Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega, Book 2) Mass Market Paperback – Illustrated, August 25, 2009

Zero take backs when reading this author. The men are men and the women are tough. Weakness is for the other guy.

Think of a big conference full of irritable werewolves then assume there will be death and mayhem and you have this book.

Too obvious as to the bad creature from the start.Charles and Anna are sent to do Bran’s bidding in a meeting of many packs. Anna shines in this book.Dana Shae, a fae, is supposed to act as an impartial creature but is not.Sunny, an alpha’s mate is killed by vampires - but is actually killed by the hands of her alpha mate.Jean Chastel, the Beast, too, dies by the hands of the same alpha.He also tries to kill Charles but fails.

This book was a fabulous 2nd book. I can’t wait to get to read the next book in this series. The author is fabulous. I loved her series about the werewolves and her a mechanic. But this series could be fabulous as the first one was. Her characters are always well written and explained. It is very easy to get comfortable with her characters. I would recommend any of her books to anyone who loves the paranormal. If you don’t know if you like paranormal characters, read just one book and I’m sure it will change your mind and life.

4.5-5 starsThis is a great book. Charles and Anna are getting better as a couple and the story was very interesting and had a some unexpected twists and turns as they try to discover the bad guy. This is a great addition to a great series.Anna has been a werewolf for 3 years and is married to Charles (who has been a werewolf for much longer). Charles is the enforcer for his father, Bran, who is the Marrok (the leader of all the werewolves in North America). Anna is an Omega wolf (a rare type of werewolf that calms other werewolves) and has been through a lot (rape and abuse for 3 years from her former pack). When the story starts, Charles and Anna have only been together for about a month but are starting to sync as a couple (and Anna's recovering from her past).As the story begins, there's a disagreement between Charles and Bran. Bran is planning to host a meeting in Seattle for a large amount of the alpha werewolves from Europe to discuss Bran's plans to bringing the werewolves public. Charles believes it's too dangerous for his father to go and with some help from Anna ends up getting Bran to let him go instead. Charles and Anna go to Seattle and find themselves immersed in issues almost as soon as they get there. Many alphas congregating in one area typically can cause issues and some show up quickly. While Charles is able to settle things down, it becomes apparent that one of the werewolves from France, known as the Beast, is going to be a problem. Unfortunately, the Beast doesn't end up being their only problem.Charles and Anna are quickly submerged in the trials and tribulations that come. Soon after arriving, Anna is attacked by Vampires and they don't know who sent them or why. The Beast starts causing problems where he can and a Fae that is the person that's supposed to keep the meetings under control seems to have some deeper motivations that may not be good for Charles and Anna. They're fighting against an unknown enemy and there are too many possibilities to isolate who it is without more info. As more attacks take place, they're able to get more info but the pattern of victims doesn't make sense so it's hard to piece things together. At the end, the villain is revealed and there's a bit of surprise when Charles discovers the truth. In an effort to hide their identity, one of the villains curses Charles and runs. Anna is forced to take action in order to save Charles from the curse that's slowly killing him. Anna once again proves that an Omega wolf is made of tougher stuff as she takes care of the threat to Charles. Once things are concluded, Charles and Anna are happy and safe together, back on their path for their HEA.This is a great book. I love to see how Charles and Anna are growing in their relationship and he's helping her overcome her past abuse. Charles is so great and so sweet and tender with Anna even when he has to be tough for everyone else. Anna is sweet but yet has a backbone she's learning to use more and more. I really like her. The action plot of the book (as usual) was interesting and engaging. Another great addition to the series...I will be reading the next book. I'd recommend this book. 2 thumbs up! :D* note - I listened to the audio version of this book. The narrator did a very good job.

Alpha and Omega #2: Hunting Ground, by Patricia BriggsAfter finishing "Cry Wolf," the first book in the Alpha and Omega series, I was quite eager to read "Hunting Ground." The book doesn't disappoint; I was actually trying to read slowly so I could make it last longer."Hunting Ground" starts by jumping right into werewolf politics. Bran, the Marrok (leader) of all American packs is planning on bringing the werewolves out to the public, like the fae did 30 years ago. Naturally, many packs, especially ones located in Europe, are not very happy about this - the fae are still facing discrimination despite being out for 3 decades. The werewolves are holding a summit in Seattle to discuss the Marrok's proposition, with packs from all over America and Europe attending.Charles and Anna, the main protagonists of the Alpha and Omega series, are sent to the conference in the Marrok's place. Charles is the Marrok's right hand man, and many other dominant wolves fear him. Anna is Charles' new mate, a wolf who's still becoming acquainted to her new husband and life as a werewolf. The two plan it as a trip to spend time together, but when Anna is attacked by vampires, it's clear that more than just the werewolves are against Bran's plan. Anna and Charles must figure out who hired the vampires, before the summit goes to hell and even more bad things happen...I read on Patricia Briggs' site that she spent a few days in Seattle to soak up the city in preparation for writing this novel. It definitely shows; one of the things I like most about the author's writing is her descriptions and setting locations. To me, because the places are described so well, it just adds to the feeling that werewolves and vampires and all other supernatural creates that populate Briggs' world could be real.Anna and Charles are real people - with a habit of going furry and four-legged - struggling through a new relationship and Anna's intimacy issues (due to previous abuse). They grow throughout the novel, and have grown from the first book, as well. Also important to me, their romance isn't the main focus of the book; it's part of the story yes, but not the whole thing. The two aren't lovers who get everything magically right - they are *real.* The supporting characters are similar, each has a story, a purpose. You want to know more about each one you meet. And there are some very unique characters - a werewolf Alpha who thinks he's King Arthur reincarnated, for example."Hunting Ground" is a fun read, one that will keep you turning the pages until the early hours of the morning. At times the plot felt a little bogged down with some unnecessary twists, but everything does finish up nicely in the end. As always with Briggs, there is a nice balance between humor and violence - we go from Charles sending Anna out shopping to a wolf filleted into steaks. It's an enjoyable read; give it a try if you enjoyed the first, or if you like paranormal fiction. Briggs is one to watch in this genre.5/5.

Ummmm yesss, Charles!!! I mean I don't really need to say anything about the author and her writing - we all know she is amazing and now we have another series in which we get to read about Charles <3

Bran is going to expose the werewolves. The European faction is coming Seattle to negotiate. Charles does not think it is a good Idea for Bran to go. So he and Anna attend. Things start off good but fall fast. Vampires try to take Anna and kill Sunny, the British Alphas mate. They try to figure out who is sabatoging the talks.

Anna and Charles haven’t been together very long when Bran has to go to face a conference of Alpha wolves from Europe to discuss werewolves coming out of the closet. Charles convinces Bran he has to go instead and Bran insists that he take Anna with him.Off to Seattle the pair go and face dangerous foes from Europe, with the local werewolves as support. Soon they realise it’s not just werewolves that are the danger in Seattle. Anna has to learn how to master her fear of dominant werewolves and when she meets an Omega from Europe finds someone to support that need to change.Charles has to learn how to open himself up to his mate, because after 200 years of locking down his emotions it’s hard to open the mate bond. He has to allow Anna the chance to grow into her own strength and to avoid smothering her.This story is riveting and it’s hard to see how it’s going to unravel as there are many strands to the plot. We meet interesting and intriguing characters and get swept up in their emotions. This author writes fully realised characters and it means they feel complete. We are shown more of the character rather than author building onto a shell to make the story work.Anna and Charles are a wonderfully complex and captivating couple that are never going to grow boring to read about.

This book inspired me to write my first book review in ages. But unfortunately not in a good way. I enjoyed Anna and Charles in the novella that introduced me to them, and I quite enjoyed Book 1 in the series. I love love love Patricia Briggs generally. So it was an easy decision to buy Book 2. But something went wrong somewhere along the way... The book felt short and rushed (which the line breaks between paragraphs contributed to). It almost felt as though someone else had written it, or the author was trying to meet a deadline. As an example - one of the scariest werewolves ever dies during the course of the story. Just like that. Easy. It's almost glossed over and felt like a waste of a character. There were passages where there seemed to be jumps in knowledge. And as another review referred to: that attempt at British dialect...I got where she was coming from. But just really quite annoying. Generally, very disappointing. But it's Book2 in the series - it's not going to change now - and if you're committed to a series and the characters then you're going to read each book in order, right?, regardless of what the reviews say. I'll definitely try Book 3 (as every author is allowed one bad book), but I'm going to cross my fingers very tightly that it has a bit more about it, otherwise I might not make it to Book 4.

When Charles and Anna head to Seattle to host a co defence for the werewolves, they don't expect to fall into Arthurian legends involving fae, vampires and a beast who frightens so many! When Anna is nearly kidnapped and the mate of another killed, can Charles and Anna work out what's happening and why? This book was full of mystery and intrigue that was addicting from start to finish!

Again well written and highly descriptive. However, I could not read further than the first couple of chapters as there is quite a gory - and very graphic - description which rather put me off. Just my personal view - other readers may well be able to go further into the story.

I enjoyed the first book and the introduction in another book and I feel invested in these characters. This book though... Some of the prose and dialogue seemed muddled and I had a hard time grasping what she was getting at, it was like she had to get out quick and then didn't go back and check it made sense :/The other thing that bothered me was the vernacular of the English characters! I know just from watching tv shows how Americans talk but clearly no research was done into how Brits talk - mainly the use of Scots rather than Scottish and 'be ready in a half hour' when we would say 'be ready in half an hour'. I know it's a small thing but it made the believability (I know! In a werewolf book 🙄!) hard and grated on me. Also the who done it aspect was a little weak and who did it didn't seem to do it for any explicable reason!Anyway. I'm still going to read on because i really like Anna and Charles's relationship and Anna in general so...