Urban Fantasy discussion

I'm going to go ahead and create the threads since some overachievers (hehe - just playing!) have already finished the book.

This topic is for Chapters 1 through 8 ONLY for Cry Wolf.

If you mention something that is definitely spoilerly, please make sure to notate that with a big ol' **SPOILER ALERT** or something similar.

Have at it! :)

I read the mini-story in On the Prowl called "Alpha and Omega" before I started Cry Wolf last night. I definitely think that the short story adds to the actual novel.

I'm on chapter 3 of the book... anyone else reading it yet?

Yeah I actually finished and was giving people time to actually get into the book before I posted because I know how I get when I'm posting about a book spoilers start rolling LOL.

Lol, Jael, in the same place myself, and I agree with Theresa. I started the book thinking that the short story wasn't necessary, but there were enough unexplained references in the first chapter that I ended up going back to the short. It's a good story and it really does add to the novel. It actually does end right where Cry Wolf takes up.

So for right now, I'll just say that I think Anna and Charles are really good for each other. He allows her to show the strength that she's been suppressing and he's so protective of her. I thought it was sweet when she was taking care of him at his house too. She doesn't really know what she's doing, but she does the best she can. Also, I'm liking that this book is centered on the wolves. When you read the Mercy books, there are a lot of Others, lol. They were a nuisance for me.

I agree that the short story enhances the book. It gives you a lot of background not only on Anna but also the whole concept of "age madness" and why it's important.

I wound up finishing the book in one sitting (til 2am!) so I really liked the fact that the action starts off from the first chapter.

I'm loving that the wolves are getting their own book too. I did read Alpha and Omega first and am glad I did. It made me understand Anna's hesitations so much more. I'm glad that they are together from the beginning. It drives me crazy when a book has the love interests fighting their feelings for the first 3/4 of the book. I'm glad that I've read the Mercy books too, because I think I've got a better understanding of the wolves and the madness and all that because it was mentioned before. I'm liking all the characters in the Montana pack and am looking forward to finishing.

New_user I agree i liked Cry Wolf because it centers more around the wolves than anything. I love vamp books but I think more werewolf books are needed especially ones that put them in as H/H instead of making them as brutual hot headed savages. I guess that's why I picked up Wolf Tales not knowing it was erotica. It was an okay read but not wht I was looking. I also like they way Briggs let Anna grow into her new surroundings/omega standing instead of just having her immediately taing to charles and saying ok I have a new life time to forget what happened to me in chicago. Jeez I hope that's not spoilerish.

I think the short story also goes into more detail about the abuse Anna suffered. The book alludes to it, and describes some of it, but the short story really made you understand what Anna was going through. I think it also described why abusing an Omega was so heinous more than the book. Some of this may have been described in the Mercy books, but since I haven't read them (yet) I didn't feel at all lost reading Cry Wolf first.

Diana- I agree the short does give you great insight of the abuse Anna endured and why the Chicago Alpha put her through it. The Mercy series never touched on the Omega situation since Mercy is in fact a coyote besides the relationship between Mercy, Sam and Adam it doesn't really focus on the wolves. Mercy was an outsider in their community so we only had an outsiders POV. Also Mercy books focuses on the other supernatural in the world i.e Blood Bound was mostly about the vamps and Iron Kissed was mostly about the Fae.

It's funny because Cry Wolf is being discussed on the paranormal forum over on B&N and everyone is suggesting to read the novella as well. Although you can read Cry Wolf without it and still get lost in the story. How Charles and Anna came together is really important to know. I think Briggs should have put the novella in the book sort of as a prologue for readers who don't like anthologies , but want to know what happened in the beginning. I for one don't like anthologies but find myself picking them up just so I can get back stories on characters introduced in a series. i.e. The Queen Betsy series.

I agree with you about anthologies, Jael. Especially if I know there is a short story out there somewhere, I feel like I've missed something whether I really have or not.

I think we still have some more to learn about the Omega. I think with having Anna's character kept in the dark about all the "rules", the author will be able to explain everything little by little. Very clever.

@Diana: I loved that the action started from the beginning too. The pacing was fast and smooth.

@Jael: I completely agree. There's not enough werewolf fiction that portrays them with any depth, lol. They're more like a gimmick right now, inserted into the story rather than shaping it. I'm going to be reading Donna Boyd soon, and her books look promising because she ventures away from that. We'll see.

@Melissa: Yes! I loved that too. It was a novel approach for Briggs to start the characters off already accepting of their bond. It was very refreshing, and I didn't feel that it took away from the tension at all.

New_User- I'm glad you mentioned Donna Boyd. I just added her to my TBR list. I was finding some really good books over on Romantic times reviews and she happened to be one I found. Let me know how you like her books.

(Someone in the other thread posted this suggestion, but just in case you haven't made it to those chapters...) Kelley Armstrong has created a wonderful series called Women of the Otherworld and three of the books focus on werewolves. Bitten and Stolen are the first two books in the series and Broken is the fifth, I think. These are really excellent novels that build a whole "werewolf world" and really show how the human person is still in control of the wolf (most times) and how they learn to accept their "wolf side". I highly recommend them, especially for the Elena/Clay love story. Another good werewolf series is the Kitty series by Carrie Vaughn. It starts with Kitty and the Midnight Hour and evolves with each book. The character has exceptional growth, going from an abused, passive wolf (kind of like Anna) to a strong, independent wolf throughout the series and in a way that is totally believable and not rushed.

Christal- I just finished the first Kitty book and I'm currently half reding the next. I was shocked I like the book after seeing alot of varying reviews. I have WOTOW on my TBR list maybe I need to move them up and read them. My friend is buying me an ebook reader. I've seen the first KA ebook for 4 dollars, So I'll defintely be reading it soon.

I'm so glad we decided to read Cry Wolf. It was on my to-read shelf, and I knew the only way I'd get it done any time soon was to have a reason to read it. I'd picked up the anthology with "Alpha and Omega" in it for another story, but ended up liking this one the best. I'd kinda forgotten how it ended, but as soon as I started reading, everything came back to me.

I'm on chapter 7 and I really hope Anna grows out of being afraid of everything. I understand why (I read Alpha & Omega), but I'd like to see her character discover her own strength and not be so "one step forward, ten steps back" all of the time.

I think not having read the Mercy Thompson series put me at a slight disadvantage because I don't "get" the Samuel & Mercy references (and probably some others). I feel a little disoriented because of that, but not enough to stop reading.

Jess- Hmm maybe I never looked at as a diadvantage because I've read the Mercy series. I usually start series in lie the middle and then go back to the first books to get what I missed. I think even without the Mercy series you can still read Cry Wolf without being completely lost.

I'm sure it's a character flaw or something, but I *must* read a series in order and I get really annoyed when I haven't read a short story that explains some subplot in a book first. ;)

Jess- It's only logical to read a series in order. I think it is I who suffers from the character Flaw because I just jump right in. I'm getting better at starting at the beginning but I find that maybe I should go back to just starting in the middle because the first book in most series are pretty bad compared to the others.