Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review: I read this when I was back home in Seattle for Thanksgiving Break, and I am only just now getting around to doing reviews for books I read around that time. Anyway, Hunting Ground was a great sequel to the first (Cry Wolf) in the Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs. Here’s a summary from bn.com because my memory is a little fuzzy:

Anne Latham didn’t know how complicated life could be until she became a werewolf. And until she was mated to Charles Cornick, the son–and enforcer–of Bran, the leader of the North American werewolves, she didn’t know how dangerous it could be either…

Anna and Charles have just been enlisted to attend a summit to present Bran’s controversial proposition: that the wolves should finally reveal themselves to humans. But the most feared Alpha in Europe is dead set against the plan–and it seems like someone else might be, too. When Anna is attacked by vampires using pack magic, the kind of power only werewolves should be able to draw on, Charles and Anna must combine their talents to hunt down whoever is behind it all–or risk losing everything…

I haven’t really enjoyed any of Briggs’ other series (even her famous Mercy Thompson series) but I enjoy this one because I like Anna and I like Charles. They are both realistic, believable characters to me and I like how their relationship progresses. What doesn’t hurt is this funny coincidence–in Hunting Ground, Anna is Chicago native currently in Seattle, whereas I am a Seattle native currently living in Chicago! This book was set in the Puget Sound/Seattle area and it was nice to be reminded of all the familiar places at home.

I could have written a better review had I gotten around to doing it sooner… suffice to say I enjoyed it.

Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher

Rating: 8 out of 10
Summary: With her mother ill, it’s up to fifteen-year-old Ruby Jacinski to support her family. But in the 1940s, the only opportunities open to a Polish-American girl from Chicago’s poor Yards is a job in one of the meat packing plants. Through a chance meeting with a local tough, Ruby lands a job as a taxi dancer and soon becomes an expert in the art of “fishing”: working her patrons for meals, cash, clothes, even jewelry. Drawn ever deeper into the world of dance halls, jazz, and the mob, Ruby gradually realizes that the only one who can save her is herself.  

2nd Summary: Just 15 and saddled with the responsibility of supporting her ailing mother and younger sister, Ruby Jacinski quits school to work in a meatpacking factory but is soon dazzled by the prospect of earning big money as a taxi dancer (professional dance partner)—an idea she picks up from her neighborhood crush, mobster wannabe Paulie. Fletcher sustains the narrative with the ongoing tension between Ruby’s buttoned-up family persona and her desire for a real romance, the glamour of dressing up and dancing to jazz, and baiting “fish” (customers) for dinner dates and money. 

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. Ruby was a very realistic protagonist–she had her flaws and those flaws had consequences. Very vivid depiction of 1940s-era Chicago and the poverty as well as the music and mob scene in the area. The feel was very gritty and, again, realistic. Good read.