FORBIDDEN (Otherworld #10.1 ) by Kelley Armstrong- a review

ABOUT THE BOOK: The team-spirit sign by the side of the highway seems a good omen to loner Morgan Walsh, as he drives to what could be the most important visit of his life — a chance to join the North American Pack. Then he wakes naked in the woods, surrounded by wolf tracks and a ring of suspicious cops. The situation only gets worse when he’s bailed out by Alpha-elect Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers, her terrifying enforcer and mate.

Disappointed that such a promising young werewolf risked exposing them, Elena isn’t expecting anything from the pesky retrieval job except some much-needed alone time with Clay. Instead, she finds a different kind of evil stalking the streets and forests of Westwood, New York. Trapped in town by a snowstorm and sabotage, Elena, Clay and Morgan must find the mysterious threat before it sets its sights on them.

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REVIEW: FORBIDDEN is the latest release (December 31, 2012) in Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series. When Kelley’s Women of the Otherworld series ended with THIRTEEN mid 2012, she let her fans know she would continue the series with novellas and short stories. December 2012 saw the release of two novellas from her continuing Otherworld series AMITYVILLE HORRIBLE (Jaime Vegas) and FORBIDDEN (The Werewolves with Morgan Walsh).

Forbidden was an interesting storyline but a familiar one as well. We first met Morgan Walsh, a ‘mutt’ werewolf in Frostbitten, during one of Clay and Elena’s adventures in Alaska. At the time, Morgan was invited back to Stonehaven (the New York Pack Den) to get to know the other wolves. Forbidden focuses on Morgan’s trip to New York and his indecision to join the strongest pack in the United States. Morgan will find himself in the unenviable position as the town’s scapegoat for a series of murders and missing young men.

Now here is where the familiarity falls into play-FORBIDDEN reads so similarly to FROSTBITTEN that I thought –wow, I have read this premise before: cold snow-bound frontier; eerie rituals and strange happenings; dismembered bodies and missing people (this time young males); strange reclusive cabin in the woods; Clay’s anthropology background will come into play with ritualistic drawings and chants; and hunting for mutt or rogue werewolves. There is even the late night snow runs and romping in the great outdoors where the wolves come upon a buried body in the snow and, add Morgan Walsh the reluctant pack wolf, and the premise is almost identical.

I am a big fan of Kelley’s Otherworld series but FORBIDDEN was more of the same. I was hoping for more information about Morgan-his beginnings, his family and his brother Blaine. There is very little in the way of getting to know Morgan-he spends most of his time in custody or trying to find Clay’s good side-if he had one. And yet, Morgan admits, once again, he is not a fighter and does not know if he will bring anything new to the pack-again-same as in Frostbitten.

FORBIDDEN is a quick read and a well-written storyline, but one that does not necessarily add anything new to the series. I am reluctant to be negative because Kelley’s Women of the Otherworld as well as her Otherworld series are one of my favorite paranormal series, especially when the storylines involve the werewolves and FORBIDDEN was all about the wolves. If you are a fan of Kelley’s series, this storyline will be familiar but it is one that we will all want to read.

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Reviewed by Sandy