Sophia Rose Reviews: Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs

Today on the blog Sophia Rose shares her thoughts on, Wild Sign, #6 in Patricia Briggs Alpha and Omega

Enjoy!

 

Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs, narrator Holter Graham

#6 Alpha and Omega

Urban Fantasy

Publisher:  Penguin Audio

Published:  3.16.21

Time:  11 hours, 24 minutes

Rating:  5

Format: audio

Source: purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads 

GoodReads Synopsis:

Mated werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham must discover what could make an entire community disappear — before it's too late — in this thrilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Alpha and Omega series.

In the wilds of the Northern California mountains, all the inhabitants of a small town have gone missing. It's as if the people picked up and left everything they owned behind. Fearing something supernatural might be going on, the FBI taps a source they've consulted in the past: the werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham. But Charles and Anna soon find a deserted town is the least of the mysteries they face.

Death sings in the forest, and when it calls, Charles and Anna must answer. Something has awakened in the heart of the California mountains, something old and dangerous — and it has met werewolves before.

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

One of the scariest, powerful werewolves shares a deep and committed mate bond with an Omega wolf who has come into her own. They are sent into the Northern California wilderness to investigate the disappearance of an off-grid group living on Cornick land and chase down the truth about what lurks there in the mountains. A new, tantalizing adventure with one of my favorite werewolf couples, more monster lore to explore, and a clever paranormal adventure to keep me riveted.

Wild Sign is the sixth Alpha and Omega and the eighteenth in the combined Mercy Thompson world. Not only does this book work best when read in order, it works even better when the reader treats both series as one and reads them all in release order.

Music was Anna Cornick's career path before her change and it still runs through her deeply. Music is a lovely courtship game she plays with her husband and mate, it is startling when the Marrock's mate Leah hums an unknown tune on a gal's trip to town, and it seems to be a strong element in the situations she and Charles have been sent to figure out.

Bran chooses Anna, Charles, and the berserker-like Tag to go check out the disappearances at Wild Sign camp and is more mysterious and abrupt than usual because that land is not unfamiliar. He brought back Leah as his mate when she was found as a lone survivor in a pioneer group on that very land. The wolf who saved her, Sherwood Post, and Leah herself claim blanks in their memories about that time. Armed with this information and then encountering a unique local group of supernaturals nearby, they slowly work out that something old and powerful is stirring in those hills once again.

Wild Sign is Charles and Anna's story and I loved spending time with them in tender, fun moments at home, but also taking care of business as a team on the road. They have hit their stride understanding each other so well. They face a bit of a crisis when the thing they pursue uses them against themselves. This story dug deep into personal and relationship emotions as a result and not just with Charles and Anna.

But, the added surprise was that this was also partly Leah and Bran's history together. All this time, the reader was told in brief explanations why they are mated and the way they are, but finally the details are teased out so the true picture is nothing like what I had been imagining. It was not a pretty past and Leah is a true survivor just like the strong Cornick family around her. Bran had done what he had to do and it was grim and now the past has returned and those involved have to deal with it.

And, there's more. Sherwood Post plays a role and it was as mysterious as he is. Yes, and there are more familiar names both welcome and not showing up to complicate matters.

The climax comes on the heels of a stunning surprise twist and it was a heart-thumping tension-filled, emotional sequence full of all that readers anticipate in a book by this author. When all was said and done, I was left reeling from what happened to how things will be affected from here on out. There are things that I need to know and will be fretting for the next book so I can find out.

An already amazing book was taken a notch higher when voiced by Holter Graham. I've enjoyed his work with the characters, storytelling, tone and pace so that my imagination was fired with the story.

All in all, Wild Sign was absolutely fabulous- strong and complex, full of myth and mystery, and characters that only leaving me wanting more. The world of these stories is amazing beyond description and urban fantasy lovers really need to give these a try.

 

 

Author Bio:

Patricia Briggs steadfastly refuses to write a biography. She considers them narcissistic, and besides, she’d rather write something interesting! But. . .that is what a husband and trusty assistant are for (and if she doesn’t like it, she can’t complain!)

Patricia is the #1 New York Times best selling author of the Mercy Thompson series and has written twenty four novels to date; she is currently writing novel number twenty five. She has short stories in several anthologies, as well as a series of comic books and graphic novels based on her Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega series. Patty began her career writing traditional high fantasy novels in 1993, and shifted gears in 2006 to write urban fantasy. Moon Called was the first of her signature series about Mercy; the non-stop adventure left readers wanting more and word of this exciting new urban fantasy series about a shape-shifting mechanic spread quickly. The series has continued to grow in popularity with the release of each book. Patty also writes the Alpha and Omega series, which are set in the same world as the Mercy Thompson novels; what began as a novella expanded into a full new series, all of which debuted on the NY Times bestsellers list as well.

Patty was born in Butte, Montana, back in 1965. If you’re good at math, you’ll have deduced that she’s currently twenty-nine. In fact, she’s been twenty-nine for a while and has no intention of getting any older. Fiction authors don’t obey the laws of space and time, they invent them. Don’t argue, or she’ll make up a dragon right behind you . . .

Patricia was born book-privileged. Her mother was a school librarian, and she shared a room with an older sister who loved to read. Long after they had been put to bed, her sister would use the small night light to read Patty stories; her early favorites were fairy tales. Knights and castles, fair maidens, and monsters of every ilk became their nighttime companions.

Soon, Patty learned to read, and whole worlds were hers to explore. She rode on the Black Stallion, and flew the skies of Pern on a dragon. Sometime during that period she stumbled onto a treasure trove. Her older sister had begun collecting comic books; pristine originals were place in cellophane sleeves and organized in cardboard boxes. When her sister was away, they were removed by grubby fingers smeared with peanut butter and jelly for a clandestine read, returning with a faint smudges and wrinkled pages from reading under the covers. To this day, her sister periodically calls Patty and tells her how much more her original copies of the X-Men would have been worth if left pristine in their sleeves. The number keeps going up.

Patty is a prevarication professional. She lies for a living, telling whoppers and fibs so outrageous that people pay her to fib some more. Her only concession to honesty is that she tells people she’s lying to them, which is what separates a fiction author from a politician. She loves to play with her imaginary friends, and meeting with readers who know her imaginary friends is a treat. Her biggest complaint with writing is that she has far more ideas for stories than time to write them.

Patty and her family reside in Eastern Washington near Tri-Cities, home of Mercy Thompson; yes, it's a real place! When not working on the next book, she can be found playing truant out in her horse pastures, playing with the newest babies.

Website:  https://www.patriciabriggs.com/

Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816

GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose