ARC Review: Dead Heat (Alpha and Omega #4) by Patricia Briggs

They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son-and enforcer-of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

Follow me through the jump and read a non-spoilery review of the fourth installment of the Alpha and Omega Series, Dead Heat, which hits shelves and e-readers on March 3.  

  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.

The series starts with a novella that can be found in On The Prowl anthology. It has three subsequent, full length novels: On the Prowl (anthology), Cry Wolf, Hunting Ground and Fair Game. The last book is Dead Heat.

Here is a little backstory... 

These two met under terrible circumstances. Since Anna is an Omega she isn't submissive to anyone, and doesn't have to obey the Alpha's word. Her pack leader severely abused her (in every way you can imagine) in order to keep her in check. Charles had been sent to deal with her pack leader and restore order into that pack.

 

Even though both feel the mating pull and can't deny it Charles understands that Anna is hurt and will need a lot of time to become his mate in truth.

Their story begins with the first book, Cry Wolf. Anna has accepted her mating to Charles and went with him to Montana. However, up until that moment, she is still unable to give in to the physical demands of the bond; she's too hurt and damaged and shies away from physical intimacy. 

Her wolf doesn't have those reservations, but the trick is that the wolf and the woman must be aware of the physical act in order to complete the bond. So far, her wolf has protected her, and Anna wasn't mentally present during most of the worst abuse.

Charles slowly but surely removes her reservations by trying to understand her, giving her time and choices. He never pressures her or demands anything that she isn't willing to give him.

These first weeks of their relationship were my favorite. I did feel that the whole love thing came a bit too fast but it is plausible. They are mates, so that can't be negotiable.

Her inability to trust Charles physically was overcome a bit fast, but she did come to trust him completely before anything happened and he always gave her time and choices, so it was believable.

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Charles has always been his father's enforcer. He is the one who does the dirty work. He's a born werewolf and that makes him a bit more magical than the others. He sees Anna as his happiness and a chance for companionship and love. Someone to understand him and stand by his side. Someone he can talk to and just be himself with.

I also like how Patricia Briggs didn't forget the way the two met. The pain and hardship that brought them together has made them the people they are.

Each book deals with a case Charles gets assigned to, in some way or another. With each case their relationship changes and grows. They learn new things about each other and the world they live in.

This book, Dead Heat, deals with the first consequences of the events from the previous book, Fair Game. The Fey have declared a sort of Cold War on humanity. In this book we see Anna and Charles get involved with The Fey replacing human children with some strange fey creations.

The story of book four had four interesting topics, in my humble opinion.

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It gave us a look into Charles's past and the reason he has so very few friends. We meet some people from his past and we see Charles interact with them. It really gives the reader a new aspect of Charles's personality. His relationship with Anna rests on solid foundation but it gets new depths with this. 

Furthermore, there is a new development on their private front that I won't get into but it did interest me a lot and I can honestly say I can't wait to see where the chips fall. It was resolved, in a way, at the end of the book, but not completely.

It also shows us how difficult it is for werewolves to outlive their human offspring. How deeply they love them all the while knowing they will die.

And, lastly, the detective part of the story. It was interesting enough. Nothing exceptional in my opinion. It wasn't boring but not mind-blowing either.

All in all, if you like this series and love Anna and Charles, you'll like this book. They are the most interesting part of the book.

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