THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERIn her bestselling Alpha and Omega series, Patricia Briggs “spins tales of werewolves, coyote shifters, and magic and, my, does she do it well” (USA Today Online). Now mated werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham face a threat like no other–one that lurks too close to home…They are the wild and the broken. The werewolves too damaged to live safely among … damaged to live safely among their own kind. For their own good, they have been exiled to the outskirts of Aspen Creek, Montana. Close enough to the Marrok’s pack to have its support; far enough away to not cause any harm.
With their Alpha out of the country, Charles and Anna are on call when an SOS comes in from the fae mate of one such wildling. Heading into the mountainous wilderness, they interrupt the abduction of the wolf–but can’t stop blood from being shed. Now Charles and Anna must use their skills–his as enforcer, hers as peacemaker–to track down the attackers, reopening a painful chapter in the past that springs from the darkest magic of the witchborn…
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Patricia Briggs’ Burn Bright is just as delicious as I’d expected. If you haven’t read the rest of the Alpha, Omega series, I instead recommend starting at the beginning. But loyal readers can safely save this novel to brighten a rainy day.
I recommend this entire series to fans of UF or fantasy, or anyone who just adores realistic characters! You can’t miss with any book by Patricia Briggs!
BRILLIANT! MASTERFUL! EXTRAORDINARY!
Burn Bright is part of the Mercy Thompson universe and the latest in the Alpha & Omega series. Mercy Thompson is my favorite series, but I do love me some Anna and Charles. The Alpha & Omega series gives use a whole new perspective on the world and the werewolves.
I couldn’t put this one down. I was hooked from begging to end. I felt for those that lost someone they care for, for the betrayal to the pack, and more.
We get to go deep into Aspen Creek and meet the Wildlings. They are old, powerful wolves like Asil who walk on an unsteady line between dangerous and much to close to their wolves then should be safe. They where an interesting bunch to meet. The Marrock still protects them even if they are lone wolves and when danger comes calling, Anna and Charles race to help.
Anna and Charles make a great team and couple. I enjoyed seeing Anna grow into her gift and have more confidence. They end up in a few interesting situation. And, it’s soon clear that someone in the pack is selling out the wolves, but who? I was shocked as to who the betrayer was. I didn’t see it coming.
Bran, the Marrock, has always intrigued me. I love everything about him and his town of misfit werewolves in the middle of no-ware. He’s around, but has closed himself off to the pack and his family.
As for Leah, I have never liked her. I still don’t like her, but I understand her better. Do I sympathize with her? Maybe just a little, but I still don’t care for her. Everything she did to Mercy and Charles throughout the years hasn’t changed. She choose to be spiteful so, even after learning a little more about her. I still don’t like her, but my dislike is not as big as it was.
Burn Bright gives us witchy things, betrayal, lies, and more. Briggs is brilliant with her urban fantasy. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Rated: 4.5 Stars
The Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs is one of my favorite Urban Fantasy series. Unfortunately, the books in this series releases every two or three years, so I treasure the books even more than I do with other series. Charles and Anna are one of my favorite couples and I always look forward to seeing their relationship develop. These two have come a very long way, and I love that the author gives us something new every book in regards to their personalities and their abilities. I will not go into detail about the plot because the blurb gives a perfect summary of it. The writing was great and easy to follow. The story had a very nice pacing and the author took her time to tell the story.
“Ours, said Brother Wolf. She is perfect, our soul mate, our anchor, the reason we were created. So that we could be hers.”
In this book we are introduced to ‘wildings’: “They are the wild and the broken. The werewolves too damaged to live safely among their own kind.” I loved these wildings a lot because they are very mysterious and have been around for hundreds of years. They have great knowledge about the world and other paranormal beings. Every side character added so much to the dynamic of the story. I loved the plot in this book and the case/mystery Charles, Anna and others had to solve. It was suspenseful, action-packed and had the perfect amount of magic. I haven’t been disappointed by any of the books in this series yet, and I hope that Patricia will continue to deliver topnotch work. Burn Bright definitely satisfied my craving for this series, and it will hold me over for the next two/three year.
I love Anna and Charles. One of my favorite comfort relistens is Alpha and Omega: A Companion Novella, and Burn Bright is a wonderful installment to their story.
However.
IT DROPPED SOME BRAN & MERCY TIDBITS. Wooo that pumped up the intrigue! Looking forward to the next one 😀
This is another of the Alpha-Omega books featuring Charles and Anna. The wildlings are featured. One in particular has a secret witches are willing to kill for. I love Charles combination of tough and tender. Hit man for the werewolves, he’s more than capable of killing, yet he has a soft heart. The book has a few slow places, but the end more than made up for them.
Good story, but I really like Briggs.
I am consistently on the lookout for a new urban fantasy series to lose myself in. A month or so back, I found a book called Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs. This creation, belonging to the larger Mercy Thompson world, is the epitome of what I look for in an urban fantasy series. The supernaturals have a uniqueness to them, something that sets them apart from what is typical of the genre. An excellent balance of wit, emotion, and suspense exists here. Even though it is easy to assume success will come to our heroes, there is enough on the line to be anxious for them.
Anna is a rare Omega wolf. This world is often brutal, and Anna suffers deep emotional distress due to her initiation into the supernatural. Anna’s mate Charles gives her support and confidence, allowing Anna to thrive in her environment. I find that Charles is my favorite character in the series (possibly in the entire Mercy Thompson world). He has the terrible burden of being the Marrok’s enforcer. Even though at his core Charles does not enjoy killing, he does it because he must. After witnessing the tole it takes on him, throughout the series, I am glad Charles found Anna and her Omega powers. They are a perfect pair. I felt an immediate connection to these characters.
The main focus in Burn Bright is on the Marrok’s Montana pack. One of their own dies, which leads the group to a traitor within the pack. Typically I read at a decent pace, Burn Bright was no exception, but I had to skip ahead in the story to find who betrayed them as quick as possible. When it was clear one of the possible suspects would have put Charles in a volatile situation with the Marrok, Bran, I couldn’t take the stress of not knowing. I enjoyed the tension as much as it drove me a little crazy. There is a dangerous conflict building here. I anticipate it will carry through a few more books.
A random, somewhat spoilery, thought:
I feel the need to weigh in on the revelation involving Bran in Burn Bright. Not to get too detailed here and really spoil things, although I could argue a few paragraphs about it, frankly, it makes sense to me. At least it could put a few things in further perspective. I will say outside interpretation is not always reliable. Of course, that means reader interpretation can be just as inaccurate. The bulk of the information we have about that relationship comes predominantly from Mercy. And she is biased. Until Bran reveals why he reacts the way he does, there is no reason to flip out about it. And sorry, Mercy had a foster family whose house she lived in, and that was not Bran’s. I don’t see the implications any worse than Samuel’s prior actions.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to immerse themselves in a good urban fantasy/ paranormal romance. I would suggest starting from the beginning, including the Mercy Thompson books and novellas. It is well worth it. On a side note, definitely listen to the audio if available. Holter Graham is marvelous, and truth be told without him narrating, I might not have picked up this series and I am glad I did.
4 stars – It was really good
Charles and Ann have been put in charge of the pack while Bran is off helping to rescue Mercy. During that time they find that someone is targeting the wildlings, and that a traitor is helping them.
This was a very fascinating book because we get a deeper look at the Marrok’s pack and some of the dangerous wolves in it. While I love that we have seen a lot of Asil and Tag in previous books, I have always wanted to learn more about the other crazies in the pack and this book gives a great introduction to a few of them. I really liked the wildling Wellesley and hope we see more of him in future books.
In this one we also finally get to see what kind of powerhouse Anna will be in the future. She is finally learning to control and use her Omega abilities, without targeting everyone in a room. I really love how much Anna has grown in her confidence and self-worth since the first book. She still suffers from PTSD from her past though, which is shown in this book.
The most surprising thing about this book though was Leah. She has always been the aggressive and mean alpha female of the pack, who not even her own mate Bran really likes. But in this one we see that she truly cares about the pack, and how it impacts Bran. She is a tough female and this book changed my feelings about her.
Overall, this was a great addition to the series. I love all the changes we have seen with these characters over the past couple of books, especially Anna. I can’t wait to see what is going to happen in the next book, especially since the pack suffered some loss and betrayal in this one.
Trigger Warnings: Anna was beaten and raped repeatedly in the past and suffers from PTSD from it.
I love Mercy and her whole series!! These books have great characters in a fae world that builds book by book. She’s a strong shifter who’s world is constantly being turned upside down and her special skills and instinct help her get through it each time. As long as Patricia writes them I’ll be reading them.
The latest addition to the Alpha & Omega series/Mercy Thompson universe opens with mystery, witch magic, and suspicions. After a slow start, the details and action started flowing and I found myself anxiously flipping pages trying to solve the puzzle presented! Very satisfying read!
It’s definitely worthwhile to read both series because there is occasional cross over, however you could just read A&O on it’s own. There’s more mystery and romance with Anna and Charles versus the fast paced suspense of Mercy and Adam, but both series stand strong by themselves.
Another FANTASTIC read by this author.
Bran is away in Africa? Well maybe, maybe not…
It’s up to Charles and Anna to deal with all at the pack. The Wildlings are in massive trouble but by who? and why?
There is so much going on and you really can’t tell who the traitor is but there is one within the pack at Aspen Creek.
Is it Leah? the Marrok’s mate?
Is it Sage?
This book is so good and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a lot of angst in their stories.
This is the fifth book in the Alpha & Omega series. I fall more in love with Anna and Charles with each book. I love all the wolves. I even tolerate Leah!
I will say my line of thinking was the same as Bran and Charles. I may have even wished for that person to be the traitor a few times.
Boy was I wrong!
I loved meeting the Wildings. I hated what happened to them. Wellesley’s back story is so sad.
What Anna did with Wellesley was nothing short of amazing and life saving. She’s really becoming a powerful Omega.
Of course there are some twists. I didn’t see them coming.
I will admit that I was mad at Bran for not being there at first. But once we got the reasons, I understood why he couldn’t be there.
Plus Charles is more than capable of running the pack, even if he doesn’t want that responsibility.
This is my favorite of the series.
I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley.
Burn Bright is a thrilling tale of magic, betrayal, deception and loss. It has parts that break your heart and other parts that have you perched on the edge of your seat with your breath held. The excitement of battle, the devastation of loss and the pain of betrayal are all tangled within an intriguing mystery. In this book we see the depth of the mate bonds and discover the old, less stable wolves in the pack. The relationship between Anna and Charles warms your heart with its beauty and leaves you wanting more. This is an intriguing, complex story that adds depth to both the characters and the world as a whole and you are left knowing that there is much more trouble brewing on the horizon. I received an early copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way influenced my review and all opinions expressed are solely my own.
And we finally see a Skinwalker! Excellent book that made me actually kind of like Leah and I really, really don’t like her. Still I love Charles and Anna so that makes it all better.
I absolutely love the Alpha and Omega series. Charles and Anna are a wonderful couple and I love the story line for their characters.
Anything by this author is a cancel all appointments, ignore all chores, take the phone off the hook, and settle in for a one-sitting read. The addiction is real and well-earned. This was another fabulous outing for Charles and Anna.
Burn Bright is the fifth of the Alpha & Omega series, but also the #15 of the Mercy Thompson world. Personally, I do not read the two series or think of them as separate, but rather just two sides of the same coin. And, I think it works best that way as both series have parallel plots. Burn Bright takes place immediately after the events of the Mercy Thompson, Silence Fallen. However, it is also versatile in that a reader can probably get away with only reading one series or the other if that is their preference.
Charles has been left in charge of the Aspen Creek Pack while Bran goes to help rescue Mercy. He is not pleased with this state of affairs and then he takes a distress call from one of his da’s wilding wolves- strangers on their lands and a traitor in their midst.
I enjoyed the action and suspense as Charles and Anna work to figure out what is going on and prevent an insidious plot even while the story highlights just how far they have come as a mated pair and individuals. Anna is faced with the demons of her past and Charles with letting her be who she is without smothering her and respecting her as his equal partner and not just his mate needing protection.
Another great piece was the spotlight on Bran’s cranky, haughty mate, Leah. She is given a prominent role and, yes, I’m going to say it, I loved it. What this book revealed about Leah, and even Bran, was as captivating as the exciting parts. The dynamics between Leah and Charles as step-family and even a small peek into Leah’s history particularly with Mercy was engaging.
Oh, and Charles and Anna are surrounded by the fabulous cast of recurring color and quirky minor characters in Aspen Creek and some great new ones- Asil the Moor, Tag, Sage, and so many others. All are one big crazy family and pack. And yet, it was tension-wrought as someone, known to them all, was a pack traitor and selling them out.
As, with each new story, Patricia Briggs reveals more magic and legend- fae, witch, and werewolf in this case. That battle Anna and Charles fought to save the wolf was one of the best scenes. I don’t think I breathed. There were several exciting moments and the end was a great climax. A new worthy enemy is revealed and left me eager for what is to come in the series.
Some of the best Urban Fantasy out there and not to be missed by fans of the genre.
I have some mixed feelings on this one. Overall, I really liked it like I do everything in the Mercyverse. But with that being said, there were some things about this one I didn’t love. In particular, I’m still not a fan of Leah so anything with her I just was real meh about and there was one thing in the beginning that bugged me that I couldn’t seem to let go. But I liked the action and all the witchy aspects and it definitely opens up some stuff for books to come that I’m very curious about. Bran’s pack always brings along crazy and I still think I prefer when Charles and Anna go traveling, but it was cool to delve into the pack a bit and I do love me some Asil. So, all in all, not my favorite Charles and Anna book but still really good.
I really enjoy the Alpha & Omega / Mercy Thompson universe, and this book was no exception to that. I love the characters and the stories. It’s all great. I don’t know if I have anything else that’s good to say that I haven’t said in all the other books she’s written. Overall, really entertaining and a good read.
I will say that the first half of it dragged just a touch. Because most of the story is reactionary, it feels like there’s a lot of drawn-out scenes that don’t really serve a purpose, but I love the characters enough that I enjoyed it. The second half made up for it, but it isn’t my favorite of this series. Still really great book and way, way, way better than the last one of the series, but not as good as some of the others.
I will say one small thing that kind of bugs me is that there are times where I swear the author never bothers to fact check her own book. It happens from time to time where she’ll basically go back on something she’s written before but it happened a little more often than normal in this book. That said, I still love Patricia Briggs and her books.
I’ll admit to being a tad confused by some of this book (that must call for a reread). The connection between certain parts wasn’t strong and explained well enough for my liking, but the book as a whole is a win for me.
So far, nothing has beat out Fair Game for my favorite in this particular series. But Burn Bright was still insanely good. The insight readers were given into certain characters was freaking great, and something that helped me deal with Bran and Leah’s relationship better.
That’s what really drove this story for me, even through the confusing parts. The characters and details we saw about the goings on in the Aspen Creek pack were just too good.