Book Review: Thirteen

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong delivers the novel her fans have been clamoring for: The epic finale of the Otherworld series.

It’s been more than ten years, a dozen installments, and hundreds of thousands of copies since Kelley Armstrong introduced readers to the all-too-real denizens of the Otherworld: witches, werewolves, necromancers, vampires, and half-demons, among others. And it’s all been leading to Thirteen, the final installment, the novel that brings all of these stories to a stunning conclusion.

A war is brewing—the first battle has been waged and Savannah Levine is left standing, albeit battered and bruised. She has rescued her half brother from supernatural medical testing, but he’s fighting to stay alive. The Supernatural Liberation Movement took him hostage, and they have a maniacal plan to expose the supernatural world to the unknowing.

Savannah has called upon her inner energy to summon spells with frightening strength, a strength she never knew she had, as she fights to keep her world from shattering. But it’s more than a matter of supernaturals against one another—both heaven and hell have entered the war; hellhounds, genetically modified werewolves, and all forces of good and evil have joined the fray.

Uniting Savannah with Adam, Paige, Lucas, Jaime, Hope, and other lost-but-notforgotten characters in one epic battle, Thirteen is a grand, crowd-pleasing closer for Armstrong’s legions of fans.

Oh... mai... goddess... I'm going to apologize upfront for my fangirly review of Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong. She is a writing goddess. I've loved everything I've read of hers, and this last book is no different. I stayed up until after midnight, waiting for it to download on my Kindle. And I read for two hours, before sleeping until 9 and waking up to finish it. It was read, more or less, in one sitting.

Thirteen picks up right where Spell Bound left off, with Savannah drenched, Jeremy and Adam looking like they'd been playing in gravel, and Jaime... all neat and put-together. Jaime and Savannah run off in search of clothing, so Jeremy, Adam, and Bryce can come out of hiding. You don't want to be seen walking around near an explosion, looking like you were involved. But Jaime and Savannah are the two characters in this series that are most likely to get into trouble. They found trouble alright. Savannah is arrested, and to keep the team together, Jaime mock attacks one of the officers, and is carted off with her.

Things are not looking up for these two heroines when they're thrown in jail, without being booked, and find they aren't the only supernaturals at this police station. Something is definitely up.

I'm beyond sad that this is the final book in the series. I'm able to go on only because Kelley has promised us anthologies, novellas, short stories, and more novels (possibly... at one point in the future). I cried when I closed the book. Not because the ending is sad. But because it's over!!!!!! *re-read that last part very dramatically* I've read many series that ended with a weak book. And I've read many series that went way past where it should have ended. But I think Kelley did an amazing job wrapping this series up while leaving enough loose ends.

Things I personally loved about this book... While it was told from Savannah's point of view, Jaime, Eve, Elena, Paige, and Hope all had a chapter written from their point of view in third person. There was a lot of Jaime. And Jaime is my favorite character from this series. It brought together almost everyone from the entire series. Things I would've liked to see... More Paige. More Cassandra and Aaron. But all-in-all... one of the best books of the series.

And I can honestly say, I can't wait for the next book. Kelley has a novella (which I've pre-ordered from Subterranean Press) coming out this December. There is a reason to go on!

The Women of the Otherworld has been a favorite series of mine since there were only two books... which has been for about a decade. It breaks my heart that the series is done, but it's not completely over. Kelley has said there will be more novellas (frex, the one coming out this December) and short stories. If you haven't read these books yet, you're missing out:
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

Currently, there are two anthology collections:
Men of the Otherworld
Tales of the Otherworld

And don't forget to check out these novellas from Subterranean Press:
Angelic (available only as an ebook at this time)
Counterfeit Magic
Hidden
Forbidden (coming this winter)
Becoming (graphic novel)