Gwen’s review of Hunting Ground (Alpha and Omega, Book 2) by Patricia Briggs
Paranormal romantic suspense released by Ace 29 Aug 09

I love Briggs’ storytelling.  Her books are always these lovely tales that are full of interesting, unique, and oddly believable paranormal elements.  You sincerely feel as if her world could exist and she’s just telling you about it like a newspaper relates events.  I love that kind of confidence in an author – I have no trouble giving them several hours of my time because I know it won’t be wasted. 

The Alpha & Omega books are set in the same world as the Mercy Thompson books.  While Mercy is told in first person POV, the A&O books are in third (yay!).  We get to see into all of the characters’ motivations and heads. There are a few common characters, some common story arcs, and common species, but that’s where the similarities between the two series ends.  And Hunting stands alone fine – no need to read the first book in the A&O  series; but why deprive yourself, read it already.

Charles and Anna are set the task of negotiating the U.S. werewolves’ “coming out” to the public.  They’re negotiating the reveal with the other werewolf communities – helping some to stay hidden, helping others with public relations expertise and expense, and just generally making sure everyone knows what is about to happen.

As you can imagine, there are quite a few beings who are NOT happy about this upcoming event.  There are plots within plots and lots of gamesmanship involved – some of it deadly.  I had a lot of fun reading all the action and machinations.

The romance between Charles and Anna continues to be sweet.  However, I would have liked to read more about their one on one time and that’s the only reason I dropped the grade from an A to a B.  Otherwise, I really enjoyed the book.

I highly recommend the book to fans of the author and the series.  It stands alone fine, so if you haven’t read any of the related books, please pick this one up.  It’s a very fun story chock-a-block with lots of interesting action and characters.

Grade: B++

Read other reviews and information by following the series’ tag here.

Summary:

Mated to werewolf Charles Cornick, the son -and enforcer -of the leader of the North American werewolves, Anna Latham now knows how dangerous being a werewolf is, especially when a werewolf opposes Charles and his father is struck down. Charles’s reputation makes him the prime suspect, and the penalty for the crime is execution. Now Anna and Charles must combine their talents to hunt down the real killer -or Charles will take the fall.

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

Untitled Book 3, Aug 2010

LauraD’s review of Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega, Book 1) by Patricia Briggs
Urban fantasy/Contemporary paranormal romance released by Ace 29 Jul 08

I had been hearing the buzz about Patricia Briggs’ new novel, so I was thrilled to win a copy from Avidbookreader. I am one of the few readers who hasn’t yet read one of the Mercy Thompson books, so I went into my first Patricia Briggs experience with a completely open mind.

Anna Latham is a werewolf; as the book begins she is in the process of leaving her pack in Chicago where she has been the object of sexual abuse on a regular basis. The pack leader is dead, killed by Anna’s new mate Charles. Charles is an alpha by nature, but instead of leading a pack he works as an enforcer for his father who leads all werewolves as the Marrok. The Marrok had sent Charles to Chicago to solve problems within the Chicago pack; while there Charles recognized Anna as a rare Omega wolf, with the power to calm other wolves. He also claimed her as his mate and she is moving to Montana to be part of the Marrok’s pack.

The first couple of chapters of Cry Wolf are quite confusing if, like me, you didn’t know that these characters were previously introduced in a short story from an anthology called On the Prowl. If you don’t read it first, you will be doing some guesswork and making some assumptions, as this book starts immediately after that short story ends. It’s possible that more of Anna’s backstory was told there, but the very abrupt beginning to Cry Wolf made me put it down for several days.

Fortunately, I picked it back up again. Patricia Briggs does a nice job of building her werewolf society without dumping a lot of information on the reader at one time. Characters are introduced when it’s appropriate and when they have a purpose. Unlike most series, no one exists just to scream “sequel bait”. I especially hope to see more of Asil as the series continues, I found his character fascinating.

Anna and Charles are just lovely. She has been badly abused, and Charles understands that it’s not something that Anna is going to get over quickly or easily. He makes many small, caretaking gestures that show her he can be trusted; and at one point when he is badly injured he changes from wolf to human because Anna needs him to be human – even though it will slow his healing significantly. Forced to be judge, jury, and sometimes executioner for his father, Charles battles internal demons but keeps his morals and ethics intact.

On her part, Anna is brave and open minded; while she occasionally wants to obey her flight instinct she isn’t stupid. She understands the changes in her life are inevitable, and she approaches them head on.

Of course, there is a suspense plot. A rogue werewolf is in the Montana forests, and a human has seen it. Charles has to find the werewolf, and take care of the problem one way or another. Anna convinces him to take her with him into the woods, and they battle both the elements and genuine evil.

Cry Wolf is a great start to what is probably going to be a wonderful series. I wish the book itself had a better start; for me the abrupt beginning was what kept it from being an “A” read. I’m just hoping there’s not an anthology published between this Alpha and Omega book and the next one; I don’t want to start off behind again!

Grade: B+

Read other reviews by following the Cry Wolf tag.

Summary:

Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member-and as his mate.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Gwen’s review of Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega, Book 1) by Patricia Briggs
Urban fantasy/Contemporary paranormal romance released by Ace 29 Jul 08

Patricia Briggs has been on my very short list of favorite writers ever since I read the first book in the Mercy Thompson series, Moon Called, in February 2006. I wait, very impatiently, for each new Mercy release. It looks like I’ll be waiting, equally impatient, for future releases in the “Anna and Charles” series. Yes, it was that good.

With the Mercy Thompson books, Briggs created a world where the paranormal is beginning to take hold in everyday life. “Normal” people are slowly being introduced to the not so normal – fae, vampires, etc. And, soon, werewolves will be part of the known universe. Unless those opposed to the revelation get their way. Cry Wolf is set in Mercy’s world and focuses on the leader of all the American werewolves – the Marrok – and his pack, of which Charles and Anna, our hero and heroine, are part.

(First – sincere apologies for the grammar in this paragraph, but I just can’t force myself to adhere to The Rules tonight.) One of the things I like the most about Briggs’s writing is how rich in detail it is. Her world has a smell and taste, and I can feel the characters’ environment on every page. The writing isn’t bogged down one bit by this attention to detail – in fact, it is all dovetailed with extraordinary emotional development. Briggs has an elegance to her pacing and phrasing that delivers a punch in every sentence. And, thankfully, Briggs has not written Cry Wolf in first person – unlike Mercy’s books.

The lead characters in Cry Wolf, Anna and Charles, share large portions of the stage with Charles’s father and other members of his pack. Even so, we get to know Anna and Charles very well, and they’re more than one dimensional characters in this book. The beginning of their relationship is in the short story “Alpha and Omega”, however, so be aware that if you pick this book up without reading it, you may feel a bit at sea with some details. I recommend reading it before read Cry Wolf, though I think someone familiar with Mercy’s world could skip it.

Where the Mercy books are strictly urban fantasy with really no HEA’s, this book definitely has one. The emotional development is very satisfying and the action is gripping. I can’t say enough good about this book without gushing very unbecomingly.

I highly recommend this book to any fans of paranormal romance. I highly recommend the Mercy books to anyone who loves urban fantasy, as well. I also highly recommend Briggs’s writing to anyone who simply likes an elegant turn of phrase.

Grade: A

Summary:

Anna never knew werewolves existed, until the night she survived a violent attack… and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. Then Charles Cornick, the enforcer – and son – of the leader of the North American werewolves, came into her life.

Charles insists that not only is Anna his mate, but she is also a rare and valued Omega wolf. And it is Anna’s inner strength and calming presence that will prove invaluable as she and Charles go on the hunt in search of a rogue werewolf – a creature bound in magic so dark that it could threaten all of the pack…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

• The prequel to the Alpha and Omega series is the short story “Alpha and Omega” in the anthology On the Prowl. Read my review here.

What’s next for Briggs:

• Briggs’s short story, “Star of David,” is in the Christmas anthology Wolfsbane & Mistletoe and is in Mercy’s world. Excerpt here. Releases in Dec 08.
• Book 4 in the Mercy Thompson series, Bone Crossed, releases 3 Feb 09. There’s an excerpt in the back of Cry Wolf. Squeee!

Gwen’s review of On the Prowl by Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, and Sunny
Paranormal, Fantasy Anthology released by Berkley 7 Aug 07

Anthologies are interesting, especially when they’re about related topics – in this case, people with two natures - animal and human.  This set of four stories all have critters in common: werewolves, hellhounds, dragons, and tigers. Two of these authors I know something about (Briggs and Wilks), but two were new to me (Chance and Sunny).  It’s interesting to read new authors in this context.  Sometimes they suffer by comparison, and sometimes they benefit by getting a new audience.

Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs

     The werewolf Anna finds a new sense of self when the son of the werewolf king comes to town to quell unrest in the Chicago pack – and inspires a power in Anna that she’s never felt before.

Read an excerpt.

A&O is by one of my favorite paranormal authors, Patricia Briggs.  Her Mercy Thompson series is a very fun read and this story is linked to it thru a couple of characters, but it is standalone enough to read by itself.  What I like about Briggs’s stories is they’re very “real” – her characters, for all their special abilities, have normal jobs and normal concerns.  It’s like reading about your neighbor or your best friend, thrown into extraordinary situations.  It’s all so compelling and so readable.  Whenever I stopped reading A&O for some real-life interruption, I couldn’t wait to get back to the story.  Briggs tells us more about Anna and Charles (the heroine and hero) in August 2008 and I can’t wait.

Grade: A

Inhuman by Eileen Wilks

     Kai has a secret gift of sensing thoughts and desires.  What she senses in her neighbor Nathan could be dangerous.  Because he has a secret gift, too, and it’s about to be let loose.

[Note from Gwen: An excerpt is available on the author's website, but you have to sign up for her newsletter to get it  :-(  .  Insult to injury - the newsletter sign up didn't work properly for me when I visited her site (clickie no workie).]

This is by another of my favorite paranormal authors, Eileen Wilks.  Her World of the Lupi series is unique, sexy, and way fun.  Her heroines are unconventional and heroes are luscious.  Wilks writing is excellent and evocative of writers like Steinbeck - it has an economy of words that is briefly and elegantly complete.  The more she writes, the more I like it.  Here’s an example of her craft:

     Humans were peculiar. They were by turns squeamish and appallingly violent.  Eventually Nathan had concluded it was their very bloodthirstiness that made them erect so many legal and social barriers against culling the vicious from their midst.  They didn’t trust themselves to stop with the obviously evil.

This story is related to Wilks’s Lupi series in that it discusses common events.  While it could be helpful if you have read them, but isn’t required to enjoy the story.  We get to hear more about Kai and Nathan (the heroine and hero) in Wilks’s next book, Night Season.  (By the way, imagine my surprise discovering Wilks was born in Monahans – in seriously west Texas.)

Grade: B

Buying Trouble by Karen Chance

     In a New York auction house, a Lord of the Fey crosses paths with a fiery redheaded mage named Claire.  But in this strange underground society, the rarity up for sale is Claire herself.

Read an excerpt.

BT is written by an author who is new to me, Karen Chance.  This story tells of a young woman in extraordinary circumstances.  After being placed on an auction block by her boss’s son and somehow transported to a faerie realm with a hunky fae.  She discovers something startling about herself in this realm.  This story isn’t as richly told as the first two but it was still a lot of fun.  It had some fantasy, sword play (both kinds), long lost fathers, and surprises. I enjoyed this story but not so much I’m rushing out to buy Chance’s back list.

Grade: B-

Mona Lisa Betwining by Sunny

     Among the children of the moon, Mona Lisa is of Mixed Blood – Part Monere, part human, and destined to be alone.  Then she meets a man who could be her salvation – or her downfall.

Read an excerpt.

MLB is by another author who is new to me, Sunny. Frankly, I find the whole “no last name” thing to be a bit affected.  I just don’t see the point.  Regardless, I was prepared to overlook this if the story was good.  And the story wasn’t bad, but it didn’t have anything to recommend it over anything else I’ve read this year.  In fact, it was a little too LKH’ish for my taste.  I like LKH – even if she’s gone a wee bit around the bend lately, but I read her stuff.  I just don’t care for imitators and this story was a little too close in several details. In addition to that, the writing was oddly uneven – alternating from a formal speaking voice and casual colloquialisms.

Grade: D

Overall Grade: B-

Here’s the book blurb:

     These all-new paranormal romances from today’s hottest authors feature a female werewolf who comes into her own; a Lord who crosses paths with a fiery mage; a mixed-blood Child of the Moon who faces an uncertain future; and a woman whose sixth sense proves to be a dangerous talent.

What’s next for these authors:

	Patricia Briggs, coming 2 Jan 2008		Eileen Wilks, coming 2 Jan 2008
	Karen Chance, Embrace the Night (Cassandra Palmer Book 3) coming 1 Apr 2008		Sunny, coming 2 Jan 2008