guess) and couldn’t finish Broken, despite the fact that I was thrilled that Clay and Elena were back in the spotlight. So all in all, I had pretty much given up on the Otherworld series. I even attempted to read Armstrong’s YA series at one point, but couldn’t get through the first book. When I heard that a new book was coming out about Savannah, well… that’s all the information I needed to kick start my fickle interest in the Otherworld series again. Savannah was such a kickass character as a kid and I couldn’t wait to read about her as an adult.

I liked Waking the Witch. I did. Really! It’s just… the story revolved around a murder mystery, which was interesting, but the plot rarely deviated from its set course, which was to solve the case and capture the murderer. Mysteries aren’t really my preferred genre, and while Waking the Witch is technically urban fantasy, it read like a straightforward murder investigation with only a hint of the supernatural to spice up the plot. If not for the fact that the main character is a Witch and that the crime committed may have had something to do with a sacrificial ritual, it didn’t feel much like reading urban fantasy. What happened to all the characters I loved? There were very few cameos, with Adam the half demon being the only exception. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’m not going to give a plot summary. I will say that it was written very well with plenty of clues thrown in to keep me guessing what would happen next and who the killers might be. I expected the book to have a clear cut ending with all the loose ends tied up nicely, but was surprised to discover that it was open ended, meaning a sequel to this particular tale is in the works!

Rating: 3/5 Stars