Book Review: Thirteen

Thirteen

By:  Kelley Armstrong

Publisher:  Dutton Books

Publish Date:  July 29, 2012

Format:  Hardcover, 444pgs

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  13th in The Otherworld series; Book 11 ~ Waking the Witch, Book 12 ~ Spell Bound

Recommendation:  Yes! You get to see the war brewing in all realms and come to a close with the characters.

Book Synopsis:
Ir'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, a young witch of remarkable power and a dangerous pedigree, 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, Elena, Clay Paige, Lucas, Jaime, Hope and other lost-but-not-forgotten characters in one epic battle, Thirteen is a thrilling deeply satisfying closer for Armstrong's legions of fans.

First Sentence:
Typical guy.  You fight through hell -- literally, hacking through legions of beasts and zombies and demon-spawn -- to sneak home and spend a few stolen minutes with him...and he's not there.

My Thoughts and Summary:
Heaven and Hell are just as divided as the supernaturals in the human world.  Lots of fighting on supernaturals coming out to the humans and Lord Balaam has decided to Rule in the human world.  Savannah has to find a way to get through the paranormal world on her minimal magic now, and has picked up quickly and is a major piece in the war to come, fighting rogue drugged werewolves, hellhounds, and a sorcerer, along with demons.  All to be surprised with someone's visit.  The Supernatural Liberation Movement is fighting to show the world who the supernatural are, and change it for them, along with the vaccine of 'immortality' as well.

We start exactly where Spell Bound ended with Savannah, Bryce and Adam walking away from the lab that just blew up and fell down around them.  The vaccine...do you remember the virus from Spell Bound?  Yeap, it's back.  Hot and heavy mess with it here.  We are reminded of this that will grant immortality with a mix of supernatural DNA in it.  We learn more about this vaccine, which is a virus.

Savannah's mom is found to be more special than suspected and coveted by others.  Putting Savannah and Jaime Vegas on the radar for trouble.  Then we have Hope, who comes to the foreground due to who her father is.  All our characters in the Underworld series are in teams working on this huge issue of breakouts and the SLAM (the Supernatural Liberation Movement, as Savannah has branded them) group.

Savannah gets some treasured time with someone special.  She has also learned to handle being weak in the magic area, learning to adapt in other ways, making her a stronger person.

Some references back to Waking the Witch and Spell Bound in the case we are working through.  I'm sure more references are made to the other ten books as well, with the characters showing up, but shame on me for not reading them yet.

The book is from Savannah's point of view.  But there is a chapter here and there that are of anothers eyes so we see and know whats happening and getting a bigger story.  The characters he hear from briefly: Jaime, Elena, Paige, Hope, and Eve.

Oh, and if you are curious about Savannah and Adam.  Well, you'll have to read the book.  ;)

This story I think YA readers could easily follow through with from the previous two books.  I will mention there is sexual content, not that you get details while happening, but you know it's happened.  So safe it's to read.

I will say I do love Savannah and hope to see her in a few short stories in the future.  It would be nice to see these characters, the ones that make it out, again.  And there are a few stories here to be told.

I really enjoy this vast world of demons, witches, werewolves, vampires, and so much more supernatural.  Definitely a series to visit with so much available in it.  Well done Kelley.  I do want more, and will have to pick up the beginning books to get it, and hope for future tales as well.

From Russia, with Love
This is a short story at the end of the book that I think many long time series followers will love.  Where the series started, it should end as well.  Very nice touch by Kelley.  I don't want to give anything away as it's full from the start, and might also give you something about the ending of Thirteen as well.

I even enjoyed reading this short story and getting to see the twins, and more action with the characters.  I think it would be wonderful if Kelley could pick up with the twins in the future, for short stories and such.

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I read this book for an honest review from the Publicist.