Review - River Marked

Title: River Marked
Author: Patricia Briggs
Publishing Date: April 2011
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: A-
Sensuality: Warm
Book Disclosure: I purchased a new ebook for my Nook.

River Marked is the 6th book in Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series. In this installment, Mercy and Adam are on their honeymoon. They are up in the woods of the North West, where a series of mysterious events have left the local authorities puzzled. As you know, where Mercy goes trouble follows. Mercy and Adam find themselves unexpectedly involved in helping with the problems that keep occurring along the river, problems that involve missing or injured people.

River Marked was such a treat for me. I loved that the author takes pity on romance fans and gives them what they want. As fans of Mercy and Adam we get to witness their wedding!!! In most romance novels the books end with the happy ever after and usually that doesn't include the wedding ceremony. In River Marked the reader is actually invited to the wedding. I thought that was a lovely surprise. I also loved that the book was entirely devoted to Mercy and Adam. Pretty much everybody else is absent from this book. While for me that proved to be a good thing, fans of Samuel and Sebastian might be disappointed.

As far as the actual mystery goes, I was really floored at the viciousness of the "bad guy". There is some very serious sh*t going down in this book. It was ugly and unpleasant to read about. I will say one thing for Ms. Briggs, she doesn't shy away from the hard stuff, as readers of this series know. However, there is balance with the good development between Mercy and Adam. This is another fantastic installment in the Mercy Thompson series. Fans will not be disappointed.

Review - Hunting Ground

Title: Hunting Ground
Author: Patricia Briggs
Publishing Date: August 2009
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: A-
Sensuality: Warm

Anna and Charles' story continues with the second book in Patricia Briggs Alpha and Omega series. Hunting Ground picks up soon after where the first book Cry Wolf left off. Anna and Charles are living together among the Aspen Creek Pack. Charles is the son of Bran, the Marrok of the North American werewolves and also Bran's second in command or enforcer. Charles has the dirty job of carrying out Bran's orders, which often means executions of disorderly werewolves. Bran has decided to come out to the public about the existence of werewolves. A meeting will be held in Seattle that the European werewolves will attend. Charles will go in his father's place.

Patricia Briggs is a master storyteller. Even in an industry flooded with paranormal/shapeshifter romances, she is able to keep her series fresh and interesting. Charles and Anna are strong characters whose many layers are peeled slowly like an onion. Where Cry Wolf focuses more on Anna, Hunting Ground focuses more on Charles. Charles often keeps to himself staying to the perimeter of social interaction. He does this as a way to keep a distance between himself and the other pack members, because one day he may have to take their life in following Bran's orders. What the pack members don't realize is that Charles is a warm, sensitive and loving man, but they only see his cold, enforcer side.

The world Briggs has created mostly mirrors our own. Just thrown in crazy, supernatural creatures like wolves, witches and the Fae and now you are in another reality. The beauty to Brigg's writing is that even though these creatures may be supernatural, they have human characteristics. They hate. They love. They lust. They fear. This gives the series a more realistic feel to it.

I am loving this series. Patricia Briggs is an awesome writer! Her writing is flawless and her characters are realistic and memorable. A reader can't help but fall in love with this world she has created. Bravo Ms. Briggs!

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This book can be purchased in print or kindle format from Amazon.

Review - Bone Crossed

Title: Bone Crossed
Author: Patricia Briggs
Publication Date: 2009
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: A
Sensuality: Warm

Bone Crossed is book four in Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series. These books are all interconnected and I highly recommend reading them in order. I have a brief post about the series, which you can read here. Bone Crossed starts up about a week after Iron Kissed (book 3) left off. Mercy is recovering from an attack that made national news. I don't want to give too much away without giving spoilers for book 3. Just suffice it to say that Mercy has some issues that she is going to have to work through before she can move on with her life.

Mercy is a coyote shapeshifter and in her world she is at the bottom of the barrel as far as magical beings go. Even though Mercy lacks in actual strength and size, she has enough grit and determination to make up for it. Mercy has a tendency to attract trouble where ever she goes. There is never a dull moment with Mercy around. Lest you think this is a negative. Nope, Mercy has plenty of friends. She has a compassion for helping people and has no shortage of friends helping her when trouble comes knocking on her door. And knock on her door it does.

In Bone Crossed, Mercy has caught the eye of not one, but two vampires and her life is in danger. Luckily, being Adam's mate now has it's advantages and she is protected by the werewolf pack. Bone Crossed had plenty of action and new insight into Vampire politics and the werewolf pack structure. All of which, I find fascinating. I can't say it enough about this book. Mercy has come to be very near and dear to my heart. I care about the characters in this series and I love watching them evolve and kick the bad guys' butts! Bone Crossed is another solid addition, if not the best book yet, in this series. If you haven't read a Mercy Thompson book yet, what are you waiting for?

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Series Sunday - Mercy Thompson

Patrica Brigg's has a wonderful urban fantasy series narrated by Mercy Thompson who is a coyote shapeshifter and a VW mechanic. In her world, mythical creatures such a elves, trolls, witches, vampires and werewolves exist. The more non-threatening of these species like fairies, trolls and gremlins have been outed to the human world. They are establishing liberal rights so they can exist along side humans. Mercy has an in to this reality because she was raised in a werewolf pack. Mercy finds herself acting a go-between for both worlds, helping to solve mysteries as needed.

Mercy Thompson is great character. She is down-to-earth and readers can relate very easily to her. She knows her limitations and is not afraid to ask for help if she needs it. There will be none of that Too Stupid Too Live (TSTL) crap for her. At the beginning of this series she has two men vying for her attention, Adam the local packs Alpha and Samuel from her past, three if you count the vampire Stefan. For those of you who are not fans of long drawn out triangles, never fear. That is not the case with this series. In Iron Kissed she makes her choice regarding the hero. Because each book builds off of the previous one, I recommend reading this series in order.

Series reading order:

1. Moon Called
2. Blood Bound
3. Iron Kissed
4. Bone Crossed
5. Silver Borne
6. River Marked (releases Feb 2011)

Review - Cry Wolf

Title: Cry Wolf
Author: Patricia Briggs
Publication Date: 2008
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: B
Sensuality: Warm

Cry Wolf is the first novel in Patrica Briggs new werewolf series. She released the short story Alpha and the Omega in the anthology On the Prowl earlier this year, which first introduces readers to Anna. Charles however first appeared on the paper in Brigg’s well known Mercy Thompson series. Charles is the son of Bran who is the North American merek. This means that Bran is in charge of all the wolves in North America. Charles is his hitman. He was sent to Chicago to deal with some problems that arose in that pack. On his assignment he meets Anna. Right away his brother wolf accepts Anna for his mate. Anna, however, is less trusting of Charles because she was turned against her will and has been abused by her former packmates. To say she has trust issues is an understatement. Charles convinces Anna to return with him to his home in the mountains in Montana.

I think it is essential for readers to read the short story before reading Cry Wolf. I felt that Alpha and Omega was nothing more than the first couple of chapters from Cry Wolf. Fortunately for readers who do not want to buy the anthology, Patricia Briggs is selling her short story online in electronic format. You can visit her website for more information.

The major strength of Cry Wolf is in the characters. All of them were well developed and had likable personalities. I think the reader will gravitate toward Anna who is struggling with coming into her own again after suffering for so long. She has to learn a whole new way of life and learn what being an Omega means. She has to learn that her new pack has completely different expectations from her than her former one did. Charles was true hero material. He was patient and protective and just completely cherished Anna. Who wouldn’t want this type of man to call their own?

I just found the pack dynamics fascinating. I loved how all the wolves interacted with one another and seeing how they all fit together. Briggs does a nice job of introducing new members of the pack without overloading the reader. All of them were distinct and interesting to read about.

The main issue I had with the book was I wanted more romance between Charles and Anna and less of the mystery portion of the book. I didn’t feel like Charles and Anna had fully worked out all the problems they were facing with their relationship. Those problems were mainly Anna’s past abuse at the hands of her former pack and her coming to trust Charles. It makes me wonder if later books in the series will still be dealing with Charles and Anna or if they will be about other pack members. Either way, I will be anxious to read more.

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Review - Iron Kissed

Title: Iron Kissed
Author: Patricia Briggs
Publishing Date: January 2008
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Kisses

Iron Kissed is the third book in the Mercy Thompson series. Mercy Thompson is a VW mechanic and in her world creatures such as vampires and werewolves do exist. Mercy herself is a walker, which means she can change her form to a Coyote anytime she wants. She can also speak to ghosts. In the first book the reader learns all about the werewolf culture, the second one focuses on vampires. This one is about the fae.

There have been a string of murders happening on the fae reservation. Zee, a fae friend of Mercy’s calls in a favor. He wants her to use her Coyote nose to track the murderer. Mercy finds herself more involved than she would like when her good friend Zee becomes the prime suspect of a human murder. Mercy will do what she can to find the real murderer and get Zee out of jail.

The big question that, everyone wants an answer too is finally addressed in this book. We get right down to it. On page 4, Warren tells Mercy, “You need to choose.” Even though she has feelings for both Samuel and Adam, she can’t have both (that isn’t this kind of book). She does make her choice and I think it’s the right one - although, I would have liked more interaction between her and the man of her “choice”. After all, I am a romance reader at heart. I am hoping that in the next book the relationship will be more fully explored.

The mystery involving all the fae was very fascinating. I was totally clueless as to who the killer was and was completely shocked by the ending. Mercy’s recovery is absolutely heart-wrenching. Briggs did an amazing job of showing us Mercy’s emotions without telling us. I love Mercy she is a great heroine and I will root for her all the way. I will be on pins and needles till the next book comes out. Oh, how I can’t wait!

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Review - Blood Bound

Title: Blood Bound
Author: Patricia Briggs
Publishing Date: 2007
Genre: Science Fiction (non romance)
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Kisses

Blood Bound is the second Mercy Thompson novel. The first book Moon Called focused on the werewolves in Mercy’s world, the second novel focuses on the vampires. Since Stefan (Mercy’s vampire friend from Moon Called) helped Mercy rescue the local Alpha’s kidnapped daughter he has called Mercy asking her for a favor. He wants her to be a witness for him while he investigates a new vampire who has recently arrived in town. Mercy agrees to help him. What they discover is that this is no ordinary vampire, he is a sorcerer possessed by a demon. In other words, he is pure evil.

Mercy’s voice is great. I love getting the story through her eyes. She is very matter of fact about things and has just the right balance of sarcasm without being overly cynical. She has great faith in herself and others. She knows that there is evil in this world, but even when the odds are against her she never gives up.

She still has Samuel, her first boyfriend growing up, and Adam, the local Alpha competing for her attention. So far, she hasn’t been able to make up her mind, though, I think she is leaning in one direction. It is interesting to see her struggle with her feelings for both men. Who will she choose? If it was me I would have a tough time deciding because both are dominant men who want nothing more than to protect Mercy. Yet it seems Mercy is the one who does the rescuing – at least in this story. I can’t wait to read the next installment of this series.

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Review - Moon Called

Title: Moon Called
Author: Patricia Briggs
Publishing Date: February 2006
Genre: Non Fiction (non romance)
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Kisses

Moon Called is the first book in a series of books about Mercedes Thompson, a walker or “skinwalker”. She can change into a coyote and has some of the physical attributes that come with it, such as advanced hearing and smell. This is different from a werewolf. In Mercy’s world, it is very similar to ours today with one big exception, it is inhabited by werewolves, vampires and various Fae, such as witches, gremlins and trolls. Mercy was raised by werewolves in Montana and has been around them all her life. Now she is a VW mechanic and has the local Alpha werewolf for her next door neighbor.

This is Mercy’s story and it is told in first person from her point of view. I like stories told in the first person. I don’t mind being privy to only one person’s thoughts. I like the mystery of figuring out, by reading through other peoples’ body language, what the other characters are thinking. I like the subtlety with which I am told the story. Mercy’s voice is an enjoyable one. She seems like your normal average woman, with the exception of her walker abilities. She doesn’t have super human strength. She has problems with her mom and she had heartache when she was a teenager. She is a likable person without any kind of attitude or chip on her shoulder, although she gives out sarcasm in small doses. She likes to help people and is a nice person without coming off as sickeningly sweet.

There are two possible love interests, maybe three, in this story. First there is Adam, her next door neighbor and the local Alpha and then Samuel, her former boyfriend and son of the Alpha of the pack who raised her. Stefan, a local vampire, with whom she is helping restore an old VW van. I have a feeling he wants to be in the running as well. So Mercy is a popular girl and everyone can’t help but like her. The world building is good and we are just starting to learn the characters through Mercy’s eyes. We get to learn all about the werewolf culture and solve a mystery to boot. Moon Called is wrapped up at the end with no devastating cliff-hangers. I am curious to see where Briggs will go next with Mercy’s story.

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