Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs

 ABOUT THE BOOK 

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In her bestselling Alpha and Omega series, Patricia Briggs "spins tales of werewolves, coyote shifters, and magic and, my, does she do it well" (USA Today Online). Now mated werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham face a threat like no other--one that lurks too close to home...

They are the wild and the broken. The werewolves too damaged to live safely among their own kind. For their own good, they have been exiled to the outskirts of Aspen Creek, Montana. Close enough to the Marrok's pack to have its support; far enough away to not cause any harm.

With their Alpha out of the country, Charles and Anna are on call when an SOS comes in from the fae mate of one such wildling. Heading into the mountainous wilderness, they interrupt the abduction of the wolf--but can't stop blood from being shed. Now Charles and Anna must use their skills--his as enforcer, hers as peacemaker--to track down the attackers, reopening a painful chapter in the past that springs from the darkest magic of the witchborn...

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 REVIEW 

I am consistently on the lookout for a new urban fantasy series to lose myself in. A month or so back, I found a book called Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs. This creation, belonging to the larger Mercy Thompson world, is the epitome of what I look for in an urban fantasy series. The supernaturals have a uniqueness to them, something that sets them apart from what is typical of the genre. An excellent balance of wit, emotion, and suspense exists here. Even though it is easy to assume success will come to our heroes, there is enough on the line to be anxious for them. 

Anna is a rare Omega wolf. This world is often brutal, and Anna suffers deep emotional distress due to her initiation into the supernatural.  Anna's mate Charles gives her support and confidence, allowing Anna to thrive in her environment. I find that Charles is my favorite character in the series (possibly in the entire Mercy Thompson world). He has the terrible burden of being the Marrok's enforcer. Even though at his core Charles does not enjoy killing, he does it because he must. After witnessing the tole it takes on him, throughout the series, I am glad Charles found Anna and her Omega powers. They are a perfect pair. I felt an immediate connection to these characters. 

The main focus in Burn Bright is on the Marrok's Montana pack.  One of their own dies, which leads the group to a traitor within the pack. Typically I read at a decent pace, Burn Bright was no exception, but I had to skip ahead in the story to find who betrayed them as quick as possible. When it was clear one of the possible suspects would have put Charles in a volatile situation with the Marrok, Bran, I couldn't take the stress of not knowing. I enjoyed the tension as much as it drove me a little crazy. There is a dangerous conflict building here. I anticipate it will carry through a few more books.

A random, somewhat spoilery, thought:

I feel the need to weigh in on the revelation involving Bran in Burn Bright. Not to get too detailed here and really spoil things, although I could argue a few paragraphs about it, frankly, it makes sense to me. At least it could put a few things in further perspective. I will say outside interpretation is not always reliable. Of course, that means reader interpretation can be just as inaccurate. The bulk of the information we have about that relationship comes predominantly from Mercy. And she is biased. Until Bran reveals why he reacts the way he does, there is no reason to flip out about it. And sorry, Mercy had a foster family whose house she lived in, and that was not Bran's. I don't see the implications any worse than Samuel's prior actions.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to immerse themselves in a good urban fantasy/ paranormal romance.  I would suggest starting from the beginning, including the Mercy Thompson books and novellas.  It is well worth it. On a side note, definitely listen to the audio if available. Holter Graham is marvelous, and truth be told without him narrating, I might not have picked up this series and I am glad I did.

X Marks the Spot by Opal Carew

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X Marks the Spot is a stand-alone novella by Opal Carew. While celebrating Abi's brother's wedding, Abi is determined to act on the crush she has had on Del since the two of them attended college together. While trying to make her move on Del, Abi finds herself in Liam's bed by accident. Liam, deciding its time to renew efforts to win his estranged wife back uses Abi's mistake to his benefit and seduces her.

The idea for this book is good in concept. I enjoy a denied passion love story. The romantic encounters are pretty sexy and serve the purpose of getting your blood pumping. The scenarios are motivated mainly by Abi's indecision on which of the male characters she wants, which leads to bed-hopping between the two men, and eventually the three of them together. There is less time to develop characters the shorter the story is, and here they are a little one dimensional, but this fact may not matter depending on one's perspective. The story unfolds into a string of sexual fantasies and not much else, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The men are sexy and in love. The woman gets what she wants in the end, and everyone is happy. In between, they all spend a lot of time between the sheets. If lustful thoughts are what you want out of your erotic romances this one will deliver.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own and may not be identical to others. I urge all readers to come to their own conclusions.

Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon by Kerrelyn Sparks

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Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon by Kerrelyn Sparks is book three of The Embraced series. Starting with the third book presented no issues for me, I was able to follow the plot without feeling I was missing things, even when the characters referred to what most likely occurred in past books. Gwennor is an Elf, a race which is the sworn enemy of the Norveshka people.  Through happenstance, Gwen finds herself on Norveshka helping General Silas find a cure for the ancient curse afflicting his people.

This book was lighthearted, funny and sweet which was such fun for me. The banter between Silas and Gwen and the rest of the characters for that matter kept a smile on my face most of the novel. The couples were adorable. When events were more serious, it never became too dark which was appropriate for the setting.

The mystery alongside the love story was quite enjoyable and kept me guessing. What I most liked about it is in a world of mages and shifters, their problems were resolved in part by real-world applications. This approach helped ground the story to reality in unexpected and interesting ways.

Any issues I had, which were mainly due to Gwen being slightly too naive for my taste, was due to personal preferences. I was able to overlook it and have a good time reading Gwen and Silas's story. They were well paired and quite sexy. I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own and may not be identical to others. I urge all readers to come to their own conclusions.

The Undercover Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden

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The Undercover Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden is part three of the Tate Brothers series. I have not read the other two books in this set. It was clear some characters had further background detailed in earlier books, but that lack of detail in no way hindered my enjoyment of this installment.

Olivia de Santis has been in love with Wolf Tate since they became friends as teenagers. While keeping her feelings hidden, Olivia continued a correspondence with Wolf during his time away with the Navy Seals. When his father Nate dies, Wolf is instructed to take down his father's enemy Cesare de Santis before Wolf can retrieve the mother he thought he lost from hiding. Having spent most of his teenage years as a spy in de Santis's household, Wolf attempts to use his friendship with de Santis's daughter Olivia to further his goal.
I am a sucker for a good unrequited love story. This story had a way of making the dream of love come true without emotional manipulation. Olivia had feelings for Wolf, but she was not a pushover. Even though she kept protecting Wolf when logic might have dictated she stop, she still made smart choices. She was in a terrible position and dealt with the unfortunate circumstances in the best way possible. The right decisions took a bit longer for Wolf to make. Wolf was blind to his worth due to the mental abuse by his father and de Santis. Olivia had to drag him out of that, eventually leading him to realize he loved her as she did him. It felt organic and moving, and it was wonderful when Wolf was finally able to believe in himself. The dynamic between Wolf and Olivia worked well and also worth noting is their physical chemistry was very sexy.

Undercover Billionaire was a great read for me. It has been awhile since I was so attached to the main characters in a contemporary erotic romance. I was glad they were able to be together after the terrible things they had to go through. All opinions are my own and may not be identical to others. I urge all readers to come to their own conclusions. I voluntarily received an ARC copy of this book through NetGalley.