Review: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

Hunting Ground
(Alpha and Omega #2)
Patricia Briggs
Release: August 25, 2009
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Anna Latham didn’t know how complicated life could be until she became a werewolf. And until she was mated to Charles Cornick, the son — and enforcer — of Bran, the leader of the North American werewolves, she didn’t know how dangerous it could be either...

Anna and Charles have just been enlisted to attend a summit to present Bran’s controversial proposition: that the wolves should finally reveal themselves to humans. But the most feared Alpha in Europe is dead set against the plan — and it seems like someone else might be too. When Anna is attacked by vampires using pack magic, the kind of power only werewolves should be able to draw on, Charles and Anna must combine their talents to hunt down whoever is behind it all — or risk losing everything...

Review by Rose Red:
I read all of the books in the Alpha & Omega series over the space of two days and I then proceeded to reread them a bit more slowly at a pace of one book a day. I’ve found that I miss a lot of the subtle details Patricia Briggs works into each plot when I read her books too fast and it's those subtle details that have helped me to fall in love with this series as hard as I have. It’s close, but I think Hunting Ground is my favorite book in this series. It barely beats out Dead Heat.

Werewolf politics and intrigue are the highlight of this novel. Charles and Anna have been sent to Seattle by the Marrok to negotiate deals that will help the European packs deal with the fallout of the North American pack revealing themselves to the public. It was interesting to see how much restrained violence there is when a large group of Alphas are made to interact with each other. It was a real eye opener to see just how powerful Bran’s influence was to the European wolves even though he wasn’t present at the talks. The first book showed us that Bran was crazy powerful, but I didn’t realize just exactly how much until this book. How else would you get so many Alphas in one room together? There is much death and underhanded deeds as the mystery unfolds and I’ll admit that I didn’t figure out who was behind everything until it was all laid out for me.

As we get more insight into global werewolf politics, we also get to know Charles and Anna even more as well as watch their budding relationship grow. And as much as I love the action and the mystery, the romance is my favorite part of this book (and series!). Charles and Anna are mated and married now, but they’re still figuring out how to live together and be a couple. Anna has to learn to trust Charles completely and Charles needs to learn how to open himself up to Anna. Just because they accepted the mating doesn’t mean everything is all hunky dory. Anna is still relying on her wolf to instigate a lot of her physical contact with Charles. It was as if her wolf was protecting her from her past, painful memories. What I liked most about is that we see Anna actively trying to overcome her fears because she doesn't want to be a prisoner to them anymore.

This is the book where Anna shines as a character. Still skittish and a bit broken, Anna relies on her wolf in order to adjust to situations. Anna is learning how to be an Omega wolf and what it entails. It's not only Anna who is learning. The other wolves are also learning exactly what the power of an Omega can do. I loved watching Anna transform from a “scared rabbit” to an assertive, protective wolf. She doesn't conquer everything but she makes some real progress.

I loved the stolen alone moments that Anna and Charles shared. They have a strange and unusual relationship. Both of them are unsure and probably a little scared and that makes the romance between these two all the more interesting. A light touch in human form or a slight nudge in wolf form makes the relationship fascinating because they are learning each other slowly. It’s a romance that I’ve found to be endearing and beautiful. It just makes me happy to read about it.

We get to see more of the tender side of Charles that Anna brings out. He’s so sweet and patient with Anna and he tries to everything in his power to help her with her fears. Charles also makes some progress in this book, too. By the end, he doesn't doubt himself and Anna's love for him as much as he was. He's confident that he is hers just as she is his. He's still protective, silent, strong, and subtly funny. But he realizes that he can be more than just Charles Cornick, the Marrok’s Enforcer. He can also be Charles Cornick, mate of Anna Cornick, who is happily head over heels in love with his mate.

There was a huge cast of characters in this book and it was interesting to learn about the wolf packs from Europe as well as the Seattle pack. I came to adore the Seattle Alpha, Angus, but my favorite side characters were Tom and Moira. They were so much fun! I loved how sassy Moira was and I adored how Tom took care of her. I sincerely hope that we get to see more of the blind witch and her werewolf mate in future books.

I have absolutely no complaints about this book. Not a one. I loved the relationship growth and the exploration of some of the other packs. I loved the new characters and I found myself enthralled by the mystery. I even found myself quite surprised by the reveal of the villain. I suspected part of it, but I was not prepared for the reveal of the whole picture. If you haven’t read this series or any of Patricia Briggs’ books, you need to change that. They are delightful and I recommend them all!

    

  5 / 5 Stars!


My reviews of other books in this series:
Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs