Burn Bright

An okay read, but just that. Nothing spectacular until near the end when the discovery of Sage comes to light.Such a disappointment there!Wellesley was an interesting character if not a creepy one.Hester and Jonesy as well as Devon- that was tough!Briggs, you had a grammar error in this book! Remember, the pronoun “I” is NEVER used in the predicate of a sentence.I would not recommend this book to others.

This review contains a spoiler. If you have not read the book yet, you may want to skip this because the spoiler has a big impact not only on this installment of the series but the series as whole.I love the Patricia Briggs books, and I may love the Charles and Anna series even more than the Mercy series. It's close. In this latest book, we learn the wildings have always been there lurking in the background in Aspen Creek, Montana. It's an exciting concept, and Briggs ties it in to ancient creatures of good and evil. Is such a creature out to invade the wildings, to turn or to perhaps take something from them? It is a really good story and I will not give that away.This installment also redefines the charactor of Leah, who has previously been painted as a dumb, mean single word that rhymes with witch. She is also hot and sexy as hell. Bran mated with her because he did not want to love someone again as he had loved his wife, Charles's mother. The native American wise woman died giving birth to Charles. Leah is a hateful stepmother, jealous of every member of Bran's family because he loves them but not her.Or does he not? Maybe he started out not loving her but living with someone for years, perhaps especially if that person is good in bed, may change your feelings. He is loyal to her as his mate and he would fight to protect her to a point, which may become an issue in the course of this book's events. Readers are invited to see Leah in a different light Sure, we thought from previous books that she would have killed Mercy if she could have gotten her hands on her. Second warning, here spoiler directly ahead:Did Bran have sexual feelings for Mercy that made Leah jealous? Since Bran was Mercy's de facto father from the time hermother dropped her off as a coyote pup, the thought of his having, ah, those kinds of feelings for her once she was 16 (which is about the age she was when she left) "feels" not good. Maybe you have to be a thousands-years-old werewolf to understand this. Maybe the rules are different for Bran, and for that matter, Samuel, who is Bran's son but close to him in total age. They were both changed from humans by Bran's mother when Samuel was a teen or a young man.We have known almost from the beginning in the series that Samuel at one point had his eye on Mercy because he hoped her coyote changeling nature would make it possible for her to bear children. Werewolf women kill the embryos inside them when they change, and they have to change each moon in order to stay sane. Human women also cannot bear a werewolf—or, at least we have not seen it happen yet. Werewolves are made by being attacked by other weres and nearly killed. Those who do not die become werewolves. Only one werewolf so far in this series has been born rather than made, and that is Charles, Bran's second son. His werewolf mother held off her own change in order for the baby to survive nine months, but weakened by staying in her human form so long, she died.Is Bran's love for Mercy something other than fatherly because she might be able to bear his children and not die in the process? As a coyote, her shifts to her human self are quicker and easier than the wolves. In the course of their long lives, werewolves sometimes change partners. Mercy is currently being married to Adam, who is very hot and who she loves madly, but this does not mean she would always be unavailable to Bran. Does Leah hate Mercy out of jealousy and fear that someday Mercy and Bran will hook up? Does it make any difference that Mercy has been aging naturally and now looks older than her adopted father Bran, who is perennially in his mid-to-late twenties? Mercy looks like she is in her thirties.Knowing this does not make me forget what Leah did to both Mercy and Anna in earlier books. But I can see the story is written with the intent of creating a shift toward greater sympathy for Leah.

I loved this book. It was a great part of the Alpha and Omgea series. Looking forward to reading the next one.

This series dovetails with the Mercy Thompson series, but can be read just as well as a standalone series. Begin at the start of the series, you won't be disappointed.

Anything by this author is a cancel all appointments, ignore all chores, take the phone off the hook, and settle in for a one-sitting read. The addiction is real and well-earned. This was another fabulous outing for Charles and Anna.Burn Bright is the fifth of the Alpha & Omega series, but also the #15 of the Mercy Thompson world. Personally, I do not read the two series or think of them as separate, but rather just two sides of the same coin. And, I think it works best that way as both series have parallel plots. Burn Bright takes place immediately after the events of the Mercy Thompson, Silence Fallen. However, it is also versatile in that a reader can probably get away with only reading one series or the other if that is their preference.Charles has been left in charge of the Aspen Creek Pack while Bran goes to help rescue Mercy. He is not pleased with this state of affairs and then he takes a distress call from one of his da's wilding wolves- strangers on their lands and a traitor in their midst.I enjoyed the action and suspense as Charles and Anna work to figure out what is going on and prevent an insidious plot even while the story highlights just how far they have come as a mated pair and individuals. Anna is faced with the demons of her past and Charles with letting her be who she is without smothering her and respecting her as his equal partner and not just his mate needing protection.Another great piece was the spotlight on Bran's cranky, haughty mate, Leah. She is given a prominent role and, yes, I'm going to say it, I loved it. What this book revealed about Leah, and even Bran, was as captivating as the exciting parts. The dynamics between Leah and Charles as step-family and even a small peek into Leah's history particularly with Mercy was engaging.Oh, and Charles and Anna are surrounded by the fabulous cast of recurring color and quirky minor characters in Aspen Creek and some great new ones- Asil the Moor, Tag, Sage, and so many others. All are one big crazy family and pack. And yet, it was tension-wrought as someone, known to them all, was a pack traitor and selling them out.As, with each new story, Patricia Briggs reveals more magic and legend- fae, witch, and werewolf in this case. That battle Anna and Charles fought to save the wolf was one of the best scenes. I don't think I breathed. There were several exciting moments and the end was a great climax. A new worthy enemy is revealed and left me eager for what is to come in the series.Some of the best Urban Fantasy out there and not to be missed by fans of the genre.

The Alpha and Omega series goes back to its roots in this latest installment. Not just because Anna and Charles are home, sorting out problems in Aspen Creek, but because the wider plot cleverly loops back around to not just Anna’s beginnings in Chicago, but to where this whole world began with Moon Called from the Mercy Thompson series.I loved getting to see more of the Aspen Creek pack – Asil especially, but also Tag and Sage, even Leah – as they tried to work out what was wrong with the Wildlings while Bran was AWOL. I especially enjoyed seeing how far Anna and Charles have grown, as a couple as well as individually. Charles is so much more than the bogeyman of werewolves, while Anna is really learning to explore her omega powers and stretch her instincts. The pair of them make a great team, but the fact that Anna is capable of working just as well away from Charles is one of my favourite things. He (and Brother Wolf) might want to protect her at all times, but he also understands what she needs in order to be strong enough to protect herself.The plot is gripping, giving some fascinating hints and insights into different parts of this world. The Wildlings are a very interesting bunch, from sad Devon, through the unhinged Viking twins, right up to Hester and Jonesy. There’s clearly a lot more going on in Bran’s backyard than has ever been shown before, and now they’ve drawn the wrong kind of attention. It also sets things up very nicely for future books in the Mercyverse because all those hints about Sherwood Post are clearly not accidental. Plus there’s all those loose ends that need to be tied up.However, this book also had another agenda, which seemed to be to improve everyone’s opinion of Leah, while also making us hate Bran. I don’t think I’ll ever like Leah, but her relationship with Bran is messed up. My opinion of Bran has been all over the place for a while – usually fairly positive in the Mercy books, less so in the A&O ones – but this time it’s taken a complete nosedive that it’ll be a struggle to recover from.But this book isn’t about Bran, and I refuse to let him, his behaviour and one suspect conversation spoil everything else. Because Asil is in this book. So much Asil! And Charles, and Anna, and we see a little bit of Kara too, and meet some really interesting old wolves that I’d love to know more about. There is so much more to this book than Bran, and that’s what I really enjoyed. I can’t wait to see where the whole Mercyverse heads next.

I make a habit of crashing into series out of order as anyone who has spent any time reading my reviews knows. Mostly, I manage to work out what is happening without too much difficulty, but I can’t deny that it sometimes causes a bit of confusion at the beginning of the book. Not this time, though. Immediately Briggs pulled me into the action so at no stage was I floundering, which demonstrates a great deal of skill, given this is the fifth book in the series. Of course, I was aware there was a hefty backstory and some of the previous events were mentioned, which has certainly whetted my appetite to read more about these engaging characters.And it is all about the characters. I loved both Charles and Anna, so very different and yet so suited. I also enjoyed reading about the jockeying for position and the pinsharp awareness of their ranking within the pack and how that balances with the human side of their character. I’ve read one or three werewolf stories in my time, each with its on take on how the blend of wolf and human works, and this was a dynamic I particularly enjoyed.I also liked the fact that despite it is a world where lives are invariably lost – they matter. Near the beginning one of the deaths really winded me – I had expected that it was going to be alright and this particular character, whom I’d really liked, would prevail. It was a shock when it didn’t.Another of Briggs’ skills is her ability to write broken, desperate characters with compassion and empathy. Some of the oldest fae and werewolves are overwhelmed by the weight of years and bloody experiences they have endured and are too dangerous to live in the socially supercharged atmosphere of the Pack. Briggs doesn’t just tell us how dangerous and unpredictable they are – her demonstrations of their lethal oddness had me reading waaay later into the night than I should have done.As for the climax and solution – the risk is when I’m so thoroughly invested in a story so early on, I’ll find that the ending doesn’t quite live up to my expectations. This wasn’t an issue here – there was another surprising twist near the end that certainly changed everything once again. And then again, when another twist superseded that one… The conclusion tied up most of the plot points, leaving a major one dangling in the breeze, ready for the seventh book in the series. I’ll definitely be reading that one – and before that – I’ll also be backtracking and reading more about these charismatic, engaging characters in the meantime.Highly recommended for fans of quality urban fantasy.10/10

Bran, the Marrock, leader of Charles and Anna's pack is also father figure to Mercy Thompson. So if you also read the Mercy Thompson series you will know that in her last book Bran left his pack to go to Mercys aid, leaving Charles in charge at home. But the situation with Mercy has been resolved but Bran has not returned home, in fact he says he's taking a holiday, unheard of, before Charles can investigate as to what is going on with his da a phone call comes in with an emergency. Bran has always given a home to the most damaged wolves, the ones who can no longer function as human and are slowly being taken over by their wolves. What most do not know is that there are a select few that are really dangerous even to other wolves so they live outside the pack, alone and left to find what peace they can, then one day Charles receives a call there's something happening on the mountain one of these damaged dangerous wolves has been captured and her fae mate has called Charles to come and get her back. Someone is hunting among the most vulnerable of the pack, what they are looking for Charles does not know nor does he know what it has to do with Brans absence but he will have to figure it out quickly because whoever it is hasn't found what they want yet and it's up to Charles to stop them. Great to spend more time with Brans pack and learn more of Leah, Asail, Sage and Tag, to name but a few. Charles and Anna are often sent away to deal with problems outside the pack, so it's good to see them at home.

Best to start at book 1 to build the connection with the characters but once you have, these books will not disappoint. The Mercy series is more popular but I find that following Anna is more thrilling and the Montanan Pack find a way into your heart that sets deep and has you enthralled with every page. I love this super natural thriller and find it difficult now to forget this world when reading other authors as the background and work that has gone into it is magnificent and makes the unbelievable palatable to the reader, to really get involved with the story.

I love this series, and every book gets better. Charles and Anna make a great team. Some of their adventures have taken away from the pack. This one seemed to involve most of the pack we know, and some of the Wildings that we don’t.I am not going into any details and give anything away. I know it is one my great pleasures in life to read a new Patricia Briggs novel. I will say this is must read for fans of this series. If you have only read The Mercy Thompson Series, this it set in the same world and begins with a short story from an anthology called On The Prowl which was called Alpha and Omega. This is also available in a digital copy available. This is Anna’s story, and how she met Charles. As I enjoy reading a new Patricia Briggs I also enjoyed the  Audiobook which is narrated by HOLTER GRAHAM who brings this wonderful book to life for me.