Short and Sweet Book Reviews # 172 - Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs, Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley

Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Charles and Anna are two of my favorite characters. The story of how they met is on my favorites shelf and a novella I read when I want a comfort book. When I received Burn Bright from Netgalley I waited one week before I read it and then I read it in one sitting. I loved the story line and how the two had to face some very hard decisions while in charge of the pack. No spoilers as the book does not come out until March (my bad that I could not wait to read). Just a recommendation that you pick this one up when it comes out if you are a fan of the series and that if you have never read the series that you start now so you will be ready when Burn Bright comes out.


Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There is a prequel novella that features the characters in Death Below Stairs and I recommend you read it first. I did not. As a result I found the hints to the backstory frustrating. They did not tell me all I wanted to know. Other than that I loved the book and the characters. Kat Holloway is a gem. She is strong and has managed to support herself in spite of her past. Daniel McAdam is a bit of a mystery. How and what he is changes throughout the story. The mystery was two fold and well developed. The characters are interesting and the look into the past feels very authentic. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

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Dead Heat (Alpha & Omega #4) by Patricia Briggs

Paranormal

From Goodreads:

For once, mated werewolves Charles and Anna are not traveling because of Charles’s role as his father’s enforcer. This time, their trip to Arizona is purely personal, as Charles plans to buy Anna a horse for her birthday. Or at least it starts out that way...

Charles and Anna soon discover that a dangerous Fae being is on the loose, replacing human children with simulacrums. The Fae’s cold war with humanity is about to heat up—and Charles and Anna are in the cross fire. 

Dead Heat is a great addition to the Alpha & Omega series.  I love Charles and Ann the main characters in the series.  Both are such fascinating people.  Briggs always writes a great story but I think she outdid herself with this one.

Charles has a picture of himself that does not match what Anna sees.  He sees himself as entirely dark due to his job in the pack.  The plot and story line in Dead Heat brings Anna’s picture of Charles into much clearer focus.  Safe and very strong is a big part of how Anna sees him and in Dead Heat we see how others view him the same.  As the story progresses Anna makes progress in letting Charles see how other see him.  It helps change how he views himself and how he sees future events and the people in his life. 

Dead Heat is very character driven and the story allows both Anna and Charles to become much better developed.  There are some very interesting side characters in the story that help in that development.  The plot continues the story line from previous books in both the Alpha & Omega series and the Mercy Thompson series.  Once again the Fae are up to no good and must be stopped.

Dead Heat has great action, a well throughout plot and wonderful characters.  I think it is the best book so far in the series.  It took three years to get this next story in the series.  Hopefully it will not take that long to get book 5.

ACE published Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs in 2015.

I received an ARC of Dead Heat from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Cry Wolf (An Alpha and Omega Novel) by Patricia Briggs

Paranormal Romance

What Goodreads Says:

"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. 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."

I started this series backwards.  I checked out Fair Game as an audio book.  I did not realize that it was a side series instead of a Mercy Thompson book.  I am glad I didn’t because I loved Anna and Charles and wanted to know more about them.  I put Cry Wolf on reserve at my local library. I waited a month but whoever had the book never returned it.  (I hate that when it happens).  Barnes and Noble put out a 15% off coupon so I purchased Cry Wolf instead of hoping the book would ever be returned.

World Building:  Most of this world was created in the Mercy Thompson series.  Cry Wolf is set before the start of the Mercy series but because it was written after that series there is little world building in Cry Wolf.  There is some cross-over between the two series.  I did feel I might have missed some references as I have only read the later Mercy books.

Characters:  Charles is his father’s enforcer or paid assassin.  He has little softness in him, is a dominant wolf and seems an odd mate for Anna.  Anna is an Omega wolf who has been told she is a submissive.  In truth she is the one wolf who cannot be ordered by anyone.  She brings an odd calm to any wolf she is around and is a balm to Charles battered soul.  They are the two main characters in the book.  The one thing that is jarring in the book is the fact that you do not get to see Anna and Charles meet.  That story is in On the Prowl an anthology published a year before Cry Wolf.  It is not included in the copy of the book I purchased although I think it is in some later editions.  I suggest you find and read that short novella before you start Cry Wolf.  If you do not you will feel a little lost as the story starts where the novella ends with no backstory or introduction.  There are other important characters in the story: Bran Cornick, the Marrok, or leader of all werewolves in North America and Charles father, Walter Rice who has hidden in the mountains near Charles house for 30 years, and Ansil an old werewolf whose secret is the basis for the plot in the story.  While character development is not at the heart of the story I did feel I knew enough about each character and they fit the story.

Plot:  Bran’s pack is a mix of werewolves who have problems as well as secrets.  Ansil has hidden much of his secret from Bran and now it has come back to haunt Ansil, Bran and Charles.  As the enforcer Charles is tasked with going into the mountains to fix the problem and Anna insists on going with him. Nothing is as it seems and as the story progresses everything begins to unravel and everyone is in more and more danger. 

Tension:  The hunt in the mountains provided the external tension in the story.  That tension just continues to build as the book progresses.  The internal tension comes from the Charles and Anna.  They are new mates, do not know each other that well, and the mating bond is not in place.  The hunt does not leave them time to sort some of the issues out in a calm manner and produces tension between the two.

Writing:  All of Patricia Briggs’ books are well written and Cry Wolf is no exception.  While some scenes are written in the passive most of the book is very active.  Dialog and action keep the story moving.  The passive fits the story as it comes from both Charles and Anna’s internal struggle with the mating bond.

I am looking forward to future books featuring Charles and Anna.  They are both great characters with the potential for many future stories.   

ACE published Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs in 2008.

River Marked, Frost Burned and Fair Game by Patricia Briggs

Urban Fantasy

I just finished listening to River Marked and Fair Game and reading Frost Burned.  I am a little late to the series but now I am hooked.  I like Mercy and Adam.  They make a very good pair and both books had a great story line.  However, I have to admit that Anna And Charles are my favorites.

Fair Game is book three in the Alpha and Omega series and the first in the series for me.  I did not realize that there were previous book until I went to the authors web site.  Fair Game does a great job of standing on its own.  Now that I know there are previous books (Cry Wolf and Hunting Ground) I will have to go back and read them.  Just what I needed more for my TBA Pile.

On her web site Patricia Briggs says that Alpha and Omega series “is set in the same world as the Mercy Thompson Series but in a slightly earlier time line.”  That may be true for the first books but Fair Game happens just after River Marked and Frost Burned is right after Fair Game. I found a spoiler when I read Frost Burned before I finished listening to Fair Game.

If you like Urban Fantasy try both of these series.  I don’t think you will be disappointed.