Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. I also offer virtual assistance to authors and web maintenance services. rabidreads.ca
Hey all! I’m excited to be interviewing the talented, Patricia Briggs, today on the blog. We’re discussing DEAD HEAT, horses, and everything in-between. I’m sharing my five star review too, so sit back and enjoy the wolf-y excellence!
1. I realize that asking an author to pick a fav series is like asking a mother to choose a fav kid, but… Mercy & Adam or Anna & Charles? Why?
2. Did you always know that you were going to write a spin-off series, or did your characters develop a mind of their own?
3. It’s no secret that here at Rabid Reads we LOVE werewolves! Why do you continuously cast them as your lead protagonists in the majority of your novels (instead of vampires, witches, etc)?
4. Have you ever owned / known a horse like Hephzibah (a.k.a the Evil Queen, Hellbitch)?
5. How do you keep track of two series that are set in the same world, and follow similar timelines?
6. You tackle a lot of sensitive subjects that the majority of Urban Fantasy authors shy away from (i.e. rape, child murder, relationships between exes, etc); what pushes you to explore these taboos in your books?
7. My associate reviewer, Melanie, has horses too, and according to her every horse person has a favourite story. What’s yours?
Dead Heat
Author: Patricia Briggs
Series: Alpha & Omega #4
Publisher: ACE
Published on: March 3, 2015
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Werewolves
Format: 304 pages, eARC
Provided by: NetGalley
For once, mated werewolves Charles and Anna are not traveling because of Charles’s role as his father’s enforcer. This time, their trip to Arizona is purely personal, as Charles plans to buy Anna a horse for her birthday. Or at least it starts out that way...
Charles and Anna soon discover that a dangerous Fae being is on the loose, replacing human children with simulacrums. The Fae’s cold war with humanity is about to heat up—and Charles and Anna are in the cross fire.
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This book started out as a sweet vacay type story line with Anna & Charles traveling to Arizona to buy a horse from an old friend. We got to see a different side of Cornick, witness a couple of flashbacks, reconnect with an old love, and meet Hosteen’s pack. There was of course some mild tension, but that’s to be expected whenever two alpha males are in the same room; however other than that it was looking like this was going to be a relatively tame installment. Ha! Yeah right, this is Patricia Briggs, and she doesn’t do cute. DEAD HEAT’s fae mystery kept me guessing, the ending made me cry, and the werewolves rocked, as usual.
I’ve become accustomed to being spoiled by this author’s furry characters, so when I first opened this novel I was surprised to find… horses! I marveled at the level of detail Briggs went into with regards to these magnificent beasts from the various breeds, to their different gaits, temperaments and the competitive side of shows. I actually had to pause mid-chapter to read her bio because I needed to know whether she had existing equestrian knowledge or had put her research cap on for this latest book. She lives on a horse ranch in case you’re wondering. I really enjoyed the amount of information she managed to incorporate alongside the plot.
Don’t tell Clay & Elena (Kelley Armstrong), but they are in danger of losing their title of being my favourite werewolf couple because Charles & Anna are gaining on them with each new ALPHA & OMEGA installment. Cornick’s lone wolf status is no secret, so discovering that he has a human friend was quite the revelation. His relationship with Joseph awakened so many feels; however I wasn’t overly happy about Maggie’s role. Why is Briggs so big on ex threads? Urgh! Charles & Anna are working through another couple dilemma, and I just love how conflict makes them stronger. Their character growth continues to be one of the high points of this series.
Our friendly neighbourhood FBI agent, Leslie Fisher, is back in the thick of things which was great because I liked her in FAIR GAME. It turns out that the fae did not go quietly into their reservations, instead they are underhandedly siccing their worst monsters on human society, and the Doll Collector was their latest ruse. This novel’s plot deals with children, and it’s not pretty, so it’s not recommended for everyone. That being said, this author has a propensity for misdirection, therefore expect the unexpected! There was also a touch of humour though in the form of Hephzibah, the Evil Queen Hellbitch, and leave it to Briggs to work in a Supernatural shout out. Squee!
This was my first time reading an ALPHA & OMEGA book, and although I missed Holter Graham’s narration, it’s clear that no matter how you tackle DEAD HEAT, the end result will be 5 stars.
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