Broken - Kelley Armstrong

...should be.

Broken is actually the 6th book in the series and while it can be treated as a stand alone novel it is probably not the best place to start.
The only reason I say this is because there are numerous references to the previous books and despite the obvious 'flashback' moments, unless you know the background some of the characters could appear a little 'flat'.

Now the plot itself centers around Elena ...
...and the worry of her mate and Pack brothers - after all she <em>is</em> the only female werewolf they've ever heard of and due to their very nature it's not like she can go into the nearest hospital for help if something goes wrong with the pregnancy.

This being the case she jumps at the chance to 'repay a favour' and go Steal the notorious 'From Hell' letter for a half-demon she met during her captivity in the book 'Stolen'.
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I sat and read the entire 'series' in a weekend because I enjoyed these books so much.
The 3 books that center around Elena Micheals, the worlds only female werewolf (Bitten, Stolen and Broken) read like early Anita Blake novels (Laurell K Hamilton) but without the overly sexual overtones, more story less sex, which, in my opinion, is the way it should be.

Broken is actually the 6th book in the series and while it can be treated as a stand alone novel it is probably not the best place to start.
The only reason I say this is because there are numerous references to the previous books and despite the obvious 'flashback' moments, unless you know the background some of the characters could appear a little 'flat'.

Now the plot itself centers around Elena chafing under the restrictions placed on her by her pregnancy and the worry of her mate and Pack brothers - after all she <em>is</em> the only female werewolf they've ever heard of and due to their very nature it's not like she can go into the nearest hospital for help if something goes wrong with the pregnancy.

This being the case she jumps at the chance to 'repay a favour' and go Steal the notorious 'From Hell' letter for a half-demon she met during her captivity in the book 'Stolen'.

Up to this point it all seems quite straightforward and follows the basic style of the first 2 books(bitten and stolen) once they have the letter and the spell is triggered things go off the charts and head more into the territory of the 'magic' books ('dimestore magic' and 'Industrial magic') With celebrity necromancer Jaime once again making an appearance to help with the 'Zombie angle'.

Personally I preferred the other books to this. It is fast paced but quite clinical in places, perhaps because it feels like a pre-cursor to another offshoot in the werewolf tales as opposed to just another Elena Micheals book.

Kelley Armstrong handles the pregnancy aspect VERY well, you can empathise and understand the fears Elena has for her unborn child, and because of this aspect of the book I am looking forward to reading a few more further along showing the problems Clay and Elena go through as parents - lets face it, they'll not be your normal toddler tales..

But I digress.. I would recommend reading this book, mainly because Kelley Armstrong is an effortless read but as previously mentioned, I heartly advise you to read at least the first 2 books in the series before doing so.

They should be read in the order of :

1.Bitten
2.Stolen
3.Dime Store Magic
4.Industrial Magic
5. Haunted

If you're a quick reader you'll get through them all quite easily in a couple of days as the paperbacks average just under 500 pages each.
They're simple to get sucked into - although not so deeply you'll suffer pangs of dissappointment if you have to put them down for a few hours. 

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