#77 Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs
LJ cut for possible spoilers for Cry Wolf (and when I say possible, I mean I don’t consider them to be spoilers, but some people are 
more sensitive than I am.)
Paranormal books tend to fall in one of three categories. The supernatural community is either hidden from the public view (like in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld, and Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files), out in the public view (like Kim Harrison’s The Hollows) or in the process of coming out. In Hunting Ground, the second book in the Alpha and Omega series, Bran (a werewolf leader known as the Marrock) is getting ready to bring the world of werewolves public, but others are not so eager. Bran calls together a special conference, inviting many of the major European Alphas, as a way of bringing them over to his side. His son and enforcer Charles is sent as representative, along with Charles’s mate, Anna, a rare omega werewolf. The couple expects trouble, but when Anna is attacked by vampires, they realize that things are a lot more dangerous than they planned on.
Hunting Ground continues the Charles and Anna’s story mere weeks after the events of Cry Wolf. One thing I liked about the conference storyline was how we got to meet other werewolves from different parts of the world, therefore expanding Briggs’s universe. We have a lot of fascinating new characters here, including the blind witch Moira; Arthur, a werewolf who believes that he’s the reincarnation of King Arthur; and a powerful fae named Dana. Charles and Anna continue to be engaging characters. Charles is viewed by many as a brute, simple minded but to be feared, but with Anna we are able to see not just the enforcer, but a more cultured man that can quote Shakespeare and recognized Brahms. Anna, accepting her role as omega, continues to gain strength as a character, and Briggs deals her recovery from her past abuse well. A lesser author may have used her relationship with Charles as a magic bullet, but Briggs realizes that recovery is a more gradual process. Anna doesn’t spend the entire book crying over past trauma, but she’s still impacted by it.
Unfortunately, Hunting Ground is not a perfect book. The main storyline takes a little while to get off of the ground, making it less engaging that some of her Mercy Thompson books, and the ending is a bit rushed (a trend that I’ve noticed with some of Briggs other books too). The book ends up feeling a little short, as if we should have had a little more time to settle after the resolution. Beyond those few problems, I liked the second book in the Alpha and Omega series. It looks like she has a third (and final?) volume planned for us next year. I’ll be looking forward to it.
Rating: four stars
Length: 304 pages
Source: Mr. Paperback
TBR Pile: 139 books
Similar Books: Of course, Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series, which takes place in the same universe- although slightly later in the time line (see my review for Bone Crossed). For other stories about werewolves, check out Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld Series ( my reviews), and Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville Series ( my reviews)
Other books I've read by this author: Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, Bone Crossed ( my review), Cry Wolf, and The Hob’s Bargain ( my review). I’ve also read the novella Alpha and Omega from Cry Wolf.
Done with reviews! I'm currently reading the short story anthology The Eternal Kiss, which has stories by Maria V Snyder, Holly Black, Kelley Armstrong, and Libba Bray, among others. I'm also listening to the audiobook of Club Dead by Charlaine Harris. Yes, I'm on a paranormal trip.
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds
more sensitive than I am.)
Paranormal books tend to fall in one of three categories. The supernatural community is either hidden from the public view (like in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld, and Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files), out in the public view (like Kim Harrison’s The Hollows) or in the process of coming out. In Hunting Ground, the second book in the Alpha and Omega series, Bran (a werewolf leader known as the Marrock) is getting ready to bring the world of werewolves public, but others are not so eager. Bran calls together a special conference, inviting many of the major European Alphas, as a way of bringing them over to his side. His son and enforcer Charles is sent as representative, along with Charles’s mate, Anna, a rare omega werewolf. The couple expects trouble, but when Anna is attacked by vampires, they realize that things are a lot more dangerous than they planned on.
Hunting Ground continues the Charles and Anna’s story mere weeks after the events of Cry Wolf. One thing I liked about the conference storyline was how we got to meet other werewolves from different parts of the world, therefore expanding Briggs’s universe. We have a lot of fascinating new characters here, including the blind witch Moira; Arthur, a werewolf who believes that he’s the reincarnation of King Arthur; and a powerful fae named Dana. Charles and Anna continue to be engaging characters. Charles is viewed by many as a brute, simple minded but to be feared, but with Anna we are able to see not just the enforcer, but a more cultured man that can quote Shakespeare and recognized Brahms. Anna, accepting her role as omega, continues to gain strength as a character, and Briggs deals her recovery from her past abuse well. A lesser author may have used her relationship with Charles as a magic bullet, but Briggs realizes that recovery is a more gradual process. Anna doesn’t spend the entire book crying over past trauma, but she’s still impacted by it.
Unfortunately, Hunting Ground is not a perfect book. The main storyline takes a little while to get off of the ground, making it less engaging that some of her Mercy Thompson books, and the ending is a bit rushed (a trend that I’ve noticed with some of Briggs other books too). The book ends up feeling a little short, as if we should have had a little more time to settle after the resolution. Beyond those few problems, I liked the second book in the Alpha and Omega series. It looks like she has a third (and final?) volume planned for us next year. I’ll be looking forward to it.
Rating: four stars
Length: 304 pages
Source: Mr. Paperback
TBR Pile: 139 books
Similar Books: Of course, Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series, which takes place in the same universe- although slightly later in the time line (see my review for Bone Crossed). For other stories about werewolves, check out Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld Series ( my reviews), and Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville Series ( my reviews)
Other books I've read by this author: Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, Bone Crossed ( my review), Cry Wolf, and The Hob’s Bargain ( my review). I’ve also read the novella Alpha and Omega from Cry Wolf.
Done with reviews! I'm currently reading the short story anthology The Eternal Kiss, which has stories by Maria V Snyder, Holly Black, Kelley Armstrong, and Libba Bray, among others. I'm also listening to the audiobook of Club Dead by Charlaine Harris. Yes, I'm on a paranormal trip.
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds