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Tales of the Otherworld
It's the story of how Clay and Elena met and the start of their relationship.
It's the story of how Clay and Elena met and the start of their relationship.
202 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2004
6 people are currently reading
2082 people want to read
About the author
Kelley Armstrong
293 books33.6k followersKelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.
Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
March 26, 2022
Rererereread - 3/26/22: Book hungover from reading Rockton and thought this might help. It did. 🐺🐺🐺
Rerereread - 6/3/16: Got a wild hair and started Netflixing BITTEN last night, which made me NEED to read this again. BEGINNINGS is my favorite story in the whole series. Just thinking about how Clay and Elena met and fell in love makes my entire body smile.
Rerereread - 6/3/16: Got a wild hair and started Netflixing BITTEN last night, which made me NEED to read this again. BEGINNINGS is my favorite story in the whole series. Just thinking about how Clay and Elena met and fell in love makes my entire body smile.
August 1, 2022
First read: c. 2005 (online read)
Re-read 1: June 2010 (in Tales of the Otherworld)
Re-read 2: July 2022
Rating: 5/5 stars - favourite
Story #8 in my chronological re-read of the Women of the Otherworld series
I love the story of Clay and Elena’s meeting. This is the start of the Otherworld series proper, in my opinion. Now an academic, Clay takes a two-month position at Toronto University to teach anthropology. After only a few days, he bumps into Elena and is instantly smitten. Elena, a former foster child, now in her third year of studying journalism, is wary – and it is easy to see, from her perspective that Clay shows more than a few ‘red flags’ in his behaviour. The conflict between their growing love and trust in each other against the backdrop of the massive secret Clay can’t share with her, culminates in that visit to Stonehaven, where Elena’s life is changed forever.
General Trivia
- From the clues in the story, we can tell it is set from September 1988 (Clay goes to watch Die Hard, Crocodile Dundee II, and strangely, She’s Having A Baby at the cinema) to March 1989.
- We learn that Logan has now been with the pack for three years, meaning the previous story, Birthright was set in 1985.
- Clay’s doctoral thesis was on half-animal, half-human gods in anthropology.
- Clay taught his lectures in Sidney Smith Hall at the University of Toronto. His course is Anthropology 258: Ritual and Religion in the Americas.
- Clay and Elena meet when she attends his lectures as a student. She later becomes employed as his TA ($8 per hour, 15 hours per week).
- Clay reads Anthropological Quarterly magazine.
- Logan was the first pack member to meet Elena and they are the same age. They are both in their third year of university but Logan goes to Northwestern.
- Clay did an optional course in women’s studies in his final year of his undergraduate degree.
- Clay first got the idea to bite Elena in a dream.
Elena Trivia
- She is twenty years old (making her birth year 1968) and a third-year student at the University of Toronto studying for a degree in Journalism.
- She briefly held a job as a reporter for “a classified ad rag” based on Grosvenor Street.
- Jobs Elena applied for included; proof-reader in Pickering, Koffler Centre campus bookstore employee, coffee shop barista and working in a clothing store.
- She chose anthology as her option module on her degree, with a focus on animal symbolism in religious ritual.
- She has a roommate, Penny, who is the complete opposite of Elena.
- Physical description: natural white-blonde hair, tall, lean athletic build, freckles, and she wears very little or no make-up. She has a faint, fingerprint sized mark on her throat that could either be a birthmark or a old healed burn scar.
- Her parents died when she was young, and she grew up in foster care, where she had several bad experiences; including attempted sexual assaults when she was seventeen, by her seventeen-year-old foster brother Jason.
- Her hobbies include running in the park at night and she used to be on the university running team.
- Her engagement ring is two bands fused in the middle, one white gold with diamond chips and the other is yellow gold with a delicate pattern. Clay proposed on Valentine’s Day 1989.
- Elena was bitten on Easter weekend; so either Saturday 25th or Sunday 26th March 1989.
Re-read 1: June 2010 (in Tales of the Otherworld)
Re-read 2: July 2022
Rating: 5/5 stars - favourite
Story #8 in my chronological re-read of the Women of the Otherworld series
I love the story of Clay and Elena’s meeting. This is the start of the Otherworld series proper, in my opinion. Now an academic, Clay takes a two-month position at Toronto University to teach anthropology. After only a few days, he bumps into Elena and is instantly smitten. Elena, a former foster child, now in her third year of studying journalism, is wary – and it is easy to see, from her perspective that Clay shows more than a few ‘red flags’ in his behaviour. The conflict between their growing love and trust in each other against the backdrop of the massive secret Clay can’t share with her, culminates in that visit to Stonehaven, where Elena’s life is changed forever.
General Trivia
- From the clues in the story, we can tell it is set from September 1988 (Clay goes to watch Die Hard, Crocodile Dundee II, and strangely, She’s Having A Baby at the cinema) to March 1989.
- We learn that Logan has now been with the pack for three years, meaning the previous story, Birthright was set in 1985.
- Clay’s doctoral thesis was on half-animal, half-human gods in anthropology.
- Clay taught his lectures in Sidney Smith Hall at the University of Toronto. His course is Anthropology 258: Ritual and Religion in the Americas.
- Clay and Elena meet when she attends his lectures as a student. She later becomes employed as his TA ($8 per hour, 15 hours per week).
- Clay reads Anthropological Quarterly magazine.
- Logan was the first pack member to meet Elena and they are the same age. They are both in their third year of university but Logan goes to Northwestern.
- Clay did an optional course in women’s studies in his final year of his undergraduate degree.
- Clay first got the idea to bite Elena in a dream.
Elena Trivia
- She is twenty years old (making her birth year 1968) and a third-year student at the University of Toronto studying for a degree in Journalism.
- She briefly held a job as a reporter for “a classified ad rag” based on Grosvenor Street.
- Jobs Elena applied for included; proof-reader in Pickering, Koffler Centre campus bookstore employee, coffee shop barista and working in a clothing store.
- She chose anthology as her option module on her degree, with a focus on animal symbolism in religious ritual.
- She has a roommate, Penny, who is the complete opposite of Elena.
- Physical description: natural white-blonde hair, tall, lean athletic build, freckles, and she wears very little or no make-up. She has a faint, fingerprint sized mark on her throat that could either be a birthmark or a old healed burn scar.
- Her parents died when she was young, and she grew up in foster care, where she had several bad experiences; including attempted sexual assaults when she was seventeen, by her seventeen-year-old foster brother Jason.
- Her hobbies include running in the park at night and she used to be on the university running team.
- Her engagement ring is two bands fused in the middle, one white gold with diamond chips and the other is yellow gold with a delicate pattern. Clay proposed on Valentine’s Day 1989.
- Elena was bitten on Easter weekend; so either Saturday 25th or Sunday 26th March 1989.
August 30, 2012
I read this story as part of the Tales of the Otherworld anthology, but would have bought the book (for the same price) for this story alone. LOVED IT!
Beginnings is the background story on how Elena and Clay met. It was a perfect mix of a little romance, a little drama and lots of humor. Clay as the Cranky Professor was hilarious. His way of reaching out to Elena in the beginning was so awkward and so ... Clay.
I think Armstrong wrote one of the most intriguing heroes in UF with Clay. Direct - bordering on rude, antisocial with psychopathic tendencies... But so pure and so honest. Complicated yet very uncomplicated at the same time. I really loved this insight in the start of their relationship - and in why Clay made that almost unforgivable decision...
Great story: 4,5 stars.
Beginnings is the background story on how Elena and Clay met. It was a perfect mix of a little romance, a little drama and lots of humor. Clay as the Cranky Professor was hilarious. His way of reaching out to Elena in the beginning was so awkward and so ... Clay.
I think Armstrong wrote one of the most intriguing heroes in UF with Clay. Direct - bordering on rude, antisocial with psychopathic tendencies... But so pure and so honest. Complicated yet very uncomplicated at the same time. I really loved this insight in the start of their relationship - and in why Clay made that almost unforgivable decision...
Great story: 4,5 stars.
January 24, 2019
Beginnings – Omg, I swear my heart. I really wished I had read this before Bitten the first time I bet I would have loved it more than I did that first time. Getting Elena and Clay as they found and fell in love is well magical not two ways about that.
June 21, 2015
Clayton you hurt my heart
June 21, 2023
nvm I don't like Clay again.
September 10, 2011
I loved this, because it gave me insight into Clay. I could never understand why he bit her. What was going on in his mind and now I know.
I also loved seeing them fall in love. Meeting them when they were young, before he bit and betrayed her and made her so angry.
I don't usually read these kinds of prequel stories, etc, but maybe I should start.
I also loved seeing them fall in love. Meeting them when they were young, before he bit and betrayed her and made her so angry.
I don't usually read these kinds of prequel stories, etc, but maybe I should start.
August 1, 2017
Another excellent backstory this one of Clay and Elena's history before Bitten. How they met and the circumstances of their relationship before the events in Bitten.
June 2, 2024
This is included in Tales of the otherworld, or in the Omnibus Werewolves edition that also has Bitten and Stolen.
Clay's behavior in the human world is absolutely hilarious. Elena's attitude is surprisingly fairly similar to what we see in Bitten, if a bit more softened because she really tries to be someone else. I absolutely loved the Christmas part, the way she is all childlike in her desire for a traditional christmas...My heart.
I read this out of order, first because I'd read Bitten and Stolen once before long ago, but this time I again chose to read out of chronological order because somehow it works a lot better. In Bitten, Elena is conflicted about her nature, almost blaming the curse for her temper, but in Beginnings, you get to see that in some ways Elena always had that in her, which was interesting to see.
I really loved seeing Elena and Clay meet, and it hit a lot harder having already read Bitten and Stolen, because you already know what happens next, and you know how the matter is eventually resolved. But seeing a human Elena was both odd and fascinating, just as much as seeing Clay's perspective. I do admit he does come very close to having major red flags, but having read Bitten, Stolen and the novella about Clay's childhood, it fits in well enough. Beginnings is far from an attempt to justify Clay's behavior...but it does make a lot more sense. I really loved it, the banter, the smut, everything. This and Savage are by far my favorite novellas of the Otherworld series, if you read only two novellas to accompany Bitten and Stolen, those two are the best ones.
Clay's behavior in the human world is absolutely hilarious. Elena's attitude is surprisingly fairly similar to what we see in Bitten, if a bit more softened because she really tries to be someone else. I absolutely loved the Christmas part, the way she is all childlike in her desire for a traditional christmas...My heart.
I read this out of order, first because I'd read Bitten and Stolen once before long ago, but this time I again chose to read out of chronological order because somehow it works a lot better. In Bitten, Elena is conflicted about her nature, almost blaming the curse for her temper, but in Beginnings, you get to see that in some ways Elena always had that in her, which was interesting to see.
I really loved seeing Elena and Clay meet, and it hit a lot harder having already read Bitten and Stolen, because you already know what happens next, and you know how the matter is eventually resolved. But seeing a human Elena was both odd and fascinating, just as much as seeing Clay's perspective. I do admit he does come very close to having major red flags, but having read Bitten, Stolen and the novella about Clay's childhood, it fits in well enough. Beginnings is far from an attempt to justify Clay's behavior...but it does make a lot more sense. I really loved it, the banter, the smut, everything. This and Savage are by far my favorite novellas of the Otherworld series, if you read only two novellas to accompany Bitten and Stolen, those two are the best ones.
March 21, 2015
Read this in "Tales of the Underworld" and LOVED it! Clay and Elena are my absolute fav PNR couple, perfectly matched, IMO. Clay is a gorgeous lout and Elena a strong-willed heroine in her own right. Most importantly, they love each other unconditionally. The story of how they met, fell in love, is told from both POV's, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Although I DO wish they indulged in a bit more foreplay rather than rough, to-the-point sex all of the time...
May 14, 2016
This is a great story for fans of the Otherworld series.
Beginnings is one of the longest Otherworld stories, but many will argue it to be one of the better ones. It tells the story of Clay and Elena, growing upon those snippets of information we were given throughout the series. We go from having the smallest of details to knowing exactly how things played out.
All in all, a wonderful addition to the Otherworld series.
Beginnings is one of the longest Otherworld stories, but many will argue it to be one of the better ones. It tells the story of Clay and Elena, growing upon those snippets of information we were given throughout the series. We go from having the smallest of details to knowing exactly how things played out.
All in all, a wonderful addition to the Otherworld series.
September 27, 2012
Loved it but left me hanging for more. I haven't yet read the Otherworld books and I'm a bit confused by the order they are supposed to go. I always relied on Goodreads for that, but in this case it doesn't help that much. I'm off to look wiki now :)
March 26, 2020
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! There is so much here: Clay & Elena's first meeting, blossoming romance, engagement to be married, Elena getting a werewolf bite against her will, and Clay being banished from Stonehaven.
May 1, 2012
lovely, wish is hadn't ended so abruptly
November 30, 2017
Otherworld series 0.08. This is a novelette rather than a short story. It takes place about 3 years after the previous story 0.07 “Birthright’ where Logan joins the pack.
Elena desperately needs a job to help her through college. Then Clayton Danvers arrives from the NY werewolf clan as an anthropology prof who hires her as his TA.
Clayton didn’t want to teach the class, but he can’t keep thinking about and following Elena. Before he knows it they’re deeply in a relationship and he can’t figure out how to handle it with the pack rules about no human involvement. One thing I can tell you, I don’t like the ending.
Footnotes: 1) This story is in the ‘Tales of the Otherworld’ collection originally found on the author’s website. You can either read the main books first then go back and pick up the short bits and pieces or, like me, do them all in order and try to figure out who/what everybody is.
2) I can’t really understand about the no humans rule since obviously Logan’s mother was human and there must have been other human mating’s. Seems hypocritical to me.
Fave scene: dropping off the research paper, the nighttime run, throwing the keys and the jewelry store.
Elena desperately needs a job to help her through college. Then Clayton Danvers arrives from the NY werewolf clan as an anthropology prof who hires her as his TA.
Clayton didn’t want to teach the class, but he can’t keep thinking about and following Elena. Before he knows it they’re deeply in a relationship and he can’t figure out how to handle it with the pack rules about no human involvement. One thing I can tell you, I don’t like the ending.
Footnotes: 1) This story is in the ‘Tales of the Otherworld’ collection originally found on the author’s website. You can either read the main books first then go back and pick up the short bits and pieces or, like me, do them all in order and try to figure out who/what everybody is.
2) I can’t really understand about the no humans rule since obviously Logan’s mother was human and there must have been other human mating’s. Seems hypocritical to me.
Fave scene: dropping off the research paper, the nighttime run, throwing the keys and the jewelry store.
June 19, 2023
How Elena and Clay first met and up until her bite … I am just floored with how well this was written! These two characters come alive in the best way possible and make me want to go back and reread Bitten again even though I read it just a couple of weeks ago.
January 27, 2018
How Clay and Elena met and their beginning romance.
December 3, 2019
A cute novella. Not as good as Bitten still.
July 21, 2020
Even better than the first time i read it
Now if only we could get another book for Jeremy and Jaime too
Now if only we could get another book for Jeremy and Jaime too
October 18, 2021
It's the story of how Clay and Elena met and the start of their relationship.
Heather's Notes
I really liked this story and felt very sorry for Clay. He couldn't help it.
Heather's Notes
I really liked this story and felt very sorry for Clay. He couldn't help it.
April 27, 2022
I have always wondered about how they met and their back story. I absolutely loved it.
January 31, 2023
R.L. Stine: TEN SPOOKY STORIES-scholastic
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2024
Clay and Elena falling in love in Toronto 🥰
June 14, 2024
While reading bitten i was practically mentally sobbing with ‘but why’ - glad this book exists and my brain can get a break!
August 27, 2013
หนังสือเรื่องนี้เป็นเรื่องสั้นที่เคลลี่ย์ อาร์มสตรองค์เขียนแล้วนำมาลงให้แฟน ๆ อ่านกันฟรีในอินเตอร์เน็ต แต่สุดท้ายแล้วก็ถูกสำนักพิมพ์ซื้อลิขสิทธิ์ไปตีพิมพ์ ซึ่งตัวหนังสือจะออกขายในนาม Tales of the otherworld โดยจะออกขายพร้อมกับเรื่องสั้นอื่น ๆ อีกหลายเรื่อง ในเดือนสองเดือนนี้แหละ
แม็กซ์เคยอ่านเรื่องนี้ไปนานแล้ว ตั้งแต่สมัยลงในอินเตอร์เน็ตใหม่ ๆ และมันยังคงอยู่ในความทรงจำเสมอ พอดีว่าเราค้นหนังสือเก่าที่แม็กซ์พิมพ์ออกมาเย็บเล่มเอง (คือซื้ออีบุ๊คมา แล้วพิมพ์ออกเป็นเล่มเอสี่เก็บไว้) ทำให้เห็นเล่มนี้อีกครั้ง เลยทำให้เกิดความอยากอ่าน
และเมื่ออ่านจบมันก็นำแม็กซ์กลับไปสู่การเริ่มต้นอ่านหนังสือชุด Otherworld อีกรอบค่ะ
Beginnings ของเคลลี่ย์ อาร์มสตรองค์
สำหรับคนที่ติดตามอ่านหนังสือชุด Otherworld มาก็คงจะรู้จักตัวละครสองตัวที่มีบทบาทสำคัญที่สุดในเรื่องชุดนี้ นั่นก็คือ เอเลน่า ไมเคิลส์ และเคลย์ตัน เดนเวอร์ส
คนหนึ่งเป็นหมาป่าสาวคนเดียวในโลก ส่วนอีกคนเป็นมือขวาของอัลฟ่า ผู้นำเผ่าหมาป่าที่ใหญ่ที่สุดในทวีปอเมริกาเหนือ และคือชายคนที่เปลี่ยนเอเลน่า จากนักศึกษามหาวิทยาลัยธรรมดา กลายเป็นมนุษย์หมาป่า และนำเธอมาสู่โลกแห่งนี้
หนังสือเรื่องนี้ก็ตามชื่อเรื่องนะคะ คือจุดเริ่มต้นของการพบกันของคนทั้งสอง การพบกันที่จบลงด้วยความเจ็บปวด และน้ำตา แต่มันทำให้เราเข้าใจเหตุการณ์ที่เกิดขึ้นอย่างมาก โดยเฉพาะสำหรับคนที่อ่านเรื่อง Bitten แล้วไม่มีโอกาสรับรู้ความคิดของเคลย์ คุณจะได้รู้ว่า อะไรเป็นแรงผลักดันทำให้เขาทำอย่างนั้น
ทรยศหญิงสาวที่เขารักที่สุด และเปลี่ยนเธอเป็นสัตว์ป่า โดยไม่ให้ทางเลือกแก่เธอเลย
เอเลน่า ไมเคิลส์ นักศึกษาในมหาวิทยาลัยแห่งโตรอนโต้ปีสาม ไม่ได้มีชีวิตที่โรยด้วยกลีบกุหลาบ เธอต้องหาเงินเพื่อเรียนหนังสือ ดังนั้นการทำงานพิเศษนอกเวลาเรียนจึงเป็นสิ่งสำคัญอย่างมาก แต่กระนั้นเธอก็ยังให้ความสนใจในวิชามนุษยวิทยา โดยเฉพาะวิชาที่สอนโดยศาสตราจารย์เดนเวอร์ส คนที่เธอเคยใช้ผลงานวิจัยของเขาประกอบการเขียนรายงานเมื่อเทอมก่อน
เมื่อเอเลน่าเห็นว่า ศาสตราจารย์เดนเวอร์สรับคำเชิญของมหาวิทยาลัยมาสอนเป็นกรณีพิเศษยังที่ที่เธอเรียน เอเลน่าจึงไม่ลังเลที่จะเข้าเรียนในวิชาของเขา
แต่เพียงแว่บแรกที่เจอกัน มันก็ไม่ใช่การพบกันที่ราบรื่นนัก เริ่มตั้งแต่เธอเข้าใจว่า ชายหนุ่มผมบลอนด์ แสนหล่อเหลาคนนี้คือผู้ช่วยอาจารย์ และท่าทางขวางโลกจนถึงขั้นหยาบคายของเขาก็ไม่ได้ช่วยทำให้ความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างลูกศิษย์อาจารย์คู่นี้ดีขึ้น
สำหรับเคลย์ เขาก็ไม่เข้าใจตัวเองเหมือนกันว่า ทำไมจึงตอบรับคำเชิญมาสอนที่โตรอนโต้ มันห่างไกลจากบ้านที่เขารักยิ่งนัก ตลอดชีวิตนับตั้งแต่เขาได้พบกับเจรามี่ แทบจะไม่มีช่วงไหนเลยที่เขาห่างไกลจากถิ่นที่อยู่ และอัลฟ่าผู้เขาตั้งตัวเองเป็นผู้ปกป้อง แต่เจรามี่ก็ดูจะดีใจกับการที่เขาได้รับคำเชิญ เพราะมันหมายถึงความสำเร็จในชีวิตการทำงาน (ซึ่งเคลย์ไม่แคร์มันด้วยซ้ำ) และถ้านั่นเป็นสิ่งที่เจรามี่ต้องการ เคลย์ก็พร้อมที่จะทำให้ทุกอย่าง แต่เมื่อเขามาถึงเมืองทางเหนือ เคลย์ก็เริ่มตั้งคำถามกับการตัดสินใจของตัวเอง
จนกระทั่งเขาได้พบกับเอเลน่า
สัญชาตญาณของเขาบอกว่า ไม่อาจปล่อยให้เธอจากไปได้ และเช่นเดียวกับหมาป่าผู้คลั่งไคล้ เขาทำทุกอย่างเพื่อทำให้เธออยู่ใกล้ แม้มันจะหมายถึงการคิดตำแหน่งงานหลอก ๆ ขึ้นมา เคลย์ขอให้เอเลน่ามาเป็นผู้ช่วยอาจารย์ ทั้งที่ตัวเองไม่เคยต้องการให้มนุษย์คนไหนมาอยู่ใกล้ และรวมไปถึงการทำทุกอย่างเพื่อรู้จักเธอให้มากขึ้น
แม้ว่าจะเป็นการแอบติดตามเธอไปทุกหนทุกแห่ง เพื่อที่จะได้รู้จักตัวตนที่แท้จริงของเธอ
เคลย์ผู้เติบโตมาพร้อมกับความเป็นหมาป่าในกาย (เพราะเขาคือหมาป่าที่ถูกกัดตั้งแต่เด็ก ในขณะที่หมาป่าตามกำเนิดจะกลายเป็นหมาป่าเมื่อโตเต็มวัย) เขามีสัญชาตญาณของสัตว์ป่าในกายเต็มที่ และสำหรับหมาป่าแล้ว มีผู้หญิงเพียงคนเดียวสำหรับพวกเขา และนั่นอาจจะเป็นเหตุผลที่ตลอดชีวิต เคลย์ไม่เคยมีความสัมพันธ์กับผู้หญิงคนไหน ไม่สนใจด้วยซ้ำ
จนกระทั่งเอเลน่า
เธอคือผู้หญิงคนแรก และคนสุดท้ายสำหรับเขา
แต่ความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างมนุษย์หมาป่า และมนุษย์ไม่ใช่สิ่งที่ได้รับความเห็นชอบ กระทั่งการที่เขาเป็นลูกบุญธรรมของอัลฟ่า���็ไม่ได้ทำให้เคลย์มีสิทธิที่จะฝืนกฎ ความสัมพันธ์กับผู้หญิงเป็นสิ่งที่ไม่จีรัง พวกเขาอาจมีความรัก แต่ในท้ายที่สุดก็ต้องเดินจากเธอไป ความลับของพวกเขาสำคัญยิ่งเกินกว่าจะเปิดเผยให้รับรู้ได้
ความเป็นหมาป่าในตัวของเคลย์ไม่อาจยอมรับสิ่งนั้นได้ และในขณะเดียวกันมันก็ไม่ยอมให้เขาเดินออกจากเผ่า แม้มันจะหมายถึงการที่เขาได้อยู่กับเอเลน่า และเคลย์ไม่อาจมีชีวิตรอดได้ถ้าไม่มีเผ่าหมาป่า และเจรามี่
มันเป็นหนังสือที่ไม่มีตอนจบอย่างเป็นสุข (ซึ่งคนที่อ่านเรื่อง Bitten ก็น่าจะรู้อยู่แล้ว เพร��ะเรื่อง Bitten คือผลลัพธ์ของการกระทำของเคลย์) แต่เรื่องนี้คือจุดเริ่มต้น และมันทำให้เราเข้าใจการกระทำของเคลย์ ชายหนุ่มผู้ไม่เคยคิดว่าจะตกหลุมรัก แต่เมื่อเขารัก...
มันคือที่สุด คือทุกอย่างในชีวิต
รักของเคลย์ไม่ใช่ความรักที่เสียสละ เขาไม่อาจปล่อยเอเลน่าออกไปจากชีวิตได้ แม้มันจะเป็นการทำให้ชีวิตของเธอดีขึ้น เขาเลือกที่จะทำในสิ่งที่ทำให้เขาและหญิงสาวที่เรารักที่สุดในชีวิตบาดหมางกันไป และเอเลน่าไม่ยอมให้อภัยเขาไปอีกเป็นเวลาถึงสิบเอ็ดปี
แม็กซ์อ่านเล่มนี้จบ และเกิดความรู้สึกสงสาีรเคลย์ (และเอเลน่าเล็กน้อย) เหลือเกิน จนในท้ายที่สุดก็เลยไปหยิบเรื่อง Bitten มาอ่านอีกรอบ เพราะเราไม่อาจปล่อยให้ตอนจบของเรื่องนี้ตามหลอกหลอนเราต่อไปได้
เป็นหนึ่งในหนังสือที่เรารักมากที่สุด และแม็กซ์ก็รอคอยการพิมพ์ออกมาขายในฉบับหนังสืออย่างใจจดจ่อ
คะแนนที่ 87
ป.ล. หนังสือชุด Otherworld ไม่ใช่โรแมนซ์นะคะ แต่ว่าไปแล้ว เรื่องสั้นเรื่องนี้หวานที่สุดเรื่องนึง ถ้าไม่นับตอนจบที่แสนเศร้า เราว่าเรื่องนี้เข้าข่ายโรแมนซ์เชียวล่ะ
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January 9, 2021published in "tales of the otherworld" anthology
October 17, 2013
BOOK REVIEW by Michelle 7th October 2013:
RATING: 4.5 CLAYTON STARS!
This is what I had been waiting to read in Bitten , Women Of The Otherworld # 1. We get to see how Clay and Elena met and about that bite. What led up to it.
We get to spend some time with Logan as well and I really liked that. I thought in Bitten we weren’t given a chance to see what Elena saw in him before his tragic end. I couldn’t grieve his character because I didn’t really know him. Now after reading Beginnings I feel kind of sad that Kelley knocked him off.
Nick was another surprise for me in Beginnings. His character seemed a lot more submissive in Bitten but in this book he comes across a bit more chatty and he felt a bit more on an even ground with Clayton.
I liked seeing Clay in this prequel novella. I felt like I understood him more and saw his desperation from being in his head when he bit Elena. I certainly think that was missing from Bitten.
This novella could have been shorter, but I did enjoy watching Elena and Clay bonding, before the big da...da...daaaaaaa...bite that drove Elena away from Clay for so many years.
This 210 page novella is told from both Clayton and Elena’s pov’s. I think this is a must to read after Bitten. There are several short stories ranging from 12 pages to 210 pages within the anthology , Tales Of The Otherworld. I am choosing the ones that apply to the books in the series I have read up to. Then I will go back and read more once I am up to those short stories. This was the longest story in the anthology.
Onto Ghosts next # 1.1 I am trying to pick the order to read them in, which is getting a little interesting as Goodreads lists them in an order but there is another anthology titled, Men Of The Otherworld. Goodreads list them in a certain order to read, but then I haven't read enough books to know these other characters and I don't want any spoilers as they are all prequel or parts that were missing from original stories. So I will do it my way and it should all pan out. I think if I had read about 8 books in the series I could read them in the order on Goodreads but I haven't.
Michelle
RATING: 4.5 CLAYTON STARS!
This is what I had been waiting to read in Bitten , Women Of The Otherworld # 1. We get to see how Clay and Elena met and about that bite. What led up to it.
We get to spend some time with Logan as well and I really liked that. I thought in Bitten we weren’t given a chance to see what Elena saw in him before his tragic end. I couldn’t grieve his character because I didn’t really know him. Now after reading Beginnings I feel kind of sad that Kelley knocked him off.
Nick was another surprise for me in Beginnings. His character seemed a lot more submissive in Bitten but in this book he comes across a bit more chatty and he felt a bit more on an even ground with Clayton.
I liked seeing Clay in this prequel novella. I felt like I understood him more and saw his desperation from being in his head when he bit Elena. I certainly think that was missing from Bitten.
This novella could have been shorter, but I did enjoy watching Elena and Clay bonding, before the big da...da...daaaaaaa...bite that drove Elena away from Clay for so many years.
This 210 page novella is told from both Clayton and Elena’s pov’s. I think this is a must to read after Bitten. There are several short stories ranging from 12 pages to 210 pages within the anthology , Tales Of The Otherworld. I am choosing the ones that apply to the books in the series I have read up to. Then I will go back and read more once I am up to those short stories. This was the longest story in the anthology.
Onto Ghosts next # 1.1 I am trying to pick the order to read them in, which is getting a little interesting as Goodreads lists them in an order but there is another anthology titled, Men Of The Otherworld. Goodreads list them in a certain order to read, but then I haven't read enough books to know these other characters and I don't want any spoilers as they are all prequel or parts that were missing from original stories. So I will do it my way and it should all pan out. I think if I had read about 8 books in the series I could read them in the order on Goodreads but I haven't.
Michelle
October 17, 2013
BOOK REVIEW by Michelle 7th October 2013:
RATING: 4.5 CLAYTON STARS!
This is what I had been waiting to read in Bitten , Women Of The Otherworld # 1. We get to see how Clay and Elena met and about that bite. What led up to it.
We get to spend some time with Logan as well and I really liked that. I thought in Bitten we weren’t given a chance to see what Elena saw in him before his tragic end. I couldn’t grieve his character because I didn’t really know him. Now after reading Beginnings I feel kind of sad that Kelley knocked him off.
Nick was another surprise for me in Beginnings. His character seemed a lot more submissive in Bitten but in this book he comes across a bit more chatty and he felt a bit more on an even ground with Clayton.
I liked seeing Clay in this prequel novella. I felt like I understood him more and saw his desperation from being in his head when he bit Elena. I certainly think that was missing from Bitten.
This novella could have been shorter, but I did enjoy watching Elena and Clay bonding, before the big da...da...daaaaaaa...bite that drove Elena away from Clay for so many years.
This 210 page novella is told from both Clayton and Elena’s pov’s. I think this is a must to read after Bitten. There are several short stories ranging from 12 pages to 210 pages within the anthology , Tales Of The Otherworld. I am choosing the ones that apply to the books in the series I have read up to. Then I will go back and read more once I am up to those short stories. This was the longest story in the anthology.
Onto Ghosts next # 1.1 I am trying to pick the order to read them in, which is getting a little interesting as Goodreads lists them in an order but there is another anthology titled, Men Of The Otherworld. Goodreads list them in a certain order to read, but then I haven't read enough books to know these other characters and I don't want any spoilers as they are all prequel or parts that were missing from original stories. So I will do it my way and it should all pan out. I think if I had read about 8 books in the series I could read them in the order on Goodreads but I haven't.
Michelle
RATING: 4.5 CLAYTON STARS!
This is what I had been waiting to read in Bitten , Women Of The Otherworld # 1. We get to see how Clay and Elena met and about that bite. What led up to it.
We get to spend some time with Logan as well and I really liked that. I thought in Bitten we weren’t given a chance to see what Elena saw in him before his tragic end. I couldn’t grieve his character because I didn’t really know him. Now after reading Beginnings I feel kind of sad that Kelley knocked him off.
Nick was another surprise for me in Beginnings. His character seemed a lot more submissive in Bitten but in this book he comes across a bit more chatty and he felt a bit more on an even ground with Clayton.
I liked seeing Clay in this prequel novella. I felt like I understood him more and saw his desperation from being in his head when he bit Elena. I certainly think that was missing from Bitten.
This novella could have been shorter, but I did enjoy watching Elena and Clay bonding, before the big da...da...daaaaaaa...bite that drove Elena away from Clay for so many years.
This 210 page novella is told from both Clayton and Elena’s pov’s. I think this is a must to read after Bitten. There are several short stories ranging from 12 pages to 210 pages within the anthology , Tales Of The Otherworld. I am choosing the ones that apply to the books in the series I have read up to. Then I will go back and read more once I am up to those short stories. This was the longest story in the anthology.
Onto Ghosts next # 1.1 I am trying to pick the order to read them in, which is getting a little interesting as Goodreads lists them in an order but there is another anthology titled, Men Of The Otherworld. Goodreads list them in a certain order to read, but then I haven't read enough books to know these other characters and I don't want any spoilers as they are all prequel or parts that were missing from original stories. So I will do it my way and it should all pan out. I think if I had read about 8 books in the series I could read them in the order on Goodreads but I haven't.
Michelle
July 28, 2013
This is far more a short novel than a short story which I soon realized when I started reading it and it was divided into chapters (switching back and forth between the points of view of Clay and Elena). This is the story of how Clay and Elena (who we meet for the first time) met while Clay was teaching at UofT (University of Toronto in Canada). In a previous story it was mentioned that Clay was looking for a mate, someone he could be with for life. However due to there not being an female werewolves this practice has been forbidden by The Pack in order to protect their members. One-nighters are fine, casual dating is fine, but nothing long-term. This poses a big problem for Clay as he walks the thin line between keeping Elena and keeping The Pack.
This story was enjoyable but I found it was a bit too dragged out. I seemed to struggle through it as other stories and books stole my attention easily and this got set aside. This could be in part due to its length. From reading past stories in this series I got comfortable with each story only being between 10 and 50 pages which I could get through quickly and move on. Also by only being that short, those stories seemed more action packed while this one carried on longer and there were more passive scenes where Elena was in her dorm room, or they were in Clay's office working, etc.
This was also the first "story" that really brought home the idea that this is an adult series. Although previous stories included violence and murder (usually wolf vs wolf - but not always) this includes human vs. human murder as well as sex. both of which are fairly fully described and emphasized. So be warned if that is not your type of story.
This story was enjoyable but I found it was a bit too dragged out. I seemed to struggle through it as other stories and books stole my attention easily and this got set aside. This could be in part due to its length. From reading past stories in this series I got comfortable with each story only being between 10 and 50 pages which I could get through quickly and move on. Also by only being that short, those stories seemed more action packed while this one carried on longer and there were more passive scenes where Elena was in her dorm room, or they were in Clay's office working, etc.
This was also the first "story" that really brought home the idea that this is an adult series. Although previous stories included violence and murder (usually wolf vs wolf - but not always) this includes human vs. human murder as well as sex. both of which are fairly fully described and emphasized. So be warned if that is not your type of story.
June 7, 2022
Ha sido adorable leer cómo se conocieron Elena y Clay, y ha sido genial poder comprender un poco más a Clay y su actitud. Con estas historias cortas se consigue un contexto y un esquema más profundo de los personajes, sus comportamientos, sus reacciones y sus acciones. Y ver a Elena sin ningún tipo de preocupación a parte de conseguir un trabajo y el suficiente dinero como para vivir, sin la ansiedad, la rabia y el rencor hacia Clay del primer libro ha sido muy guay. Ver el antes y el después. Creo que la autora ha hecho un magnífico trabajo a la hora de plasmar el trauma que esto supuso en la vida de Elena y las consecuencias que conllevó su transformación a lobo, y cómo todo esto hizo que Elena cambiase en muchos aspectos de su personalidad, comportamiento y en su vida en general.
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