Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs

Title: Burn Bright (Alpha and Omega, 5)
Author: Patricia Briggs
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit (8th March 2018)
Blurb:

NO. 1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER PATRICIA BRIGGS RETURNS WITH A THRILLING NEW ADVENTURE IN HER ALPHA AND OMEGA SERIES.

They are the wild and the broken. The werewolves too damaged to live safely among their own kind. For their own good, they have been exiled to the outskirts of Aspen Creek, Montana.

Mated werewolves Charles and Anna are on call when an SOS comes in from the fae mate of one such wildling. Heading into the moutainous wilderness, they interrupt the abduction of the wolf – but can’t stop blood from being shed. Now Charles and Anna must use their skills to track down the attackers, reopening a painful chapter in the past that springs from the darkest magic of the witchborn . . .

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ (4 stars)
Review:

BURN BRIGHT is the fifth book in Patricia Brigg’s brilliant Alpha & Omega series, a spin-off from her fantastic Mercy Thompson series. As I’m sure you can tell, I’m something of a fan of this world. In BURN BRIGHT Charles and Anna are in Aspen Creek, Montana covering for Bran who is busy with business elsewhere. Whilst they are there they receive an urgent call for help from the fae mate of a werewolf too damaged to live safely amongst other werewolves. They head out to help, but ultimately cannot stop blood being spilled. The only recourse they have left is to track down those who dared to harm ones under the Marrok’s protection.

BURN BRIGHT was one of the books I was most looking forward to reading in 2018, as Briggs’s world is a really interesting and complicated one and I’m always curious to learn more. Whilst I did really enjoy this book especially reuniting with some familiar faces, I did have a couple of issues with it that meant I’ve given it four rather than five stars. This book definitely feels like it is setting up something within this world, and I’m curious to see where Briggs goes with future books.

Plot wise there is a lot going on in BURN BRIGHT, like a lot. The plot is also pretty tangled, which I think Briggs teases out very well – it’s only once you reach the end of the book that you have any clear idea about what is going on. It did mean that there were times when it was a bit of a struggle to keep an eye on the bigger picture. But once you reach the end and can see everything, it’s one heck of a ride with promise of more to come in future books.

I enjoyed reuniting with Charles and Anna; it was nice to have characters that were relatively calm, even when they weren’t in control. That being said my main issues with BURN BRIGHT fall under character, so here goes. Early in chapter one we learn something about one of the characters (and subsequently some of the others) that has just left me feeling really uncomfortable. Forgetting for the moment how it changed my views on several characters, I don’t really think it added anything to the story so it leaves me wondering why Briggs chose to include it – and if it was, as I suspect, to make a different character more sympathetic then it really didn’t work, as no one was shown in a good light.

Despite my issue with some of the characterisation I really did enjoy BURN BRIGHT, and I did enjoy getting to see a little more of the Aspen Creek pack without Bran or Mercy around. I also enjoyed the fact that everyone had to work together, and therefore getting to see the complex relationships within the pack. If BURN BRIGHT is anything to go by, then I am definitely looking forward to seeing what Briggs does next in this world.