Publisher: Penguin/Ace
Released: March 3, 2015
Source: NetGalley/Publisher
Format: E-Book, 336 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy
THE NEW CHARLES AND ANNA NOVEL
Praised as “the perfect blend of action, romance, suspense and paranormal,"* the Alpha and Omega novels transport readers into the realm of the werewolf, where Charles Cornick and Anna Latham embody opposite sides of the shifter personality. Now, a pleasure trip drops the couple into the middle of some bad supernatural business…
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--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.
Charles Cornick, the son and enforcer of Bran, the leader of the North American werewolves, and his mate Omega werewolf Anna Latham, return in the FOURTH installment of the Alpha & Omega series. It has been a few years since Fair Game was released (2012), but what hasn't changed is my adoration for this couple. At this point, I have put Anna and Charles above Mercy and Adam as one of my favorite couples. I'll admit that I like the fact that Charles is a badass enforcer and assassin, while Anna has taken a huge step into being a fantastic heroine all her own.
Dead Heat takes our couple from Montana, to Arizona. It is almost Anna's 26th birthday, and Charles wants to give her a unique gift. Since Anna has picked up riding horses, what's a better present than having a horse all her own? Add in the fact that the fae didn't all go quietly away, but have allowed the worst of the worst to escape and wreck havoc on humanities innocent children, and you have the ground work for yet another fantastic novel.
"The day I met you was the first day I ever felt joy."
There are several things that stand out for me in Dead Heat. First, we know that Charles has been around for a fairly long time. You know that he's had relationships and friendships with humans. Briggs introduces readers to one of Charles very best friends, Joseph Sani, his wife Maggie, and his family whose children are targeted by a fae called the Doll Collector. Briggs goes back in time to when Joseph, and Charles first met. We also get a look into Joseph's choice of remaining a human, and not choosing to become a wolf. I definitely respect his choice.
Second, I loved that Charles doesn't necessarily have protect Anna from others, but does so because Brother Wolf is in love with her and doesn't want to see her hurt. Anna has her own powers, and I dare say that they make Mercy look like a newbie. She doesn't have to do what other Alpha's tell her, has a calming influence on any wolf around her, and can push back just as hard as she gets. She doesn't have to constantly worry about whether Charles pack mates like her or want to kill her. Her experiences as a forcibly changed wolf also go a long way of helping a newbie wolf survive the transformation.
I'm not into horses all that much, but I do appreciate the obvious research and time that Briggs has put into differentiating between them. Probably took a bit of my enjoyment away from the story, but birthing a new werewolf, facing off against a villainous fae, and Charles's reminiscing about the past with Joseph made up for it.
Briggs starts and ends Dead Heat with an interesting plot line. Anna has now reached the point in her relationship with Charles where she wants a baby; Charles baby. But, can she have her own, or will she have to adopt them? You can probably imagine how many people truly hate Charles and would love nothing better to bring him down? Especially after Anna, Charles and FBI Special Agent Leslie Fisher, who returns in Dead Head, stopped the Fae in Fair Game. Apparently Briggs isn't done with the Fae plot line, so I won't be surprised if they return in the Fifth installment currently Untitled. How long until the FIFTH installment comes out? Please don't be another 3 years!
**I received this book for free from (Penguin/Ace) via (NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!! This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
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