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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Didn't like it as much as I liked Moon Called, but I'm hopeful that my love for this series will grow stronger like my love for the Mercy Thompson series has over time :)
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I've read most of Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson books, and enjoyed Mercy as a character so much I'm not sure that I could give Anna and Charles a fair chance. But, this story was just meh, and I'm not going to seek out the other books in the Alpha & Omega series. I've found over the past year, in which I've read more books than any other time in my life (including when I was in college, majoring in English literature, thinking I was reading a ton), that I'm getting picky about my book quality, and very few romances are making the cut.
This is a more wishy-washy version of Mercy Thompson, but with the following differences:
1. Anna is very passive and quiet and not kick-ass, which is a shame. Mercy is a powerhouse, and we love that about her. Yes, I was interested in learning about the concept of an Omega wolf, outside of the normal power structure. But, for all the talking about it, I never got a clear understanding of what it really meant, but man, there was a lot of words expended on it.
2. Speaking of lots of words spent on a topic that still didn't make any sense - the metric ton of words spent trying to explain which wolves could talk to other wolves in their minds and why. This isn't science fiction. I don't really need for it to make sense. I was thoroughly bored by this topic half-way through the book, yet it continued. Yes, yes, some wolves are telepathic, and others aren't, and some can only transmit but not receive. Bah.
3. Insta-love between Anna and Charles. Yuck. They don't even know each other, and Anna has been abused by every wolf she's ever met, but she instantly falls into a trusting and loving relationship with Charles, even though the man hardly even speaks? Ummmm, no. I get that he came to her rescue with the Chicago pack, and she's into him. But give the girl / wolf a chance to really come to terms with who she is before forcing her into a lifelong commitment already.
4. Finally, it's December and I'm in Minnesota. Reading about them tracking the rouge wolf in the woods through the snow in the cold was making me even more cold. Next book I read needs to be set somewhere warm. Seriously, this isn't the book's fault, but dang, I'm already cold, I don't need your help.
This is a more wishy-washy version of Mercy Thompson, but with the following differences:
1. Anna is very passive and quiet and not kick-ass, which is a shame. Mercy is a powerhouse, and we love that about her. Yes, I was interested in learning about the concept of an Omega wolf, outside of the normal power structure. But, for all the talking about it, I never got a clear understanding of what it really meant, but man, there was a lot of words expended on it.
2. Speaking of lots of words spent on a topic that still didn't make any sense - the metric ton of words spent trying to explain which wolves could talk to other wolves in their minds and why. This isn't science fiction. I don't really need for it to make sense. I was thoroughly bored by this topic half-way through the book, yet it continued. Yes, yes, some wolves are telepathic, and others aren't, and some can only transmit but not receive. Bah.
3. Insta-love between Anna and Charles. Yuck. They don't even know each other, and Anna has been abused by every wolf she's ever met, but she instantly falls into a trusting and loving relationship with Charles, even though the man hardly even speaks? Ummmm, no. I get that he came to her rescue with the Chicago pack, and she's into him. But give the girl / wolf a chance to really come to terms with who she is before forcing her into a lifelong commitment already.
4. Finally, it's December and I'm in Minnesota. Reading about them tracking the rouge wolf in the woods through the snow in the cold was making me even more cold. Next book I read needs to be set somewhere warm. Seriously, this isn't the book's fault, but dang, I'm already cold, I don't need your help.
Look – I'm not here to shit on the werewolf tropes. They've been done. They've been overdone. But have they been done well? Here's my verdict:
A richer mythology than I expected, with the unrest of shifting politics to suit. A better book than the prequel chapters – if a little bland at times, and tone–deaf with the out–of–place religious proclamations, a Native American lead without development, and pointless (shitty) Latin – but overall, not bad.
The most likeable characters were Walter Rice, the Marrok and Asil. Walter Rice embodies the lone wolf without playing into the vastly overdone Alpha–male tropes; the stories of tortured soldiers retreating to the mountains was well done, touching, even (which made his death all the more poignant). The Marrok was more multidimensional than most characters in this book, from his politician's tongue, his dictator politics, the berserker under his skin – to his easy relationship with his sons and the complicated relief he finds with his (intentionally unlikeable) second mate. Asil was the character who you'd like despite yourself, a little tortured, a little self–destructive, a little ragged around the edges – he is exactly the kind of character I'd picture as someone who has lived too long, and felt too many of life's sorrows.
Anna and Charles are forgettable lead characters, memorable only by their faults and the faults in how they've been written.
Let's talk first about our hero, a centuries–old Christian Native American by the name of... Charles. Now, while I'm not denying that as a Native American, Charles can be Christian (3% of Native Americans are) he is a very poorly culture–blended character, especially for someone who is supposed to be centuries old. He seems to be Native American in appearance only, with his brown skin and his long hair, and the song he is said to sing (in name only – while the author has time for obscure Latin there is no detail of Native American tradition, or even words) – but the author seems to have, perhaps to her own comfort, made him an 'acceptably exotic' God–loving Christian (despite touting connections to medicine men, etc.) His beliefs seem very new–age Christian which I can only attribute to the author, not the more nuanced words expected from blended cultures and centuries of refinement (this was better done with Asil).
Token 'Native American' Imagery:
Author–Insert Christianity:
Now, Anna. Anna's form of defiance, which earned her a punch, was to spew out obscure Latin phrases. Can we just – talk about that???? For one second??? It is as if the author was trying to be clever, or trying to make Anna sound clever – she does not succeed. This was cringe–worthy, pointless, and on top of that the Latin was bad (ding dong the witch is dead, I need not say more). Anna was a weak character at best. Her personality is so inconsistent that it is hard to get into her head; at times she's the strong alpha–female, at times an absolute sop (which we are supposed to attribute to her abuse). There's no consistent growth, and her abuse is constantly used as a method to garner pity, while her growth is praised as if she were forged in a crucible and came out as steel (she did not). Most of her strength in this book can be attributed to her omega capabilities, something she was born as and hunted out for, something that cannot be used to tout character development. Without her omega capabilities, she would be an entirely unremarkable character.
Still, the book was passable. The fantasy was rich, if not completely developed. There was a real threat of having a witch who could control an alpha, and the madness of Mariposa was tangible. The structured interpack politics (more evident in the prequel) were good, with real–world ties (money, obscurity) that wolf books often avoid. The side characters saved the story.
That said, I'll probably refrain from reading the rest of the series. This much was enough for me.
A richer mythology than I expected, with the unrest of shifting politics to suit. A better book than the prequel chapters – if a little bland at times, and tone–deaf with the out–of–place religious proclamations, a Native American lead without development, and pointless (shitty) Latin – but overall, not bad.
The most likeable characters were Walter Rice, the Marrok and Asil. Walter Rice embodies the lone wolf without playing into the vastly overdone Alpha–male tropes; the stories of tortured soldiers retreating to the mountains was well done, touching, even (which made his death all the more poignant). The Marrok was more multidimensional than most characters in this book, from his politician's tongue, his dictator politics, the berserker under his skin – to his easy relationship with his sons and the complicated relief he finds with his (intentionally unlikeable) second mate. Asil was the character who you'd like despite yourself, a little tortured, a little self–destructive, a little ragged around the edges – he is exactly the kind of character I'd picture as someone who has lived too long, and felt too many of life's sorrows.
Anna and Charles are forgettable lead characters, memorable only by their faults and the faults in how they've been written.
Let's talk first about our hero, a centuries–old Christian Native American by the name of... Charles. Now, while I'm not denying that as a Native American, Charles can be Christian (3% of Native Americans are) he is a very poorly culture–blended character, especially for someone who is supposed to be centuries old. He seems to be Native American in appearance only, with his brown skin and his long hair, and the song he is said to sing (in name only – while the author has time for obscure Latin there is no detail of Native American tradition, or even words) – but the author seems to have, perhaps to her own comfort, made him an 'acceptably exotic' God–loving Christian (despite touting connections to medicine men, etc.) His beliefs seem very new–age Christian which I can only attribute to the author, not the more nuanced words expected from blended cultures and centuries of refinement (this was better done with Asil).
Token 'Native American' Imagery:
"...the living-room floor was hardwood, but his had a parquet pattern of dark and light wood that edged the room in a pattern that struck her as Native American."
"Charles brushed Anna's face with his hand and let what Samuel called his "Good Ol' Injun" expression take over"
Author–Insert Christianity:
"Are you a Christian? Or..."
He nodded. "Like Balaam's ass, I am. Besides, as a werewolf, you know there are other things in the world-demons, vampires, ghouls, and the like. Once you know they're out there, you have to admit that God is present. That's the only possible explanation of why evil hasn't yet taken over the world and enslaved the human race. God makes sure that evil stays hidden and sly."
"You worship spirits?"
"Why would I do that?" He wasn't crazy or stupid-and a man had to be one or the other to go out looking for spirits.
"He'd never questioned either his father's faith in God or his grandfather's faith in the spirits, because he knew them both. God seldom talked to him, though He sometimes warned or lent comfort or strength. But the spirits were more demanding, if often less beneficent, and Charles had learned to recognize when one of them was tugging at him"
Now, Anna. Anna's form of defiance, which earned her a punch, was to spew out obscure Latin phrases. Can we just – talk about that???? For one second??? It is as if the author was trying to be clever, or trying to make Anna sound clever – she does not succeed. This was cringe–worthy, pointless, and on top of that the Latin was bad (ding dong the witch is dead, I need not say more). Anna was a weak character at best. Her personality is so inconsistent that it is hard to get into her head; at times she's the strong alpha–female, at times an absolute sop (which we are supposed to attribute to her abuse). There's no consistent growth, and her abuse is constantly used as a method to garner pity, while her growth is praised as if she were forged in a crucible and came out as steel (she did not). Most of her strength in this book can be attributed to her omega capabilities, something she was born as and hunted out for, something that cannot be used to tout character development. Without her omega capabilities, she would be an entirely unremarkable character.
Still, the book was passable. The fantasy was rich, if not completely developed. There was a real threat of having a witch who could control an alpha, and the madness of Mariposa was tangible. The structured interpack politics (more evident in the prequel) were good, with real–world ties (money, obscurity) that wolf books often avoid. The side characters saved the story.
That said, I'll probably refrain from reading the rest of the series. This much was enough for me.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was intense. I found the characters compelling with the exception of one. I look forward to reading more in the universe.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
why isn’t this book hyped? It was so good, like I can’t believe how good that book was I was not expecting it. It felt way better than regular werewolf books. I feel like Patricia really did her research about wolf behaviors and all that because it felt way more realistic than some of the other books that I’ve read. And the plot! It was so good. There was a point where I was midway through the book and I could not believe how much had happened and I was only halfway through. Like halfway through had the mount a plot that most books have in their entire book. And it wasn’t predictable at all like I could not have guessed how it would’ve ended like the only thing I could’ve guessed would be that anna and Charles got together at the end BUT IT WAS SP MUCH FOR THAN THAT. I just wish that Walter didn’t die and that we got more into some other characters it i was really pleased with this one. can’t wait to continue the series.
btw i really like anna and Charles and how this relationship was less like the cliche mated troupes. it felt more natural and realistic. And anna’s sorta kind powers are cool as fuck like. i hope she creates her own little army you know.
btw i really like anna and Charles and how this relationship was less like the cliche mated troupes. it felt more natural and realistic. And anna’s sorta kind powers are cool as fuck like. i hope she creates her own little army you know.
Werewolf and witches
I love shifting stories, and this one was a little rougher with everything Anna went through and battle with a witch that holds onto and passed love which I think is why 3- just the story hard on heart, you lose your mated love and that mate bond manipulated by a witch- harsh! Great story I’ll admit but ouch!
I love shifting stories, and this one was a little rougher with everything Anna went through and battle with a witch that holds onto and passed love which I think is why 3- just the story hard on heart, you lose your mated love and that mate bond manipulated by a witch- harsh! Great story I’ll admit but ouch!
I highly recommend that you read the short story Alpha and Omega before reading this book. The context is very important to the story and since rereading this book, I think I enjoyed it a bit more. Still 4 stars, though.