Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega Novel Book One)
Patricia Briggs
Purchased
(This review may contain spoilers)
I feel like my opinion on this book is going to be very unpopular.
First off, I did read the Alpha & Omega companion novel that takes place immediately before the start of this book and I have no idea how some people have read only Cry Wolf and been fine? The companion novel feels like such an integral part of the story that I am surprised it isn't automatically included in the first book or even considered as the first book of the series instead of Cry Wolf. I suppose you could manage it, but the events of the companion novel get mentioned a lot within the first half of the book.
As for the characters, Anna clearly has some growing to do as she takes more of a passive role in this book. Which is not surprising given her background. So I expect through-out the books she will come into more of her own. I think Anna’s passivity is part of the reason I have a hard time with the chemistry (or lack there-of) between her and Charles. Through both the companion novel and Cry Wolf, I felt like their relationship was forced. With neither of them knowing much about the other and Anna regularly tip-toeing around Charles, it seemed the only thing driving them together were their wolves (and the fact that Charles was the only decent male she’d met in 3 years). Which - while convenient, does not immediately translate to chemistry between the two characters.
Which is why I also had a problem with how quickly Anna and Charles slept together and tried to solidify their matebond. The timeline of them knowing each other wasn’t so much a problem as that in combination with Anna stating in the companion novel that she didn’t want to have sex because of her history of sexual abuse. Anna had to call on her wolf to be able to sleep with Charles, and once her wolf was gone, she was no longer comfortable and the relationship between her and Charles was awkward again. Then at the end of the book, their bond was solidified without them even having sex. So what was the point?
All I’m saying is, it took longer than a week for Mercy and Adam to sleep together after she was assaulted, and Anna was repeatedly brutalized over 3 years.
The first half of the book felt very slow with not much happening at all. I think it was meant to be a chance for Anna and Charles to build chemistry, but as I stated before, I wasn’t feeling it. And once things started to pick back up, the multiple points of few ended up ruining the mystery and anticipation instead of building it up. The reader finds out through a certain character pretty early on who exactly the antagonist is, what they are doing, and generally how they are doing it. Leaving little to no questions for the reader to try and figure out before you are even 60% through the book. The only POV that added any mystery was Walter, whom I think was one of the best characters and brought more personality out of Anna then anyone else had in both books.
The fight scenes were not as gripping as I might have expected. Patricia paints this very vicious and monstrous view of werewolves and emphasizes it through internal pack abuse against women and lower wolves, and yet the fight scenes feel lackluster in comparison. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, wondering what might happen next, or surprised by some ingenious move. The fights are over fairly quickly and lack any drama for fanfare. Which is fine, I guess. It is just different from the monstrous depiction Patricia seems to want to set.
Overall I thought the book was fine. I know I did a lot of complaining above but it was a decent book and I can see how it appeals to people. Just not to me. I don’t think Patricia’s writing is for me, unfortunately, as I have picked up her Mercy Thompson books in the past but ended up dropping them a few books in. The covers for both series are just so pretty and I wish I liked the books more than I do. Maybe I will read the next book in the Alpha & Omega series, but who knows.
You can find Patricia Briggs here and this book on Amazon here.
