Review: Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Waking the Witch
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Random House of Canada
Published: August 3, 2010
Format: Hardcover ($29.95 CDN)
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Copy: Provided by publisher
Click here to read an excerpt

Synopsis:

The new novel in Kelley Armstrong's bestselling Women of the Otherworld series showcases the fascinating Savannah Levine, a powerful young witch with a rebellious past and a troublesome heritage.

The orphaned daughter of a sorcerer and a half-demon, Savannah is a terrifyingly powerful young witch who has never been able to resist the chance to throw her magical weight around. But at twenty-one she knows she needs to grow up and prove to her guardians, Paige and Lucas, that she can be a responsible member of their supernatural detective agency. So she jumps at the chance to fly solo, investigating the mysterious deaths of three young women in a nearby factory town, as a favour to one of the agency's associates. At first glance, the murders look garden-variety human, but on closer inspection signs point to otherworldly stakes.

Soon Savannah is in over her head. She's run off the road and nearly killed, haunted by a mystery stalker and freaked out when the brother of one of the dead women is murdered when he tries to investigate the crime. To complicate things, something weird is happening to her powers. Pitted against shamans, demons, a voodoo-inflected cult and garden-variety goons, Savannah has to fight to ensure her first case isn't her last. And she also has to ask for help, perhaps the hardest lesson she's ever had to learn.

My Review: 

I been a follower of Kelley Armstrong since I came upon the first novel in her Women of the Otherworld series Bitten about nine years ago.  Each novel is well written and executed with the perfect balance of plot/character description and dialog that enables you to invest yourself in the main characters beyond the duration of each book. In Stolen, the second book in the series, we are introduced to Savannah, when the main character of the novel, Elena, is captured and imprisoned along with other supernaturals. Savannah has periodically been mentioned in subsequent novels in the series, but nine books later she becomes the protagonist as she sets out to solve a supernatural murder mystery.

This book was almost everything I expected of a Kelly Armstrong novel.  Unraveling the mystery alongside Savannah was addictive and as always the mention of other beloved characters in the series had me gobbling up the pages like a book junkie.  The pace of this novel was fairly even keel with a few instances of suspense and anticipation as the plot thickens and the mystery unfolds.  I particularly enjoy Savannah's tough-as-nails outward appearance coupled with hints that she is a much softer person on the inside. Waking the Witch was an excellent story on its own but having an understanding of Savannah's life growing up (as read in other books in the series) enhanced my enjoyment and understanding of the story.

Each of Kelley Armstrong's novels introduces and explores a new love interest for the main character. In this novel Savannah makes it clear that she has been interested in being more then just friends with supernatural half-demon, Adam Vasic, but she believes he still sees her as the young ward of his friends Page and Lucas.  Adam is not the main love interest for Savannah in Waking the Witch, yet I felt that the the display of Adam's over protectiveness hinted that he may be realizing that Savannah isn't a little girl anymore. That dear readers is why Waking the Witch fell just short of perfection for me!  I wanted MORE growth in the romantic department between Savannah and Adam.  With that said the ending of this novel left things wide open for the next novel both in increasing the readers interest in Savannah and in the possibility of something "more" developing between her and Adam.

Waking the Witch was an excellent addition to the Women of the Otherworld series, primarily because I felt that Savannah has deserved her own book for some time now.  If your already a fan of the Otherworld series I think you'll be pleased with this addition, but if this is the first time hearing about author Kelley Armstrong or this series I recommend you check out the first novel, Bitten.  

My Rating: 4/5