@roslynholcomb & @Shiloh Walker as well as LizA:

Glad you guys enjoyed the book so much.

@Gayle:

For those who are not in the U.S. Hunting Ground is only available to US residents via the Sony store :( I bought mine at Books on Board.

It pays to have a Sony if you live outside the U.S., then. It is good to hear that you liked the book!

For those who are not in the U.S. Hunting Ground is only available to US residents via the Sony store :( I bought mine at Books on Board.

I prefer the Alpha and Omega series to the Mercy Thompson series because I think that A and O have much more romantic elements in it. I view them as romantic urban fantasy whereas Mercy Thompson has been mostly urban fantasy with romantic elements.

My favourite tropes are the Alpha male with a strong, independent woman and this used to great effect in the series. I prefer Hunting Ground to Cry Wolf mostly based on the plotline. I enjoyed the seeing the fae, European werewolves, and vampires more than a story about a black witch. The romantic elements in both books were fairly equal and I love how both Anna and Charles are continuing to develop as characters.

I can’t wait to read more of both series.

This is a little late but no one mentioned Patricia’s short story “Seeing Eye” in the recent anthology “Strange Brew”. A wonderful story that surprised me with the intensity of emotion she packed into it. The two main characters from that story – Tom and Moira – a werewolf and a witch respectively, make an appearance in “Hunting Ground.” It’s well worth checking out for those who like the Charles and Anna stories.

I finished Hunting Ground last night (with one of my daughters calling me periodically to see if I had finished yet so she could come pick it up!) and would give it an A-. I actually liked it more than Cry Wolf, but agree with much of your review, Janine, although I found the amount of focus on the Charles/Anna relationship just right. I think any more more have shifted the balance of the story in a negative way.

Interesting. I recall that some readers preferred the scond half of Cry Wolf to the first, because it was more actiony, but the first half which had more relationship focus was soooo romantic to me.

The interesting thing to me about all of Briggs’ books is that although she is not writing Romance, the strong emotional connections between her characters is more moving, to me, than some books that are marketed in Romance.

I agree. I have found it true of some of my favorite romantic books though, that they are about more than just the romance. I think sometimes having the characters forced to focus on larger concerns than just their relationship can actually highlight the relationship.

It’s hard for me to articulate this, but it’s a conclusion I came to once after analyzing the romance in one of my favorite fantasy books, Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight, and I think of it’s encapuslated by Bogart’s line in Casablanca that the problems of two little people don’t amount to a hill of beans. When the characters have problems that are bigger than themselves, it can throw the relationship into relief and distill the emotions that they feel. I think that’s true with this series too– Charles and Anna are often forced to put their relationship on hold for the werewolf society’s greater good and it’s quite romantic becasue it shows their selflessness as well as their love for one another.

Glad you liked the book, Aoife.

@Cathy:

I thought the story around The Bad Guy was really well done (I’m trying to avoid spoilers), and at no point did roll my eyes in disbelief. Ms. Briggs blends history into her stories very, very well.

Yes, that was very well done.

There were repeated references to Anna’s height or her being shorter-than-average that quickly got redundant.

You have a point but it didn’t bother me much.

@Diane V:

I loved Hunting Ground and the way Briggs is developing the relationship between Anna and Charles. With her history of abuse and his job as his father’s assassin, it is interesting to watch how they try to deal with each other and their emotions. I loved the opening when Anna pounces on Charles in her wolf form and he plays with her as a human so he doesn’t scare her.

You are so right that their histories and roles are a big part of what makes Charles and Anna’s relationship so riveting. The opening was very nice. I’m glad both Hunting Ground and the review worked for you!

My favorite scene was when Anna blew Charles a kiss from across the room at the Alpha meeting and he caught it and put his hand to his heart. Priceless!

Janine – as always a wonderful, thorough review.

I thought the story around The Bad Guy was really well done (I’m trying to avoid spoilers), and at no point did roll my eyes in disbelief. Ms. Briggs blends history into her stories very, very well.

My only minor annoyance was that there were a few repeated phrases/expressions from Cry Wolf that turned up again here that took me out of the story a bit. There were repeated references to Anna’s height or her being shorter-than-average that quickly got redundant. She’s petite, I get it. However, I thought the rest was very well written, and I really enjoyed the book. A- from me.

@hapalochlaena: You’re welcome!

@Cathy: It is impressive that Patricia Briggs keeps putting out one good book after another. That was a nice moment on the plane.

@Diane V: Wow, that is great that you have the afternoon off to read.

@Jennie, @hapalochlaena, @Cathy, and Diane V — I’m looking forward to hearing what you think, and hope you enjoy the book!