Fair Game (Alpha and Omega, #3)

by Patricia Briggs

From No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs comes the next thrilling Alpha and Omega novel - an extraordinary fantasy adventure set in the world of Mercy Thompson but with rules of its own . . . Perfect for fans of Ilona Andrews, Nalini Singh, Christine Feehan and J. R. Ward.

'Patricia Briggs is an incredible writer' Nalini Singh, New York Times bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling series

'Patricia Briggs is amazing . . . Her Alpha and Omega novels are fantastic' Fresh Fiction

They say opposites attract, and for werewolves Anna and Charles, this is certainly true. Charles, the pack enforcer, is a dominant alpha - whereas Anna has the power to calm others of her kind. Now that werewolves have dared to reveal themselves to humans, it's their job to keep the pack in line.

The pressure mounts when the FBI requires Charles' assistance. He's sent on a mission to Boston with Anna, and they quickly realise that a serial killer is targeting werewolves. And that they're next on the killer's list.

Discover this page-turning Alpha and Omega novel, from the queen of urban fantasy Patricia Briggs.

Praise for Patricia Briggs:

'I love these books!' Charlaine Harris

'The best new fantasy series I've read in years' Kelley Armstrong

'Patricia Briggs never fails to deliver an exciting, magic and fable filled suspense story' Erin Watt, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Royals series

'It is always a joy to pick up a new Briggs novel . . . Briggs hits another one out of the park!' RT Book Reviews

Books by Patricia Briggs:

The Alpha and Omega Novels
Cry Wolf
Hunting Ground
Fair Game
Dead Heat
Burn Bright

The Mercy Thompson novels
Moon Called
Blood Bound
Iron Kissed
Bone Crossed
Silver Marked
Frost Burned
Night Broken
Fire Touched
Silence Fallen
Storm Cursed

Sianim series
Aralorn: Masques and Wolfsbane

• ISBN10: 0441020038
• ISBN13: 9780441020034
• Publish Date: 6 March 2012 (first published 1 March 2012)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 28 October 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Ace Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 293
• Language: English

Reviews

[booksandcats]

I love love love this book so much! And I think, ironically, it is because of the side characters, which seems to be one of many strengths of Patricia Briggs writing. I have always loved her side characters in Mercy's books, but there, she has the possibility to develop them over several books, in this series, Anna and Charles hop from place to place so far. Of course there are some side characters (Bran, Asil and the likes) who make repeat appearances and they are fantastic as well, but I love how easily Ms. Briggs makes characters seem real. It makes it seem like the other characters have a story of themself and aren't just there to help Anna and Charles's story move along, just that their story coincides with each other at the moment and that made it wonderful to read. I would love to read more about Isaac and his witch and Leslie and her work in the future, it was really interesting.

Also, since I didn't manage to read this series in between the Mercy books in the right order, it was nice finding out how the (show spoiler)[ fae independence decleration and lockdown thing ] (hide spoiler) actually happend. Sadly, I would think that this outcome is exactly what would happen if supernatural thing would turn out to exist in our world. So point for sad realism I guess.

I loved seeing Anna's character development again, how she isn't scared to stand up for the right thing and fight for Charles, something she would have never dared to do in the beginning and how she won't allow anyone to make her a victim again. (not that she did that before, it wasn't her faul that she was abused, but she has more knowledge and power now and she won't let the past break her and she won't let anyone take her happiness without a fight).

[Melanie]

This was a great story. I love Patricia Briggs' werewolves. Both series are great. I read somewhere that you needed to read this before you read the next Mercy book and I can see why. The ending is so unexpected and changes everything for both series.

[Berls]

Another one that's better than I remembered! I can't believe how much I've forgotten about these series. I seriously love Anna and Charles, and I've been away from them for so long. I love their bond and the way Anna sees Charles, in a way others don't. I'm super excited because I'm also getting close to the books I haven't read yet and things are going to be way more exciting moving forward with the fae after this book.

[Angie]

Fair Game was quite disappointing for me. It took me four days to get through, because I simply wasn't motivated to read it. Anna and Charles are asked to help the FBI with a serial killer case. The killer has been targeting fae for several years, but they haven't been able to catch them. Of course, having other supernaturals work on the case could be very beneficial. On top of that, the wolves could also use a positive image in the media.

I found the beginning (and middle) of Fair Game to be very slow and boring. I really didn't care about the serial killer, and Anna's and Charles' involvement felt random and forced. The story just felt distant to me. Not to mention that their relationship was also distant and strained because Charles is continuing to shut her out because of reasons. We know the reason now, but it didn't tug at my emotions like I expect that it was suppose to. Charles came across as a typical brooding alpha male, which I guess he technically is, but it was dull. At least there's one good scene of Anna and Charles in the middle of the woods...

However, the ending of Fair Game was awesome! I've been looking forward to seeing more of the fae and that ending certainly gave it to me! I can't say what happened, but just know that the fae are tired of playing nice with humans who don't want to treat them fairly. I nearly cheered! So even though the book as a whole left me underwhelmed, that final chapter has me eager to see what happens next!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[EBookObsessed]

The werewolves are now out to the humans. With the world watching anything that might show the danger of werewolves, any transgressions which might have been dealt with a rolled up newspaper, now require a death sentence. Killing wolves who break the rules is up the Charles, as his father’s enforcer, but killing wolves who normally would have been given a warning is wearing on Charles and his relationship with Anna is suffering for it.
About a year has past since Charles and Anna first mated. The wolves have come out to the public and this has created new problems between them. The Marrock can no longer show mercy to wolves who need more time to control themselves or who’s small transgressions would have been dealt with within the pack. The pressure of being forced to kill wolves who should be getting a second chance are now haunting Charles–literally. He is being haunted by the spirits of the men his is forced to kill. A group of those wolves included men who were sent out to kill a pedophile and went too far — making a snack of the man. Humans were looking at the wolves for that heinous act forcing Bran to send Charles out when their own Alpha refused to put them down.

It takes all of Anna’s will to stand up to Bran to make him see that his need to keep the wolves in line is torturing Charles. Charles sees himself as nothing more than a killer and hates himself for tainting Anna with his evilness. To protect Anna, he has all be shut down the mating bond between them so that his wrongs cannot touch her as well.

The FBI are investigating several deaths involving werewolves and at the urging of Anna and Adam Hauptman, the Marrock sends Charles and Anna to help in the investigation.

Once Charles and Anna start looking over the files of the victims, Charles realizes that the last few decades the victims are Fae and more recently some werewolves. The FBI are looking for a human, but to take down some very powerful Fae and wolves, there has to be something more. Pictures of the victims disclose markings which would have been made by a witch. Death spells are very powerful and someone has been working with a witch to harness the pain of their victims, but for what purpose?

When the most recent kidnapping is the half-human daughter of a very powerful Fae, he will join Charles, Anna and the FBI in seeking out these killers. Even with the help of the Fae and the Boston pack, they might be too late to stop these killers who have been hunting the top predators for decades.

THOUGHTS:
I do love Patricia Briggs’s characters and although there is not much cross-over with her Mercy Thompson series, they are occurring consecutively. Beginning in Mercy Thompson’s Frost Burned, the Fae have secluded themselves on their Reservations declaring themselves separate from the United States. I didn’t understand what I has missed about that, but it appears that I missed this book which will explain what happens between the Fae and the humans.

My favorite scene from this book involves Anna and Bran. I loved that Anna has grown so confident in her year with Charles and so protective of him, that she stands up to Bran and even though he is very angry since he can’t force Anna (an Omega) to back down, she won’t until he all but begs her to walk away before she sends him into a rage where he might hurt her. This is not the same woman who was abused in Chicago and was afraid if anyone looked at her twice. She is not completely healed, but she has come a long way. Charles’s self-torture will do some damage to their relationship and cause Anna to flip flop between fighting against Charles and a revisit of her own self-doubts that maybe he doesn’t want her anymore.

We also meet some new characters, who we will see again in Dead Heat, but I will save that review until closer to the release date.

Like the Mercy Thompson series, I did a binge reading on this series and am very sad to have caught up, including the next release Dead Heat. With only one release per year, it will be some time before the next book is out. *sob*

Somehow my review and rating is gone, so my review won't be as detailed as before.

This is the third book in the series and I loved it. From what I remember this shows the hardships that Charles is facing, after the werewolves have been outed. He is the enforcer and has been been working too much in doing his job. Anna can see what a toll it is taking out of him and is extremely worried about him.

Anna does somewhat convince Bran to have Charles do something else for a bit, so they are both sent to Boston to meet with the FBI about some murders involving the werewolves.

This book showed some of the struggles that Anna and Charles relationship is going through since Charles won't let Anna in. I loved reading about Charles struggles and the growth him and Anna go through in this book.

This book sets up some big stuff that will be going down in future books.

[littleread1]

Poor Charles and Anna 3

[Linda]

Fair game is a fast-paced mystery in which Charles has to fight on several fronts at the same time, and Anna needs all of her diplomacy in order to make sure there is good PR for the wolves...

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

Caffeinated Dates with Fair Game

First date: Anna is becoming more vocal and gods above and below she is giving the "what for" to Bran! Wahoo…I am excited. Time has passed since the last book and the Wolves are out. Charles is struggling with the demands of his job, their relationship has suffered but Anna is beginning to feel confident. From the first notes of Holter Graham’s voice, I was caught up in the tale Briggs' spun. Thank goodness for wireless headphones because I listened endlessly.

“Taking out werewolves, I gather and surmise, is akin to taking out a SEAL team.”

Second date: Anna and Charles through Bran have been asked to help the FBI, Homeland Security and others with a serial killer. Anna is the liaison, and Charles the hunter. I laughed at this first meeting and love Briggs’ wit. The snark and humor coming off Anna and Charles was positively delightful.

“What would a racist call werewolves? Wargs? She kind of liked that one, but suspected that racist bastards didn't read Tolkien.”

Third date: While the romance takes a backseat, we do see Anna and Charles' relationship strengthen. The case and characters held me spellbound and I felt this was the strongest book to date. Witches, Fae and humans Oh My! As a fan of the Mercy Thompson series, it was fascinating being a part of the first collaboration. Briggs weaves a tight tale, making every word and action meaningful. It allowed me as the listener to become completely engaged. Secondary characters including a young Alpha proved interest and I can only hope we see more of them.

“Is it like a Harry Potter thing?" He turned his head then. "A what?" "A Harry Potter thing," she said again. "You know, don't say Voldemort's name because you might attract his attention?"

My dates with Fair Game were brilliant and I managed to listen in just a few sittings. I have an arc of Dead Heat and will read it for comparison but fully intent to buy the audio. I love the job Holter Graham does with the narration and will then be able to share how my experience differs. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[MurderByDeath]

3.5 stars. While still a great read, probably my least favorite of the three (and a half) so far in the series. A crises of faith, of sorts, is visited upon Charles and the readers are the spectators as he makes every obvious clichéd mistake on his path to enlightenment. Fortunately, while this is a main theme in the story, it's not constantly front and center - there's too much of the main plot going on for Charles' crises to feel cloying.

The plot was amongst the darkest I've read of Ms. Briggs books. Torture, the feeding off of pain, misery and agony. Very distasteful themes. The ultimate villain was immediately obvious to me (show spoiler)[the author had me at "poster boy"] (hide spoiler) , but it didn't detract much from the story for me, because I was reading the book for the characters: Charles and Anna. Without these characters, written as well, and as likeable as they are, I'd never have started this series.