Briggs, Patricia Books

Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega, Book 1)

Patricia Briggs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 106 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Excellent !! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Looking at a number of reviews, it became clear that a lot of these folks are quite good at long and detailed reviews. I am not. I am a fantasy fan and have read everything I can get my hands on, so I was suprised to take a turn from my norm, into werewolves. I am really a fan that quick and have read all of Ms.Brigg's books to date.....excellent!! :)

A Must Read 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I absolutely loved the short story in "On the Prowl" and I'm glad that the author chose to continue that storyline.

The short story is not a prequisite for this book, but it gives more of the background between the hero and the heroine. So I would recommend reading it first.

The plotline w/ the witch was very unique and I'm happy to say different from her Mercy books.

I'm glad the author chose not to delve too much on the abuse that Anna went through for the last 3 years and instead went with how she is going to move on from there. It was fascinting seeing Anna adjust, and every once in a while it almost appeared like she had a split personality because the wolf in her took over.

In the short story, she meets up w/ alpha werewolf enforcer, Charles. In the end, Charles finds in her the mate he's been searching for all these years. Oddly enough, Anna is a rare type of werewolf. An Omega, who has the power to repress and sooth the agression in other werewolfs. Omega's are so rare that not much is known about them, and so as Anna learns her powers--the reader learns at the same time.

The story also lays the foundation of mated pairs, delves into the concept of black magic, and introduces more about the werewolf hiearchy.

It's a must read for paranormal readers, it had the right balance of paranormal, drama, romance, action, and dialogue.

I would definitely recommend it, and I can't wait to read some more books on it.

Editorial Review:

Now Briggs begins an extraordinary new series set in Mercy Thompson’s world—but with rules of its own.

INTRODUCING THE ALPHA AND OMEGA NOVELS...

Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.

Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)

Patricia Briggs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 264 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wolf folklore at its grandest 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Briggs after reading so much praise for her books but it didn't take long to feel as if I passed out and woke up in werewolf heaven. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love werewolf anything so this was such a treat, totally unexpected because urban fantasy these days is such a wide mix, usually with witches and vampires with a wolf here and there, but this beast of a book has teeth, muscle, wit, charm and plenty of brawn. Briggs did an incredible job of floating the reader in a sea of incredibly perceptive werewolf folklore that was simply stunning and extremely interesting and she made it feel primordial and Earthy, the instincts, thrills and even some passion was intelligent and very deep. This book is merely a perception that its fantasy and fun, everything reads so realistically that I had a hard time believing that this world was made up. It was a lot to get through as the plot thickened very quickly, the main heroine had no other choice but to plunge and run wild with the pack and troubles never seemed to stay far behind.

Basically this novel is about Mercedes, a seemingly young girl (you never know how old those creatures really are) that can turn into a coyote at will. An echo of Native American folklore runs thorough the tale as she keeps herself busy running a car repair shop, pretending that she's nothing but an ordinary citizen. Never mind that her next door neighbor Adam is an alpha male, that's the big werewolf on campus, running a large pack of fluffy, irksome and very volatile werewolves. There is also Stefan, her vampire friend whose care she's fixing, and if anyone reads these kinds of books seriously, then they know that vampires are so much more devious and complex than the cunning and ultra sensitive weres and they can never get along! It isn't long when the two sides start to merge into Mercy's life when a strange boy shows up at her door, smelling like a wolf. He brings trouble with him and pretty soon something happens and Mercedes has no choice but get closer to the wolves and vampires to try and fight a new enemy, trouble is no one knows who the person is and why they are killing werewolves with strange drugs. When trust and loyalty issues come up between friends and pack members things get ugly as no one ever wants to refuse a fight, and fight they do.

I can't even scratch the surface of how freaking awesome this book was, so rich and intricate, totally delectable and gut stirring- a definite hit in my opinion. Now all I have to do is read the rest of the series to quench my thirst, I'm very curious future that unfolds in front of Mercedes and her very cool albeit dangerous friends. Briggs makes the life of a wolf almost beautiful, of course I don't know if I'd want to be one but it would be lovely to turn into one and run like a dog into the sunset once in a while.

Happy Halloween `08

- Kasia S.

Editorial Review:

Mercy Thompson's life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn't exactly normal herself.

Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4)

Patricia Briggs

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Editorial Review:

New in the #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series.

In a world where “witches, vampires, werewolves, and shape-shifters live beside ordinary people” (Booklist), it takes a very unusual woman to call it home. By day, Mercy Thompson is a car mechanic in Eastern Washington. By night, she explores her preternatural side. As a shape-shifter with some unusual talents, Mercy’s found herself maintaining a tenuous harmony between the human and the not-so- human on more than one occasion. This time she may get more than she bargained for.

Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, Book 3)

Patricia Briggs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 161 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Better than the last 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This was a good one, better than Blood Bound, because the key supernaturals in this one live up to their hype, unlike the mostly-likable evil vampires in Blood Bound. The Fae are mostly insular and private, wanting to keep their secrets and using their magic and an inhuman ruthlessness to accomplish that. But since humans now know about Fae, there's no way the Fae can live quietly enough to keep humans from sticking their noses into Fae business, because that's what humans do: when we discover a new animal, we need to observe and record it. When we find a new star, we need to map it, name it, and figure out its composition, color, strength, age, height, weight, and hair color. When we find a new element, we have to mix it up with other things to see if it'll explode. And, because our fascination with newness and our insatiable curiosity are results of our fear of the unknown, we also tend to form hate groups opposing the very things we have discovered. Like people who think of the snowy owl as an enemy, because it represents the conservationist movement. I mean: they actually hate a fluffy little owl. Along with the bleeding-heart liberals who protect it, but still.

So this one focuses on a string of Fae murders. Mercy is brought in to help investigate, because she has both a coyote's powerful nose and a human's mind and memory, and so she is an excellent scent tracker -- which makes sense. I also liked the comment that there are not many Fae who could do the same, because that was a gift mostly given to the beast-like Fae, most of whom are gone. Mercy figures out the culprit, and Zee and Uncle Mike, the two Council members who brought Mercy in, go to take care of the problem -- only to find the problem's already been taken care of, because the murderer's been beheaded. Uncle Mike vanishes, but Zee is left to take the fall for the murder of the murderer, and the Gray Lords, who have that wonderfully pragmatic and evil policy of sacrificing any individual in order to protect the group, want Zee to die in prison just after he confesses: an open-and-shut case.

But Mercy won't let it go. She investigates, and pokes her nose in, and fights for Zee even when Zee doesn't want her fighting for him -- Zee accepts the Gray Lord's absurd policy (Absurd because the line becomes ever more blurry over time: you sacrifice one person to save the lives of many, and then sacrifice two people to save the lives of five -- and then one to save one? Or you sacrifice one to save lives, then one to save homes, then one to save Christmas presents, and then one to save -- what, lawn ornaments? At some point you lose what you're trying to save.) and is willing to die for the Fae. Though I notice he didn't kill himself as the Gray Lords would surely have preferred.

And, of course, Mercy gets to the bottom of it. One of the greatest strengths of these books is in the climactic action sequences: the fight with Littleton and the hunt for Littleton's creator in Blood Bound, and the last few chapters in this one. They are a great strength because Briggs doesn't overdo it; as well as she writes an action scene, the character is not action oriented; she's a mechanic with a kinda screwed-up love life involving her neighbor and her roommate (I was also glad to see that resolve in this one, and now I'm eager to see where it goes from here). Mercy wouldn't be in the thick of things all day every day, and so she isn't; this book starts out with her watching "Queen of the Damned" with Warren and Kyle, a hilarious but quiet and peaceful scene. But the final fight in this one was fantastic, both in terms of how Mercy wins, and also how Mercy suffers at the hands of the villain -- please note that I mean it was well-written and therefore fantastic; it was extremely hard to read because it was well-written, but that is ever a strength for me, particularly in books that can so easily fall into sensationalism or fluff. And, of course, the resolution was fantastic, as well. And we also got to meet some seriously scary Fae, and Zee with his cloak off, which was super-sweet. It was a great book, and I will be reading more of these.

Editorial Review:

When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to shapeshifting car mechanic Mercy Thompson to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not. And she'll have to choose between the two werewolves in her life-whether she wants to or not.

Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, Book 2)

Patricia Briggs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 148 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Wonderful Series 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I picked up the third volume of the Mercy Thompson series in the library and loved it. I picked up another of her books through Amazon and realized that I loved that book too. So I bought all three of the books in this series so I could own them and read the series from the beginning.

I expected the first two books to be less well written than the third one, but I was wrong. All of the books in this series, and the related Alpha and Omega series are very well crafted. And reading the series from the beginning made a lot of things that I had not quite understood in my first reading of the third book a lot clearer.

This is really a review of the series as a whole. She has built a universe focused on Werewolves, although the main character is not one, but something else somehow not quite related. Mercy is a very strong female character, dominant although she doesn't seem to realize it. In the underlying story arc she is trying to find her own place in a very dangerous world, and also choose between two very dangerous men.

Each of the books in the series has a complex plot, moving through its own story while simultaneously moving through the multi-book arc.

Editorial Review:

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places-and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary-and neither is the demon inside of him.

Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega, Book 2)

Patricia Briggs

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On the Prowl

Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, Sunny

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Mostly worth the money.... 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Someone at a bookstore put me on to Patricia Briggs and she's mainly the reason I picked this one up. On the whole I was happy with it, but only because I knew going in what to expect. As some of the other reviewers have said, at least three of the stories are partials or starter stories with the full story in novel form to come. After saying that, two of those stories could really 'almost' stand alone in that they meet and fall in love with a mate. THe full novels (and I can only speak for Briggs story as that's the only one I've read) just extend out the rest of their story.

Okay, first off...despite the title and the cover art, not all of these books are about werewolves. Maybe I'm the only one who though they would be...anyway, they deal with werewolves, hellhounds, dragon/fae and a group of people who get their power from the moon.

Brigg's story was enjoyable, mainly, I think because I'm already familiar with her world and it's characters. This story is the beginnings of a new shoot-off series from her main "Mercy" books. It deals with the werewolf pack she grew up in. This story is Charles' and his mate. These werewolves are a mixture brutal (but without any gory details) and elegance. I mean that in the sense that Brigg writes them without the language and crudeness that are often found in paranormals nowadays. It's a good teaser story and the book (Cry Wolf) was pretty good too.

Wilks' story was interesting and could pretty much stand alone, though I think it's also part of a series. The characters were likeable and the story was okay until the twist with the murderer. It was a little hard for me to change gears. The romance was good, the world building was similiar to other authors worlds (paranormals out in the open but human groups resenting and hateful, religious persecution, that sort of thing). All in all, worth the read.

Chance's story was also a good read and could stand alone. I'm not a big fan of Fae stories, they tend to creep me out, but this one was well done and didn't have any of that drugged out, party all the time and steal babies that other fae stories do. I liked the set-up of different groups of fae and other magical creatures. I actually liked both the main characters, they had a sense of humor and the hero, while being very 'manly', could laugh at himself. Don't be put off by the auction scene in the beginning. The villains, while having bad intentions, never quite got to that creepy, evil villains often have. They seemed more comedy villains to me.

The last story was really, really odd. partly because, unlike the other two, this one was an erotic story. Beware of authors that only use one name!!!! Basically, the main character is a queeen of these moon people. Previous queens have put men and women out to stud to increase her power. No one has the right to choose their own mate-or even if they get to marry. What put me off was this queen is basically skanky. She's got multiple lovers( one love scene was 15 PAGES!! That's right-15!). Two thirds of this 'story' was her having sex with multiple partners. Not much of a story, actually. I have to admit I just skimmed through this one. It starts out with her mourning one dead lover and then a few pages later she's met up with another lover and is happily running through the forest naked. Yeah. It's hard for me to connect with a woman who can't really emotionally connect with a man enough to make a commitment to one of them.

So...to sum up...if you're looking for complete stories that stand alone-only one of them really does that. If you're looking for starter stories to give you a sense of an authors series, than this is a good place to start. Read the first three, skip the last (you'll thank me).

Editorial Review:

These all-new paranormal romances from today's hottest authors feature a female werewolf who comes into her own; a Lord who crosses paths with a fiery mage; a mixed-blood Child of the Moon who faces an uncertain future; and a woman whose sixth sense proves to be a dangerous talent.

Raven's Shadow (The Raven Duology, Book 1)

Patricia Briggs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Somewhat disappointed 3 out of 5 stars.
6 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Although I haven't finished reading the novel I think I can venture an opinion.
Raven's shadow was suggested to me by Amazon and since it got such good reviews I bought it. This is the first time I read a book by Patricia Briggs.

I have to say that I am a bit disappointed.
The story is rather simple. Instead of a complex weave with many layers and colours like is case for example with George RR Martin or Steven Erikson, one is presented with a rather simplistic picture in few colours, if you catch my drift :)
The story is interesting and the author is innovative and original, unquestionably an impressive storyteller. Unfortunately, that's not enough for me. I want more. I want some real craftmanship when it comes to writing, I want a gripping story with fascinating characters, I want to wonder about their destinies and care what happens to them. This is not the case with Brigg's book. I never had any difficulty in putting it down and it wouldn't bother me in the least to let it keep for a long time before picking it up again. I do want to know how the story ends but if I lost the book and couldn't find out it wouldn't be a big loss.

She has a way with creating interesting characters but I feel they could be more fully fleshed out.

Someone mentioned in another review an age group this book was appropriate for and that got me thinking. I think that's a good point; this book would perhaps fit best for younger audiences. As such, it deserves more than the 3 stars.

I'm not sure I'll read more books by Briggs, not unless the writing has changed quite a bit and grown more mature and complex.

So, all in all, Raven's Shadow is an ok read but nothing more. Nothing memorable and not a page-turner.

Editorial Review:

Seraph is a Raven mage who left behind her responsibilities for the love of the ex-soldier Tier. But when Tier disappears, Seraph must use her magic—and fulfill her ancestors’ oath to protect humanity from destruction.

Mercy Thompson Homecoming

Patricia Briggs

Amazon Price: $15.61 List Price: $22.95 Not yet published By: Del Rey/Dabel Brothers

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Dragon Bones (The Hurog Duology, Book 1)

Patricia Briggs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

deceptively small, ample execution [no spoilers] 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

"Dragon Bones" decisively starts "The Hurog Duology" with straightforward character and plot developments and moderate magic. The author does not overwhelm the reader with environmental descriptions or politics but focuses on following Wardwick, heir to Hurog Keep, as he adjusts to new acquired responsibilities given his troubled past. Various persons are well portrayed and the undemanding intrigue captures ones attention effectively in the small novel.

Wardwick effortlessly narrates in a first person point of view his thoughts and decisions to protect his followers from the many threats within and outside Hurog Keep. Ward's humor helps lighten the overwhelming obstacles facing him. Pretty much every character involved is rather engaging, especially Ward's "distant cousin" Oreg and body servant Axiel.

There are disturbing insinuations and moments, which may be questionable for young readers. A detailed map of the significant terrains and comprehensive appendix would have been useful.

Thank you.

Editorial Review:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Iron Kissed—a magical tale.

Riding into a war that’s heating up on the border, Ward, the new lord of Herzog, is sure he’s on the fast track to glory. But soon his mission takes a deadly turn. For he has seen a pile of magical dragon bones hidden deep beneath Hurog Keep. The bones could prove to be dangerous in the wrong hands, and Ward is certain his enemies will stop at nothing to possess them.