Let me continue the 'I Love Anna' fest, because I love the girl more and more. She spends a lot of this book kicking butt, ordering folks around and making everyone reorganize themselves to please her. It wasn't that she was completely past the traumas of her history, but she learned throughout the book that the fear was there and she could control it.

The book picks up only a month or so after Cry Wolf, so Charles and Anna are still learning a lot about each other. Sometimes its a little annoying, because they are both incredibly insecure about how the other feels, but when they come to each other's aide its so touching. They do obviously know each other better then either consciously acknowledges, but that is sometimes lost in the new wonder of being so bonded so strongly I think.

Most of the story takes place in Seattle, at the meeting mentioned several times throughout the first book. Bran sent Charles and Anna to act as his proxies when talking to the European werewolves, though as Charles points out, they are there to listen to concerns not take a vote. Bran plans on revealing the werewolves no matter what, but he wants to make it understood that he will help anyone who needs it in countries where it could be more dangerous.

There are several threats throughout he course of the novel, though some are more obvious then others. However, even though you have the vampires, you have Chastel and a shadowy threat that Anna guesses at, but can't define, there is one person who is really pulling the strings.

Is it bad that I kind of guessed who was behind it pretty quickly--but for no other reason then I saw the name and it coincides with a character from another fandom of mine so immediately I thought 'oh it must be that person. positive coincidences don't exist between my fandoms'. I mean I spent the rest of the book arguing internally with myself because my brain kept saying 'BAD PERSON' when the character came on and my heart kept saying 'Bu-but look how NICE and funny and charming! Look! Look!' My brain always retaliated with 'And this little domestic scene didn't creep you out at all?'

None of that paragraph is meant as a bad thing by the by.

I missed Aisil, though we did meet his son Hussan (who seemed a jovial sort at least) and he was mentioned quite often. Bran shows up on and off again, though he sticks to Montana for the most part. There was none of Leah and I rejoiced.

I mentioned in the first book review that I wanted to know more about Anna and what the evil done to her did to her mentally, emotionally and wolf-wise. Its brought up that Charles and Brother Wolf are unique--one character goes so far as to say that Charles' wolf was mad as a hatter and should have made Charles a serial killer of brutal proportions. He isn't however, and Anna begins to piece together what Charles has told her (we learn more about his mother and his birth) and what she was concluded herself. As for what it means with her wolf...Anna realizes a lot of things about herself and what her Wolf side means to her. Some of this brings her pain, other times it makes her feel better. Most importantly--she begins to stand on her own two feet without relying on the Wolf to keep her from being scared.

I really really do love Charles and Anna together. Even when they are obviously doing things wrong--and this is a new new new relationship for them both, in so many ways--there is no doubt in my mind that they will solve things and grow. They won't make the same mistakes over and over again.

Briggs' website has a third Alpha and Omega book mentioned--it hasn't been updated since before she finished Hunting Ground--and it won't be out for...at least a year. I'm mourning sadly into my cup as I type this. ( )

This one I read in one night. There is nothing better than reading nice books if you cannot sleep.

The werewolf politics were nicely served with some werewolf action which made for a great way of entertaining me on my mission to fall asleep while reading. I failed my mission probably because the book was too much fun. ( )

Finally got around to finishing this book. It was pretty good, but I didn't like it as much as I do the Mercy Thompson series. Will continue to read though. It is a Paranormal Fiction book told in the third person multiple characters - which is what I call "God's View" since God can read all the minds and knows what everyone sees and thinks. ( )

Call me crazy, but so far I'm enjoying this series more than the Mercedes series.

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