REVIEW by Jena: Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega #1) by Patricia Briggs (@mercys_garage)

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.

Well, a few minutes ago I finished Cry Wolf, book 1 of the Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs. I have to say, I was surprised. I went into this book thinking that this series was just going to be another Mercy Thompson book with different characters and I could not possibly have been more wrong.

In the Mercy Thompson series, we are familiar with the Adam & Mercy dynamic. Quite frankly, they’re meant for each other. But Mercy is a stubborn shit who doesn’t want that kind of control over her (as Adam is his pack’s alpha). She’s not a wolf and having been raised by the Marrok, she’s no stranger to pack politics. And she wants none of it. Well, the magnetic pull that she and Adam have with each other is undeniable. However, it’s not sexually based. They are yin and yang. Perfect puzzle pieces just meant to go together (Get your mind out of the gutter, ladies! That wasn’t meant to be dirty!). Forget sparks. These two have fireworks!!

Now we meet Anna and Charles. Charles is the Marrok’s son. Well, one of them Samuel is the other, who we are familiar with from the Mercy books. Charles is soooooooo not Sam. He’s quiet. He’s reserved. He’s like a big teddy bear. A big teddy bear that happens to be the Marrok’s enforcer/hit man. When he gets sent to Chicago to take care of a little problem with one of their packs, he meets Anna and his wolf instantly picks hers as his mate. Slight problem there, though. Anna is damaged in a big way. Thanks to her dick head pack members, she believes that pack life is much different than it really is – involving way to much violence and even rape.

Because his wolf has picked her wolf as mate, Charles is hooked. He doesn’t have much choice in the matter. He’s on a mission to protect her from ever being hurt again. By anyone. Where Mercy and Adam had fireworks, Anna and Charles have a soft warm glow that grows more and more intense as the book progresses. However, it always remains a warm glow. Their story is sweet.

Anna is one of the most fragile characters I have ever read. I am not normally the coddling type but after reading what she went through in On the Prowl (Alpha and Omega prequel – see below to read my review) and then further explanation in this book, I fell so in love with her character. I could totally understand why Charles wanted to protect her so badly. Half way through this book, if I could have, I would happily have curled up on a couch with her and just let her cry on my shoulder. Her story is just heart breaking and watching poor Charles struggle through trying to make her understand that she’s in no danger is kind of tough to read. That man deserves a frikkin cookie!

And of course, it couldn’t be a Patricia Briggs novel without a good mystery to back it. I don’t want to get into any detail about the mystery part of it because anything I say will give away a piece of the answer. I will say that although the mystery to this book has great back story, it was losing my interest a bit towards the end. It just felt very dragged out. However, once you get over that hump at the tale end of the mystery, the book has a wonderful ending that you won’t want to miss!

Even with my little hang up at the end of this installment, I will most definitely be proceeding with the series. The sweetness of the Anna and Charles story is enough to make me come back for more. I am interested in seeing their relationship grow. I am also very intrigued by some of the goings on with the Marrok. We learn a LOT more about Bran in this book than we ever did in the Mercy books and I am VERY intrigued.

Overall, I am giving Cry Wolf 4 stars! A good solid book that was very entertaining!

SIDE NOTE: Amazon seems to be having some troubles with these titles on their site. Some are just not showing as options (i.e. The Kindle version of Cry Wolf) and some are saying that they are currently under review because of some issues. These are the correct links but you might not be able to grab them just this second. Give it a try anyway. *wink wink*

Alpha & Omega
Alpha & Omega Prequel (From On the Prowl)