Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, Book 1) by Kelley Armstrong
A friend of mine said that this is the series she recommends to readers new to the horror/werewolf/other genre and a few chapters into the book I knew why. Armstrong has taken a worked over theme, werewolves, and given it new life. She does use some of the old stereotypes but has reworked the mythology to create something new, and as a bonus, she is a good writer as well.
There is not so much of the horror aspect present in the novel as to scare off new readers to the genre. Armstrong focuses more on the characters and the pack as family theme. The main character, Elena, the only female werewolf in the world, struggles to accept her non-traditional family because she dreams of white picket fences. I enjoyed the book, though it did drag a bit at times, but not enough to make me want to stop reading it.
Recommended: Good for lovers of the genre and newbies alike