REVIEW by Lorna: Alpha and Omega (Alpha and Omega # 0.5) by Patricia Briggs (@Mercys_Garage , @Mollykatie112)

In Cry Wolf, New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs started a new urban fantasy series set in the world of Mercy Thompson — but with rules of its own. Now, read “Alpha and Omega,” the novella that inspired the new series, and see how it all began…

Anna Latham never knew werewolves existed, until the night she survived a violent attack… and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the Chicago pack, she’s learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But when she discovers wrongdoing in her pack, she has to go above her Alpha’s head to ask for help.

Charles Cornick is the son — and enforcer — of the leader of the North American werewolves. Now his father has sent him to Chicago to clean up a problem there. Charles never expected to find Anna, a rare Omega wolf — and he certainly never expected to recognize her as his mate…

This novella was originally published in the anthology, On the Prowl.

Alpha and Omega
by Patricia Briggs

Series:
Alpha and Omega #0.5

Genre:
Urban Fantasy
Paranormal Romance

Publisher:
Berkley

Publication Date:
August 7, 2007

My favorite genre to read is mostly paranormal, and here is where I admit that I had never read anything by Patricia Briggs. And now I am kicking myself. I decided to start with this novella because it’s really the first part of the story, and also so that I could see if I enjoyed the way the author wrote before taking on a new series. So reading done and the first I thing I did when I finished this was of course, buy the first real book in the series,Cry Wolf, and immediately start reading. Why? Because I have already fallen in love with the main characters.

Anna is a werewolf that was changed against her wishes, and has been living a horrible life ever since. Used by the alpha of her pack as a reward to any werewolf that does good, Anna has been repeatedly raped. She is submissive and has had to do anything that is asked of her, including giving a big part of her wages to the pack, making her almost destitute.That is just told to us so we don’t have to see her go through the rapes-thankfully. Charles is the son of the Marrok, also known as the leader of all the werewolves. He comes to Chicago to visit Anna after she gets the nerve up to tell some things she has witnessed in her pack. I am not going into any more of the story at this point due to this being a novella.

It’s a very short read and actually the story didn’t start until 10 percent into the read due to advertisements of other books by the author/publisher. Usually that doesn’t make me happy, but since the story was so satisfying and good, it really didn’t bother me in the least. Also keep in mind that this was originally part of an anthology, On the Prowl, back in 2007.

Werewolves, packs, alphas, pack rules, and the beginning of a romance, this book has all that.I loved the characters, the premise, and look forward to continuing on with this series.First read by Patricia Briggs ended up being a winner for me all the way around. Highly recommended to all adult paranormal romance/urban fantasy readers.

The review copy of Alpha and Omega was purchased by the reviewer.

ABOUT PATRICIA BRIGGS
Patricia Briggs is the author of the New York Times bestselling Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series. She lives in Washington state with her husband, children, and a small herd of horses.

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