I read this in July last year, but remember really liking it. I wasn't sure about these characters to begin with, but they've definitely grown on me, might even prefer them to Mercy's lot at the moment.
I'm interested in where the fairies story line will go too. I'm actually not a fan of werewolf books in general, too hairy for me, but the additional non human characters in Patricia Briggs books are less predictable than some and make up for the male pack alpha (yawn) stuff.
from the library, I'm not a big re-reader and although I really enjoy some urban fantasy, a proportion of it is quite disposable, I think. I tend to buy scifi, fantasy and non fiction more often. Last hard back new one I bought was Ghost Story by Jim Butcher.
I'll probably wait until the next Patricia Briggs is available in the library or paperback. Haven't caught up with Kim Harrison's series yet. Do you have a genre you buy more often?
This is interesting! I hadn't realized there was a parallel series in the same universe. My workplace had the entire Mercy Thompson series donated in one lump recently, and since I hadn't read Briggs before and was looking for some fluff, I picked it up. I'm just about to wrap up Moon Called - in the last forty pages or so. Would you recommend I keep going, or alternate with the Alpha & Omega books?
Don't start the Alpha & Omega stuff until later... if you can go in publication order, that'd be best. Don't start the A&O stuff until you read Iron Kissed, and then see if you can't read "Alpha and Omega" which was the intro do Anna and her situation (you can read it as an e-book here or you can get the mass market paperback On the Prowl where it premiered), and the read Cry Wolf, which was the first book for Anna but you really need that novella first. ;)
Then you'll read:
Bone Crossed Hunting Ground Silver Bourne River Marked Fair Game
Thank you! That is really helpful! I usually read urban fantasy three at a time, so it works out nicely to read Blood Bound and Iron Kissed, take a break and read something else, and then pick up both series in the order you've got here. :-)
I am a Mercy series addict, and I also have the Raven and Hurog duologies. So of course, I picked up the Alpha & Omega books. I hate to say it, but I haven't been thrilled by it. I don't recall if I've gotten to Fair Game yet or not. I think I only have 2 books/stories from this series. I just remember thinking it read like a romance with none of the sex scenes. Not really my thing. Glad to hear it's getting better and that she is only doing 1 book a year now. I'll have to figure out where I left off and start reading it again based on your review here.
You're ahead of me - I just picked up River Marked, haven't gotten to this one yet. I'm glad to hear it's good, though! I liked but didn't love Hunting Ground.
While I liked the first two books in the series, they were both admittedly uneven. With Fair Game on the other hand, everything just feels so much smoother and fun. I don't know if Patricia Briggs is going to write any more in the series (her most recent update was a little confusing. It sounded like she wants to write one eventually but she doesn't know when?), but I'd love to see where she takes these characters next.
Also, I like what you said about the importance of comparing books to other books in it's genre. Clearly, quality is quality and it's important to call out flaws when you see them, but you can't be expecting an epic fantasy book when you're reading a paranormal romance. That would be like eating a grilled cheese sandwich then complaining that it doesn't taste like chocolate cake.
I never read her updates, but we'll see how it goes! As long as I get to see Anna & Charles in the Mercy books, I'm cool with them not having their own series, necessarily. That being said, I'm glad Briggs got away from the primarily paranormal romance vibe with this one!
Comparing apples to apples: it helps rating-wise, anyway. I think comparing everything all together is what makes my top ten lists so hard, because I'm not breaking it down by genre, you know?
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I'm interested in where the fairies story line will go too. I'm actually not a fan of werewolf books in general, too hairy for me, but the additional non human characters in Patricia Briggs books are less predictable than some and make up for the male pack alpha (yawn) stuff.
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I'll probably wait until the next Patricia Briggs is available in the library or paperback. Haven't caught up with Kim Harrison's series yet. Do you have a genre you buy more often?
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Then you'll read:
Bone Crossed
Hunting Ground
Silver Bourne
River Marked
Fair Game
And then this year's offering is Frost Burned.
Hope that helps.
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Also, I like what you said about the importance of comparing books to other books in it's genre. Clearly, quality is quality and it's important to call out flaws when you see them, but you can't be expecting an epic fantasy book when you're reading a paranormal romance. That would be like eating a grilled cheese sandwich then complaining that it doesn't taste like chocolate cake.
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Comparing apples to apples: it helps rating-wise, anyway. I think comparing everything all together is what makes my top ten lists so hard, because I'm not breaking it down by genre, you know?
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