No Humans Involved (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

Jaime Vegas (necromancer) hopes taking part in a television programme which intends to raise the ghost of Marilyn Monroe will lead to her being offered a show of her own. However, before that can happen she finds out the gardens of the house she is staying in hold a far nastier secret. Jaime calls on her fellow supernaturals for help - Jeremy Danvers the alpha werewolf and Eve Levine her contact on the other side. It quickly becomes apparent that something evil is at work and Jaime may need to push herself and her powers farther than she's dared to before.

I freely admit I am a huge Kelley Armstrong fan and this book doesn't disappoint. Jaime is perhaps one of my favourite characters, maybe because with her insecurities she is the most human of the supernaturals we have met in the Otherworld.

Her relationship with Jeremy is touching and believable and takes a big step forward here. He, the alpha werewolf who gives no outward signs of his feelings and Jaime who almost seems to overflow with emotion at times. I have been looking forward to them appearing in a book together ever since it became apparent how she felt about him and I think the relationship works beautifully.

Kelley Armstrong's characters are always a delight to read, every one an individual with their own motivations, quirks, fears and desires. As a bonus they also talk like real people - not just like characters in a book. (My favourite one-liner being Eve's sock puppet reference towards the end of the story.) We also get a sneak peek at how Marsten and Hope's relationship has been developing, which makes me look forward even more to the next book.

Some readers may question the presence of Lucas and Paige as they do seem slightly superfluous to the storyline. However, Savannah is necessary to the plot and without her adoptive parents it would be harder to explain why she suddenly appeared. So I can understand why they are included, though they don't appear to contribute much to the story.

If you've not read the previous six books this is a pretty accessible entry in the series. Though there are references to characters and events from previous books the main plotline is pretty much standalone. Bitten remains my favourite Otherworld book, but No Humans Involved definitely makes my top three. And I'm already looking forward to Book 8.

I couldn't decide whether to give this book 3 stars, or 4. I settled on 4, finally, and this is why:

This book was a bit disappointing for me, a huge fan of Armstrong's Otherworld novels. The characters are believable despite their near invincibility, and you quickly grow to love them. I really find myself caring what happens to each and every character beyond each book, and I look forward eagerly to each new release.

But this book doesn't quite make it to Armstrong's usual standards. Jaime's voice seems weaker than I remember it. Maybe this is because part of Jaime's charm is deeply ingrained in how OTHERS see her, not how she sees herself, so you lose a great deal of that when Jaime is speaking in the first person as she does throughout this book. For me, this meant that some of Jaime's appeal was missing and, although the plot is incredibly engrossing, I couldn't quite relax into the book as much as I had with the others. I also felt that Jeremy seemed a little out of character from how he is portrayed in the other novels. A lot of this could be argued away by pointing out that it's the first time we really see him away from the Pack and without his 'Alpha face' on but I'm not quite convinced this is all there is to it.

Despite these minor misgivings, the book still deserves 4 stars for the fast paced plot and captivating twists and turns. Unlike many of the other women in these books, Jaime doesn't have super strength, or the ability to defend herself with magic. Her powers aren't showy, and most of the time they're not even useful, but in this novel Armstrong makes Jaime stand just as powerfully and just as ethereal as the other women. We get an insight into necromancy that has only been touched on before, and, despite how human Jaime seems in almost every way, she reminds everyone, even Jeremy the werewolf Alpha, that her power is the darkest, dangerous one around.

I really enjoyed the manner in which this book concluded and, although I was just a *little* disappointed, I am looking forward to other novels by Kelley Armstrong, as she is still the best writer of supernatural fiction alive today, in my opinion.

I enjoyed this book, as I have every other book in the series. Jaime is actually a lot more interesting than I expected, and she even surprised me in the final climactic scenes. One of the themes in Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld Series is the actual humanity and everyday ordinariness of her extraordinary characters. Because Jaime's power was always so passive and her narratve voice is so normal, when she actually utilised her powers aggressively I was taken aback. And thrilled. There's nothing like a kick-ass heroine to elevate a paranormal book into cult classic status (hence I think the overwhelming appeal of Armstrong's most popular heroine Elena Michaels).

It was nice that Jeremy also got his moment in the spotlight, although some of the scenes made me feel a bit embarrassed. Not because I'm prudish, but in the other books Jeremy occupied a 'parent' role where the protaganists were concerned, and to suddenly read about him in romantic-hero mode (with all that entails) was a bit icky. But I got over it, and the details aren't as graphic as some other books in the same genre.

This book also guest-stars Hope Adams, which was very welcome. Here's a character I can't wait to read more of, and as the next book is all about her, I say roll on!