"A werewolf novel with punch"

Growing up as an orphan left Elena Michaels vulnerable to the charm of Clayton. However, instead of marriage, two kids, and a picket fence, Clayton bites Elena turning her into the world's only known female werewolf. The werewolf gene is male with only the females converting by being bitten and almost all die from the Change. Elena joins Clayton's pack in remote Stonehaven, New York for awhile, but soon leaves to return to her Toronto home to try to live a human life even if she runs naked at four in the morning.

Her former pack leader Jeremy demands Elena return to help fight a rogue pack. However, the enemy captures Clayton. They demand Jeremy give them Elena in exchange because they want to turn her into a breeding farm of purebred lycanthropics. None of these males factored in Elena's reaction to the bartering.

Werewolf readers will enjoy BITTEN, a well-written horror novel with a fast-paced story line. The werewolf packs seem real as if the species exists mostly because of Elena who is the consummate heroine that makes the novel work. The change of Clayton from psychopath to hero seems a bit contrived, but fans will still want to run along side Elena and any future tales by Kelley Armstrong starring this wonderful lead female.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted September 5, 2001