Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Alpha and Omega Series by Patricia Briggs

104. Alpha And Omega (On the Prowl Anthology) by Patricia Briggs B
103. Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega #1) by Patricia Briggs B+

"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."  -- fantasticfiction.com

I'll blog about these two together because Alpha and Omega was a short story in the On the Prowl Anthology and is the prologue of Cry Wolf. If you’re starting Cry Wolf, better read the short story first. In Alpha and Omega we learn about Anna and how she has been traumatized in her life as  wolf. She sees a dead body who he recognizes as one killed by her pack and so bravely calls Bran, the Marrock(leader) of all the wolves for help. Bran sends his son and enforcer Charles, who learns that Anna is an Omega as well as his mate. A&O ends with the confrontation with Anna's Pack and Cry Wolf starts immediately after. In Cry Wolf, Anna is moving to Montana to join Brans pack. Before even settling in, Charles is needed to look for a rogue wolf in the mountains and takes Anna with him. Little did they know that there is much more involved, dark magic that has been haunting one of the pack is closing in and only Charles and Anna could prevent disaster from happening.

Having read the previous Mercy books, I am eager to learn more about the world that Briggs has created. With Mercy who is living away from the clan, we have an image of a shifter walking among other magical creatures. With the Alpha and Omega Series, we are smack dab in the middle of the clan and the rules the clans live by. With Anna, who is a newcomer in the Marrok's clan, we get an inside view of the working of the pack and also get a clearer picture of the Marrock and his past. All in all, was a great and fast read for me. Can't wait for the next one.

105. Witchling

105. Witchling (Sisters of the Moon #1) by Yasmine Galenorn B
"Meet the D'Artigo sisters: half-human, half-faerie, they're savvy-and sexy-operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. But their mixed-blood heritage short-circuits their talents at all the wrong times. Delilah shapeshifts into a tabby cat whenever she's stressed. Menolly's a vampire who's still trying to get the hang of being undead. And Camille is a wicked-good witch, except her magic's as unpredictable as the weather, as her enemies are about to find out-the hard way."

First on Yasmin Galenorn's urban fantasy novel introduces us to the D'Artigo sisters. This is told on the point of view of Camille whose magic can be absolutely perfect as well as backfire at any given time. Each book in the series will focus on the point of view of each sister, books 2(Delilah) and 3(Menolly) and back to Camille again on book 4. In the first book, we learn all about the sisters and how they are working for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. When one of the other operatives was killed, the sisters find out that the evil demon leader Shadow King is rallying demons to merge the Otherworld, Earth and Deomworld and wreak havok in all three. Since Otherwold is having it's own crisis and is not equipped to handle this seige, it is up to the three sisters to save the day.

The book was ok for me. I loved Yasmine Galenorn's Chintz China Series but her India Ink series didnt really impress me so much. The thing that I like about Witchling is that I liked the characters, there's even a fox spirit involved, go Kitsune! In a way, the story was very cliche in that they had to find the seals that would bind all three worlds together before Shadow King does (deja vu Supernatural),and it really read like a prologue of the whole story for me. I'ld probably read the next in the series and see after that.

Currently Reading: Bite An Anthology