Review: Fantastic anthology
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 15, 2012
THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED  (Women of the Otherworld) Anthology by Kelley Armstrong-release date June 12, 2012STALKEDSTALKED is the first short story in Kelley Armstrong's anthology THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED.  Originally released in the anthology My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, written from Clay's perspective STALKED follows Clay and Elena on their honeymoon in St. Louis.Clay was hoping that their honeymoon was perfect, but only a couple of days into their vacation, Elena is bored.  Not that she told him, but he sensed.  Being werewolves, sightseeing wasn't their usual form of entertainment, but the scent of a mutt (werewolf without a pack) spurred Clay into action.  Hoping that Elena did not catch the scent, Clay tracked down the mutt and as usual, the mutt was willing to risk everything for a chance at the only female werewolf in existence. Threatening Clay's mate would mean death to any wolf.Fans of Kelley Armstrong will recognize the Cain name from previous storylines.  The mutt hunting Elena was the son of Theo Cain and the young Cain was not willing to give up.  But to Clay's surprise it was Elena that eventually responded to Cain's stalking.  Elena was not willing to wait around for an attack.  She was going to make sure the mutt never returned.  With her usual flair, Kelley takes the reader on a hunt to track down a mutt only to find that there are three wolves willing to risk all for a chance at Elena.STALKED is a quick read, basically a chapter in length.  I had previously read Stalked in My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, but Kelley is re-releasing many of her short stories and novellas for her WOTO fans.  With the final book THIRTEEN to be released in July 2012, fans of WOTO will get periodic glimpses into the lives of the many characters throughout the series when Kelley re-releases her stories.  Stalked is a welcome addition to the series, and fills in some of the missing timeline between BROKEN and FROSTBITTEN.OFF-DUTY ANGELOFF-DUTY ANGEL is another short story that focuses on Eve Levine-part demon/part witch/sometime ghost/sometime angel-mother of Savannah and the late Nast Cabal heir Kristof Nast's otherworldly lover. Wow, she has quite the repertoire. Oh and did I forget to mention-The Sword of Judgment.  Eve holds life and death in her hands. Living or existing on another plane of existence, Kristof and Eve track down and prosecute the supernatural who have riled the Fates in the afterlife.Lord Demon Balaam is Eve's father and through parenting he has gifted Eve with a special ability and combining with her talents as a witch, Eve is called upon when someone needs to be followed. Shaman Lewis Stranz was her current assignment. Under Kristof's directives Eve follows Lewis to London and the British museum, where she is not surprised to realize that he is probably a pawn in a much larger game. And meeting up with a demi-demon (an Erynis) now put Lewis on the radar because Erynis were known as the goddesses of vengeance.But along the way, Eve crosses a barrier shift and soon finds herself the object of fear to a group of small demon-like creatures.  Thinking she is working for her father, the Oni are under the assumption she has come for the one treasure they do not want to part (with).Trsiel is a full-blooded angel with a voice that compels the truth. Partnered in the after-life together, Eve calls upon Trsiel to help better understand the treasure that the Oni refuses to give up.  But Eve soon realizes that Kristoff has involved Eve in a game that has suddenly taken a serious turn.  They had crossed a portal into Hell and retrieving the `treasure' would take a miracle that even Trsiel wasn't able to manage.OFF-DUTY ANGEL reunites Eve with Trsiel as she aims to conquer her boredom while Kristof attends to his otherworldly legal duties. Written from Eve's POV, Off- Duty Angel is another wonderful storyline in the WOTO series of novels and shortstories and imparts some more missing information that will eventually lead the Kelley's final full length novel-THIRTEEN.THIRTEEN (preview)THIRTEEN is the last full-length novel (July 2012 release) in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series.  The Hunter and the Hunted offers a preview of what is in store for the final entry in a wonderful series from Savannah's continued POV.THIRTEEN continues where SPELLBOUND ended.  Following the lab explosion that nearly ended Savannah, Adam and Jeremy's lives, The Supernatural Liberation Movement continues their threat to reveal the existence of `otherworldly' beings, but now someone with vengeance in their plans is calling upon the demons and angels.  But when Savannah and Eve find themselves in police custody surrounded by other supernatural beings, they soon realize that their very existence hangs on their ability to call forth an `angel' that only Jaime can see. And the angel is someone Savannah hasn't seen in 9 years.Kelley has said that many of her WOTO characters will reunite in THIRTEEN and within the first five chapters, one of the recently departed has returned.  I am looking forward to reading THIRTEEN-here's hoping everyone gets their HEA and Savannah and her family will be reunited for one glorious celebration at the end.copy provided by Netgalleysee all of my reviews at :  thereadingcafe.com