Darlene's Book Nook: Audiobook Review: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Audiobook Review: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

TITLE: Hunting Ground

SERIES: Alpha & Omega, Book 2

AUTHOR: Patricia Briggs

NARRATOR: Holter Graham
PUBLISHER: Penguin Audiobooks
PUBLICATION DATE: August 25, 2009

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook, 8 hrs and 25 mins

GENRE: Fantasy/Urban Fantasy

ISBN: 9781440644634

Mated to werewolf Charles Cornick, the son - and enforcer - of the leader of the North American werewolves, Anna Latham now knows how dangerous being a werewolf is, especially when a werewolf opposes Charles and his father is struck down.

Charles's reputation makes him the prime suspect, and the penalty for the crime is execution. Now Anna and Charles must combine their talents to hunt down the real killer - or Charles will take the fall.

MY REVIEW:

This series just keeps getting better and better!

At the start of Hunting Ground, less than one month has passed since Charles and Anna were married at the end of Cry Wolf. Anna and Charles are still adjusting to their relationship, and Bran is moving ahead with his plan to enlighten the general public of the existence of werewolves. A meeting is to take place in Seattle, and Bran has sent Charles and Anna to liaise with the European delegation. Interestingly, we learn that werewolves are a European monster and that there are very few in Asia, where there are other monsters who don’t like them very well. I wonder what these other monsters are, and why Briggs keeps alluding to them! Is she developing another series regarding these monsters, or will they be later introduced in this series? Anyway, back to wolves. There are two packs in Australia, consisting of about 40 wolves, and only a few in Africa. There are also some wolves in South America, but we don't learn exactly where they are located. Although the decision to introduce themselves to the world ultimately rests with the Marrok, he has invited the other wolves to express their concerns and to discuss how they can lessen the impact of becoming public.

A fae, Dana Shea, has been invited to the conference to act as mediator for the wolves. Because she is a neutral party, she is supposed to ensure that no violence erupts. Dana is not just an ordinary fae, but a Gray Lord – one of the most powerful fae. She is also an old flame of Charles.

First, a human mate of one of the European Alphas is attacked and brutally killed. Then, a European Alpha is killed. The main suspects appear to be a group of vampires, but are they acting on their own or have they been hired and – if so – by whom?

Wow, Hunting Ground just blew me away! I love how Briggs has intermingled other non-human species with the wolves. In Cry Wolf, the antagonist was a Black Witch. In this book, we have not just wolves but also vampires, fae, and even a White Witch!

I love how the relationship between Anna and Charles has developed. Anna is a real kick-ass heroine, and it is nice to see that even someone as strong as Charles sometimes needs to be saved by a woman! Bran is über-protective of not just Charles, but also his beloved daughter-in-law and Briggs has done a great job capturing that familial affection.

I was initially very confused when I started this audiobook because I thought that Charles was Bran and vice versa. Having just listened to Cry Wolf, I realized that the voices Narrator Holter Graham used for the two males were not the same. I am disappointed at the lack in continuity and wish that he would have used his original vocalizations.

MY RATING: