Waiting on Wednesday: Fair Game (Alpha & Omega #3) by Patricia Briggs

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, or have had the chance to scan my archives, you might have seen a fair bit of the name Patricia Briggs. I absolutely adore her work & she is the reason I began to branch out of my comfort zone in reading. Fair Game is the 3rd installment in the Alpha and Omega series that was born of her ever-popular Mercy Thompson series. This latest story will be released to the masses on March 6th. Be forewarned, there is a bit of spoilery type information, but nothing major in the summary. Enjoy!

Patricia Briggs' Alpha and Omega series-set in a world of shifting shapes, loyalty, and passion- brings werewolves out of the darkness and into a society where fear and prejudice could make the hunters prey...

They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and
Charles Cornick, they mate. The son-and enforcer-of the leader of the North
American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can't afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father's dirty work is taking a toll on Charles.

Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston, when the FBI requests the pack's help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves-all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer's sights...

From Goodreads

While I absolutely adore the Mercy Thompson series, this one has a richer dynamic between the main characters that I just can't resist. Charles & Anna are mesmerizing to watch no matter what they're doing. Not to mention the events that beleaguer them are always unique. I hope you're as excited for this one as I am & if you haven't started yet, now is the time!

What are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday: Fair Game (Alpha & Omega #3) by Patricia Briggs

Bad Moon Rising by Sherrilyn Kenyon review

SPOILER ALERT: This is the 18th book in the Dark Hunter series & while the author says that the books can be read in any order, I like to give fair warning anyway. Just FYI.

Fang Kattalakis is far from a lone wolf. He is a member of a pack, with his brother, his father & several other folks. But he has never desired a female as much as that of Aimee Peltier. Too bad she's not a wolf, she's actually the owner of Sanctuary's daughter. Oh, and a bear too.

Fang wasn't looking for a mate, heck he wasn't even looking for a date when he & some pack members wandered into Sanctuary for a meal. Of course nothing can ever be that simple & when Aimee's life is threatened by roving jackals, Fang protects & defends her, winning eternal gratification from the bears.

As it turns out, that "gratification" comes in very handy when things go sour faster than he ever thought possible. When his own father hands down the execution order for Fang & his brother, the bears are there to nurse them both back to health. Unfortunately the damage to Fang is extensive & he finds himself actually locked in a hellish purgatory with Aimee as his only way out. The unwilling couple form a bond that nothing seems to shake & she manages to save, in more way than one. Their bond, although tenuous, comes in handy sooner than they would have liked when the different lycanthrope groups decide to stage an all-out war. Will Sanctuary survive the battle or will it become a casualty of the young couple's budding romance?

Bad Moon Rising is one of the plethora of books from the wonderfully enchanting Sherrilyn Kenyon. I pick and choose which books of her's I want to read because while they are all loosely affiliated, you do not have to read the previous books to understand the main storyline of the current book you're reading. The first book I read was No Mercy , which comes after this book in sequence, so I understood certain things with more clarity after reading Bad Moon Rising, but nothing that completely altered the book for me. Any way...

Aimee & Fang are a fun couple to watch develop. They really have no intention of being attracted to one another & actively try to dissuade & distract themselves from the other, but they just have no luck. As cursed beings their lives are kind of determined by the gods & the gods have a sick sense of humor when it comes to messing with people's love lives. Aimee is a strong-willed woman who is the only female of the bear clan & is doing everything in her power to keep the family name clear & pure to continue their legacy. Fang is a little haggard, but his rough-and-tumble life is as good as he could expect it to be. Bringing these two smart-mouthed, wise-cracking, hard-headed fools together is one of the most explosive & fun things I've seen Ms. Kenyon do in her books.

The writing is spot on with some great quotes & active story building. The Dark Hunter/Were Hunter worlds are very diverse with a lot of history & details that I can't even begin to imagine trying to keep up with, so I appreciate the effort she puts in to make the story so engrossing. This one was turned turn in steamy romance compared to the first book I read, but there is still definitely some lovin' (of multiple acts) going on between these two characters. As I've continued to say, I'm not the biggest fan of misplaced romance. It has to actually add something to the story in order for me to get behind it. That was definitely the case in this book, so I didn't mind so much.

I'm looking forward to the next book I plan to read from Ms. Kenyon, although I'm not sure if it will be a Dark Hunter/Were Hunter book or if I'll wait for the next Chronicles of Nick book that's due out in February of 2012. I'm stuck. What do you think?

Bad Moon Rising by Sherrilyn Kenyon review

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer review

WARNING: Spoilers for Nightshade follow. You might want to look away if you haven't read it. Or you could read my review. :)



After the nightmare that was supposed to be her union, Calla Tor is not at all surprised when she finds herself waking up somewhere she has never been before. What follows her reawakening is what frightens her. She is trapped in the hands of her sworn enemies, the Searchers & they've got Shay. Only... no one is trying to kill her & Shay seems quite content as well.



It turns out the Searchers not the purely evil folks that the Keepers made the Guardians believe they were all this time. It turns out that the Searchers are the other half of the Keepers in a centuries-old struggle for harmony & balance. Over the course of the next few days Calla learns the true history of her people, what it means for Shay to be the "Scion" & helps plan the rescue of her packmates.



Unfortunately a lot happened in Vail during her nightmare & things aren't how they were anymore. Wolves are being stripped from their human halves, wraiths are being repeatedly used as torture devices & some Guardians are being outright murdered, all to prove a point. The Keepers believe that as long as they continue to lie & convince the more powerful wolves (including the alphas), then the rest will simply follow orders. What they didn't plan for was a new alpha & what happens when you lie about even the most basic facts.



Andrea Cremer continues to take us on a wild ride with the second installment in the Nightshade trilogy. While I have to admit that it did include some of the more banal qualities of a 2nd book in a trilogy, I think this was a key plot-building time for this story. So little time passed in this book (like I'm talking 2 weeks at most) but SO MUCH happened that alters where your allegiance lies & how the story will move forward from here.



Calla continues to intrigue me as she has now become the uncertain character that I tend to tire of in books, but her uncertainty is pivotal to her character development. She has had everything she has ever known stripped from her & everyone she loves is in grave danger because of her actions, so her response is natural & expected. I must say that I was rather impressed with Cremer's ability to make Calla a tortured character without over-stating her reality. Sometimes readers are beaten over the head with the sadness that the characters are experiencing, but Cremer held a fine balance on giving us a glimpse at Calla's emotions & then moving straight back into the action.



We meet a whole new cast of characters that you'll instantly like because they resemble the wolves so much while establishing their own unique identities. The Searchers are a fun-filled, dedicated group of watchers who will stop at nothing to ensure the safety of the world. Even better is the description of their world & the Old Magic that they practice. We don't see the Keepers' magic at all really, but with the Searchers it is such an integral part of their existence that it permeates their world.



I really enjoyed this book in the series as so MAJOR developments occur that will alter how the story can move forward. I will warn those worried about content that there is some sexuality involved & some hinting at violence used for domination, but nothing scandalizing. I look forward to seeing what Cremer brings us in the final installment Bloodrose due out in January 2012!



ARC graciously provided by Around the World Tours

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer review

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer review

Calla Tor doesn’t know how to be anything other than the female alpha she was born to be in the Nightshade pack. Things have always been understood: she would compose herself with finesse, marry Renier Laroche (the Bane pack alpha), & serve the Keepers in their quest to fight off the Searchers. And everything was going swimmingly… until Shay showed up.



Just a simple human, Shay is caught in the midst of a centuries-long struggle that he’s not really supposed to know about. Despite her senses telling her to stay away, Calla finds herself drawn to this boy & all that his existence promises. She finds him even more interesting when she is charged with his safety & has an excuse to spend inordinate amounts of time alone with Shay. For the most part, Calla manages to balance her duties to her pack (like getting both packs to hang out without shedding blood), Ren’s ever-encroaching presence, & Shay’s need for understanding; until she & Shay stumble upon more information than they are supposed to know.



It’s now a life or death race as the clock ticks down to, not only Calla & Ren’s union, but to a hidden prophecy that changes everything for everyone. Is there any way for Calla to protect herself & those she cares about, while following her own heart? Or is she simply doomed to follow orders?



What a dexterous read! Andrea Cremer takes some of the best parts of several different mythologies & combines them all into one seamless story. There are so many different facets to the Keeper/Searcher/Guardian dynamic that it is almost impossible to explain it all without becoming tedious & technical. Suffice it to say that they have some unique interactions throughout their histories.



It was refreshing to have such a strong female lead in this book. While I do enjoy the protagonists who are still developing their sense of self & finding their place in the world, it was rather enjoyable to be able to slip into the skin of someone who already knew who they were & what they’re meant to do & be in this life. It was just as equally enjoyable to watch her squirm when her whole world is threatened. The “fight or flight” instinct is strong & it was refreshing to see her fight so hard for what she hadn’t even thought she could have.



Even better than the protagonist was the rest of the cast. There is a wide variety of personalities represented by not only the 2 opposing packs, but within the packs themselves. I felt like I could pick out who was going to be what kind of person & why, but I must admit that the “why” of their demeanors was rather unique. I can’t give any of that away because I think it is an integral part of the overall storyline, but I will tell you that each person is wholly themselves & nothing less.



The plot development took a little bit at the beginning just because you have to settle into a newer understanding, but once I got my bearings it was a fast-paced read. Truly magnificent, Nightshade promises to be the beginning of one heck of a trilogy.

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer review

Waiting on Wednesday: Nocturne (Claire de Lune #2) by Christine Johnson

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.



So while I have yet to review Claire de Lune (somehow that fell off my radar), I did enjoy the first novel in this series. Claire is such a fun character to watch grow. Now I'm gearing up for the August 23rd release of Nocturne (Claire de Lune #2) by Christine Johnson. We're picking up where we left off after the first book, so beware as spoilers may follow!

Some secrets are too dangerous...



After the tragic events of the summer, Claire is looking forward to a new school year. All she wants to worry about is finding the most gorgeous dress to wear to the Autumn Ball with her perfect boyfriend.



But as Claire knows all too well, the life of a werewolf is never that simple, or that sweet.



When Claire’s human and wolf lives start to collide, her worst nightmares come true. She is hurting her best friend. She has been caught lying. And then the unthinkable happens: Someone discovers Claire’s secret.



If Claire’s werewolf identity is exposed, everyone she knows will be put at risk. And the pack’s response comes at a cost higher than Claire can imagine. Claire will be forced to determine just how far she is willing to go to protect her family, her identity and her life, before she loses it all...



From Goodreads

While we were introduced to Claire's new-to-her lifestyle at the same time she is coming to grips with the situation, we're now moving ahead with her adjustment to her new being. Christine Johnson doesn't really follow the prescribed model for teen werewolf books and I find that refreshing. Keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming review of Claire de Lune & for its sequel's release!



What are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday: Nocturne (Claire de Lune #2) by Christine Johnson

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater review

MAJOR SPOILERS for Shiver & Linger ahead. Please don't read if you haven't read those. If you'd like a refresher of those books, please read my reviews of Shiver & Linger.

Grace is lost to the winter as a wolf & Sam is annoyingly still human, despite the cold. His longing for Grace is only mitigated by the frustration he feels towards those who accuse him of having something to do with Grace's disappearance. Yes, technically, he did have something to do with it, but not in the nefarious way that everyone seems to want to believe. Now he's stuck in this endless cycle of waiting for it to warm up enough so Grace can shift back to being a human & they can plan their next steps.

Cole is not making her absence any easier to bear. He spends most of his time seemingly aimless in his wanderings in & outside of the Beck's house. It turns out though that Cole is on to something. He's trying to figure out the trigger to becoming a wolf so that he can reverse the process.

And mixed in with this party of fun is Isabel. With her brother Jack still very dead, her father is still on the hunt for suitable retribution. Luckily another girl shows up dead in the woods by the wolves' paws. The aerial hunt, and the obliteration of the pack, is imminent. Can these three unlikely teammates pull off the greatest miracle or is it already too late to save the wolves of Mercy Falls?

What an ending to one of the most memorable & inexplicably captivating series I have read in quite some time. Maggie Stiefvater is, in my opinion, the supreme queen of character development. Each character was carefully built to give as much vitality to the book as possible. Their dynamics & interactions were so full of emotion & feeling that I truly felt an understanding with them. I absolutely adored the ability to watch these characters evolve & establish themselves as individuals.

Grace may have started as a too-good-to-be-true kind of gal with a serious penchant for the wolves, but she really blossomed into an authentic adult making the best of the situation she was dealt. And while emo boys do have some appeal, Sam really broke my heart from the very beginning of this series. Maggie crafted the most beautifully heart-wrenching scenes for Sam's transformation from scared & scarred follower to a fear-fighting leader doing the very best for everyone, despite the cost. Even Cole & Isabel, despite not having to change as much, really did become better versions of themselves.

As always, the storytelling was divine in the way that I couldn't put the book down. Maggie has noted that she feels more satisfied when writing from multiple characters points of view because they all see things differently about the world than each other, allowing a greater understanding of the situation. And also, you want to use the character that will change the most during the scene in order for the story to progress. This style of writing really lends itself to the way this series unfolds. There is so much going on & so many people involved that I really think the reader would lose something if it had only been told from one (or two) people's points of view.

While I am probably among the minority of people who didn't technically "like" the ending (I'm a big believer of the "tidy little bow" concept) I think it worked perfectly for this storyline. There is no easy way to leave a world behind (even a mythical one) once you've become so invested in it. The way Maggie left things allows the reader to use their own understanding of the series to drawn their own conclusions.

So now that so many people have read the book, I want to hear your thoughts. Did you enjoy this finale? What did you think about the ending? What would you like to have seen happen?

A big thanks to Around the World Tours for the ARC & Maggie Stiefvater for the wonderful event night in Raleigh!

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater review

Author Event: Maggie Stiefvater with Forever at Quail Ridge Books

In case y'all didn't know, Maggie Stiefvater's signings have got to be (hands down) one of the best live author events. Her antics & animation leave you with sore sides from laughing so hard.

It all started out innocently enough and then the vandalism began. :D Instead of standing behind the podium & using the microphone stand, Maggie moves it all out of the way & takes the mic in hand. Naturally, being a storyteller and all, she has to be moving around to effectively engage the audience. I'm sure the 7 hour car ride from Decatur also made for an energetic author.

Maggie told the audience a few anecdotal stories about how wolves have affected her life. She told about her nerve-racking experience of being stuck on a plane when she got the phone call about Linger being #1 on the NYT bestseller list. (A small PSA here: as per NASA, when they tell you turn off your electronic devices, it really is because it messes with the gauges in the plane. So TURN THEM OFF!) Then she told us about a group in Minnesota that traps, tracks & monitors wolves. This is where she got a few ideas that come out in Forever.

Even more awesome though was when she was on world tour in Hungary (a phrase she never gets tired of saying) and got to meet Zoltan the wolf man (an animal trainer specializing in wolves) and his furry friends. They provided her with 2 raincoats & purple galoshes... with ducks on them. If you've never meet Maggie, you might not know that she's the kind of gal who wears work boots & black clothes. A lot. So ducks aren't exactly her thing. Back to the story, Zoltan asks Maggie if she's ever heard a wolf howl up close, naturally being from Virginia she had not, and so Zoltan the wolf man got the wolves to howl. Each member of the pack chose 1 single note to howl & they sounded like a choir in harmony. There was something so primal about it, that while Maggie was not scared, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up & there was a nasty little voice whispering that she was going to die. Of course she didn't, but the experience was profound nonetheless.

Then we moved into the q & a where people asked a lot of really great questions about her writing style, the Shiver movie, & her best & most interesting moments as an author. Quick & dirty:

• Shiver has been optioned for a movie, there is a screenplay & a director, but Maggie is not involved in any way, shape or form & has no more information than that.
• She enjoys writing from multiple points of views (mainly different characters) because she feels like she can write a better story when we can see everything for different angles. It also allows her to use the character that will move the action forward the fastest.
• Her best moment was when she realized that the kindness she had shown to a foster facility really had impacted at least one of the kids in a really positive way because he was writing an English paper about it & his teacher was contacting Maggie to get some details.
• The most unique & interesting thing that has happened to Maggie on tour was in Bulgaria. The last event she was attending turned out to be a masquerade ball & they presented her with Bulgarian bagpipes... and asked her to play them. (For those of you who might not know, Maggie played the Scottish bagpipes competitively in college. It's a good thing she tells the truth on her blog, because she never really knows what may come from it.) She succeeded & ended up having a mosh pit moshing to her notes.

After all was said and done, we formed our line to get our stuff signed. I even hung out afterwards to get a picture of Maggie with Loki. It was the best signing I've been to in a long while. Not that they're not all fun, but this was just exceptional. Thanks Maggie for coming to Raleigh!

Author Event: Maggie Stiefvater with Forever at Quail Ridge Books

Sweetly (Sisters Red #2) by Jackson Pearce

It only took 12 years for Gretchen & Ansel to finally get the boot from their widowed step-mother. They've depended solely on one another ever since Gretchen's twin sister disappeared from the woods. Always a little lost, Gretchen clings to the rock that is her older brother Ansel.

The pair find themselves broken down in the tiny town of Live Oak, just a few hours shy of the Atlantic Ocean they were so looking forward to seeing. Having nearly run out of money the two kids are fortunate enough to find a native resident of the sleepy town who could use a little help on her secluded estate. What started as one afternoon of helping around the property quickly becomes an all-consuming task of assisting Sophia, the chocolatier, in her quest to put on a great chocolate festival.

But as the brother & sister spend more and more time with the candy queen, they start to hear things from the other natives about local girls going missing after her festival & one voice in particular, that of Samuel Reynolds, rings louder than any other. While each sibling goes about finding answers in a different manner, the result is the same. The festival is coming & the local girls need protection. The only question isn't necessarily from whom, but from what.

Jackson Pearce has done it again! The second book in the Sisters Red series does not disappoint at all! This time we're enjoying a reimagining of Hansel & Gretel. The characters are inviting, the twists & turns are quite unexpected & the heart is palpable.

We start off with shy, Skittle-colored hair Gretchen & her big, bad protector brother escaping a life they were dying under. Gretchen, as the main character, is the eyes & ears of the story, but she doesn't seem to miss anything. Every facial expression, every telling movement is noted & examined in her mind. Through her we learn to observe the mundane & extrapolate the truth. Sophia & Samuel present the more "wildcard" elements of this story because we never get their full back story. We can infer Samuel's story from the first book (Sisters Red) but we know nothing of Sophia.

The writing is impeccable with so much feeling & energy expressed without burdening the reader with conversation. Like I said, we learn so much through Gretchen's almost methodical inner-workings that there is little need for extended conversations. Jackson's wit & humor continue to add an amiable quality to her heroes/heroines.

The vibrancy of this story is unparalleled & I am truly thrilled to have gotten a chance to read this latest addition to the series. Although, despite being in a series, this would also serve one well as a stand alone novel. Just a thought for those who might not have enjoyed Sisters Red as much as I did.

Thoughts folks? What do you think of this series take on some of our beloved childhood stories?

Sweetly (Sisters Red #2) by Jackson Pearce