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Mercy Thompson #1
Moon Called
Alternate Cover Edition can be found here.
I didn't realize he was a werewolf at first. My nose isn't at its best when surrounded by axle grease and burnt oil . . .'
Mercedes Thompson runs a garage in the Tri-Cities. She's a mechanic, and a damn good one, who spends her spare time karate training and tinkering with a VW bus that happens to belong to a vampire. Her next-door neighbour is an alpha werewolf - literally, the leader of the pack. And Mercy herself is a shapeshifter, sister to coyotes. As such, she's tolerated by the 'wolves but definitely down the pecking order. As long as she keeps her eyes down and remembers her place, the pack will leave her in peace.
317 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 31, 2006
3686 people are currently reading
118992 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Briggs
123 books30k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Patricia Briggs was born in Butte, Montana, to a children’s librarian who passed on to her kids a love of reading and books. Patricia grew up reading fairy tales and books about horses, and later developed an interest in folklore and history. When she decided to write a book of her own, a fantasy book seemed a natural choice. Patricia graduated from Montana State University with degrees in history and German and she worked for a while as a substitute teacher. Currently, she lives in Montana with her husband, children, and six horses and writes full time, much to the delight of her fans.
Patricia Briggs was born in Butte, Montana, to a children’s librarian who passed on to her kids a love of reading and books. Patricia grew up reading fairy tales and books about horses, and later developed an interest in folklore and history. When she decided to write a book of her own, a fantasy book seemed a natural choice. Patricia graduated from Montana State University with degrees in history and German and she worked for a while as a substitute teacher. Currently, she lives in Montana with her husband, children, and six horses and writes full time, much to the delight of her fans.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 11,098 reviews
January 22, 2011
The cover is shit
PNR are all the same
Moon Called is still good.
What could be better than a Haiku review?
Well, other than a proper review, I guess...
The thing is, I did REALLY enjoy this book - it has a lot to recommend itself to readers with. Mercy is a nice character. She's not a complete badass but she's not a push over either.
There's a mystery - though the mystery was interesting it all came up kind of lame in the end.
The writing is pretty good and even though the world building is stock-standard, it was a fun read.
I guess the reason there isn't much to say is that these stories all tend to blend in together now.
Mercy, Merit, Mac, Cat, Elena, Dru, Rose, Sunshine, Kate...
Hell, I had to look up half the names because I'd forgotten them! It kind of makes me sad because, really, none of the above heroines really stick out from each other. They're all badass when they need to be, stubborn, strong, intelligent. There's nothing really individual about them. They all have some sort of super powers and attract the attention of some very nice literary eye candy.
I'm kind of waiting for a PNR character to stick out a bit. Why is it that the men in this genre as so much more interesting than the women? Clayton's a crazy, antisocial werewolf - I'd never have to look up his name. Barrons is mysterious and totally three different kinds of awesome! Curran is violent and overbearing but has that whole bad-tempered, territorial softie going for him while Ethan, with his shrivelled, black heart is fascinating because you slowly watch his humanity return. Then there's Bones who is probably the most unique out of them all.
Yet the men are all kind of the same too. They're all violent. At least it's an undercurrent of violence that hums beneath the surface. They're all painfully dominant, macho and likely to step all over the heroine if she doesn't use her attitude to make them back off. They all come to grudgingly respect their respective partners and are really passionate and demonstrative of their emotions.
The most annoying trend of these books is that, in all likelihood, I will need to wait until book 4 before any horizontal, nekkid tangoing occurs!
So whilst I will, no doubt, read the rest of this series and love every minute of it, I can’t help but bemoan the fact that it, so far, provides nothing new or interesting in a genre which proves that you literally can Write-By-Numbers.
You will 'like' this review
I so know that you do
Hit the button, bitch!
[image error]
If you don't, I'll send my pet T-Rex after you!
PNR are all the same
Moon Called is still good.
What could be better than a Haiku review?
Well, other than a proper review, I guess...
The thing is, I did REALLY enjoy this book - it has a lot to recommend itself to readers with. Mercy is a nice character. She's not a complete badass but she's not a push over either.
There's a mystery - though the mystery was interesting it all came up kind of lame in the end.
The writing is pretty good and even though the world building is stock-standard, it was a fun read.
I guess the reason there isn't much to say is that these stories all tend to blend in together now.
Mercy, Merit, Mac, Cat, Elena, Dru, Rose, Sunshine, Kate...
Hell, I had to look up half the names because I'd forgotten them! It kind of makes me sad because, really, none of the above heroines really stick out from each other. They're all badass when they need to be, stubborn, strong, intelligent. There's nothing really individual about them. They all have some sort of super powers and attract the attention of some very nice literary eye candy.
I'm kind of waiting for a PNR character to stick out a bit. Why is it that the men in this genre as so much more interesting than the women? Clayton's a crazy, antisocial werewolf - I'd never have to look up his name. Barrons is mysterious and totally three different kinds of awesome! Curran is violent and overbearing but has that whole bad-tempered, territorial softie going for him while Ethan, with his shrivelled, black heart is fascinating because you slowly watch his humanity return. Then there's Bones who is probably the most unique out of them all.
Yet the men are all kind of the same too. They're all violent. At least it's an undercurrent of violence that hums beneath the surface. They're all painfully dominant, macho and likely to step all over the heroine if she doesn't use her attitude to make them back off. They all come to grudgingly respect their respective partners and are really passionate and demonstrative of their emotions.
The most annoying trend of these books is that, in all likelihood, I will need to wait until book 4 before any horizontal, nekkid tangoing occurs!
So whilst I will, no doubt, read the rest of this series and love every minute of it, I can’t help but bemoan the fact that it, so far, provides nothing new or interesting in a genre which proves that you literally can Write-By-Numbers.
You will 'like' this review
I so know that you do
Hit the button, bitch!
[image error]
If you don't, I'll send my pet T-Rex after you!
February 13, 2008
It pains me to say this (and I may lose my "guy" cred), but I'm a big fan of the urban-fantasy sub-genre. While I tend to lean more towards male protagonists (i.e. Butcher's Dresdan Files and Green's Nightside series), I still love me a good, tough female protagonist. That being said, I was hesitant to pick this one up because of the abysmal Harlequin like cover. In my opinion, many of the current crop of urban-fantasy covers look like they belong in the romance section. Why do I even know what Harlequin is? Anyway, that being said, I'm glad I picked this one up. I thought the main character of Moon Called , Mercedes Thompson, is one of the more refreshing female characters I have come across in a long time. Her banter with the other werewolves is priceless, and writing good dialogue has always been Patricia Briggs strong point.
This is the story of werewolves, vampires and fae, and the struggle they find living in a modern world that has no place for them. This is the story of a young coyote named Mercy who lives among a male dominated werewolf pack, which views all women as being weak. Basically, this is all about struggle, loyalty, honor, friendship, love and fixing cars.
Moon Called is an inventive and fun read in a genre that is saturated with sameness. Much better than any current Anita Blake catastrophe, I happily recommend this one.
This is the story of werewolves, vampires and fae, and the struggle they find living in a modern world that has no place for them. This is the story of a young coyote named Mercy who lives among a male dominated werewolf pack, which views all women as being weak. Basically, this is all about struggle, loyalty, honor, friendship, love and fixing cars.
Moon Called is an inventive and fun read in a genre that is saturated with sameness. Much better than any current Anita Blake catastrophe, I happily recommend this one.
September 27, 2017
I'm still loving my favorite coyote shapeshifter! Mercy
I re-read this on audio and it was so strange listening to Lorelei King as the narrator. I was expecting Lula from Stephanie Plum to jump out at any moment! 😂But that is neither here nor there.
It was sweet going back and listening from the beginning. And the Mercy and Adam thing. Everything was just so weird but still loving it.
I missed Stefan and the scooby mobile images I always got. I think there is more of that in the next book though. I think I spelled his name wrong. Anyway. He's Mercy's vamp friends.
And there was Bran for the first time 😂 He's a mighty fine werewolf. SHUT-UP 😂
Now I get to read about Mercy and Adam falling in love all over again. ❤️
Mel ❤️
I re-read this on audio and it was so strange listening to Lorelei King as the narrator. I was expecting Lula from Stephanie Plum to jump out at any moment! 😂But that is neither here nor there.
It was sweet going back and listening from the beginning. And the Mercy and Adam thing. Everything was just so weird but still loving it.
I missed Stefan and the scooby mobile images I always got. I think there is more of that in the next book though. I think I spelled his name wrong. Anyway. He's Mercy's vamp friends.
And there was Bran for the first time 😂 He's a mighty fine werewolf. SHUT-UP 😂
Now I get to read about Mercy and Adam falling in love all over again. ❤️
Mel ❤️
April 20, 2018
After all the reviews I had read about this book, I though this series would be over the top. Everybody was giving 5 stars to this book, and for that very same reason I had high expectations for it. Maybe that was the problem...
It wasn't a bad read, just a VERY slow one. The first half of the book was REALLY boring and slow-paced, it only described the heroine and her life. Around page 100 comes this hot-sexy-alpha wolf who makes you think that the book is finally going to turn out more interesting; but then things get messed up when her previous lover appears.I was waiting for something to happen between Mercy and one of the two wolves, but it never did. The whole book was about problems with the Alpha's pack.
The book has some very good action, but if you are expecting some romance don't even try this one. The only thing that happens between Mercy and one of this wolves is a kiss on the last page. That's it. Seriously. There's cero chemistry between the characters, cero awkward moments, nothing. I kept reading because I thought that this would change, but it never did.
For most people the first book of a series always seems to be the worst because of all the world building information we get introduced to. Maybe it's just me, but after the second book, the feeling goes away and I get to enjoy a lot more the series. So I'll give the series another chance.
Don't get me wrong, it was a good book, I enjoyed reading it, it's just that I got bored most of the time. And Mercy really needs to get her love-life going on a bit faster and entertaining. Maybe I couldn't enjoyed this book as much as I wanted to because I read it after series like psy changeling, the Black dagger Brotherhood, the night huntress and the immortals after dark. Any of those were definitely much better than this one.
It wasn't a bad read, just a VERY slow one. The first half of the book was REALLY boring and slow-paced, it only described the heroine and her life. Around page 100 comes this hot-sexy-alpha wolf who makes you think that the book is finally going to turn out more interesting; but then things get messed up when her previous lover appears.I was waiting for something to happen between Mercy and one of the two wolves, but it never did. The whole book was about problems with the Alpha's pack.
The book has some very good action, but if you are expecting some romance don't even try this one. The only thing that happens between Mercy and one of this wolves is a kiss on the last page. That's it. Seriously. There's cero chemistry between the characters, cero awkward moments, nothing. I kept reading because I thought that this would change, but it never did.
For most people the first book of a series always seems to be the worst because of all the world building information we get introduced to. Maybe it's just me, but after the second book, the feeling goes away and I get to enjoy a lot more the series. So I'll give the series another chance.
Don't get me wrong, it was a good book, I enjoyed reading it, it's just that I got bored most of the time. And Mercy really needs to get her love-life going on a bit faster and entertaining. Maybe I couldn't enjoyed this book as much as I wanted to because I read it after series like psy changeling, the Black dagger Brotherhood, the night huntress and the immortals after dark. Any of those were definitely much better than this one.
April 19, 2021
► BR with my
MacHalo Freaks
starting Nov 15, 2015.
Note to self: you should review books right after reading them. When you don't you always end up lowering your original rating .
I should be bummed about this. I really should. And I should be wondering why most people in the universe LOVE this book. Well, most people except my dear daughter Liz, that is. But she takes after her amazing father (aka me), meaning she has pretty spectacular book taste ← this is not making any sense? It's okay, it shouldn't. And yes, I am perfectly sane, thank you very much. Anyway, I'm not bummed over this and I couldn't care less that I'm one of two people who didn't like this book. Why? Because my not liking it means I can take another series off my TBR shelf!!!!! Victory!!!!!
Okay, so I didn't like the book. It doesn't mean it's total crap though. It's not badly written. It's not a case of STOOPID. It's just an unimpressive, big ol' MEH. And I'm afraid meh has come to mean deadly in my world. Deadly boring and deadly lacking inspiration. So much so that I don't have much to say about it. So we'll just stick to ashort list of pros and cons, shall we?
① Mercy Thompson is a coyote
No, she's not a coyote ALL the time, you silly. She's a walker. Yes, the Jane Yellowrock type of walker. Only that Mercy kind of sucks since she can only turn into one animal instead of a whole zoo like our dear girl Jane. But hey, I still like Mercy more than I do Jane-the-tea-snob-and-walking-contradiction. Anyway, the whole coyote thing is pretty cool and a lot more refreshing than your basic were-stuff. That's good. Yes. It really is. Absolutely ← this is me trying to think of anything else I like about Mercy. But failing miserably.
② Mercy Thompson is a car mechanic
Hey! The chin rubbing scheme worked! I just remembered something else I liked about Mercy! Yay me! So yes, I do like the fact that she's a car mechanic. That's surprisingly refreshing fact #2 for you. I don't understand why Briggs felt the need to mention she had a history degree, though. Is that supposed to make her appear more intelligent? Because car mechanics without a degree are supposed to be stupid? Huh. It doesn't add much to her character so I don't really understand what purpose it serves. Much like the "I'm religious, I go to church every Sunday, blah blah blah" side of her persona. It doesn't make much sense and doesn't really fit her character either. I don't know, the whole thing just feels weird and I don't understand where it's coming from (her foster parents? Her Pack upbringing? Huh again). It simply doesn't add up in my little head. Hey, wait a minute. This is supposed to be the cons section, right? Right. That's what I thought. Be positive Sarah, be positive. You can do this. There must be tons of other pros here.
③ Trying to think of something… Trying to think of something…
Oops, sorry. Definitely not working. Moving on.
① The boredom fest
The premise is interesting enough but the book is a big, huge YAWN. Your basic, unoriginal UF story (unoriginal, boring werewolves! Unoriginal, boring vampires! Unoriginal, boring fae! Yay! ☢ sarcasm alert ☢ ) + WAY too many detailed descriptions of EVERYTHING + uninteresting digressions galore + slow-paced plot =
② The most resistible, lackluster, unexciting, uninspired male characters ever
Not a single harem candidate here. Not. A. One. Quite an achievement when you think that, apart from Mercy and a 15 year old kid, it's an all-male cast. Well done, Ms Briggs! I'd say that 95% of your male characters are boring as hell. Okay, I guess Zee is alright but I can't say he's that fascinating either. Stefan and his Mystery Machine might have potential but you don't get to see much of him here (and no, I won't bother with the rest of the series just to find out how hot he supposedly is). Then we have Samuel, who is not only boring but also a complete douchebag. He thinks he knows better than anyone else, too! Because, you know, he's a DOCTOR. Wow. I'm so impressed right now ☢ sarcasm alert ☢
Anyone else not worth mentioning? You bet! Bran, the most boring Alpha ever and his buddy Adam, most boring Alpha ever #2. I swear these two must be the less imposing, awe-inspiring, frightening, fearsome Alphas in the history of Alphas. Gentlemen, may I suggest a 6-month internship at the Keep with His Furriness? I'm pretty sure it would work wonders for you and your less than intimidating personas. Have faith! Believe! You can do this! You can be scary baddasses, too! Maybe. In another life. Or something.
→ Okay, so you're wolves and not lions. Could you please stop being so ridiculously detailed-oriented for a minute? Besides, you could definitely use a little RAWR practice. Trust me on that one.
③ The Love Triangle of Death
What's worse than a Love Triangle of Death? A Love Triangle of Death with two male characters that have less personality than barnacles. Yet another outstanding achievement on Ms Brigg's part. You have to admit it really takes a lot of talent to make a love triangle yawning material. Love triangles in books tend to bring out the homicidal maniac in me and I feel the sudden urge to stab a few things whenever I come across one. But here? The love triangle is as unexciting and dull as the rest of the book. I do not give a damn about the love interests. I do not give a damn who Mercy ends up with.
Actually, I'd be more excited if she ended up dating Medea the cat. No, I am not kidding here. I mean, the cat is named Medea! Isn't that awesome in itself?! Medea rocks, people! I'm pretty sure it's Brigg's only inspired idea here. More inspired than her choosing Mercy's freaking neighbour, Adam, as a love interest. Especially since the guy acts like he's her father most of the time. But even less inspired is the idea of ridiculous Samuel wanting to have Mercy for her BABIES. GAH. GAH. GAH. ← this might remind the most ancient GR users of this. Now try to get it out of your head. You're welcome. At this point in the story I seriously considered putting a bullet through my little head. Then I got distracted because one of my eyeballs popped out of its socket after eyerolling too much. Sigh. Reading can be such a painful physical experience sometimes.
④ The emotional wasteland
Since first writing this review, I've been trying to understand why this book didn't work for me. Sure, I thought it was boring, didn't like the male characters and blah blah blah. But there was something else I couldn't put my finger on. And then last night, TADA, I saw the light! Sudden flash of inspiration and all that! I think it all comes down to the absolute flatness of it all. The characters are about as emotional as rocks. I'm pretty sure zombies have more life in them than the comatose bunch on display here. No matter what happened, I never felt anything and couldn't bring myself to care: Mercy is supposed to have conflicted feelings over Samuel? Okay, I believe you. Mercy was supposedly scared to death during the scene with the vampire mistress? If you say so. She is supposed to feel something (whatever it might me) for Adam? Sure, right, of course. No emotion, no passion, no warmth, no sympathy, no intensity, no pleasure, no pain, no excitement, NOTHING. This book is flatline paradise.
►► Okay, it's recap time here: we have one pro, another pro that is a con in disguise, and 4 cons. Sounds like a total winner to me. Bye bye, Mercy Thompson, it was nice not reading the rest of your adventures.
· Book 2: Blood Bound ★★ ← I didn't want toDNF read it! They forced me!
Note to self: you should review books right after reading them. When you don't you always end up lowering your original rating .
I should be bummed about this. I really should. And I should be wondering why most people in the universe LOVE this book. Well, most people except my dear daughter Liz, that is. But she takes after her amazing father (aka me), meaning she has pretty spectacular book taste ← this is not making any sense? It's okay, it shouldn't. And yes, I am perfectly sane, thank you very much. Anyway, I'm not bummed over this and I couldn't care less that I'm one of two people who didn't like this book. Why? Because my not liking it means I can take another series off my TBR shelf!!!!! Victory!!!!!
Okay, so I didn't like the book. It doesn't mean it's total crap though. It's not badly written. It's not a case of STOOPID. It's just an unimpressive, big ol' MEH. And I'm afraid meh has come to mean deadly in my world. Deadly boring and deadly lacking inspiration. So much so that I don't have much to say about it. So we'll just stick to a
① Mercy Thompson is a coyote
No, she's not a coyote ALL the time, you silly. She's a walker. Yes, the Jane Yellowrock type of walker. Only that Mercy kind of sucks since she can only turn into one animal instead of a whole zoo like our dear girl Jane. But hey, I still like Mercy more than I do Jane-the-tea-snob-and-walking-contradiction. Anyway, the whole coyote thing is pretty cool and a lot more refreshing than your basic were-stuff. That's good. Yes. It really is. Absolutely ← this is me trying to think of anything else I like about Mercy. But failing miserably.
② Mercy Thompson is a car mechanic
Hey! The chin rubbing scheme worked! I just remembered something else I liked about Mercy! Yay me! So yes, I do like the fact that she's a car mechanic. That's surprisingly refreshing fact #2 for you. I don't understand why Briggs felt the need to mention she had a history degree, though. Is that supposed to make her appear more intelligent? Because car mechanics without a degree are supposed to be stupid? Huh. It doesn't add much to her character so I don't really understand what purpose it serves. Much like the "I'm religious, I go to church every Sunday, blah blah blah" side of her persona. It doesn't make much sense and doesn't really fit her character either. I don't know, the whole thing just feels weird and I don't understand where it's coming from (her foster parents? Her Pack upbringing? Huh again). It simply doesn't add up in my little head. Hey, wait a minute. This is supposed to be the cons section, right? Right. That's what I thought. Be positive Sarah, be positive. You can do this. There must be tons of other pros here.
③ Trying to think of something… Trying to think of something…
Oops, sorry. Definitely not working. Moving on.
① The boredom fest
The premise is interesting enough but the book is a big, huge YAWN. Your basic, unoriginal UF story (unoriginal, boring werewolves! Unoriginal, boring vampires! Unoriginal, boring fae! Yay! ☢ sarcasm alert ☢ ) + WAY too many detailed descriptions of EVERYTHING + uninteresting digressions galore + slow-paced plot =
② The most resistible, lackluster, unexciting, uninspired male characters ever
Not a single harem candidate here. Not. A. One. Quite an achievement when you think that, apart from Mercy and a 15 year old kid, it's an all-male cast. Well done, Ms Briggs! I'd say that 95% of your male characters are boring as hell. Okay, I guess Zee is alright but I can't say he's that fascinating either. Stefan and his Mystery Machine might have potential but you don't get to see much of him here (and no, I won't bother with the rest of the series just to find out how hot he supposedly is). Then we have Samuel, who is not only boring but also a complete douchebag. He thinks he knows better than anyone else, too! Because, you know, he's a DOCTOR. Wow. I'm so impressed right now ☢ sarcasm alert ☢
Anyone else not worth mentioning? You bet! Bran, the most boring Alpha ever and his buddy Adam, most boring Alpha ever #2. I swear these two must be the less imposing, awe-inspiring, frightening, fearsome Alphas in the history of Alphas. Gentlemen, may I suggest a 6-month internship at the Keep with His Furriness? I'm pretty sure it would work wonders for you and your less than intimidating personas. Have faith! Believe! You can do this! You can be scary baddasses, too! Maybe. In another life. Or something.
→ Okay, so you're wolves and not lions. Could you please stop being so ridiculously detailed-oriented for a minute? Besides, you could definitely use a little RAWR practice. Trust me on that one.
③ The Love Triangle of Death
What's worse than a Love Triangle of Death? A Love Triangle of Death with two male characters that have less personality than barnacles. Yet another outstanding achievement on Ms Brigg's part. You have to admit it really takes a lot of talent to make a love triangle yawning material. Love triangles in books tend to bring out the homicidal maniac in me and I feel the sudden urge to stab a few things whenever I come across one. But here? The love triangle is as unexciting and dull as the rest of the book. I do not give a damn about the love interests. I do not give a damn who Mercy ends up with.
Actually, I'd be more excited if she ended up dating Medea the cat. No, I am not kidding here. I mean, the cat is named Medea! Isn't that awesome in itself?! Medea rocks, people! I'm pretty sure it's Brigg's only inspired idea here. More inspired than her choosing Mercy's freaking neighbour, Adam, as a love interest. Especially since the guy acts like he's her father most of the time. But even less inspired is the idea of ridiculous Samuel wanting to have Mercy for her BABIES. GAH. GAH. GAH. ← this might remind the most ancient GR users of this. Now try to get it out of your head. You're welcome. At this point in the story I seriously considered putting a bullet through my little head. Then I got distracted because one of my eyeballs popped out of its socket after eyerolling too much. Sigh. Reading can be such a painful physical experience sometimes.
④ The emotional wasteland
Since first writing this review, I've been trying to understand why this book didn't work for me. Sure, I thought it was boring, didn't like the male characters and blah blah blah. But there was something else I couldn't put my finger on. And then last night, TADA, I saw the light! Sudden flash of inspiration and all that! I think it all comes down to the absolute flatness of it all. The characters are about as emotional as rocks. I'm pretty sure zombies have more life in them than the comatose bunch on display here. No matter what happened, I never felt anything and couldn't bring myself to care: Mercy is supposed to have conflicted feelings over Samuel? Okay, I believe you. Mercy was supposedly scared to death during the scene with the vampire mistress? If you say so. She is supposed to feel something (whatever it might me) for Adam? Sure, right, of course. No emotion, no passion, no warmth, no sympathy, no intensity, no pleasure, no pain, no excitement, NOTHING. This book is flatline paradise.
►► Okay, it's recap time here: we have one pro, another pro that is a con in disguise, and 4 cons. Sounds like a total winner to me. Bye bye, Mercy Thompson, it was nice not reading the rest of your adventures.
· Book 2: Blood Bound ★★ ← I didn't want to
April 11, 2020
Dance when the moon sings, and don't cry about troubles that haven't yet come.
This review is so long overdue, as I read this book twice within a year and am still just now getting around to typing up my thoughts! Don't let that make you think for a moment, though, that it's because I don't have anything to say about Moon Called, because believe you me, I do. Some back-story here: paranormal fantasy was one of my favorite genres as a teen, but when I hit adulthood, it became popular for people to make fun of the genre (thanks, Twilight), and I'm willing to admit that peer pressure shoved me right out of my love for books like this. Now, at 26, I'm so glad I've learned to stop giving a crap about what other people think of my taste in books, because damn, Mercy Thompson is fun.
"Love thy enemies," it says in the scriptures. My foster mother always added, "At the very least, you will be polite to them."
Patricia Briggs just has this writing style I can't help but love. It's not flowery or over-the-top; it's just quick-paced, enjoyable, and full of character development. At the time that I'm writing this review, I've read a few of her novellas and two novels (like I said, having read this one twice), and there's never been a bored moment for me in any of them. In fact, it's the opposite — I find that once I pick up a Patricia Briggs story, I can't stand putting it down until it's over.
Samuel's shoulders shook slightly. "I can see it now, Mercy holding a roomful of vampires at bay with her glowing sheep."
It's not just that the plot was fun (though it was), but more than anything, these characters are so immediately lovable that I couldn't possibly have disliked this book. Mercy is so to-the-point and down to business, and she's surrounded by the best side characters, whether it's Samuel's witty jokes or Adam's quiet sarcasm, or even Bran's general state of "I don't have to show off because I already know I can kick your ass to kingdom come" living. The pack dynamics are pretty solid, too; there's a lot of emphasis on how the alphas aren't just there to boss everyone around, but they're also protectors and leaders, and it makes for a really good time.
"Don't lick the guests, darling. Bad manners."
There's also a slew of non-werewolf/shifter characters, such as the fae folk and vampires, which I think is such a fun addition. I feel like, as a teen, all of the werewolf books I read were just about wolves, or maybe about wolves and vamps, but never fae folk, etc. It could easily get overwhelming with the vast number of characters you meet in this fairly short novel, but Patricia Briggs has this way of giving them all such distinct personalities that I never struggled to keep anyone separate.
"Mine," he said.
"I don't think so. She is mine."
It would have been flattering, I thought, except that at least one of them was talking about dinner...
———
MercyVerse — Author's Order (MT, A&O, novellas, etc.):
novellas: in progress
GN — Homecoming: ★★★☆☆
MT — #1 Moon Called: ★★★★☆
AO — #0.5 Alpha & Omega: ★★★★☆
AO — #1 Cry Wolf: ★★★★★
AO — #2 Hunting Ground:
MT — #2 Blood Bound:
MT — #3 Iron Kissed:
MT — #4 Bone Crossed:
MT — #5 Silver Borne:
MT — #6 River Marked:
AO — #3 Fair Game:
MT — #7 Frost Burned:
AO — #4 Dead Heat:
MT — #8 Night Broken:
MT — #9 Fire Touched:
MT — #10 Silence Fallen:
AO — #5 Burn Bright:
November 12, 2010
What a great addition to the urban fantasy genre. Mercy is a likeable and engaging protagonist. She doesn't come off as invincible and inhuman in her buttkicking abilities, yet at the same time, she is comfortable in her own skin and can hold her own.
The universe is interesting, much like the world we live in, save the addition of preternatural creatues such as werewolves, vampires, fae, and coyote shifters like Mercy, which seem quite rare.
I enjoyed the description of the pack dynamics and Mercy doesn't quite fit into the werewolf packs, yet at the same time is an integral part of them. She has an interesting relationship with the Marrok, Bran, who is the acknowleged leader of all the werewolves in North America, and somewhat like a father figure to Mercy, Samuel, the firstborn of Bran, who Mercy almost married/mated to, and Adam, the alpha of the pack of werewolves where Mercy lives, in the Tri-Cities area. Out of the three, Adam is my favorite. He was very attractive to me in his personality and how he interacted with Mercy. I can't get enough of him. Samuel also had some seductive traits to me. He is strong but gentle at the same time. He clearly has feelings for Mercy that are unresolved. There are other secondary characters that truly caught my interest and that I want to read more about. Mercy has an interesting relationship with both Adam and Sam, and that is sure to play a major role in later installments. I much say Mercy is surrounded by beautiful, powerful, intriguing men (of various origins).
I like the way Briggs' made Mercy stand out. She saved Adam's life more than once, but she is also very aware of her limitations. Mercy's an auto mechanic and runs her own shop, which is how she gets entangled in the situation that arises in this book. It's great to see a heroine who has such dimensions to her.
The magic elements were arresting, particularly as this book showed the magic of the werewolf and the pack, how their strength draws from the alpha and gives back to him. It was really enjoyable to read about. As a werewolf lover, this did my heart good. There are also some vampire elements in this book for those who are of the fang persuasion. And yes, for the faery lovers, there's even a little of that sprinkled in this book. Although this was not a long book, it was a veritable hearty meal for urban fantasy lovers.
All in all, a great start to a series that I definitely want to continue reading.
The universe is interesting, much like the world we live in, save the addition of preternatural creatues such as werewolves, vampires, fae, and coyote shifters like Mercy, which seem quite rare.
I enjoyed the description of the pack dynamics and Mercy doesn't quite fit into the werewolf packs, yet at the same time is an integral part of them. She has an interesting relationship with the Marrok, Bran, who is the acknowleged leader of all the werewolves in North America, and somewhat like a father figure to Mercy, Samuel, the firstborn of Bran, who Mercy almost married/mated to, and Adam, the alpha of the pack of werewolves where Mercy lives, in the Tri-Cities area. Out of the three, Adam is my favorite. He was very attractive to me in his personality and how he interacted with Mercy. I can't get enough of him. Samuel also had some seductive traits to me. He is strong but gentle at the same time. He clearly has feelings for Mercy that are unresolved. There are other secondary characters that truly caught my interest and that I want to read more about. Mercy has an interesting relationship with both Adam and Sam, and that is sure to play a major role in later installments. I much say Mercy is surrounded by beautiful, powerful, intriguing men (of various origins).
I like the way Briggs' made Mercy stand out. She saved Adam's life more than once, but she is also very aware of her limitations. Mercy's an auto mechanic and runs her own shop, which is how she gets entangled in the situation that arises in this book. It's great to see a heroine who has such dimensions to her.
The magic elements were arresting, particularly as this book showed the magic of the werewolf and the pack, how their strength draws from the alpha and gives back to him. It was really enjoyable to read about. As a werewolf lover, this did my heart good. There are also some vampire elements in this book for those who are of the fang persuasion. And yes, for the faery lovers, there's even a little of that sprinkled in this book. Although this was not a long book, it was a veritable hearty meal for urban fantasy lovers.
All in all, a great start to a series that I definitely want to continue reading.
May 23, 2016
It's now been a decade since Moon Called was published, and it remains a solid, reliable series in the urban fantasy genre. My first time reading it, I pretty much loved it. It has steady action, an intriguing female lead and decent world-building. It also has a gentle romantic build, a relief in a genre that is frequently focused paranormal sexy-times. If it is a little predictable, it's with the assurance that the experience will be satisfying and familiar, the literary equivalent of homemade bread.
Mercy is a half Native-American who is able to shapeshift into coyote form. She is a mechanic who owns her own business, thanks to the assistance of Zee, a metalsmith gremlin Fae who recently retired when the lesser Fae were forced to 'come out.' Although werewolves still live a secret existence, Mercy knows there is a large pack in the area, ever since Adam, pack leader, built a house on the property next to her trailer. When a newly-made werewolf shows up on Mercy's doorstep, she takes steps to protect him and facilitate his entry into the local pack. Unfortunately, disaster soon strikes with Adam and the pack being attacked, and Mercy finds herself drawn into protecting Adam. Helping him will mean dealing with emotional ties left hanging from her teenage years.
World-building is decent, as it attempts to integrate the creatures and powers of urban fantasy into a more mundane world. The idea of reservations for fae is intriguing, and will come to play later in the series. Vampires are given a standard horror-tinged persona, with the exception of Stephen, a vampire with an affection for Mercy. Language sophistication is average to above; Mercy has a degree in history and a couple years of German language, so she's able to bring insight and perspective to the mythos around her. As a first book and introduction to the world-premise, there's a lot of set-up. I felt most of it did not seem overly intrusive; in the beginning, Mercy distracts the young wolf with information about the pack, and then further information is given in context of Mercy's own history. There is a lot of hints for future development with both Fae and vampires.
There's a lot here that's solid, even if it has become somewhat stereotypical for the genre. While Mercy could be characterized as a 'Speshul Snowflake,' I think Briggs takes definite steps to mitigate the characterization through acknowledging the physical power difference of the coyote and her generally reduced physical abilities compared to werewolves. It's also clear that to know Mercy is not necessarily to love her (in contrast to Meg in The Others series by Bishop). While the female antagonism in the story could be a detraction--the story fails the Bechdel test--it's origin in Mercy's potential fertility has the potential for interesting metaphors about female empowerment. As expected for the genre, Mercy finds herself the focus of interest by two different and powerful werewolves. To her credit, she's pretty consistent in reminding them she actually belongs to no one but herself.
It isn't an edgy, boundary-pushing series, nor is it filled with one-liners or ass-kicking. It's a quieter, solid little story; the literary equivalent of warm homemade bread with butter. It holds up to re-reading, and as a final ring of endorsement, was worth hardcover inclusion in my library.
Re-read May 2016
Mercy is a half Native-American who is able to shapeshift into coyote form. She is a mechanic who owns her own business, thanks to the assistance of Zee, a metalsmith gremlin Fae who recently retired when the lesser Fae were forced to 'come out.' Although werewolves still live a secret existence, Mercy knows there is a large pack in the area, ever since Adam, pack leader, built a house on the property next to her trailer. When a newly-made werewolf shows up on Mercy's doorstep, she takes steps to protect him and facilitate his entry into the local pack. Unfortunately, disaster soon strikes with Adam and the pack being attacked, and Mercy finds herself drawn into protecting Adam. Helping him will mean dealing with emotional ties left hanging from her teenage years.
World-building is decent, as it attempts to integrate the creatures and powers of urban fantasy into a more mundane world. The idea of reservations for fae is intriguing, and will come to play later in the series. Vampires are given a standard horror-tinged persona, with the exception of Stephen, a vampire with an affection for Mercy. Language sophistication is average to above; Mercy has a degree in history and a couple years of German language, so she's able to bring insight and perspective to the mythos around her. As a first book and introduction to the world-premise, there's a lot of set-up. I felt most of it did not seem overly intrusive; in the beginning, Mercy distracts the young wolf with information about the pack, and then further information is given in context of Mercy's own history. There is a lot of hints for future development with both Fae and vampires.
There's a lot here that's solid, even if it has become somewhat stereotypical for the genre. While Mercy could be characterized as a 'Speshul Snowflake,' I think Briggs takes definite steps to mitigate the characterization through acknowledging the physical power difference of the coyote and her generally reduced physical abilities compared to werewolves. It's also clear that to know Mercy is not necessarily to love her (in contrast to Meg in The Others series by Bishop). While the female antagonism in the story could be a detraction--the story fails the Bechdel test--it's origin in Mercy's potential fertility has the potential for interesting metaphors about female empowerment. As expected for the genre, Mercy finds herself the focus of interest by two different and powerful werewolves. To her credit, she's pretty consistent in reminding them she actually belongs to no one but herself.
It isn't an edgy, boundary-pushing series, nor is it filled with one-liners or ass-kicking. It's a quieter, solid little story; the literary equivalent of warm homemade bread with butter. It holds up to re-reading, and as a final ring of endorsement, was worth hardcover inclusion in my library.
Re-read May 2016
July 31, 2017
Buddy Read (or re-read, in my case) with Kat, Krishna, Sara, and Sesana.
Disclaimer: I may have bullied them into reading this...
All of these guys gave it a 'gentle' 3 stars. Even Sesana was kind. Thank you!
So, with none of my pals really loving this one, coupled with the fact that I read it 5 years ago, I was fully prepared to change my rating from the original 4 stars.
I did tend to rate things a bit on the high side back in the day...
But I still loved it!
Maybe part of the reason is nostalgia? Maybe it's because I've continued with the series over the years, and the characters have changed and grown, so it's nice to take another peek back at where it all started?
Or maybe it's just my kind of book, and I still love it?
*shrugs*
Who knows?
I had totally forgotten everything that happened in this story, though.
Thanks to my poor memory, it was like I was reading a brand new book!
Bonus!
Here are the 2 main things I like about Mercy:
1. She's not all-powerful. In fact, most of the time, she's the weakest person in the room. So going up against werewolves, vampires, or fae isn't something that she is expected to do.
The strong must protect the weak...and all that.
She does it because she cares about people, and it's the right thing to do.
Which makes her really brave, in my book.
2. She knows when to back down from a fight.
I can't tell you how annoyed I get with some of the heroes or heroines in books. The ones who don't have the good sense God gave them to know when to shut up, stand down, and eat a little humble pie.
Must. Prove. I'm. A. Badass!
It's a lot harder to back down when you're angry than it is to mouth off.
However, sometimes it's the better part of wisdom.
As long as a character is backing down to avoid a bloodbath, it makes me like them a great deal more than the idiots whose pride won't let them take an insult.
Whatever the reason, Mercy's my kind of gal.
I'm sticking with the original 4 stars!
The only real problem I have with this one is the cover.
In an embarrassing turn of events, my son picked it up to see what I was reading. And then proceeded to laugh at the cheesy PNRish cover.
Kid: Let me guess. She hates her parents?
Me: Why would you think that?
Kid: She's coated in tattoos. Probably did it to piss her parents off.
Me: Um? *looks down a tiny tattoo on ankle*
Kid: And she's Native American, obviously, because of the feather earring.
Me: Uh-huh.
Kid: No offense, Mom, but she looks really slutty.
Me: Ok...well, I'm not really sure what they're trying to say with that cover.
Kid: I do. *snorts* Perverts, come read me!
Me: *blushes...snatches book away*
Don't you have homework to do, or something?!
Disclaimer: I may have bullied them into reading this...
All of these guys gave it a 'gentle' 3 stars. Even Sesana was kind. Thank you!
So, with none of my pals really loving this one, coupled with the fact that I read it 5 years ago, I was fully prepared to change my rating from the original 4 stars.
I did tend to rate things a bit on the high side back in the day...
But I still loved it!
Maybe part of the reason is nostalgia? Maybe it's because I've continued with the series over the years, and the characters have changed and grown, so it's nice to take another peek back at where it all started?
Or maybe it's just my kind of book, and I still love it?
*shrugs*
Who knows?
I had totally forgotten everything that happened in this story, though.
Thanks to my poor memory, it was like I was reading a brand new book!
Bonus!
Here are the 2 main things I like about Mercy:
1. She's not all-powerful. In fact, most of the time, she's the weakest person in the room. So going up against werewolves, vampires, or fae isn't something that she is expected to do.
The strong must protect the weak...and all that.
She does it because she cares about people, and it's the right thing to do.
Which makes her really brave, in my book.
2. She knows when to back down from a fight.
I can't tell you how annoyed I get with some of the heroes or heroines in books. The ones who don't have the good sense God gave them to know when to shut up, stand down, and eat a little humble pie.
Must. Prove. I'm. A. Badass!
It's a lot harder to back down when you're angry than it is to mouth off.
However, sometimes it's the better part of wisdom.
As long as a character is backing down to avoid a bloodbath, it makes me like them a great deal more than the idiots whose pride won't let them take an insult.
Whatever the reason, Mercy's my kind of gal.
I'm sticking with the original 4 stars!
The only real problem I have with this one is the cover.
In an embarrassing turn of events, my son picked it up to see what I was reading. And then proceeded to laugh at the cheesy PNRish cover.
Kid: Let me guess. She hates her parents?
Me: Why would you think that?
Kid: She's coated in tattoos. Probably did it to piss her parents off.
Me: Um? *looks down a tiny tattoo on ankle*
Kid: And she's Native American, obviously, because of the feather earring.
Me: Uh-huh.
Kid: No offense, Mom, but she looks really slutty.
Me: Ok...well, I'm not really sure what they're trying to say with that cover.
Kid: I do. *snorts* Perverts, come read me!
Me: *blushes...snatches book away*
Don't you have homework to do, or something?!
March 1, 2010
After attempting to read "Moon Called" at least 5 times I am finally giving up. There is absolutely no chance I will ever read the sequels, so why bother?
I am a fan of urban fantasy and this novel is very highly rated by readers, so it is surprising that I disliked it so much. My expectations for urban fantasy are not huge: well developed lore, engaging paranormal mystery and one or two sexy supernatural hunks to swoon over. I don't care how formulaic it is, as long as it is written well.
"Moon Called" managed to disappoint me on all fronts. I found Mercy's world uninteresting, messy in its blend of weres, vamps, fae, and witchcraft, its introduction awkward, the entire concept of weres being immortal and people becoming young again after turning was contrived, and constant dominant-submissive explanations were extremely boring. The mystery took way too much time to get to. As for hunks, I was pretty much over the story when I found out one of two Mercy's love interests was almost 200 years older than her and was trying to marry her when she was 16 to get him some werepups. Mercy, for all her supposed toughness, cried every two pages and acted rather immaturely. And lastly, there was absolutely no romance/smut in this book and won't be, from what I've heard, until book 4 (but there will be a in book 3). Who cares to read this kind of urban fantasy? I know I don't.
I am a fan of urban fantasy and this novel is very highly rated by readers, so it is surprising that I disliked it so much. My expectations for urban fantasy are not huge: well developed lore, engaging paranormal mystery and one or two sexy supernatural hunks to swoon over. I don't care how formulaic it is, as long as it is written well.
"Moon Called" managed to disappoint me on all fronts. I found Mercy's world uninteresting, messy in its blend of weres, vamps, fae, and witchcraft, its introduction awkward, the entire concept of weres being immortal and people becoming young again after turning was contrived, and constant dominant-submissive explanations were extremely boring. The mystery took way too much time to get to. As for hunks, I was pretty much over the story when I found out one of two Mercy's love interests was almost 200 years older than her and was trying to marry her when she was 16 to get him some werepups. Mercy, for all her supposed toughness, cried every two pages and acted rather immaturely. And lastly, there was absolutely no romance/smut in this book and won't be, from what I've heard, until book 4 (but there will be a in book 3). Who cares to read this kind of urban fantasy? I know I don't.
March 28, 2020
March 2020 reread, just because. I think I'm going to end up rereading the whole series. :)
Full review, first posted at www.fantasyliterature.com:
Mercy Thompson is an anomaly: a female automobile mechanic who owns her own shop, half Native American, and ― in a world with werewolves, vampires, fae and other supernatural beings ― she is one of a very few “walkers,” or skinwalkers, able to easily shapeshift into a coyote at will, without regard to phases of the moon. When Mercy surprised her human mother by turning into a coyote pup when she was three months old, her mother, not knowing what else to do, turned her over to be raised by a werewolf pack. Mercy left the pack as a teenager, but still is watched over by the werewolves, particularly Adam Hauptman, the alpha werewolf who shares her back fence line and with whom she has a sometimes uneasy alliance. Their relationship is a confusing mix of attraction and, on Mercy’s side, bravado tinged with fear that the alpha werewolf will override her free will and autonomy.
When a starving teenage boy shows up at Mercy’s garage asking for food and work, her acute sense of smell tells her that he’s a werewolf. She realizes that the boy, who calls himself Mac, understands nothing about werewolf society and rules and needs Adam’s help to survive and thrive. The problem of Mac becomes more acute when two strange men show up and try to recapture Mac to take him back to their enclave. Mercy overhears them arguing about cages and drugs, and she determinedly intervenes to rescue Mac from the threatening strangers, but the situation turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined. Mercy soon needs to return to her original werewolf pack for help ― even though it means that she will need to face Samuel, the werewolf that she loved and left as a sixteen year old.
The plot of this first book in the Mercy Thompson series revolves around a mystery: who is creating new werewolves in such an uncontrolled and dangerous manner, and why? I found this mystery to be the weakest element in the book, with a resolution that didn’t entirely hold water. Also unfortunately, the overused love triangle trope is part of the plot of Moon Called, but at least it’s got a decent rationale and isn’t oversold. I appreciated that this book is not sexually explicit, which is a refreshing change of pace in the urban fantasy genre.
It’s been interesting taking on Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series after reading several books in Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series. Although both series feature entertaining, well-developed urban fantasy worlds and with strong women protagonists, Mercy is more vulnerable and unsure of herself than Kate Daniels, as John also notes with approval in his review. Kate is great fun with her enormous kickass abilities, but Mercy is ultimately the more believable character. Her intelligent, no-nonsense narration is one of the strengths of Moon Called. I admire the tremendous scope of imagination the Ilona Andrews team has shown in creating Kate’s world, but I also appreciate the more realistic (if one can say that of an urban fantasy), down-to-earth world of Mercy Thompson.
3.5 stars.
Initial post/mini review: For some reason I read the second book in this Mercy Thompson series first (oh, yeah, this book was checked out at the library at the time, and I really wanted to try out this urban fantasy series). I liked it pretty well, but I have to say everything just made so much more sense once I finally got around to checking out this book! In fact, I actually checked out the second book again, as well as the third book, just so I could put all of the pieces together. So, don't do like I did. Start here, at the beginning. But keep going even if you're not terribly impressed with this first book; they get better as they go along.
If you like urban fantasy, with werewolves and vampires and suchlike (this one also throws in fae and witches), this is a worthwhile one. We've already got a love triangle starting here that lasts at least through the second book, so minus some points for that, but at least it's got some decent reasoning behind it and isn't oversold.
Full review, first posted at www.fantasyliterature.com:
Mercy Thompson is an anomaly: a female automobile mechanic who owns her own shop, half Native American, and ― in a world with werewolves, vampires, fae and other supernatural beings ― she is one of a very few “walkers,” or skinwalkers, able to easily shapeshift into a coyote at will, without regard to phases of the moon. When Mercy surprised her human mother by turning into a coyote pup when she was three months old, her mother, not knowing what else to do, turned her over to be raised by a werewolf pack. Mercy left the pack as a teenager, but still is watched over by the werewolves, particularly Adam Hauptman, the alpha werewolf who shares her back fence line and with whom she has a sometimes uneasy alliance. Their relationship is a confusing mix of attraction and, on Mercy’s side, bravado tinged with fear that the alpha werewolf will override her free will and autonomy.
When a starving teenage boy shows up at Mercy’s garage asking for food and work, her acute sense of smell tells her that he’s a werewolf. She realizes that the boy, who calls himself Mac, understands nothing about werewolf society and rules and needs Adam’s help to survive and thrive. The problem of Mac becomes more acute when two strange men show up and try to recapture Mac to take him back to their enclave. Mercy overhears them arguing about cages and drugs, and she determinedly intervenes to rescue Mac from the threatening strangers, but the situation turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined. Mercy soon needs to return to her original werewolf pack for help ― even though it means that she will need to face Samuel, the werewolf that she loved and left as a sixteen year old.
The plot of this first book in the Mercy Thompson series revolves around a mystery: who is creating new werewolves in such an uncontrolled and dangerous manner, and why? I found this mystery to be the weakest element in the book, with a resolution that didn’t entirely hold water. Also unfortunately, the overused love triangle trope is part of the plot of Moon Called, but at least it’s got a decent rationale and isn’t oversold. I appreciated that this book is not sexually explicit, which is a refreshing change of pace in the urban fantasy genre.
It’s been interesting taking on Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series after reading several books in Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series. Although both series feature entertaining, well-developed urban fantasy worlds and with strong women protagonists, Mercy is more vulnerable and unsure of herself than Kate Daniels, as John also notes with approval in his review. Kate is great fun with her enormous kickass abilities, but Mercy is ultimately the more believable character. Her intelligent, no-nonsense narration is one of the strengths of Moon Called. I admire the tremendous scope of imagination the Ilona Andrews team has shown in creating Kate’s world, but I also appreciate the more realistic (if one can say that of an urban fantasy), down-to-earth world of Mercy Thompson.
3.5 stars.
Initial post/mini review: For some reason I read the second book in this Mercy Thompson series first (oh, yeah, this book was checked out at the library at the time, and I really wanted to try out this urban fantasy series). I liked it pretty well, but I have to say everything just made so much more sense once I finally got around to checking out this book! In fact, I actually checked out the second book again, as well as the third book, just so I could put all of the pieces together. So, don't do like I did. Start here, at the beginning. But keep going even if you're not terribly impressed with this first book; they get better as they go along.
If you like urban fantasy, with werewolves and vampires and suchlike (this one also throws in fae and witches), this is a worthwhile one. We've already got a love triangle starting here that lasts at least through the second book, so minus some points for that, but at least it's got some decent reasoning behind it and isn't oversold.
February 29, 2016
Seems I'm on an Urban Fantasy kick right now! I've had this book on my shelf forever because a few people recommended it, but every time I picked it up to read, I saw the cover art of Mercy with her bare mid-drift and cleavage and though "ugh" another one of those heroines that are bad-ass and probably stubborn with a chip on her shoulder, etc... (I love strong female protagonists, but some are really annoying when they refuse all help). But I was looking at the book for an article I was writing about fantasy novels and read a short except on the first page and was intrigued.
I'm so glad I gave this book a chance. I was hooked almost right away - I loved that she's a mechanic and I also appreciated the realistic details! When she shoots a gun - it's LOUD and she loses her hearing for a while - that's what happens when you don't wear ear protection. She gets hurt - like a broken arm when she's fighting werewolves - thank you!
My only reason for not giving that last star is due to the reason for everything that happened.
I'm looking forward to reading more in this series!
I'm so glad I gave this book a chance. I was hooked almost right away - I loved that she's a mechanic and I also appreciated the realistic details! When she shoots a gun - it's LOUD and she loses her hearing for a while - that's what happens when you don't wear ear protection. She gets hurt - like a broken arm when she's fighting werewolves - thank you!
My only reason for not giving that last star is due to the reason for everything that happened.
I'm looking forward to reading more in this series!
May 1, 2011
I should have liked this. I really wanted to like this. After all, it promises so many of the things I love about the Urban Fantasy genre: kick-ass heroine, supernatural creatures, murder mystery and hot other-wordly men. I'm actually not too demanding of the genre, Halfway to the Grave is one example of UF that is very light with little plot development and limited emphasis on the supernatural mystery element... and I really enjoyed it. If the author focuses on just one of the factors I mentioned above and milks that for all it's worth, sometimes I can forget about the lack of smutty fun and whatever else. In other words, an awesome heroine or just some funny banter can make a novel enjoyable, but this book just never seemed to deliver much of anything that I wanted to read.
It was a natural choice being both from the genre that I love and also being very highly rated by other UF lovers. But for me, the whole murder mystery that was supposed to be the basic plot ended up taking a backseat to werewolf politics. Sure, introduce it at the beginning so we know what we're dealing with, but Briggs mentions it constantly throughout... after a few chapters I was thinking "yeah, I get it, no one says no to the Alpha and women have zero say whatsoever". It was sooo slow going through all the pack rules and regulations - do we really care? I didn't.
Then, of course, Mercy Thompson was our heroine. But I found her rather wishy-washy, one moment she was all bad-ass and "I take orders from no one", the next she's in tears or cowering beneath a 'dominant' male werewolf... ugh. Then you find out that Samuel, her first love, is 200 years her senior and wanted to use her in order to have his little werebabies. Briggs could have redeemed him easily if she'd made him sexy and gave the reader the smut that (let's face it) they expect from good urban fantasy books. However, the most excitement we get in the whole novel is a drab kiss and, as I read in Tatiana's review, there is apparently no such sexiness until book 4. Credit where it's due, though, I thought Adam was hot.
Anyway, why the hell did Briggs have to make Mercy a 'skinwalker', which is apparently just another word in this sense for a 'werecoyote'? I'd rather she'd have just been a human. It seems ridiculously lame, quite like a lot of the messy array of creatures that the author decided to shove into the novel. Perhaps she wishes to use the witches and fae later in the series, but then she could have just pulled a Charlaine Harris trick and introduced them as they became important to the storyline, rather than producing a long list in the first chapter. I've never had much interest in the 'lesser fae', like goblins, elves and sprites... it brings back too many painful memories of books like The Hobbit. That's a place I never want to return. I really can't see me getting the next book in the series, I so far haven't managed to muster up any interest in the life of Mercy Thompson. It's disappointing.
EDIT: pg 129 of my edition: Mercy ponders the historical rumour about Queen Victoria and the laws against homosexual acts, stating that it is said that Queen V refused to believe that women would do such a thing, thereby making the law gender-biased and only specific to men. However, there is no record of this rumour until about 50 years ago when it began to circulate. Before that time it was unheard of, making it extremely unlikely to be anything more than a rumour. The gender specifics of the law is much more likely due to the all-male parliament of the time and the tendency to suppress female sexuality in victorian society - the MPS likely believed that 'perversions' (as homosexuality was once perceived to be) were solely male.
It was a natural choice being both from the genre that I love and also being very highly rated by other UF lovers. But for me, the whole murder mystery that was supposed to be the basic plot ended up taking a backseat to werewolf politics. Sure, introduce it at the beginning so we know what we're dealing with, but Briggs mentions it constantly throughout... after a few chapters I was thinking "yeah, I get it, no one says no to the Alpha and women have zero say whatsoever". It was sooo slow going through all the pack rules and regulations - do we really care? I didn't.
Then, of course, Mercy Thompson was our heroine. But I found her rather wishy-washy, one moment she was all bad-ass and "I take orders from no one", the next she's in tears or cowering beneath a 'dominant' male werewolf... ugh. Then you find out that Samuel, her first love, is 200 years her senior and wanted to use her in order to have his little werebabies. Briggs could have redeemed him easily if she'd made him sexy and gave the reader the smut that (let's face it) they expect from good urban fantasy books. However, the most excitement we get in the whole novel is a drab kiss and, as I read in Tatiana's review, there is apparently no such sexiness until book 4. Credit where it's due, though, I thought Adam was hot.
Anyway, why the hell did Briggs have to make Mercy a 'skinwalker', which is apparently just another word in this sense for a 'werecoyote'? I'd rather she'd have just been a human. It seems ridiculously lame, quite like a lot of the messy array of creatures that the author decided to shove into the novel. Perhaps she wishes to use the witches and fae later in the series, but then she could have just pulled a Charlaine Harris trick and introduced them as they became important to the storyline, rather than producing a long list in the first chapter. I've never had much interest in the 'lesser fae', like goblins, elves and sprites... it brings back too many painful memories of books like The Hobbit. That's a place I never want to return. I really can't see me getting the next book in the series, I so far haven't managed to muster up any interest in the life of Mercy Thompson. It's disappointing.
EDIT: pg 129 of my edition: Mercy ponders the historical rumour about Queen Victoria and the laws against homosexual acts, stating that it is said that Queen V refused to believe that women would do such a thing, thereby making the law gender-biased and only specific to men. However, there is no record of this rumour until about 50 years ago when it began to circulate. Before that time it was unheard of, making it extremely unlikely to be anything more than a rumour. The gender specifics of the law is much more likely due to the all-male parliament of the time and the tendency to suppress female sexuality in victorian society - the MPS likely believed that 'perversions' (as homosexuality was once perceived to be) were solely male.
July 16, 2019
WARNING! This review includes fanart and random images (done by me) ^.^V
Welcome, to the Urban Fantasy genre!
The place where magic and legends blend seamlessly with our reality.
The place where each one of us has to decide...
Cause we all know sometimes ... humanity isn't entertaining enough.
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The supernatural communities have lived hidden in our world for generations until, finally, the fae decided to come out (or at least the weaker and prettier ones). As humanity is trying to adjust to the new addition living among them, the rest of the supernatural creatures are trying to deal with their own roles in society. Some would prefer to remain hidden, such as the vampires, while the werewolves are contemplating to reveal themselves to the public as well. Witches don't really care, everyone thinks they are some hippy religious group which dances naked under the full moon anyways.
And in the middle of everything comes Mercy Thompson, a half native American mechanic who can turn into a coyote.
Having the alpha of a pack of wereloves as your neighbour, a powerful fae as your ex-boss and a vampire among your clients who happens to be a huge Scooby Doo fan, is just one of the few things Mercy has to deel with on every day basis. So when a teenage boy, recently turned werewolf, knocks on the door of her garage office, seeking employment and shelter, Mercy isn't fazed at all ... until someone tries to kidnap the boy and threatens not only her, but the peace between the supernatural and the human world.
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There are a few titles that tend to pop up when we google "Best Urban Fantasy books" and, whether we like it or not, Patricia Brigg's Moon Called is usually among the top of the list.
So what is it that makes this series stand out? There are several possible answers to this question:
But seriously, with 10 books out already and with the huge variety in the genre, is Mercy Thompson worth investing your time and money?
Here are a few things that impressed me personally.
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Disclaimer: This review will consider the first 10 books without any spoilers.
1. THE WORLD (aka. the way the different creatures fit in our world)
WEREWOLVES
Werewolves are more than just humans who turn fury at least once a month -the humans coexist together with the wolf inside them. That's why, a werewolf in his human shape often behaves like pack animals by instinct - they follow their alpha's orders, they submit to or try to dominate other pack members in order to move up the chain, hunt together and help eachother out. Whether a pack is thriving or not, depends on the alpha's strenght and ability to dominate and support them.
Adam from the Columbia Basin Pack (Tri-Cities, Washington), his second - Darryl and his third- Warren.
The Columbia Basin Pack is lead by Adam Hauptman, an ex-soldier and Mercy's current neighbour (whom she enjoys tormenting).
VAMPIRES
Vampires are another popular race in the books and a one that causes humanity more harm than good. Despite the numerous ways a vampire can be killed, finding the resting grounds of one is quite difficult. Therefore their existence is better to avoid public knowledge. Just like the werewolves, social structure is really important - a community of vampires is called a seethe which is ruled by a master (although some vampires can be very territorial and prefer to live alone).
Stefan, the friendly neighborhood vampire
In order to remain hidden, each vampire owns humans(also known as "sheep") from which to feed on and share their blood with. In time, as long as they survive, a "sheep" can turn into a vampire if they and their master so "chose" to.
FAE
Most of the fae in America inhabit one of the four Fae reservations in the country. The ruling fae, aka. The Gray Lords, are the truly beautiful and dangerous ones who remain hidden from humanity. Nevertheless, Mercy is surrounded by other powerful fae, including Zee, her ex-boss and friend, who possesses the rare ability of manipulating iron which is usually deadly for his kind.
The fae are extremely protective of their families, even if they are human or half-human.
WALKERS
Walkers are of Native American descent and are born with the ability to shape-shift into a specific animal. They are generally the offspring of a human and a Native American Diety or their decendants. Unlike the werewolves, the walkers do not have a "split personality" when it comes to their animals and can change forms in an instant. Unfortuantely, they're weaker and much easier to kill.
There are also witches, gods, and a few others, but I don't want to bore you with details.
2. THE CHARACTERS
Mercy isn't a strong and powerful character, she's rarely ever important or capable of dealing with the majority of the supernatural community, but she's brave. She doesn't try to save everyone, but she would go through hell to get you out of trouble if you ask her to.
SIDE CHARACTERS
I would be happy to read a whole book about the life of one of the vampires' sheeps, the submissive werewolf in the pack or pretty much ANY of the side cast. Patricia Briggs knows how to introduce characters in a way that would spark your interest and leave you with just enough information that you would want to know more.
3. AUDIOBOOK
Superb! Audio narration can add so many layers to the reading experience if the narrator fits well. Lorelei King does an Amazing job! Worth it! Update Book 10 has two narrators. I'm not a huge fan of characters sounding different every time the narrator changes.
4. COVERS
The British ones are nothing special, but the Americans...... Oh MY GOD! Such beauty cannot be expressed by mear words! I would buy hard covers just so I can gaze at the artwork...*drools*
5. BEN
Ben, the English werewolf who swears a lot.
WHAT about the bad stuff
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1. PACING
Not gonna lie, the pacing in some of the books was excruciatingly slow for me. From book 1 to 6 it's a hit and miss (3, 5 and 6 were the worst), but the series graudually and surely improves with time ....UPDATE Scratch that, I seriously struggled staying awake during book 10. Glad to see (judging from the reviews) that I was the only one, though.
2. CRINGY STUFF
a. Treatment of women in these books can sometimes feel...uncomfortable. I wish the book rationalized it a little bit more.
b. Some male characters are overly protective, overly possessive, overly controling and have the constant need to dominate ANYTHING, even furniture, to make themselves feel good. To be frank, I've never met a man like that in real life, so as long as you know it's just fiction and don't get triggered by it, you'll be fine.
3. LOVE TRIANGLE
4. ORIGINALITY (or lack of it)
That's a major one! Mercy Thompson is one of the classics, dare I say, in the genre, but if you've read quite a few Urban Fantasies already, I doubt this one will strike as anything unique or original. Bear this in mind.
5. BOOK 10
Book 10 has a non-linear timeline = me confused.com
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Conclusion: Whether Mercy Thompson is one of the best Urban Fantasies today or if it's just another series that is barely worth reading among the huge diversity in this genre, it's up for each person to decide. As usual, a book can never be perfect, but if it is capable of immersing you completely into its world, then the flaws are inconsequential.
Would I reread? Already have. The whole series in fact.
Would I buy a Hardcover copy? Mmmm, just because of the artwork. Otherwise paperbacks are good enough.
Would I recommend to a friend? Ummmmmmmmmm, I would, but it all depends on how many urban fantasies you've read prior to this one. If you DON'T like Urban Fantasy in general, I doubt this one will change your mind.
---------------------------------
Other awesome Urban Fantasies that I totally love and have reviewed (or would...soon).
Bitten (REVIEWED)
(Books in the series: 13, Status: Finished)
Heartstrikers (REVIEWED) - One of the best Urban fantasies out there! It's hilarious, it's original, it's deep and it will most probably end up in your list of favorites. Whether it's humor, cute romance, interesting world-building, MEMORABLE quirky characters, dragon mafia or some of the most intense and epic fights, the Heartstrikers is the series for you!
(Books in the series: 4 Status:Still continuing up to 5...I think)
Alex Verus - (REVIEWED)Another one of my favorites! Who would've thought that divination could be such an awesome power! A series that starts simple, packed with action, cool abilities and world-building, and gradually develops into a wonderful, complex story-telling!
(Books in the series: 9 Status:Still continuing)
Fever - These books came out of nowhere and shook the whole community with its awesomeness.Not sure if the male audience will appreciate it as much as the female, but Fever has a unique mix of horror, gore, murder mystery, fae mythology, monsters and sexy dangerous dudes. Not to mention the setting, Dublin, and the descriptions are just breath-taking. These books made me want to visit Ireland, badly! Important! The series were supposed to finish at book 5, but the author decided to extend them. Some fans were extatic, many were horrified. I'm one of those who tried the sequels and would recommend stopping at book 5.
(Books in the series: 11 Status:Still continuing?, Recommendation: Read the first 5, continue at your own risk)
American Gods - And we can't talk about a book that features Native American mythology, without mentioning American Gods. My reread didn't go so well, but I'll leave this as a recommendation, just in case.
(Books in the series:1 , Status: Finished)
Happy reading!
I can't believe this is done...
July 28, 2015
I was super happy to discover a new PNR series and after reading Patricia Briggs 1st book in her Mercy Thompson series….I was beyond happy…excited more like it!!!!
Mercy Thompson –
The storyline revolves around the murder of a young boy, employed by Mercy, who tells her, before he’s killed that he had been turned unwillingly and that this a secret party carrying out experiments on werewolves. When Adam Hauptman her next door neighbor and leader of the local wolf-pack is attacked and his daughter kidnapped, Mercy takes matters into her own hands…despite Adam being a bit of a twit of a neighbor…
Whilst there’s not much of a romance story here, I think that the triangle between Mercy, Samuel and Adam is going to develop in a way I am not sure how. For me, I hope its Adam…Mercy does feel a thing for this sexy and hot werewolf
I really like the world building the author has created and she manages to bring something fresh and new ideas into the PNR world.
My favorite quote:
Mercy Thompson –
a natural born coyote shape shifter, auto mechanic and owner of a garage, sensible, together, strong and independent, lives in the Tri-Cities are of Washington, amidst a world of humans and supernaturals – vampires, walkers, werewolves, fey, witches…..
The storyline revolves around the murder of a young boy, employed by Mercy, who tells her, before he’s killed that he had been turned unwillingly and that this a secret party carrying out experiments on werewolves. When Adam Hauptman her next door neighbor and leader of the local wolf-pack is attacked and his daughter kidnapped, Mercy takes matters into her own hands…despite Adam being a bit of a twit of a neighbor…
Mercy takes him to the Marrok…leader of all wolf-packs in North America, asking for help.
Whilst there’s not much of a romance story here, I think that the triangle between Mercy, Samuel and Adam is going to develop in a way I am not sure how. For me, I hope its Adam…Mercy does feel a thing for this sexy and hot werewolf
An interesting and believable plot with characters that are appealing and sympathetic and relatable, suspense and mystery, surprises and red herrings that are totally unexpected when revealed.
I really like the world building the author has created and she manages to bring something fresh and new ideas into the PNR world.
My favorite quote:
December 16, 2014
mercy, mercy.
crushingly dull exposition of everything you already knew about werewolves and et cetera, served over the course of about two hundred and fifty pages of soul-withering conversation, with the requisite love triangle and weapon-listing and speyshul-snowflake-ing and seventy quintillion characters and a plot like a doily and fuck my life if i weren't so desperate to get out of my own head i would have set this on fire and then myself when the token gay human was not physically capable of watching a woman pull on a tee without at once being irrevocably compelled to fix her hair
crushingly dull exposition of everything you already knew about werewolves and et cetera, served over the course of about two hundred and fifty pages of soul-withering conversation, with the requisite love triangle and weapon-listing and speyshul-snowflake-ing and seventy quintillion characters and a plot like a doily and fuck my life if i weren't so desperate to get out of my own head i would have set this on fire and then myself when the token gay human was not physically capable of watching a woman pull on a tee without at once being irrevocably compelled to fix her hair
March 20, 2025
Moon Called hit shelves right when urban fantasy was at its peak (almost 20 years ago), when everyone was devouring stories about fierce, no-nonsense heroines who could throw a punch and take one too. These books feature strong, sensitive female leads with plenty of bite, zero Fs to give, and just a touch of spice (if you don’t mind waiting a few books).
Mercy is one of my favorites. She is fiercely independent, intelligent, and resourceful, everything I love in a lead character. She is also a Volkswagen mechanic, and a Walker who can shift into a coyote at will.
I have to say it, these covers suck. Mercy would be furious to see herself running around in a crop top and low-rise jeans, with a push-up bra working overtime. Because, yeah, that’s totally her, not fixing cars, delivering snarky comebacks, and kicking supernatural ass. It’s a shame because the story is so much better than the cover suggests.
PNR/Urban Fantasy
Werewolf neighbor
Gremlin former boss
Vampire client
Strong fmc
Fighting action
No steam
Mystery
My other UF favorites, the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, Cat from The Night Huntress series, Meg from Anne Bishop’s The Others, and Rachel Morgan from Kim Harrison’s The Hallows.
Mercy is one of my favorites. She is fiercely independent, intelligent, and resourceful, everything I love in a lead character. She is also a Volkswagen mechanic, and a Walker who can shift into a coyote at will.
I have to say it, these covers suck. Mercy would be furious to see herself running around in a crop top and low-rise jeans, with a push-up bra working overtime. Because, yeah, that’s totally her, not fixing cars, delivering snarky comebacks, and kicking supernatural ass. It’s a shame because the story is so much better than the cover suggests.
PNR/Urban Fantasy
Werewolf neighbor
Gremlin former boss
Vampire client
Strong fmc
Fighting action
No steam
Mystery
My other UF favorites, the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, Cat from The Night Huntress series, Meg from Anne Bishop’s The Others, and Rachel Morgan from Kim Harrison’s The Hallows.
September 13, 2025
Reread September 2025
Audio re-read August 2019
5 stars!
“Dance when the moon sings, and don't cry about troubles that haven't yet come.”
Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson is a mechanic living in the Tri-Cites. She’s also a coyote walker, not quite a werewolf, but she finds herself in their business a lot. When a lone wolf turns up at her shop, she offers him work and a safe place to stay. Very quickly, Mercy finds herself in a position where she is unsure of her trust, and she must return to where she grew up for help unraveling the situation.
“Mine," he said.
Adam's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so. She is mine."
It would have been flattering, I thought, except that at least one of them was talking about dinner and I wasn't certain about the other.”
I first read this book probably back in 2011 but I cannot be sure of exactly when. Once I finished this book, I completely DEVOURED the rest of the series (of what was published then) and was left wanting more. Probably one of my all-time favorite series EVER. I had already liked the urban fantasy genre, but this series solidified my love for it.
There’s something about Mercy and the wry humor she has in the face of all the situations thrown her way. Mercy is loyal, smart, not a pushover, and will fiercely defend those who need it. Re-reading this reminded me of why I love this series and it was so wonderful to be amongst all my favorite and beloved characters again. It felt like coming home.
“Happiness is German engineering, Italian cooking, and Belgian chocolate.
Audio re-read August 2019
5 stars!
“Dance when the moon sings, and don't cry about troubles that haven't yet come.”
Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson is a mechanic living in the Tri-Cites. She’s also a coyote walker, not quite a werewolf, but she finds herself in their business a lot. When a lone wolf turns up at her shop, she offers him work and a safe place to stay. Very quickly, Mercy finds herself in a position where she is unsure of her trust, and she must return to where she grew up for help unraveling the situation.
“Mine," he said.
Adam's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so. She is mine."
It would have been flattering, I thought, except that at least one of them was talking about dinner and I wasn't certain about the other.”
I first read this book probably back in 2011 but I cannot be sure of exactly when. Once I finished this book, I completely DEVOURED the rest of the series (of what was published then) and was left wanting more. Probably one of my all-time favorite series EVER. I had already liked the urban fantasy genre, but this series solidified my love for it.
There’s something about Mercy and the wry humor she has in the face of all the situations thrown her way. Mercy is loyal, smart, not a pushover, and will fiercely defend those who need it. Re-reading this reminded me of why I love this series and it was so wonderful to be amongst all my favorite and beloved characters again. It felt like coming home.
“Happiness is German engineering, Italian cooking, and Belgian chocolate.
October 30, 2025
Sale Alert: Kindle deal 11Apr20 for $2.99
Series Buddy Read/Re-read with Book of My Heart I'm already a little behind but since it is just one book in the series a month I'll totally catch up soon.
2nd Read:
I remember liking Mercy overall in this series but not really getting into the series until around book three or four. Moon Called has a good intro to the world and the main players in it. I liked it possibly a little better the second time through but will keep my original rating of 3.5 stars.
Original Review:
3.5 stars
What is it about Alpha men that is just grabs me and draws me in? I don’t know but this book is packed full of them and Mercy knows how to handle them all.
“Mine" he said.
Adam's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so. She is mine."
It would of been flattering,I thought,except that at least one of them was talking about dinner and I wasn't certain about the other.”
I’ve read a lot of UF lately and I have to say that I very much enjoy the world of Mercedes Thompson. She is a Walker which is a shapeshifter that can only turn into a coyote. In the beginning I was thinking well that is kinda lame when there are fae, werewolves and vampires about, but was I wrong. She has such an interesting backstory of a coyote raised by wolves and she is a different kind of heroine. I really grew to like her.
I think part of what makes this series interesting is that Mercy is different. She isn’t human but she also isn’t like anything else you read about in UF series. She is a mechanic who seems to have an odd collection of friends and acquaintances. The side characters really make the book, you can tell there are a lot of different directions the series can go in with all the various characters.
Between the Alpha of the local pack Adam, who sometimes threatens to eat her cat and Stefan the vampire with a van painted like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo to the Fae Zee who seems to have some German heritage but definitely is more than he seems there is something for everyone. Each side character is distinct and different but all are powerful and Mercy seems to know how to play well with all of them.
The mystery that Mercy gets drawn into is one of the better ones I have read. There are clues along the way to help you discover who the bad guy is but it isn’t obvious. With the help of an old boyfriend Samuel, Mercy will help the local Alpha Adam discover who is experimenting on new werewolves and killed a boy Mercy tried to take in.
The world building is just starting but I think that it will go a long way across the entire series. There is a hint of a small love triangle, which I normally hate but it wasn’t an issue as it was a very minor point to the plot line. It never overshadowed the story and didn’t get ridiculous, as most love triangles seem to. Strong start to a series I will enjoy exploring more of it.
Series Buddy Read/Re-read with Book of My Heart I'm already a little behind but since it is just one book in the series a month I'll totally catch up soon.
2nd Read:
I remember liking Mercy overall in this series but not really getting into the series until around book three or four. Moon Called has a good intro to the world and the main players in it. I liked it possibly a little better the second time through but will keep my original rating of 3.5 stars.
Original Review:
3.5 stars
What is it about Alpha men that is just grabs me and draws me in? I don’t know but this book is packed full of them and Mercy knows how to handle them all.
“Mine" he said.
Adam's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so. She is mine."
It would of been flattering,I thought,except that at least one of them was talking about dinner and I wasn't certain about the other.”
I’ve read a lot of UF lately and I have to say that I very much enjoy the world of Mercedes Thompson. She is a Walker which is a shapeshifter that can only turn into a coyote. In the beginning I was thinking well that is kinda lame when there are fae, werewolves and vampires about, but was I wrong. She has such an interesting backstory of a coyote raised by wolves and she is a different kind of heroine. I really grew to like her.
I think part of what makes this series interesting is that Mercy is different. She isn’t human but she also isn’t like anything else you read about in UF series. She is a mechanic who seems to have an odd collection of friends and acquaintances. The side characters really make the book, you can tell there are a lot of different directions the series can go in with all the various characters.
Between the Alpha of the local pack Adam, who sometimes threatens to eat her cat and Stefan the vampire with a van painted like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo to the Fae Zee who seems to have some German heritage but definitely is more than he seems there is something for everyone. Each side character is distinct and different but all are powerful and Mercy seems to know how to play well with all of them.
The mystery that Mercy gets drawn into is one of the better ones I have read. There are clues along the way to help you discover who the bad guy is but it isn’t obvious. With the help of an old boyfriend Samuel, Mercy will help the local Alpha Adam discover who is experimenting on new werewolves and killed a boy Mercy tried to take in.
The world building is just starting but I think that it will go a long way across the entire series. There is a hint of a small love triangle, which I normally hate but it wasn’t an issue as it was a very minor point to the plot line. It never overshadowed the story and didn’t get ridiculous, as most love triangles seem to. Strong start to a series I will enjoy exploring more of it.
July 27, 2018
Just as good the second time around 😀
March 31, 2020
Re-read for a third time March 29th 2020 and I'm upping my rating from 4 stars to 5! With each re-read my appreciation for the writing, characters, and story grows. The story was captivating even knowing what happens, and with each re-read I notice new things I missed previously. I've already started on book two! I listened to the audio again. Lorelei King's performance is perfection! She is Mercy Thompson to me!
Re-Read March 19th 2017. Still awesome!
Moon Called is the first book in the Mercy Thompson Urban Fantasy series, and it was a strong start. It was fun, fast paced, with strong characters and an engrossing plot. I love my female protags to have some spunk and be able to kick a little ass and Mercy Thompson ticks all those boxes and more!
Mercy Thompson is a “walker” and can shapeshift into a coyote. Mercy isn’t a werewolf but she is very close to them after being raised by a powerful pack. At sixteen, she leaves after the pack Alpha sends her away to prevent her mating with his son, Sam. Now situated in the state of Washington as an auto mechanic, she comes under the Columbia Basin Wolves’ pack in a round-about way, under the charismatic, hot-tempered (and just plain HOT) Alpha, Adam. Not that she admits to it, mind you. Being a coyote she’s not obligated to be under any pack.
When Adam is attacked and his teenage daughter, Jesse, is kidnapped, Mercy takes it upon herself to help him and track down his daughter. Mercy returns to her roots for help in unraveling this mystery and getting Jesse back safely. Her past and present collide in the form of Sam and Adam.
We are tossed into Mercy’s world with her as our guide, and as a narrator she’s easy to like and root for. If you’re tired of frustrating or whiny female leads, Mercy is your girl! She’s a smart, witty, and feeds us just enough background information so we’re not lost in the story, yet doesn’t overwhelm with too many details. This makes me extremely happy because info dumping is a sure fire way to put me to sleep!
I steeled myself to be patient with this book because I’ve come to realize that in UF usually the first book lays the groundwork for the whole series and might not be as satisfying or riveting because of that. This was not the case in Moon Called. I was immediately drawn into the story and it captured and held my attention just fine throughout. Also, because this is the first book in the series, the romance is just getting started. It seems possible for Adam or Sam to be the love interest, there’s definite chemistry between Mercy and both of them. But it does sway to one a little more than the other by the end.
Moon Called wraps up nicely with the main mystery solved by the end, however, the story of the characters, and their relationships have just begun. I can’t wait to see how everything plays out and I’ve got the next one locked and loaded, ready to listen to.
Lorelei King narrates this story and she is spot on! I’m familiar with this performer because she narrates the Charley Davidson series as well. She brings just the right amount of sarcastic inflection when needed to make the character’s wit and spunk come through loud and clear. She does a great job with the male voices as well, and most of the time it doesn’t even cross your mind that a female is narrating those parts. Her performance made the story come alive.
You can find this review and more at The Readers Den.
Re-Read March 19th 2017. Still awesome!
Moon Called is the first book in the Mercy Thompson Urban Fantasy series, and it was a strong start. It was fun, fast paced, with strong characters and an engrossing plot. I love my female protags to have some spunk and be able to kick a little ass and Mercy Thompson ticks all those boxes and more!
Mercy Thompson is a “walker” and can shapeshift into a coyote. Mercy isn’t a werewolf but she is very close to them after being raised by a powerful pack. At sixteen, she leaves after the pack Alpha sends her away to prevent her mating with his son, Sam. Now situated in the state of Washington as an auto mechanic, she comes under the Columbia Basin Wolves’ pack in a round-about way, under the charismatic, hot-tempered (and just plain HOT) Alpha, Adam. Not that she admits to it, mind you. Being a coyote she’s not obligated to be under any pack.
When Adam is attacked and his teenage daughter, Jesse, is kidnapped, Mercy takes it upon herself to help him and track down his daughter. Mercy returns to her roots for help in unraveling this mystery and getting Jesse back safely. Her past and present collide in the form of Sam and Adam.
We are tossed into Mercy’s world with her as our guide, and as a narrator she’s easy to like and root for. If you’re tired of frustrating or whiny female leads, Mercy is your girl! She’s a smart, witty, and feeds us just enough background information so we’re not lost in the story, yet doesn’t overwhelm with too many details. This makes me extremely happy because info dumping is a sure fire way to put me to sleep!
I steeled myself to be patient with this book because I’ve come to realize that in UF usually the first book lays the groundwork for the whole series and might not be as satisfying or riveting because of that. This was not the case in Moon Called. I was immediately drawn into the story and it captured and held my attention just fine throughout. Also, because this is the first book in the series, the romance is just getting started. It seems possible for Adam or Sam to be the love interest, there’s definite chemistry between Mercy and both of them. But it does sway to one a little more than the other by the end.
Moon Called wraps up nicely with the main mystery solved by the end, however, the story of the characters, and their relationships have just begun. I can’t wait to see how everything plays out and I’ve got the next one locked and loaded, ready to listen to.
Lorelei King narrates this story and she is spot on! I’m familiar with this performer because she narrates the Charley Davidson series as well. She brings just the right amount of sarcastic inflection when needed to make the character’s wit and spunk come through loud and clear. She does a great job with the male voices as well, and most of the time it doesn’t even cross your mind that a female is narrating those parts. Her performance made the story come alive.
You can find this review and more at The Readers Den.
September 7, 2024
Mercy Thompson is one of my favorite UF series. I love everything about the way Moon Called is constructed. The world-building is wonderfully intricate. I read a lot of werewolf novels and love discovering how each author makes their world unique. Briggs take on werewolf lore with the Marrok, the male versus female werewolves, and the brutality of the change and sharp animalistic nature of werewolf behavior make for a wonderful read. My favorite thing are the characters. I have favorites (Zee, Tad, Jesse, the wolves of the Marrok's pack--yes, even Leah), but every time a new character appears on page, that character becomes my favorite. They're all so wonderfully drawn. On reread I loved discovering the details of this story for the second time, seeing Mercy's determination to figure out what is going on with a werewolf situation thrust on her doorstep, while negotiating pack politics. I look forward to more.
March 5, 2018
I am officially late to this party.
Then again, I've never been a huge fan of the whole werewolf thing and I've read a mountain of UF titles from other authors, so I felt like I could safely give this one a pass.
Don't judge! It felt like a valid excuse especially because the title and series are insanely popular and so, therefore, SOMETHING might be very sketchy about it.
I still remember Twilight, alas, BUT! This isn't anything like that.
Good news! I mean, yeah, there's a skinwalker and lots of werewolves and vampires and witches in modern society and there's a subtext going on like most UF, BUT... there's something about the slow burn in Moon Called that's rather nice. Maybe it's the avoidance of outright paranormal romance, instead relying on a slow and steady *something*. Maybe it's the interesting pack politics, the interesting drugs, the backstabbing. Maybe it's the cool worldbuilding around the Fae or the distinctions between supernatural classes.
Maybe it just clicked.
I'm not saying I'm head over heels in love with this yet, but I did think it was solid and it worked for me. :)
It was better than decent. :) I find myself interested in continuing.
Considering the number of fans out there for the series, I have high hopes. It only gets better, they say. Well, we'll see! :)
Then again, I've never been a huge fan of the whole werewolf thing and I've read a mountain of UF titles from other authors, so I felt like I could safely give this one a pass.
Don't judge! It felt like a valid excuse especially because the title and series are insanely popular and so, therefore, SOMETHING might be very sketchy about it.
I still remember Twilight, alas, BUT! This isn't anything like that.
Good news! I mean, yeah, there's a skinwalker and lots of werewolves and vampires and witches in modern society and there's a subtext going on like most UF, BUT... there's something about the slow burn in Moon Called that's rather nice. Maybe it's the avoidance of outright paranormal romance, instead relying on a slow and steady *something*. Maybe it's the interesting pack politics, the interesting drugs, the backstabbing. Maybe it's the cool worldbuilding around the Fae or the distinctions between supernatural classes.
Maybe it just clicked.
I'm not saying I'm head over heels in love with this yet, but I did think it was solid and it worked for me. :)
It was better than decent. :) I find myself interested in continuing.
Considering the number of fans out there for the series, I have high hopes. It only gets better, they say. Well, we'll see! :)
February 10, 2017
I like you Mercy Thompson.
I like you because you’re tough but not invincible.
I like you because you’re brave but not stupid.
I like you because you are a caring person but nobody’s fool.
I like you because you make mistakes but you don’t place the blame elsewhere.
I like you because you’re smart but not a show-off.
I like you because you stand on your own among much more powerful creatures than you but you know your limits.
I like you because you don’t give a damn about what others think of you but those that you care for.
I like you Mercy Thompson, just the way you are.
December 30, 2024
For one of the best known UF series out there, it was quite underwhelming. I’ll try the next one, maybe they get better as the story progresses? Does it?
January 12, 2022
I liked Moon Called. I enjoyed Mercy, Jessie, Adam, Sam, Stefan, and Zee. I liked the plot but I felt the book was slow going. It was a lot of info dump and I would have liked more interactions between Mercy, Sam and Adam. Since they are going to be a love Triangle and all it might have been nice to get to know a bit more about them. I liked Mercy with Adam the most but that's because I thought it was kinda a dick move what Sam did to Mercy when she was 16 There was more action at the end a nice little date. Overall I enjoyed the read and will give book 2 a try.
September 5, 2021
Second re-read: 05.09.2021
I just couldn't get into the story this time. I really struggled. I'm having problems concentrating and with all the information this book has, I was bored. I started re-reading it for Adam but he's actually not that much in it and then there's the fact that he doesn't feel all that powerful, and you know me; I'm shallow as fuck - I need my men all powerful. I'm not continuing re-reading the series as I don't see the point in forcing me to finish it. I just skimmed this one, badly. Since I'm guessing it's my mood that is the cause of this, I'm not changing the rating.
Second re-read: 03.07.2019
This series centers around Volkswagen mechanic and a walker (a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will), Mercedes ‘Mercy’ Thompson. Mercy is someone who likes to keep to herself and work on cars, however, that doesn't mean other will leave her alone. Kidnappings, magic, dominance play, fights, darts, guns, exes, betrayals, close death experiences are just some of what appears in this book. It kinda has it all. However, I remember now what I found boring about this book; too much information. Seriously, there's so much information!
I also struggle a bit with connecting with Mercy. I feel like she's holding us reads a bit a bay, like we're on the outside instead of in her head. I had hoped I would feel different this time around since it's been so long since I've read it, but no such luck. The concept of this series is still interesting, but it's not great enough for me to love it. That being said, it's still worth reading even though it's long and I still wish it had more depth to it than information. Unsure whenever I should continue with my re-read of the series or not.
Other Characters:
The list is long so I put it in a spoilers tag.
Quick basic facts:
Genre: - (Adult) Urban Fantasy (M/F)
Series: - Series, Book One.
Love triangle? -
Cheating? -
HEA? -
Favorite character? - Adam Hauptman.
Would I read more by this author/or of series? - Sure.
Would I recommend this book/series? - Sure.
Will I read this again in the future? - It's me... I do love re-reading.
Rating - Still the same.
Re-read: 06.04.16
It's still good, but the rating is still the same. I guess that's good news, right? :D
First read review:
I like it! I didn't love it, but yeah, it was enjoyable and I found it had an interesting concept, with good characters. Looking forward to continuing the series. Hopefully it gets much better.
I just couldn't get into the story this time. I really struggled. I'm having problems concentrating and with all the information this book has, I was bored. I started re-reading it for Adam but he's actually not that much in it and then there's the fact that he doesn't feel all that powerful, and you know me; I'm shallow as fuck - I need my men all powerful. I'm not continuing re-reading the series as I don't see the point in forcing me to finish it. I just skimmed this one, badly. Since I'm guessing it's my mood that is the cause of this, I'm not changing the rating.
⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱*Good Concept, But Tad Boring*⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱
Second re-read: 03.07.2019
This series centers around Volkswagen mechanic and a walker (a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will), Mercedes ‘Mercy’ Thompson. Mercy is someone who likes to keep to herself and work on cars, however, that doesn't mean other will leave her alone. Kidnappings, magic, dominance play, fights, darts, guns, exes, betrayals, close death experiences are just some of what appears in this book. It kinda has it all. However, I remember now what I found boring about this book; too much information. Seriously, there's so much information!
I also struggle a bit with connecting with Mercy. I feel like she's holding us reads a bit a bay, like we're on the outside instead of in her head. I had hoped I would feel different this time around since it's been so long since I've read it, but no such luck. The concept of this series is still interesting, but it's not great enough for me to love it. That being said, it's still worth reading even though it's long and I still wish it had more depth to it than information. Unsure whenever I should continue with my re-read of the series or not.
Other Characters:
The list is long so I put it in a spoilers tag.
His voice was soft and sweet as molasses; but my mother once told me that you had to trust that the first thing out of a person’s mouth was truth. After they have a chance to think about it, they’ll change what they say to be more socially acceptable, something they think you’ll be happier with, something that will get the results they want. I knew what he wanted, what he had always wanted from me, even if—while he had been working on Adam’s injuries—Samuel, himself, had forgotten.
Quick basic facts:
Genre: - (Adult) Urban Fantasy (M/F)
Series: - Series, Book One.
Love triangle? -
Cheating? -
HEA? -
Favorite character? - Adam Hauptman.
Would I read more by this author/or of series? - Sure.
Would I recommend this book/series? - Sure.
Will I read this again in the future? - It's me... I do love re-reading.
Rating - Still the same.
Re-read: 06.04.16
It's still good, but the rating is still the same. I guess that's good news, right? :D
First read review:
I like it! I didn't love it, but yeah, it was enjoyable and I found it had an interesting concept, with good characters. Looking forward to continuing the series. Hopefully it gets much better.
June 1, 2018
Harry Dresden, Jane Yellowrock, Mercy Thompson, Atticus O’Sullivan, Jade Crow and Pinocchio gather for a meeting of Urban Fantasy Protagonists support group. In a circle of folding chairs and while drinking coffee the group explore their feelings and discuss Patricia Briggs’s 2006 book Moon Called.
Moderator: Harry, let’s not forget protocol.
Dresden: Oh, sorry, forgot, um, I’m Harry Dresden. Wizard.
Group: Hi Harry.
Dresden: I guess it’s just tough being secretive, knowing there is a big world of Fae out there and unable to really talk about it. I mean, I’ve been doing this since the 90s and it hasn’t got much easier.
Moderator: Well Harry, even though Mercy and Jane and Jade and Atticus came out in the new millennia, their troubles are still valid.
Atticus: Right, and even though our universe has different rules, we’re still relegated to the shadows.
Mercy: Yes, that’s true, and even though some Fae hove come out in my universe, it’s still tough, difficult to live by a different set of standards. In my universe, most of the magical entities are still widely unknown to most people.
Jane: Ok, so I got started a few years later and magic is OUT in my world, it’s still not easy, I mean vampires having constitutional and contractual rights make things more out in the open, I still have to fight for my life against paranormal villains and bad guys.
Pinocchio: All you 21st century “heroes” make me sick! You know what it was like being an Urban Fantasy protagonist in the 40s? Do you? OF COURSE YOU DON’T! That was during the WAR brother, the WAR, and you think we had support groups back then? HELL NO!
Moderator: Pinocchio, we know and understand, and RESPECT, your senior status but you must acknowledge the difficulties these new heroes face.
Pinocchio: No strings, baby, NO STRINGS!!
Mercy: Well, I mean, being a walker – and I’m sure Ms. Yellowrock can agree with me –
Jane: Jane, please.
Mercy: Thanks, we know how difficult it is being able to change to an animal but still living in a human world of non-changers AND still not being a part of a pack, a larger group. We’re kind of on our own.
Atticus: We druids can change and there’s not many of us.
Jade: Well I can agree with Harry, even sorcerers and wizards can feel isolated.
Moderator: OK, I see a break through, what I’m hearing from all of you is a feeling of isolation, of lacking a clear belonging.
Group – murmurs of agreement.
Mercy: In Moon Called we explore my life in and around werewolves while not being a part of a pack and also not fitting in with the rest of humanity. I shift into a coyote, but I’m not a werewolf, but I was raised by werewolves. I also know vampires, a gremlin and met a troll. Glamors keep regular humans from seeing the truth, but it’s out there and I have to deal with it. I have a history major from college, and that partially explains why I’m also an auto mechanic.
Jade: I was raised by shifters too, and it’s tough not belonging. Of course it is fun to read about magic users, werewolves, vampires, gremlins and trolls.
Moderator: So maybe fans of the genre can empathize with you all as being outside the norm, being out on the fringe and maybe being misunderstood. By reading urban fantasy, your fans get escape, at least for a little while, into another world of fantasy and adventure. They can relate to you because maybe they don’t feel “a part of the pack” either.
Groups murmurs.
Pinocchio: Are you my conscience?
Moderator: Who me?
Moderator: Harry, let’s not forget protocol.
Dresden: Oh, sorry, forgot, um, I’m Harry Dresden. Wizard.
Group: Hi Harry.
Dresden: I guess it’s just tough being secretive, knowing there is a big world of Fae out there and unable to really talk about it. I mean, I’ve been doing this since the 90s and it hasn’t got much easier.
Moderator: Well Harry, even though Mercy and Jane and Jade and Atticus came out in the new millennia, their troubles are still valid.
Atticus: Right, and even though our universe has different rules, we’re still relegated to the shadows.
Mercy: Yes, that’s true, and even though some Fae hove come out in my universe, it’s still tough, difficult to live by a different set of standards. In my universe, most of the magical entities are still widely unknown to most people.
Jane: Ok, so I got started a few years later and magic is OUT in my world, it’s still not easy, I mean vampires having constitutional and contractual rights make things more out in the open, I still have to fight for my life against paranormal villains and bad guys.
Pinocchio: All you 21st century “heroes” make me sick! You know what it was like being an Urban Fantasy protagonist in the 40s? Do you? OF COURSE YOU DON’T! That was during the WAR brother, the WAR, and you think we had support groups back then? HELL NO!
Moderator: Pinocchio, we know and understand, and RESPECT, your senior status but you must acknowledge the difficulties these new heroes face.
Pinocchio: No strings, baby, NO STRINGS!!
Mercy: Well, I mean, being a walker – and I’m sure Ms. Yellowrock can agree with me –
Jane: Jane, please.
Mercy: Thanks, we know how difficult it is being able to change to an animal but still living in a human world of non-changers AND still not being a part of a pack, a larger group. We’re kind of on our own.
Atticus: We druids can change and there’s not many of us.
Jade: Well I can agree with Harry, even sorcerers and wizards can feel isolated.
Moderator: OK, I see a break through, what I’m hearing from all of you is a feeling of isolation, of lacking a clear belonging.
Group – murmurs of agreement.
Mercy: In Moon Called we explore my life in and around werewolves while not being a part of a pack and also not fitting in with the rest of humanity. I shift into a coyote, but I’m not a werewolf, but I was raised by werewolves. I also know vampires, a gremlin and met a troll. Glamors keep regular humans from seeing the truth, but it’s out there and I have to deal with it. I have a history major from college, and that partially explains why I’m also an auto mechanic.
Jade: I was raised by shifters too, and it’s tough not belonging. Of course it is fun to read about magic users, werewolves, vampires, gremlins and trolls.
Moderator: So maybe fans of the genre can empathize with you all as being outside the norm, being out on the fringe and maybe being misunderstood. By reading urban fantasy, your fans get escape, at least for a little while, into another world of fantasy and adventure. They can relate to you because maybe they don’t feel “a part of the pack” either.
Groups murmurs.
Pinocchio: Are you my conscience?
Moderator: Who me?
January 27, 2018
January 2018 Re-read. Buddy read with Sarah.
January 2017 re-read: Mercy is one of my favorite characters to read about. This world is fascinating, and the characters (and their interactions) are fantastic.
15 January 2016: $1.99 on Kindle
December 2015 re-read: Buddy read with Sarah
This series is so comfortable. Like coming home. I love the world. I love the wolves - that they aren't "nice" all the time, they are sometimes at the whim of the animal that shares their body. But most of all, I love Mercy. She's smart, and practical. She's not uber-powerful (though she's definitely got some special stuff going on). There's a love-triangle, but it's well done, and Mercy doesn't string the guys along, and she still takes the time to make sure the decision is the one that she wants to make (also, I think it's fairly obvious from early in this book which way the wind's blowing on the love-triangle issue). The villain's plan (which I mention in my review below) is still really, really intricate - a little too intricate - but I can't say that it's not brilliant at the same time.
One of my favorite parts of this series is that Mercy isn't as strong as the wolves, but she still holds her own, and often it's HER, her brain, her reasoning, her ability (to think without the impulses that rule the werewolves) that ends up being the key to winning. I think that's awesome. (Vague spoiler for rest of series: )
My other favorite thing, is the world itself. Though it starts out focused enough, in this book, in the Tri-Cities of Washington (state), the world is huge, and it's explored a lot more in both future Mercy installments, and the Alpha and Omega series (which honestly, you SHOULD read in the combined reading order, I think that offers a lot more enjoyment of both series). Primarily we get to deal with the wolves (almost always), the fae, and the vampires. But sometimes there are other things thrown into the mix, and sometimes there are really freaking powerful beings that come up. It's interesting and varied and there's never a dull moment. Then you throw in the human politics, and prejucides (on all sides) and things really start to get interesting.
This series (the combined one of Mercy & Alpha/Omega) is one of my top 5 favorites, along with Kate Daniels, but I hesitate to really compare these two. This series is quieter - because the heroine is different, and some people won't connect with her in the same way - but I promise that it's just as intricate, just as well-written, and just as full of amazing characters in a fully-realized world.
5 May 2014: $4.59 on Kindle ~ still an excellent deal!
3 March 2014: $2.99 on Kindle
Review:
This is one of my top favorite series. I re-read it at least once a year - often even more than that - and I'm always sucked in, always so incredibly emotionally invested in the characters and what happens to them.
I think, one of the best things about this book (and indeed anything I've read by Patricia Briggs) is the balance she maintains. Mercy's not perfect. No one is. Everyone makes some mistakes, everyone deals with them - and it's not always pretty, or easy.
I can easily root for Mercy (and all the others) because she feels real to me. She's smart, capable, funny and loyal - but that's not all. She knows her limits; doesn't like it when it makes more sense for someone stronger to take care of something, but lets them do it anyways because it's smarter and she fights for what she believes, even when it makes her quake with fear at the consequences.
The Mercy Thompson world is another thing that's important to me. The world building has internal consistency and makes sense in and of itself. That alone is a huge thing in a market glutted with PNR and UF that uses paranormal aspects as window-dressing.
I can never read this book without laughing, grinning, and sometimes tearing up. Six (Mercy) books later and I ...
I do have a couple of minor niggles with the....incredibly intricate plan that is the mystery, but it's not enough to take away from my enjoyment.
I highly recommend this series to anyone and everyone.
January 2017 re-read: Mercy is one of my favorite characters to read about. This world is fascinating, and the characters (and their interactions) are fantastic.
15 January 2016: $1.99 on Kindle
December 2015 re-read: Buddy read with Sarah
This series is so comfortable. Like coming home. I love the world. I love the wolves - that they aren't "nice" all the time, they are sometimes at the whim of the animal that shares their body. But most of all, I love Mercy. She's smart, and practical. She's not uber-powerful (though she's definitely got some special stuff going on). There's a love-triangle, but it's well done, and Mercy doesn't string the guys along, and she still takes the time to make sure the decision is the one that she wants to make (also, I think it's fairly obvious from early in this book which way the wind's blowing on the love-triangle issue). The villain's plan (which I mention in my review below) is still really, really intricate - a little too intricate - but I can't say that it's not brilliant at the same time.
One of my favorite parts of this series is that Mercy isn't as strong as the wolves, but she still holds her own, and often it's HER, her brain, her reasoning, her ability (to think without the impulses that rule the werewolves) that ends up being the key to winning. I think that's awesome. (Vague spoiler for rest of series: )
My other favorite thing, is the world itself. Though it starts out focused enough, in this book, in the Tri-Cities of Washington (state), the world is huge, and it's explored a lot more in both future Mercy installments, and the Alpha and Omega series (which honestly, you SHOULD read in the combined reading order, I think that offers a lot more enjoyment of both series). Primarily we get to deal with the wolves (almost always), the fae, and the vampires. But sometimes there are other things thrown into the mix, and sometimes there are really freaking powerful beings that come up. It's interesting and varied and there's never a dull moment. Then you throw in the human politics, and prejucides (on all sides) and things really start to get interesting.
This series (the combined one of Mercy & Alpha/Omega) is one of my top 5 favorites, along with Kate Daniels, but I hesitate to really compare these two. This series is quieter - because the heroine is different, and some people won't connect with her in the same way - but I promise that it's just as intricate, just as well-written, and just as full of amazing characters in a fully-realized world.
5 May 2014: $4.59 on Kindle ~ still an excellent deal!
3 March 2014: $2.99 on Kindle
Review:
This is one of my top favorite series. I re-read it at least once a year - often even more than that - and I'm always sucked in, always so incredibly emotionally invested in the characters and what happens to them.
I think, one of the best things about this book (and indeed anything I've read by Patricia Briggs) is the balance she maintains. Mercy's not perfect. No one is. Everyone makes some mistakes, everyone deals with them - and it's not always pretty, or easy.
I can easily root for Mercy (and all the others) because she feels real to me. She's smart, capable, funny and loyal - but that's not all. She knows her limits; doesn't like it when it makes more sense for someone stronger to take care of something, but lets them do it anyways because it's smarter and she fights for what she believes, even when it makes her quake with fear at the consequences.
The Mercy Thompson world is another thing that's important to me. The world building has internal consistency and makes sense in and of itself. That alone is a huge thing in a market glutted with PNR and UF that uses paranormal aspects as window-dressing.
I can never read this book without laughing, grinning, and sometimes tearing up. Six (Mercy) books later and I ...
I do have a couple of minor niggles with the....incredibly intricate plan that is the mystery, but it's not enough to take away from my enjoyment.
I highly recommend this series to anyone and everyone.
January 28, 2009
I enjoyed this book, the character is a tomboy and although the world isn't my total fave, I gobbled it up.
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