Burn Bright

By: Patricia Briggs

Narrated by: Holter Graham

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

The latest thrilling and emotional Alpha and Omega novel from the number-one New York Times best-selling author of the Mercy Thompson series. 

Charles Cornick is the son of the leader of the North American werewolves - and his father's enforcer. Anna Latham, a rare Omega wolf with a calming presence, is his mate. They go where they are needed, handling problems in werewolf packs throughout the country. But this time the danger is closer to home, as an enemy armed with witchcraft threatens Charles and Anna's own pack. 

©2018 Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

“A terrific saga.” (Midwest Book Review)

“[Briggs] spins tales of werewolves, coyote shifters and magic and, my, does she do it well.... If you like action, violence, romance and, of course, werewolves, then I urge you to pick up this series.” (USAToday.com)

“Interesting, fast-paced urban fantasy.... [An] imaginative writer who always leaves fans anxiously waiting for the next tale.” (Monsters and Critics)

Disappointing

Narrator
I am a huge fan of Holter Graham and I find he does an amazing job with voices and stories. However, the one thing I dislike from narrators for long running series is the inability to keep the same voices on the same characters through the different books. Holter Graham normally does, and for this series has done an amazing job with keeping the same general tone and feel for and voices of the characters consistent through the books until this one. I like many audio fans re-listen to books before listening to the newest release and for those that do this, having such a jarring disjointed voice change for all of the characters in this book compared to the others is annoying and disruptive to the narration.

Author/Story
I enjoy or have enjoyed Patrica Briggs’ work until recently. I do understand that not every book is going to be a hit and sometimes stories don’t find the same tone or mood for every reader. However, this story and the last Mercy Thompson book (Though it was the male narration on that audio book that really made it horrible and not so much the story) both hit a sore note for me.

This story introduces a whole new set of wolves that no one mentioned until now. Even at the time when Bran transferred the bonds of all the wolves in in control to others during an earlier book, these wolves where not mentioned, nor was the weight of their issues made known. I felt like the author needed a group she could use in the pack there and kill off/create other powers for so she tosses in this group with no real build up or lead into. It was jarring.

As well, much of the beginning of the book felt like a rehash of information that was presented before, adding length without adding to the actual story. While some of the information was interesting, it did not jive with other information from past books. The whole idea that the “thing in Boston” aka the Big Game Hunter was part of this shadow witch clan’s doings is just insanely far fetched. More far fetched then the convoluted plan with Doc and his son Jerry in one of the other books.

Spoiler coming here: Another item that just rang hollow was the skin walker when we have seen a skin walker in the series before. It was as if the author forgot about how Charles’ dealings with skin walkers before.

All and all it was an interesting enough story but it just did not feel like it fit into the world Briggs’ has been creating in the past and the characters were acting out of, well out of character for each other as well.

I was very disappointed in this one and I do hope Ms. Briggs turns things around and gets back into the grove created by her other books.

And Mr. Graham, please go back and relisten to your narrations before doing a new book in a series, I know you can do it… please don’t change the voices we have grown to love!

The dreaded conversation...

This book made me dislike Anna...she seems really petty. The conversation about mercy and bran ruined it for me along with the narrator’s inconsistency of character voices. I might as well be listening to 5 different authors.

You cannot trust anyone it seems.

I have been waiting for this book to be released for ages it seems like. This book happens when Silence Fallen occurs. It seems as though Patricia Briggs is catching up the Alpha & Omega story-line to Mercy Thompson to eventually have a crossover. So far there has just been snippets here and there within the two series however I do believe that before these two series end there will be at least one book that has all of the characters involved for an entire book and not just throughout.

This book was very good however I do understand what another review stated about the ending was not the best,. I do understand that it being set up in either the new Mercy book or the next Alpha book but it is just a bit odd. I do not mind the way it ended but I wanted more. The dynamic with Charles and Anna is still wonderful and in this book a lot of Anna's trauma pops back up. It is not overtly descriptive but you know that it is there. She is trying hard to not be the victim and even though she is having flashbacks she is not allowing it to define who she is. I just love her.

The threat in this book is not a new one however it is new in the sense because Charles and Bran just seemed to forget about it in the previous books. The threat has always been there however now that it is in their backyard now it it time to take action. I am not trying to bash Charles or Bran however I do not understand why they did not try and followup on leads after Anna left Chicago. They only got rid of a fraction of what was going on and Charles admitted that 'the money-man' was never found. The way that Charles has been written in the past Charles would have never let that go however he did. I think that this just shows that Charles and Bran can be sidetracked with other things.

I loved the Wildlings and I have to admit that the twist that was thrown in was great. I was not expecting that and I love when a writer can surprise me. Leah to me is still annoying and I understand that she loves the pack however I still think that she pretends that she is hurt more often then not. I do not trust her when it would come to certain members in the pack. I think that Bran loves her in his own way but he would never admit it to himself and that is fine with me.

I cannot wait to see what ends up happening in this next installment. I hope that the mystery continues and that another plot does not get thrown in and Charles and Bran forgets about these witches.

Narrator forgetting his voices

I listened to the first 4 books in this series as a refresher before the new one. I noticed in the previous book the narrator was changing voices and he continued that through this book.

Story is fantastic, the narrator needs to refresh his memory before the next book.

Weakest of the bunch

I usually like the Charles and Anna stories, unfortunately, there wasn't a story, here. Or maybe it's better to say there are several, but none of them about the main characters. So there isn't so much a plot as a bunch of linked scenes where other people tell stories. Oh, and some obligatory fights, because werewolves. It's not uninteresting, but two thirds of the way through the book, I was still wondering when the plot would kick in. It doesn't. But if you read it like a set of connected shorts, it's not too bad.

Overall good story but terrible performance

My disappointment with this title is completely centered around Holter Graham’s performance which was so terrible by this book that it became a chore to try and finish. He oftentimes read dialogue for one character in the ‘voice’ of another character making for a very excruciating listen.

Charles and Ana seem to have found their footing in relationship to each. While the Marock is away, Charles is tasked to find a traitor in the pack. He finds himself confused as to why his father has left and not talked to him about the situation but tries to get to the root of the issue. We learn about The Wildlings; those who are to broken to be active members of the pack and live in seclusion. When one of them is captured and subsequently killed, they decide to check on all the other Wildlings. The story then picks up with another of The Wildlings telling his story in relation to a witch collar that can control werewolves. We discover who Bran suspected and who the traitor is and everything is resolved. But now we know the witches are more powerful than anyone thought and that is now cause for concern.
The story itself was ok. For me this felt like a placeholder waiting for events to unfold with the Mercedes Thompson series before moving forward. I love spending time with Charles and Ana and I hope to see them in more stories.

omg, couldn't they find a better reader?

l listen while I drive, but he puts me to sleep. my wife has to keep punching my arm when ever I start to drift over the center line to wake me back up. I am not allowed to listen when alone. so bad I returned it to Audible.

✫✫ 5 Stars ✫✫

Oh I missed Charles and Anna! I really hope this series continues on and on! I think I love how different these two are from each other and how well that works for them. Their relationship along with all the suspense and mystery make this series a favorite of mine. I missed Bran in this one but the way this ended made my heart happy that we will be getting more from him in the next one.

The narration is perfect as always! Holter Graham is one of those narrators with a very distinct voice and I don't think he is the voice for every book but he is a PERFECT choice for this series. He is Bran & Charles to me no matter what i'm listening too.

I liked it.

I agree with most of the other reviews. this wasn't the best of her books. it was okay. the ending is very awkward. I'm looking forward to seeing her next book which I suspect will be a crossover. all in all a good read

THIS WAS JUST OK FOR ME AND I'M DISAPPOINTED!

This is the weakest of the series....I was bored through about half of it, and really disappointed in that fact...I will not give up on the series of course..because I love Anna and Charles...but I want more about them...this was more pack....and that's what the Mercy series is for..this is Alpha and Omega..we want Anna and Charles!! I really tried to love this..but sadly I did not!

Disappointed -and I'm a Patricia Briggs fan

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Im sorry to offend Holter Graham fans but his narration just dose not work for me . I have struggled with previous Alpha Omega yarns with tha same narrator but this is Patricia so I thought I'd give it another go . - nope , still not so good !

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I'm partial to Lorelei king as a narrator .

What three words best describe Holter Graham’s voice?

Monosyllabic- toneless .- boring . Had to re start , re wind , a lot.

Do you think Burn Bright needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I will not be buying any more Audible books narrated by Holter Graham . Any more Anna and Charles books will need to be read ( if he narrates any more. See Lorelei comment above ) ???I'm sure Anna and Charles have many more ' adventures " in store for us .

Any additional comments?

I had been looking forward to this book . Feel a little let down .

Burn Bright

This was not only great, but a racing roles coaster ride with many highs and lows. Read brilliantly again by Holter Graham.

Great Story Told Well

This is not the first time I’ve read this story, but it is the first time I’ve listened to it. I have to say I really enjoyed listening to a gifted narrator take on the challenge of this book. However, I will say that his accents were a *little* sketchy around the British Isles. Welsh/Irish/Scottish may sound pretty similar to those outside the UK, but to us, they are pretty distinct and they were mainly used incorrectly in this production. It was annoying, however the rest of Holter Graham’s narration was excellent.

This story covers a period of time when Bran is away from the pack and he’s left Charles in charge (I wish I hadn’t thought that phrase because now I have the theme tune for a Scott Baio vehicle from the 1980s going round in my head. I apologise if you do too.) Whilst Bran is gone, Charles and Anna have been living in the main pack house and have not been enjoying the lack of privacy. They are also hating having to investigate what’s been going on with the Wildlings, Bran’s old and unstable wolves that are hidden in the mountains around the territory to protect both themselves and others. They are all volatile and vulnerable at the same time.

After getting a call from the fae mate of one of the Wildlings asking for help, Charles and Anna head out to see if they can find out what’s going on. The plot for this story is involved and interesting. It deals with very old wolves who are strangely fragile and their interactions with Anna are fascinating. The pull between Charles need to protect Anna from danger and his need to allow her to utilise her skills and gifts in order to feel accomplished and fulfilled, is intriguing to watch. No one would believe an alpha character like Charles would allow Anna to step into danger, but he does on a regular basis, much to the surprise of many people. That he does, is not easy for him, but he does it anyway because he loves his wife.

I love watching how Anna and Charles’ relationship has deepened over the years. Their love and affection is obvious in so many ways but at first glance they are an unlikely pairing. Adding Brother Wolf into the relationship makes it even more interesting, as he has become almost another character in his own right as he has become more and more able to articulate complex ideas to both Charles and Anna, which seems a unique ability.

We learn a lot about the history of the Wildlings during the course of this book and that history interacts with other characters that we know better, such as Bran and Asil. This book is so clever at weaving the past and the present together to create a compelling story that draws the reader in. I particularly enjoyed the glimpse we see of Bran and his mate behind closed doors.

This is a clever and entertaining book, that satisfies on several different levels. This has become so much more than a simple spin off series, as I believe I enjoy this as much as the Mercy Thompson series, if not more sometimes.

Superb

exceptionally read this is one of Patty's best books and you'll love the twists of the story. highly recommended

amazing

I loved this story, Charles and Anna always make smile and the more time we spend with the Marrok and his pack the more we learn about the enigma that is Bran

I Love this series, and every book gets better!

I love this series, and every book gets better. Charles and Anna make a great team. Some of their adventures have taken away from the pack. This one seemed to involve most of the pack we know, and some of the Wildings that we don’t.
I am not going into any details and give anything away. I know it is one my great pleasures in life to read a new Patricia Briggs novel. I will say this is must read for fans of this series. If you have only read The Mercy Thompson Series, this it set in the same world and begins with a short story from an anthology called On The Prowl which was called Alpha and Omega. This is also available in a digital copy available. This is Anna’s story, and how she met Charles. As I enjoy reading a new Patricia Briggs I also enjoyed the  Audiobook which is narrated by HOLTER GRAHAM who brings these wonderful books to life for me.

Another fantastic story

Anna and Charles as fabulous as ever. I adore these stories. Recommend to all 😊. Enjoy everyone.

Excellent book well read

Great to meet the wildlings and explore Anne’s gift more.

Loved this book I would recommend it to anyone

Love

This is my second pass at this book and I'm sure I'll listen to it at least twice more. Holter Graham and Patricia Briggs are an amazing combo