Book 54: Hunting Ground

Hunting Ground was another one of those impromptu purchases which I wanted to have something light and enjoyable to read that wasn’t on my shelf already. Patricia Briggs’ books have always been so enjoyable and this book has lived up to those expectations quite well.

Hunting Ground is the second book in the Alpha and Omega series.  It takes place a little bit after the first book but it’s not so far forward as some of the short stories I’ve read in the same timeline. The Marok is hosting a conference where the werewolves from around the world (although really just Europe) are coming to hear why the Marok wants to bring the werewolves public. Charles and Anna decided they should represent the North American werewolves instead of Bran himself. As with most things in books, the conference doesn’t go as planned and they have a mystery on their hands.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a nice progression of both Anna and Charles’ characters. I like seeing them grow and enjoy each other. Plus Anna is just a neat character. I love the idea of an Omega, a wolf who is not actually submissive or aggressive but something in the middle. This book continues to build on that idea since Anna isn’t weak and could be incredibly strong when she needs to be like in the hunt or when she was attacked by vampires.

I also enjoy how the book plays on the Arthurian legends. It’s fun to see how it was intertwined without being too hokey. Arthur (the chief British werewolf) would claim he was a second coming of Arthur and he had Excalibur. A lot of people would put that off as crazy talk. Yet there is a lot more then just crazy talk. It was neat to see how it was woven together with parts of a ‘real’ Arthurian legend. I don’t want to say too much since it would spoil the story but I liked how it was done.