Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jun 13, 2010 Katyana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: uf, shapeshifters, fantasy

Re-read #1, 3/2011

Just plowed through a re-read, because after Mercy #6, I admit I was craving some Bran. I really do like this book. This first in the series makes a great companion to the Mercy series, because it gives you so much more information about some of the dominant (no pun intended) people in Mercy's world. Tons of Bran info in the book, as well as stuff about Samuel and Charles (obviously, with Charles being the hero). But there is also MUCH more info about pack hierarchy and overall Re-read #1, 3/2011

Just plowed through a re-read, because after Mercy #6, I admit I was craving some Bran. I really do like this book. This first in the series makes a great companion to the Mercy series, because it gives you so much more information about some of the dominant (no pun intended) people in Mercy's world. Tons of Bran info in the book, as well as stuff about Samuel and Charles (obviously, with Charles being the hero). But there is also MUCH more info about pack hierarchy and overall structure.

It is funny because the least compelling character in this book, to me, is Anna. It was fabulous getting to know Charles though - he is very withdrawn in the Mercy series, the depths of his character only hinted at, because he's an intensely private man. He's a great hero, and the book is a sweet romantic story... while still having an exciting arc with the witch and Bran.

Strangely, this re-read left me feeling some sympathy for Leah. I mean, no doubt she is a bitch, but... I can't help but feel that she's that way because of Bran. I suspect she loves him, and has settled for as much of him as he is willing to give her... which is almost nothing beyond the physical. It has left her bitter and intensely jealous of any attention he gives to anyone else. I understand why he felt he had to do that - he was deliberately seeking a mate he could never love - but still, what a shitty position for her to be in. And in this book, it says Bran sought her out a few years after his beloved wife died... so she's been this taken-for-granted second-choice of a mate for nearly 200 years. I can't even imagine it. Pretty sure I would also be a total raging bitch by then.

Re-read #2, April 2017
It's funny, I still have no interest in Anna. I think she's ... too perfectly stereotypical a heroine. Vulnerable, damaged, survivor with some super rare power... who is pulled out of her shell by an intense need to help/protect people. I don't know. I just don't find her to be compelling. Compared to Mercy ... who is equally compassionate (she's never met a stray that she didn't take in) but also flawed, strong, funny, doesn't take shit... just so much more 3-dimensional than Anna... Anna falls a bit flat. She feels more like wish-fulfillment for Charles than a fully realized character of her own.

But the other thing Anna is is an excuse to dig into the story of the Cornicks, and the structure of the pack, how pack magic works, etc. This book has more Bran than you get anywhere else in the Mercy series, and for that alone, I've re-read it repeatedly. But even if you aren't a raging Bran addict like I am, it is worth a read because you get so much more information on the pack and their magic. And the bit of Samuel perspective, prior to him heading to Mercy to move in, is nice too. :)

Re-read March 2020
Years later, re-reading my review above, I don't feel even a smidge different. Anna is the least compelling thing about this book (and this series as a whole). I read it because it is the best look we get at Bran, and the Cornicks, their history, and general werewolf rules.

I hated the most recent A&O book, though, and it has sort of killed this Mercy-verse series for me. I liked the overall plot, but the retconning of (view spoiler) just splashed against the series as a whole, and the only way I can deal is by basically erasing that from my memory. I'm wasn't sure I'd enjoy this re-read of book 1, but because I've been doing a re-read of the Mercy books, there were scenes and conversations I missed from these books and so I decided to dip in again. I enjoyed this one on the re-read, probably because it cemented for me what bullcrap the retcon was. But I don't think I'll be able to read past book 4, because I just can't even with book 5. Oh well. It is nice revisiting the Marrok I know in the early books. ...more

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Jun 16, 2011 Rachel Willis rated it it was amazing

Shelves: witch, shifter

I love Patricia Briggs. I love the world she's created in both this and the Mercy Thompson series. I love the way that not everything is okay because hey, life isn't always okay. I love everything, absolutely everything about her books. She rocks. So this book was no exception.

I'd read this series before but somehow either skipped or skimmed this book (the skimming occurring after I'd skipped it accidentally) but I have no idea which it was. Either way, just like everything else I've ever read ...more

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Jul 15, 2010 Roshio added it

Shelves: couldn-t-finish

This was my first urban fantasy in a while and I forgot what some of them can be like. Honestly it seemed interesting but I couldn't stomach all that 'dominant' 'submissive' crap. I hate that, lowering your eyes before your 'mate' blah blah blah, it really rubs me the wrong way. I know thats how its done in the werewolf world but I get zero enjoyment reading stuff like that. it wouldn't have been too bad if Anna herself wasn't so blah about everything. ...more

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Nov 13, 2010 PM rated it liked it

Read the Mercedes Series, if only to get to these. I just finished the second book in this series. It was her best yet. She doesn't draw you in to the love that well, and although this series is supposed to be more about relationships, the twists and turns are what is awesome. ...more

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