FIRST LOOK: Omens by Kelley Armstrong

For anyone who isn’t familiar with my book reviews, or has never read anything I’ve ever written (because, let’s face it, I mention it quite a lot!) I am a massive Kelley Armstrong fan, so jumped at the chance to review Omens. It’s been a few months now since Armstrong wrapped up her majorly successful Women of the Otherworld series with Thirteen, so it’s a big step to start a whole new series without having the Otherworld series as a backup.

Back to the point at hand, Omens is the first book in Armstrong’s new series, Omens and Shadows. Olivia Jones is going about her privileged life as if its any other day, attending a charity event with her fiancé, voluntarily helping out the less fortunate than herself, little does she know her life as she knows it is about to be blown apart when her Mother reveals some information about her birth.

When Olivia discovers that she was adopted, she thinks things couldn’t get any worse…until she finds out just who her biological parent are. Notorious serial killers. Both still alive, in prison. The wider population seeks revenge for the cruel acts her parents committed, and Olivia finds herself in immediate danger.

Running for her life, she realises that when she needs her friends and family the most, they are no help to her at all when they learn who her birth parent are. After all, who would truly trust the product of two people that committed such vicious and violent acts on another human being?

Armstrong’s characterization is, without a doubt, the best I’ve ever come across. Within a single scene she is able to establish a characters traits and characteristics, and her writing style makes me actually like half the characters (usually it takes me a while to like even a few in a series). Olivia isn’t the spoilt little rich girl everyone assumes her to be; in fact, she is far from it. When she becomes the center of the media’s attention, she going into hiding in the small town of Cainsville where she is determined to live a normal life, free from all the perks money as offered her. She gets a job, finds an apartment and tries to figure out what to do.

Kelley Armstrong

Further into the novel we are introduced to Gabriel Walsh, successful lawyer and possible suitor for Olivia. He is as you would expect, if you are familiar with Armstrong’s previous male characters in other novels; a strongly masculine man, complete with the arrogance that comes with the territory. Overall, Gabriel is an interesting character that adds another dimension to the novel; I admit, I’m intrigued to see what will happened between him and Olivia in the following books.

 

Armstrong’s previous novels have all had a supernatural element to them, and Omens is no exception. Being the first book in a new series, things get off to a slow start on the supernatural front, but there are plenty of clues and indications here and there, and the next book should have a few treats in store for readers.

So, an interesting start to a brilliant new series, Kelley Armstrong is back doing what she does best, writing A-class bestsellers. The second book in the Cainsville’s series is scheduled for release in early 2014; until then, we will just have to be content to with Armstrong’s next release, Wild Justice, third in the Nadia Stafford series, which I cannot wait to read! 

You can purchase Omens here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Omens-Cainsville-Trilogy-Kelley-Armstrong/dp/184744511X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376505141&sr=8-1&keywords=omens