Bran has left Charles in charge of the pack just when the pack may need Bran the most. Now Charles and his mate, Anna, must use all the skills that they have to try and track the people who are going after the wildlings of Bran's pack. These are the wildest of the wolves who live more like hermits just so that they, and the people around them, can stay safe.

When a wildling couple dies as the result of a ruined kidnapping attempt, Charles and Anna must stop the same thing from happening to the rest of the wildlings. With Bran MIA, they must rely on his anti-social mate and some trusted pack members to get the word out to the wildlings and protect them from this new danger.

But danger may be closer than they ever believed possible.

Final thoughts: Let's just start out with the fact that I much prefer the Mercy books to these. I like her character more than I ever have liked Charles and Anna. And with that being said, this may be one of my least liked of all. The POVs are all over the place. We get Charles and Anna, but we get at least four other POVs and only for a quick scene or two, as if the author wanted to make sure the reader understood some things, but couldn't figure out any other way to do it. Mercy and Adam are the only POVs in that series and Adam showed up late in the game, but it's all consistent. This series is not and it was a mess. Additionally, we got a Mercy story mixed in early on (probably because Mercy's character would never tell it), and that made me mad, both because of the placement and because it made me really not like Bran for the first time. In fact, for a few moments, I was really angry at him and even hated him a bit. This was not a good side for him, and while it made him more three-dimensional, it was not pleasant or nice. I hate that his character has been tainted a bit now. This may be the book that turns be off Charles and Anna. Sad, because the basic story and ideas were good.

Rating: 2.5/5

Burn Bright
by Patricia Briggs
March 6, 2018, 5 star

Ms. Briggs always delivers! Characters that you care about. A storyline that grips and holds your attention, emotion, and a well thought out plot and when you turn the last page you wish there were more pages to the book. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. Happy reading!

I really look forward to a new Patricia Briggs and Burn Bright did not disappoint me. Even better we get to spend time with Asil, whom I adore!

I was thrown when the bad guy was revealed, which made me really happy too.

Review will post on release date, March 6, 2018.

The latest Alpha and Omega installment takes place immediately after the events in the last Mercy Thompson book, Silence Fallen. While Bran is off in Europe as part of the Mercy rescue team, Charles is left in charge of the pack. When a distress call comes in from one of Bran’s wildlings, Charles and Anna head out to their territory to investigate. What follows is a very well done mystery full of betrayal, death, and witchcraft, and a much deeper look into pack politics and relationships.

While I have mad, mad love for Mercy and Adam, Charles and Anna hold a special place in my reader’s heart. I love their relationship. Charles’s dominance, and the wisdom that comes with his long, eventful life, play off beautifully against Anna’s Omega ability to calm even the most aggressive wolf. I love how they love each other. Anna understands that Charles’s role as pack executioner and bogeyman sometimes leave a stain on his soul, so she’s always trying to protect her mate. Charles truly sees and acknowledges Anna’s strengths and is always steadfastly by her side. They have an honesty in their dealings with each other that I love.

Burn Bright takes place entirely in Montana and while the pacing felt a little slower than previous installments, I quite enjoyed getting to know a few of the pack members a little better and seeing how they interact with each other while Bran is away. Leah, Bran’s mate, gets a considerable amount of page time, and in fact plays a huge part in this story. If you are like me, and have always wondered about her and Bran’s seemingly cold relationship, and what exactly her place is within the pack, I think you will be pleased to finally have some clarity. She’s not as bad as I’ve always imagined, in fact I developed a respect for her and her strength. Asil, Sage, and Bran’s broken wolves are also featured and learning more about their backstories was one of my favorite parts of this book.

While there is a lot of character development, and fleshing out of pack dynamics, there is also a very well done mystery. I applaud Ms. Briggs, because even while I felt like the pace was much slower, and repeatedly wondered where everything was going and when it would get there, Burn Bright held my attention and kept me glued to the page until the moment when all those plot threads started to slowly come together. Then I couldn’t read fast enough to get to the answers I was craving. Those answers, and the events that lead up to them, had me on a roller coaster of emotions. Anxious for Charles and Anna, angry at whoever the traitor might be, angry at Bran for leaving them in this situation essentially blind and playing catch up, saddened when characters who’ve survived so much in life are killed, and finally satisfaction to see how everything wrapped up.

In the end I very much enjoyed my journey back into the Mercyverse and getting to spend some time with Charles and Anna. I never realize how much I miss them until I dive back into the newest Alpha and Omega. My only regret is not holding off longer to read, (I’m writing this review right before New Year’s) because now I’ll have to wait another year for to get back to this world.

Favorite Quote:
Mine. All mine. All of his beauty of body and spirit was hers.

Patricia Briggs writes awesome couples. Her books are the cream of the crop of paranormal romance. Even after many books, it still seems real and fresh and comforting. You hardly ever want to choke out a character for being stupid for drama's sake. Which in this genre is really amazing. Always get Patricia Briggs.

I really like the Alpha & Omega books and this one was pretty good. I really liked that we got to hang around the town where they all live and get to know some of the characters a little better. Often this series sends Charles and Anna to other places to fix problems so it was nice to stick close to home. Pretty awesome book. I also really liked the insight into Bran and his wife's relationship and learning a little more about her. She is so often seen as just an adversary, it was nice to see her a little differently in this book.

So, straight up. I’m a Mercy Thompson girl and not an Alpha/Omega girl.

I remember reading the first Alpha and Omega novel, being completely put off by Anna, and simply stopping there. However, when I was given the opportunity to read Burn Bright, I thought I would give it a chance.

And I liked it.

Now, I say this having read ONLY book one of Anna’s series. It’s possible that devoted readers of this one may have a different reaction. But I found that I liked Anna. She was Omega, yes, but not the submissive I thought she was in book one. No, she’s not the scrappy, always ready for a fight Mercy Thompson, but she’s got strength, dignity, and humor that I didn’t see in book one.

While I do still prefer Mercy (I like my heroines badass fighters), I found that Anna’s nurturing nature and quiet strength were nice and If found myself thinking that I just may return to the prior books to see what I missed.

The book has drama, heartbreak, betrayal, and Charles. I like Charles. I want my own Charles.

While I’d like to see Anna rip out a throat or two (maybe she does in the books I missed?), I found this a thrilling adventure and will definitely read the next book in the series.

I guess I’m back.

With Bran not yet returned from his rescue Mercy mission, Charles and Anna are watching over the Marrok's pack. The wildlings live at the edge of the pack in the wild country of Montana, so damaged that they can't function as werewolves but still treasured pack members. A call for help from one of these wildlings, sets off a search for the hunters, those that are stalking the pack and its venerable members.

Why I started this book: Briggs is and will always be one of my favorite authors. I jumped at the chance of an ARC.

Why I finished it: Anna and Charles are two of my favorite characters, especially as they grow together, learning how to support each other in a true partnership. And it was super fun, to see the pack react without Bran. So fun that I'm going to reread the entire series.

Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Charles and Anna are two of my favorite characters. The story of how they met is on my favorites shelf and a novella I read when I want a comfort book. When I received Burn Bright from Netgalley I waited one week before I read it and then I read it in one sitting. I loved the story line and how the two had to face some very hard decisions while in charge of the pack. No spoilers as the book does not come out until March (my bad that I could not wait to read). Just a recommendation that you pick this one up when it comes out if you are a fan of the series and that if you have never read the series that you start now so you will be ready when Burn Bright comes out.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley (after stalking the website for weeks hoping it'd appear for request) and like all things written by Patricia Briggs, I read it in one sitting!

It has that amazing mix of diverse culture, legend and lore that I've come to know and love, and once again, and intense and intricate plot that will have you guessing (incorrectly, might I add) for the entire story!

Anna continues to grow and evolve as a character, even with facing a lot of triggers this time around, and Charles continues to toe the line of protecting his mate by enabling her to fend for herself until she asks for his help.

This time we didn't leave Montana, and we spend more time with Bran's pack of misfits. I loved that we spent more time getting to know some characters who usually get little to no page time, but if I have one gripe it's this: Maybe it's because Anna and Charles were in their home territory that there were some parts in the middle that seemed to drag a bit. It's not as fast paced at the rest of the A&O series, and those bits will leave you wondering why it's relevant, until the very end when the mystery is finally solved and you find out you did need those flashbacks and episodes of reminiscing from characters you didn't realize were about to be suddenly integral to the plot.

Overall, that detracted very little from the book and I still ran the usual gamut of feels that comes with delving into Anna's world: I laughed at character antics, cried at their pain and loss, snarled in outrage on their behalf, and looked at Charles with heart eyes.

I will definitely be buying this when it's released in March!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2187071865?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I’ve been a huge, huge fan of the Mercy Thompson series for a while now, and so, after I ran out of those to read, I naturally moved to the Alpha and Omega series. It takes place in the same universe, but follows different characters. How could I not?!

Bran, the Marrock (the leader over all the werewolves in North America this world, for those unaware. He’s sort of the Alpha of all the Alphas) is away in this volume, leaving his son Charles in charge of running his pack. He gets a phone call from one of the wildlings, the unstable wolves who can’t live in a pack so are housed separately from Bran’s pack, saying there’s been some sort of incident, and that he needs to come check it out.

Well, wildlings are known for being aggressive and unstable, so the best thing to do if you’re a very dominant werewolf is to bring an Omega, the sort of werewolf that is so far out of the pack hierarchy that most wolves (and other beings besides) feel an instinct to protect them. They’re great for calming the crazies down, more or less. Good thing that Charles’ mate Anna is an Omega.

So off they go to the wildlings to investigate. Cue shenanigans!

It’s actually pretty arguable at this point that I like Charles and Anna as much as I like Mercy and Adam. It’s about equal at this point. I love, love, love that this series gives us a bit of a behind the scenes look at some of the things that are mentioned more in Mercy’s books, but as things in the background, or from Mercy’s past. For example, some of the root of the conflict between Mercy and Bran’s mate Leah is explained a bit in this one, and we get some insight into Bran’s relationship with Mercy, and things that she, but not everyone, are oblivious to… so that was interesting.

This was one of those books where I just picked it up and then read it all in one go. I didn’t even entertain the thought of putting this book down, because from start to finish, it was entertaining. I find that (mainly because both are largely present throughout the whole stories as they are the titular Alpha and Omega) these books tend to focus a little more on the relationship between Charles and Anna than Mercy’s books typically focus on her relationship with Adam. They’re… romancier, in a way. I really like this though. Charles and Anna’s relationship is freaking adorable at times, and I still find it a little weird to say that about Charles Cornick, who has always been presented as a very powerful but largely stoic character. They just *get* each other. It’s not overly lovey-dovey, in terms of comparing it to what can be found in a lot of other books in the same or similar genres, but it’s often cute, and quite a bit sexy sometimes too. The POV switches between Charles and Anna, for the most part, with a few exceptions, and it’s nice to get to see the story unfold from both perspectives.

It was an interesting look at some of the parts of this world that you don’t typically get to see, because in this case, the wildlings are quite hidden away for good reason. Some of the more damaged wildlings are featured. The dynamics of Bran’s pack were fleshed out a bit more for me. Characters like Asil and Leah played a pretty decent part in this story. Even Anna’s Omega powers and Charles’ witchborn powers were explained in more details here.

The twist, or climax of the plot was well thought out and amazingly well executed. It kept me in the dark until it was good and ready to be revealed, and that doesn’t always happen. When it *did* reveal, and I had guessed at it with varying levels of success, I was… well, I was a lot of different emotions. This book had ups and downs and twists and turns. I got teary-eyed for characters I’d really just met. I got angry, and I smiled.

This might be one of my favorite novels in this universe. I cannot WAIT for more.

Thanks to the author, as well as Berkley via NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.

Loved it!! I've been waiting on this book.....and it left me wanting more.
Great book to let us learn about more werewolves. Gave us a few twists in the story.
Need more.

A satisfying addition to the series. Great blend of fantasy, mystery, and romance.

Another fantastic work by Patricia Briggs. Her style and characters are amazing. Could not put it down.

I can't wait for what she does next!

This series is one of my favorites! Patricia has created an amazing world in the Mercy Thompson series, and this spinoff is great! Her characters are so relatable and will suck you into the story! Very well written, awesome dialog and lots of great action! I highly recommend it!

A good mystery at the core of this installment of Charles' and Anna's series kept me glued to the pages until it was revealed and then it was over too soon. I loved finding out more about the origin stories of certain werewolves and getting insight into a character that everyone loves to hate.

A Traitor in their Midst
I received an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. Upfront, Patricia Briggs is one of my favorite authors, so I knew I'd love this... I was not disappointed! This book continues the series centered on Bran's son, Charles Cornick and his mate/wife, Anna. While the story was about Charles and Anna, it was so much more! This book broadened our view of Bran, the Marrok (leader of all the Werewolves) of North and South America, it mainly took place in Montana in the pack's territory there. Among the members of Bran's pack, are all the damaged, sick, and insane werewolves that cannot live in normal society. Most of them live in remote parts of the pack's territory, where they can do no harm to themselves or others. Two of the Wildlings, Hester and her fae mate, Jonesy die early in the book, after Hester is captured by militant outside werewolves and humans. It is determined that their must be a traitor. Since Bran is away, on "vacation," Charles is in charge. This is complicated by his unfriendly relationship with he stepmother, Bran's wife, Leah. In the course of the investigation, which involves insane weres, witchcraft, and trials to the relationships within Bran's pack, we learn more about Brigg's amazing characters. The plot had unexpected twists and turns, but it was ultimately resolved with satisfaction and new questions to be answered in future novels.

I love this series and was so excited to read another Anna and Charles book. It took some time to get going and at times I was tempted to put it down during the first half. Luckily it picked up in the second part of the book filled with action and unexpected occurrences. At time those occurrences were a little too complicated to my liking, but it seems like Briggs is setting up a new arch in the series. Overall a solid, 3.5 read.

Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs is part of the Alpha & Omega series. Anna & Charles are a mated pair. Charles is left in charge of the pack while his Father is away. Theres a trader in there pack. Its up to Charles to take care of it. Great addition to the series. Highly recommend anything by this author!!!

Patricia Briggs' world is well fleshed out with intriguing characters and it's not only great to "visit" with them again but also to meet more of them! Charles and Anna are solid together and the satisfaction of their relationship being good is one of the gems of this book. Meeting more of Bran's wildlings, finding out more about the overarching conflict that's been mostly hidden through out any number of this world's books, and seeing the changes in the relationships between Leah and Bran and Charles is another. If you like Briggs work, don't walk, run to the bookstore. If you're just starting to read her, don't start here.