Monday, March 2, 2015

Mini Reviews: Fair Game + Dead Heat

FAIR GAME
Alpha and Omega #3
Patricia Briggs
Urban Fantasy
293 pages
Ace
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son-and enforcer-of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can't afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father's dirty work is taking a toll on Charles.

Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston, when the FBI requests the pack's help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves-all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer's sights...


MY THOUGHTS
Fair Game highlights everything there is to love about mated werewolf pair Anna and Charles, their growth both individually and as a couple evident as the story unfolds, with the two of them finding once again that while strong apart, they’re nearly invincible together. Anna has come so far from the abused young woman Charles saved from the brutal whims of her former pack, now able to stand strong in the face of the alpha of all alphas in Charles’s father when all those around her are forced to their knees by his power. She’s lost nearly all her fear of dominant male wolves, beautifully confident in her own ability to make sure she never finds herself in the role of victim again.

Charles, for his part, is as magnificently protective as ever, the rules Anna gives those meeting him for the first time bringing a smile to our faces because we know just how necessary they are. While he’s quite stubborn in this latest installment, seeking to protect Anna from the things that haunt him day to day instead of letting her be a true mate in every way, he’s someone willing to admit when he’s wrong, and by the end we can feel additional layers of unbreakable steel threaded through their bond when he does so. Despite the dark grittiness of this world, Anna and Charles are what could be described as a comfort couple, two people we know are going to stand strong together against everything they face without letting petty drama and angst make a mockery of everything they’ve built.

Rating: 4/5

DEAD HEAT
Alpha and Omega #4
Patricia Briggs
Urban Fantasy
336 pages
Ace
Available March 3rd
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (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. 


MY THOUGHTS
Dead Heat continues the evolution of Anna and Charles as a couple and this supernatural world as a whole now that werewolves have been outed to the general public. The two of them, as always, are a delight together, his quiet intensity and unexpected sense of humor a beautiful match for the genuine warmth and light that shines from Anna as the shadows of her past slowly but steadily fade away. The way his very presence intimidates all those around him allows Anna to be the more social of the pair of them, her place as his mate as soothing and comforting to him as it is empowering for her, and there's nothing better for a reader than watching a beloved couple get stronger with every chapter of their story.

While the first couple installments were more a bit more relationship-focused, Anna's well-earned skittishness and the nightmares of her past things neither quickly nor easily overcome, Fair Game and Dead Heat both step up the supernatural mystery aspect of this series, dragging one terrifying case after another into the limelight. Though Anna and Charles's romance is the kind that would have us doing anything in our power to find our way into this world so that we might find a werewolf mate of our very own, Ms. Briggs masterfully portrays the dark with the light, showing us unflinchingly what a real monster looks like. The wait in between installments in this series is almost always painfully long, but we know without a doubt Anna and Charles (and Mercy and Adam!) will never disappoint, leaving us utterly satisfied just as they have every time before.

Rating: 4/5
 

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

25 comments:

  1. Dang it, Jenny, you too? You all need to stop taunting me with this series. I plan to read the first Mercy Thompson book this month though.

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  2. haven't heard this series before but the books sounds intriguing. will definitely check this out.

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  3. I'm not that much a fan of this series, I've only tried book 0.5 and 1 so maybe I should read book 2 I have for years but I definitely prefer Mercy. However I confess that the wonderful reviews of book 4 make me curious.

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  4. I have never heard of this author until a week ago! Now her books seem to pop up everywhere and they sound pretty cool, so I will try her out ^^ Good reviews :3

    Check out my discussion post: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2015/02/olivias-catastrophe-social-media-fails.html

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  5. LOVE the series!!

    I love how she makes the characters get closer as a couple romantically but also focuses on them as people, growing for themselves!

    Lovely reviews :)

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  6. I like the sound of this couple, Jenny. I also really like that they continue to grow as individuals and that Anna's past still affects her to some extent. It's really nice when authors acknowledge that a romance doesn't cause all your previous problems to disappear.

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  7. I feel like you, Ali and Kim have decided to torture me with your reviews for these amazing sounding books. You guys have convinced me to give this series a shot. I love that the relationship develops between these characters throughout this series. And you say, I'll be left wanting a werewolf mate, Jenny? Well, I'm screwed, aren't I? :D
    Lovely review! :)

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  8. Yay! I am so glad you are reading this series Jenny and most importantly that you are liking it every bit as much as I am! I just love Charles and Anna's relationship. They are such an adorable couple.

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  9. I'm with Nick - it sounds like I need to get to this series fast! I love how the relationship sounds and Anna and Charles seem like a couple I would adore.
    Lovely review Jenny!

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  10. Sounds like a good series but those covers are really not doing it for me!

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  11. Glad you enjoyed Fair Game, I really loved that one! I can't wait to read Dead Heat, I have a copy and just need to find a few hours free for Anna and Charles time. :-) Lovely minis!

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  12. I'm just about to wrap up Dead Heat and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I'm glad that we can avoid relationship drama and just jump right in into the mystery.

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  13. Well, this seems like a series well worth starting for me!! And I have 4 books to binge read which is awesome and not all that intimidating!
    Great review Jenny!

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  14. This sereis is on fire. Everyone is reading book four and gushing over it. I admit I overlooked this series even though I adore Mercy Thompson. Now I have moved this series way up on my list. I am going to check my library for audio versions.

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  15. I haven't had the time to pick up my ARC of DEAD HEAT, sadly, but I adored FAIR GAME and am so excited to hear how much you loved the latest in this series. Like you said, Charles & Anna and Adam & Mercy just never disappoint so I know I'll fall for this new novel. Wonderful reviews, dear!

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  16. The amount of reviews I've seen for this one are insane and i'm really considering dropping everything and starting this series since everyone seems to love it oh so much. Great review Jenny!
    Lily @ Lilysbookblog

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  17. I had to choose between Patricia Briggs and Anne Bishop this week. The latter won out, but in all fairness I needed more time because I'm interviewing the former on Friday March 13th. That doesn't mean that I love Anna & Charles any less though. They are definitely up there on my list on fav werewolves. :)

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  18. Yep, I'm going to catch up with this series as well. I was going to listen to the second book, but I can't remember the first! Guess it is time for either a read or reread. LOL Will catch up to you soon enough though. Is that good or bad? LOL

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  19. I loved Fair Game but I think I'll get Dead Heat on audio, it might be easier to fit it in. I'm really glad to hear it was good!

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  20. Okay, seriously. I need to get back into this series! I can't believe I gave up after the first book. I'm a different reader now, though. I'm pretty sure I'm returning to my UF/PNR roots.

    Great reviews, Jenny!

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  21. Squee...yep, yep, yep Jenny I adore Anna and Charles and love the cases they find themselves caught up in.

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  22. I love Mercy Thompson so I know I have to start this series! Anna and Charles bond sounds exactly the type of romance that I adore, a strong one. Wonderful reviews, Jenny! :)

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  23. I love me some UF but I'm not sure if werewolves are for me. I've only read Hemlock and Nightshade I think. I know this series has a lot of fans, I'll have to check them out, maybe on audio.

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  24. I really like the covers. They are cool. Can't wait to read them

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