Title: Trial By Fire (Raised by Wolves #2)
Author: Jennifer
Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Egmont USA
Released: June 14, 2011
Format: Ebook, 368
pages
Genre: YA
paranormal
From Goodreads:
There can only be one
alpha.
Bryn is finally
settling into her position as alpha of the Cedar Ridge Pack- or at least, her
own version of what it means to be alpha when you’re a human leading a band of
werewolves. Then she finds a teenage boy bleeding on her front porch. Before,
collapsing, he tells her his name is Lucas, he’s a Were, and Bryn’s protection
is his only hop.
But Lucas isn’t part
of Bryn’s pack, and she has no right to claim another alpha’s Were. With threats-
old and new- looming, and danger closing in from all sides, Bryn will have to
accept what her guardian Callum knew all along. To be alpha, she will have to
give in to her own animal instincts and become less human. And, she’s going to
have to do it alone.
Trial by Fire picks up where Raised by Werewolves left off. Bryn
is still the fiercely strong and independent character as she was in the first
book. However, she faces some really difficult challenges being a new “human”
alpha. She wants all “her” Weres to be independent as well. She won’t tell them
what to do. She hated it under Callum and she won’t let that happen in the
Cedar Ridge Pack. She is finding that the werewolf political atmosphere is not
conducive to that kind of behavior. The Weres in her pack continually look to
her for leadership and protection. She finds it hard to assume those roles. Ms.
Barnes effectively portrays Bryn’s conflicts where you can empathize with her
feelings.
However, Bryn has her inner circle that she can trust. Dev,
Lake and Chase are right by her side. She relies on their loyalty and
friendship when leading the Pack. However, when it is all said and done, she
has to make her decisions alone. She learned from Callum how lonely it is to be
alpha. What I find amazing about this character is that she has all this
responsibility at a very young age. She still has to attend high school. But I
guess that is what makes Bryn special. She is able to face each struggle with
inner strength and courage. In the past, she has always been alone in her thoughts,
but now she has her inner circle and the entire pack racing through her head.
There is more relationship development between Chase and
Bryn. Chase is not consumed by the pack like Bryn is. As she grows in her alpha
role, she starts to pull away from Chase. To him, the pack is Bryn and no one
else. To Bryn, the pack is everyone under her protection. With their priorities
in conflict, they struggle in the growth of their relationship.
Ms. Barnes has an interesting take on the werewolf world. In
her world, Weres start to “change” at birth. Little babies change into little
werewolf puppies. I think it makes the werewolf pack more of a family and
something that has to be protected. Bryn would do anything to protect that
family. Members of her pack/family include female Weres. She has more girls in
her pack than any other. Other alphas want the girls to increase their numbers.
In this society, werewolf numbers mean power. However, Bryn will not hand over
any girl without a fight. This leads to an attack on her pack where Bryn rises
as a true leader.
Besides the children and teens in Bryn’s pack, there are
also a couple of adults who chose to accept her as alpha. Ali is human, Bryn’s
adoptive mother and a member of the pack. She continually has struggles
accepting the werewolf political structure. To her, the only thing that is
important is to protect her children. She hates it that Bryn has so much responsibility
on her shoulders. Ali wants to protect her (and her protect her she does!) but in
the end she realizes that Bryn has to lead the pack. The other adult in the
pack is Lake’s father, Mitch. His main priority is to protect Lake, one of the
few female werewolves. The adults try to protect but have to take a step back
to Bryn. This role reversal is very interesting in that Ali and Mitch, in the
end, must accept Bryn as their leader and protector.
I have really enjoyed this series. I’m really looking
forward to reading the next book, Taken By Storm, which was released on May 22,
2012.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Title: Trial By Fire (Raised by Wolves #2)
Angel Unprepared (The Watcher Series #2)
Publisher: Penguin Books
War is brutal. War is unfair. War is soul-wrenching. David-Michael Harding's How Angels Die is a thought-provoking portrayal of the French Resistance during WWII. What makes this piece of historical fiction different is that it is from the women's perspective. By reading this novel you will find that women freedom fighters played a huge role in the Resistance and sacrificed so much for France.
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor
Prologue: The room was absolutely still. Occasionally an unconscious sniffle would erupt and seemlike an explosion of sound.
Louis was a bombardier on a B-24 bomber. He was part of a
crew that flew several bombing missions targeting strategic Japanese-held islands.
After one such flight, his plane crashed in the middle of the Pacific
Ocean. Louis and the pilot, Phil, were
the only survivors. They were able to survive on a raft for 47 days. They fought dehydration, starvation and
sharks. That journey of survival would be an entire book in of itself. However,
the raft was only the beginning. They managed to reach land in the Marshall
Islands which was occupied by the Japanese and from there their horrific
journey really began. 
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