Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega, Book 1)

This book begins immediately after the end of the short story,  Alpha & Omega: A Companion Novella to Cry Wolf , from which this series gets its name. It is not absolutely necessary to read that story first to keep from getting lost in this book's narrative, but I highly recommend reading that story.Anna Latham is in her early 20's and was physically and sexually abused by her werewolf pack for most of the past three years, ever since she was, against her will, turned into a werewolf via a vicious attack by a rabid werewolf. She did not find out until she was rescued by Charles Cornick, a 200-year-old werewolf, that she is a rare omega wolf. She is neither an alpha, a powerful, aggressive werewolf whose drive is to seek dominance over other alphas and defend weaker members of his/her pack, nor a submissive, a wolf who has zero drive to dominate and is strongly protected by alphas. Instead, the omega cannot be dominated mentally by even the most powerful alpha werewolves on the planet, but has no desire to dominate others his/herself. Instead, the omega has a mentally and emotionally calming effect on the anger, aggression or any other negative emotion such as despair of werewolves around him/her. All alphas are driven to protect and defend omegas, and they are rare treasures that any werewolf pack would feel blessed to have.It is obvious to Anna and Charles that the werewolf side of their natures instantly chose each other as mates, and Charles knows that his human side wants Anna's human side desperately, as well. But Anna is intensely struggling with self-esteem issues after her brutal experience, and she feels unworthy of Charles on multiple levels, including the fact that the gorgeous home he takes her to in the small town in Montana where he lives is miles above her social and financial status.Charles is the son of Bran Cornick, the Marrok, an ancient werewolf who rules all werewolves in North America. In order to help his son cement his relationship with Anna, Bran offers what he assumes is a routine assignment to Charles, which Bran feels is quite safe enough for Charles to bring Anna along. They are to hike into the snowy, wintery, mountainous, wilderness terrain of Montana and seek out and destroy a lone, rabid werewolf who has killed several people. Unfortunately, nothing is as it seems with this werewolf, and Anna and Charles soon find themselves pitted against an extraordinarily dangerous foe who has magical abilities which endanger not only Anna and Charles, but potentially every werewolf in America.I am a huge fan of Patricia Briggs's  Mercy Thompson  series, and I am equally in love with the Alpha & Omega spinoff series set in the same urban-fantasy universe. I read the Alpha and Omega series, book by book, when they first came out, but I recently had the great good fortune to experience them for a second time as audiobook recordings. All of the Alpha and Omega books, including this one, are narrated by a brilliant voice talent, actor Holter Graham. His ability to provide distinct, character-appropriate voices for multiple, very different characters in this story is superb. He is, in fact, one of the best voice talents I've ever encountered.A crucial issue that arises for me as a jaded reader when experiencing a novel as an audiobook is this: Most of us can read silently about three to five times as fast as an actor can narrate, and that slowness allows every tiny flaw in a given author's writing to become glaringly obvious. Sadly, many novels do not stand up well under this kind of spotlight, but that is definitely not the case for Patricia Briggs's books. She is such a highly skilled writer that hearing this story read aloud allows the happy reader to savor every well-conceived word more fully.If you enjoy urban fantasy, this series is a unique take on the genre, even for Ms. Briggs herself. It is set in the same urban-fantasy world as Briggs's Mercy Thompson series, and as for the Mercy books, there is a murder mystery to solve, and tons of action scenes in the pursuit of the killer. But in contrast to the Mercy books, where there is a lone protagonist fighting the good fight mostly on her own, in this series there are two protagonists, Anna and Charles, who work as a team. Since this couple is growing their relationship as humans in the midst of a type of "marriage of convenience" foisted on them by their werewolf side, this series, including this book, has a very strong romance plot. The initial short story and each of the books in this series are told from the dual point of view of Anna and Charles, which is a common feature in the paranormal romance genre and which is almost never found in urban fantasy, including the Mercy books. It adds a delightful depth to this series to be allowed to immerse in the inner life of both a male and female werewolf, as well as experiencing the unfolding of their mating bond as it blossoms into a rare and moving romantic relationship.I love Briggs's version of werewolves in that there is a human side and a wolf side to each werewolf. Charles is unusual among the werewolves of this particular urban-fantasy world in that he is the only living werewolf who was born, not made. His maternal grandfather was a Native American shaman, and his paternal grandmother was a witch, causing mystical abilities to run very strongly in Charles. Rather than his wolf and human sides being enmeshed, they are distinct beings within Charles such that he has named his wolf side, "Brother Wolf." Even more fascinating, Charles's wolf can communicate telepathically with Anna.I rate this book as follows:Heroine: 5 starsHero: 5 starsSubcharacters: 5 starsFantasy World-Building: 5 starsRomance Plot: 5 starsAction-Adventure Plot: 5 starsWriting: 5 starsAudio Narration: 5 starsOverall: 5 stars

Wow! I read this book before I knew about the short story that is a prequel to thus story. You don't have to read it to start the series, but I STRONGLY recommend to read it. I wish I had, it would have answered a lot of unknown qualities to this book that I had to read farther in to understand.

This (Kindle) book was my starting point in reading Patricia Briggs, and now I Can't Stop. I'll end up spending far more on this author than I ever have on any author, includng James Michener, Nelson DeMille, John Sandford and Larry McMurtry -- all bought in hardback.As my headline of this review says, it's best to read the first story in "On the Prowl" first. It's titled "Alpha and Omega", which is Charles and Anna. I didn't start with that one (call it a "prequel") but I found it before I was halfway through with this book, "Cry Wolf". To stress again, the first part of the multi-novella "Alpha and Omega" is a MUST READ because it thoroughly defines Anna. Omega. READ it.Patricia Briggs is the best writer I've discovered in a very long time. (It took me about 14 years TOO long.) I'm sure her editors make a great contribution, but it's FAR more than just good editing and proofreading. But still, I can't go without stressing that grammar and syntax are pretty much picture-perfect, and after reading a great deal of self-published stories over the last few years, I can't even begin to say how much I appreciate the attention to the "nuisance" details of language, spelling, and all things English. It's utterly and absolutely refreshing.Briggs has a knack for telling a great story in great detail without bogging down the flow. Subthreads and background abound and give the stories depth and spectrum, yet they don't detract from my reading at all. And the characters (at least in her full-length stories) are well-enough developed, even in a populous setting such as in Alpha & Omega Book 2, "Hunting Ground", where the entire northwest segment (and more) of American werewolves is represented. Getting ahead of my review of this one book, but it's my best example of what Briggs can do with character- and world-building, so to speak.I might also add that I'm never been a fan (at all) of magic, witches, fae and such, but Patricia Briggs even makes that interesting as she weaves it into so many areas of her epic franchise. -- with MEAT, is the best wasy I can put it at the moment. (I should add here that I'm now reading my sixth book of Briggs' work, including the first of the Mercy Thompson books, with samples of a dozen more of her books already downloaded.)This review might seem a little disjointed or incomplete while over-reaching, but I could say SO MUCH about how immensely I've enjoyed reading four of the Alpha and Omega series books, as well as the first couple in the Mercy Thompson series, which tie in directly with the Alpha and Omega stories. It flows and flows and keeps right on going.Long story short, IMHO, Patricia Briggs is a world-builder extraordinaire and a first class author in every way I could name.

Un libro scritto per i giovani, scorrevole e non molto impegnativo. Sinceramente mi aspettavo di più,ma rimane cmq una bella lettura rilassante.

A great introduction to the series. Good characters and story. Sad yet hopeful. Poignant. Over the years I have read the series a few times and expect I will again in some years.

Une histoire de loups-garous.Je conseille également de lire ce livre après Alpha et Omega du livre de nouvelles On the Prowl et éventuellement après les Mercy Thompson.Je rejoins les autres commentateurs: Mercy, Adam et Samuel, de la série précitée, sont des héros très très attachants. Toutefois, il y a du potentiel pour Anna et Charles, potentiel insuffisamment exploité dans ce livre.J'ai apprécié le fait de découvrir Bran et la vie au sein du Pack dans ce tome mais l'action se déroule, comme certains Mercy Thompson, dans un laps de temps très court. De fact, les relations entre les personnages principaux, qui ne se connaissent que depuis peu, contrairement à Mercy et Adam, demeurent superficielles. Charles demeure très (trop?) mystérieux.J'ai beaucoup aimé la description de la forêt et de la montagne, où se déroule une partie de l'action du livre et le livre est très agréable à lire.L'intrigue m'a plu et je viens d'acheter la suite (Hunting Ground) car il faut bien patienter en attendant le prochain Mercy, Silver Borne (2010)...

I loved Mercedes Thompson and Anna proves equal. What I like of these series is that the women always stand up to all the very-alpha-males.

Tout d'abord, il est conseillé de lire ce livre après le roman court du même auteur publié dans l'anthologie  On the Prowl  , qui raconte le début de l'histoire d'Anna. Cependant, ce n'est pas indispensable, on peut tout de même comprendre ce qui s'est passé avant.Cry Wolf est le premier tome d'une série dérivée des « Mercy Thomson », du même auteur. Alors que les Mercy Thomson s'intéressent à tout le monde surnaturel, la série « Alpha et Omega » se concentrera visiblement sur les loups-garous.Voilà pour le contexte. Maintenant, le livre lui-même... est loin d'être le meilleur de Patricia Briggs, je l'ai trouvé moins riche que les Mercy Thomson en particulier. Les dons de l'héroïne, et ceux du héros, sont trop « miraculeux ». Ce terme peut paraître paradoxal quand on est, comme moi, friand(e) de romans de fantasy urbaine et de SF.Mais voilà, le héros est un loup garou, mais qui peut se transformer instantanément et sans coût, tout en ayant toute la puissance « animale » du loup à l'arrivée. L'héroïne passe miraculeusement d'une pauvre petite chose affolée à une adulte posée et pleine d'autorité. Bien sur, tout ceci est parfaitement justifié par l'auteur, qui est pleine de talent. Mais cela m'a tout de même paru sérieusement capillotracté.Heureusement, Patricia Briggs écrit très bien, sait à la fois donner du corps à ses personnages et à son monde, et ficeler des scénarii à peu près cohérents. D'où les trois étoiles. La lecture de ce roman m'a procuré un bon moment, et m'a surtout donné envie de relire la série des « Mercy Thomson », (le très jubilatoire premier tome est :  Moon Called ) et me fait trépigner en attendant le quatrième tome des aventures de Mercy :  Bone CrossedOn the ProwlMoon CalledBone Crossed