Urban Fantasy discussion

Okay, November's book of the month is Fair Game by Patricia Briggs. Since it's #3 in the Alpha and Omega series, we can talk about the first two books as well.

This was a very solid read. There was probably only one scene that I thought was "off" or "odd" but other than that, it's a classic UF, great characters, great pacing and a wonderful plot. I have no real complaints!

I thoroughly enjoy whatever Patricia Briggs pens.

Fair Game is no exception.

Good on Anna for once again proving her strength and grit by forcing the Marok to re-examine his total reliance on Charles as the Enforcer.

Michelle wrote: "I thoroughly enjoy whatever Patricia Briggs pens.

Fair Game is no exception.

Good on Anna for once again proving her strength and grit by forcing the Marok to re-examine his total reliance on..."

Yeah, that was an interesting dynamic. I enjoyed that. It felt so real--the powerful are often impossible to approach and think they know it all!

I have come to like this series at least as much as the Mercy Thompson series. Patricia Briggs stories are solid and her characters interesting.

I see many possible story lines for the future from this book but it still feels like a complete story.

Poor authors! It's like cooking a Thanksgiving dinner. You labor for days cooking and baking. Then we scarf it down in minutes and ask:

"Is there more?"

I loved this book, I thought it was great (though I still like the Mercy books more). I'm interested in seeing where the author takes the series from here.

Ok cool, Ive had to order hunting ground as well, so ill be reading this one in the latter part of the month :)

I'm new to this series. What part is Fair Game? If it's not the first part in the series, should I wait to read it, or do you think I could follow along without being too lost? What books make up the series?

Toi wrote: "I'm new to this series. What part is Fair Game? If it's not the first part in the series, should I wait to read it, or do you think I could follow along without being too lost? What books make up t..."

This series is a great one and you should start at the beginning. The first one is a short story in , then moves on to . This series is a spin of of the Mercy Thompson, which is really good.

I will admit that I didn't care for this series as much as the Mercy one, until I did a re-read this fall. All of a sudden I was seeing things in a different way and really got why everyone loved this one too, and was looking forward to this book.

I love that Anna can stand up to people, but doesn't use her power for evil. She quietly argues her point and is willing to do so until they see her point of view. Her using this with Bran had me laughing. You could see that Bran wanted to see her point, but had to look at the big picture for the wolves.

I also really liked that Anna knew something was wrong with Charles. She tried to give him space to figure things out on his own and to come to her with it. At this point I was a little mad at Charles. He had to know he was hurting Anna with his actions, but just didn't want to see it. I was glad that Brother Wolf was there to help him out and later to see what he was doing.

I think Adam's solution of sending Anna and Charles to Boston was a good one. It really allowed Anna time to shine, encouraged her to embrace what she is and do good, while letting Charles be the one in the background for once.

It was interesting seeing both Anna and Charles work with the FBI and all the other law enforcement personnel. I loved how Anna coached them, while Charles intimidated them. It really took all of them with all of their knowledge to figure out the bad guys and to catch them.

I hated the trial at the end. I am not a fan of vigilante justice, but this time I fully endorsed the actions. If this would have been real life, I would have been cheering them on. This action will bring about big changes within this world and the Mercy books, I look forward to seeing just what they are!

Toi wrote: "I'm new to this series. What part is Fair Game? If it's not the first part in the series, should I wait to read it, or do you think I could follow along without being too lost? What books make up t..."
You should definitely read this in order starting with Alpha and Omega short in "On the Prowl". I thought the short essential to the first complete novel and I'm not alone.

Although this series happens in the same world as Mercy Thompson, first book Moon Called, Mercy books do not lead into it and the series can be read stand alone, but really Mercy is a great series also. I love them both for different reasons and would not pick one over the other. My TOP TWO series definitely worth reading but start either at the beginning.

I haven't done a re-read on Fair Game so I'll re-read it this month. I re-read the others right before reading Fair Game the first time. Each read was worth it.

Definitely read in order. There's also a prequel out (you could read it first or second...it's really good.)
Alpha & Omega: A Companion Novella to Cry Wolf It's also in the On the Prowl anthology (although there was only one other story I liked in there. It has a lot of big name authors so it might be worth a look if you want to sample some authors.)

Briggs writes good stuff; some of the very best!

This is one of my favorite series...I had read this series before the Mercy series but am now hooked on both. I read Fair Game when it first came out this year....I will try to re-read with the audio this month...

I read the books and then listened to the audiobooks. They are both really good.

The only thing I love more then this series is the Mercy Thompson series! She just writes so well and you read the books so fast that the only bad.thing about her books is you always are waiting for another!

Darcy wrote: "...
I hated the trial at the end. I am not a fan of vigilante justice, but this time I fully endorsed the actions. If this would have been real life, I would have been cheering them on. This action will bring about big changes within this world and the Mercy books, I look forward to seeing just what they are!"

This was an interesting turn of events, which will definitely impact this series and as the Mercy series is interconnected it should impact that series as well. The question is to what extent.
The Mercy series is pretty localized to the tri-cities(?), to Mercy and the local werewolf pack, while the Alpha & Omega series has been much more about werewolf politics. This change is much more about politics, but should also bleed over into the Mercy books. It'll be interesting to see to what extent though. :-)

I'm just going off to start the 1st book in the series 2ni, looking forward to these as they've gotten some good praise!

Karen wrote: "I'm just going off to start the 1st book in the series 2ni, looking forward to these as they've gotten some good praise!"

Have fun!

I just started but I can tell Fair Game will be good!
It is nice to be reading Patricia Briggs again! She is one writer that I can count on never to disappoint.

The only thing I regret is not reading the books back to back. I read the first short story On the Prowl at the same time as Stolen from Kelly Armstrong, so sometimes I mix them up. Both Anna and Elena were "changed" by their boyfriends. Then I read the other Alpha Omega books when they came out, so there are a few years in between each reading.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed when this book came up for review, as I would have to read Hunting Ground first :), and as I feel like the only one who doesnt really enjoy this series *duck*

I just dont enjoy all the pussyfooting around ( maybe I do enough of this at home, and I like to escape ! lol ) I liked the Mercy series ( mainly due to the large number of interacting characters), but River Marked was a real let down for me. I absolutely loved the novella Alpha & Omega, and although I love a good character, relationship build up, these 2 do little for me . I honestly think I must be missing something integral!. Fortunately Fair Game was a big improvement from the other 2, but probably because there was enough going on other than their relationship. I see in reviews, it seems a greater relationship focus is missing in this book, but thats why I think it rated higher for me.

Tbh Id love to see a spin off with Samuel meeting his perfect mate and them having babies :)

Lorelle ~ I agree with you on River Marked, for me, it was the worst of the series.

For this series, I thought the novella was a nice start, didn't really like appreciate this series until this last book. I did a re-read of the series first, it seemed better the second time around.

See, that's the great thing about books. You get to have your own opinion! I like the Mercy series, but not as much as the Alpha and Omega. Maybe it has to do with which characters grab us as individuals. I don't know. But I do like both series. It's just that I have to give an edge to Alpha and Omega. And I put off starting it for years because I was sure it would disappoint after I enjoyed the Mercy one so much. Go figure!

Thanks Darcy and Maria :) I was waiting to get slammed hehe.

Lorelle wrote: "Thanks Darcy and Maria :) I was waiting to get slammed hehe."

N-o-o!! Didn't you know that the UF group has a non-slamming policy? ;)

I finally finished all 3 books in the A&O series and I really enjoyed it so far, I'm looking forward to what the next book will bring. The ending of Fair Game completely sucked me in and I was left reeling. I haven't read the Mercy series yet & I think that helped with not clouding my judgment.

Karen wrote: "I finally finished all 3 books in the A&O series and I really enjoyed it so far, I'm looking forward to what the next book will bring. The ending of Fair Game completely sucked me in and I was left..."

I think the two series are different enough that they can both be enjoyed. It helps if you don't go in expecting the same series. Because they may use the same world and some of the same characters, but Mercy and Adam are completely their own story/people, which is really nice.

I ended up giving Fair Game 3 stars. I liked it but did not love it. It was somewhat predictable. I could guess who one of the villains was right away. I have low tolerance for Scenarios where the couple has already gone through a lot of trials and tribulations that prove they belong together only to have the guy become all withdrawn and brooding again.(I discontinued Cassandra Claire’s series for that reason.)
However Patricia Briggs still remains one my favourite UF writers. She is IMO of the best world builders and always has great characters.

Lorelle wrote: "Tbh Id love to see a spin off with Samuel meeting his perfect mate and them having babies :) "

Samuel met his mate in Silver Borne, or actually he was re-introduce to her. Did you get to read that one? I would like to see where that goes or maybe see the problems they faced after the show down, Down Under. These series really need re-reading not because they are forgettable but because they have so much going on.

I cannot wait to see how the ending of Fair Game affects Mercy and the next story that is coming out. What a big thing! Stupid court system.

I agree with you on River Mark and have never re-read it. I've now re-read all the other book in both Mercy and Anna's series.

I didn't like Fair Game as much as the first 2 books and novella but I still really, really liked it.

Really anyone just starting these series, read them in order starting with the novella. You can read the Mercy Thompson or Alpha and Omega series separately, at least up to this book. They are set in the same world but don't overlap much.

Amyiw wrote: "Lorelle wrote: "Tbh Id love to see a spin off with Samuel meeting his perfect mate and them having babies :) "

Samuel met his mate in Silver Borne, or actually he was re-introduce to her. Did you..."


oh wow yes I had forgotten lol . I have to stop reading so many books in a month, im losing track of whats going on...

I haven't read Silver Borne (or River Mark, but my friend says I'd probably like it a lot based on other books I liked). Sometimes the Mercy Thompson series has been to violent for me and I have to slow down my pace of reading it.

Love seeing all this discussion and what everyone thinks!

Carolyn F. wrote: "I read the books and then listened to the audiobooks. They are both really good."

I was just going to leave a comment like:
I don't really have anything to say, except that this series is an odd one for me, ratings wise. Most of the time I find series books decline in ratings, though here I go from 3 star, 4 star, 5 star for each book.

There's a simple reason why I: (a) continued reading: I've loved other books by Patricia Briggs, not only the Mercy Thompson ones; (b) probably rated the first book a 3 - because it was an audiobook. With a male reader . . um . . talker (you can tell I do not normally listen to audiobooks, I have forgotten the correct term here). And the main character was female. Not necessarily an issue every time, but the book I listened to involved a man speaking in a really high squeaky voice whenever he had to read a female part. It was very annoying.

hmm. Back to my "I do not really have anything to say".