Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs

Fourteenth Mercy Thompson book is a good addition to the series and a welcome interlude after the previous book. Mercy is suffering from consequences of the artefact that took her over, and no one can help. But when her brother by the Coyote, Gary, needs her help, she puts her issues aside and heads to Montana with Adam.

An artefact has been stolen from the Frost Giant and until he gets it back, he’s going to bury the mountains in snow. That’s not even the worst part: if the ritual where the artifact is needed isn’t performed, the world will end. No pressure.

Despite the high stakes, the case is relatively easy to handle for a change. There isn’t an overwhelming evil to kill and even the main adversary is a fairly benign creature. It takes a bit of a toll on Mercy nonetheless, but she has good help too.

On top of the main story, there are random side stories that don’t seem to have any importance, and minor characters’ points of view glimpses. They add to the length of the book, but don’t really offer anything to the overall story, except maybe the one about Sherwood. My only gripe is that despite it taking place in Montana, not a single member of Bran’s pack made an appearance. All in all, a less intense but interesting addition to the series.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs

Soul Taken is the 13th book in Mercy Thompson series. It came out last year and is being reissued so I got a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It had been a while since I read the previous book, but I caught up pretty fast on who was who and what was going on. Wolfe, the insane vampire who has been stalking Mercy goes missing and Mercy and the wolf pack are issued an order to find him. But things aren’t what they seem and she realises pretty fast that it’s the other vampires that need finding. Wolfe, on the other hand, is in much greater peril.

A centuries-old possessed weapon has found its way to Tri-Cities and whoever is wielding it is killing people who possess a little magic. And now it wants Mercy.

This seemed a shorter book than usually. The book had barely gotten on the way when we were already facing the final battle. There were all sorts of side plots going on, like Sherwood finally figuring out who he is—a huge surprise there—which threatens the pack dynamic. But everything was interesting and held my attention well like always.

The final battle was shorter and less destructive than usually. I like how Mercy isn’t all powerful, even if she yet again managed to win against great odds. I must say though, that at this point in the series, the battles aren’t as interesting as the family and pack stuff—probably why the book was balanced towards the latter. Still, I’ll continue with the series, if for nothing else then to find out what’s going on with Samuel.

Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs

Alpha & Omega, the parallel series to Briggs’ Mercy Thompson has advanced to a sixth book already and it’s still going strong. In Wild Sign, Charles Cornick, Mercy’s werewolf step-brother, and his wife Anna, the omega, are sent to investigate the disappearance of an entire village in the mountains between California and Oregon, in a land owned by Charles’s step-mother Leah.

Leah has been a staple character in both series, a constantly disagreeable figure with whom Charles and Mercy have a very conflicted relationship. Her mating with Bran has been a puzzle to the entire pack. Here we finally have her story and learn why Bran mated her, and why she’s been angry for two centuries. It involves a mysterious god-like power and Sherwood Post, the werewolf in Mercy’s pack who has lost his memory.

Playing with one’s memories is the godlike entity’s main weapon, and it accesses them through music, to which Anna as a musician is particularly susceptible. And it’s not magic that Charles can easily counter with his skills. The entity needs to lure women to it in order to impregnate them, so that it can gain power and become a god in reality. And Anna is there, no matter that as a werewolf she can’t get pregnant.

It’s not easy to battle a god, let alone defeat it. Great sacrifices are needed, and that’s where Leah has a role to play. She has to face her past in order to finally be free. For all that I’ve always disliked her, she became a real, relatable person with her suffering. Bran too has to face his past with her.

This felt like a shorter book than it probably was. It seemed like Anna and Charles were still investigating when the final battle was already on them. But the battle was complicated enough that the ending didn’t feel rushed. The emotional payoff was perfect too, especially in the epilogue. All in all, a good addition to the series that opens great new avenues for the series.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs

It’s been a while since I read a Mercy Thompson book and I was a little out of touch when I picked up Smoke Bitten, which is already a twelfth in the series. But that didn’t matter at all. Briggs has a very reader friendly writing style and I was soon brought up to speed about what had happened and who was who, and had no trouble following the story.

This book is slightly smaller in scale than some of the previous ones when it comes to the size and lethalness of the enemy and attack on Mercy and her werewolf pack. Not that a killer who can turn into a smoke is easy to face. To add tension, a portal to Underhill opens to Mercy’s backyard, a rouge pack threatens Mercy’s, and Adam is suffering from a magical problem he’s not willing to discuss with Mercy, creating tension between them.

The story opens with an emotional punch, followed by a deceptively slow unfolding of the main plot. Little things happen here and there, and all of a sudden it’s time for the final confrontation. Everything works out to satisfaction in the end, and Mercy learns new things about herself and Adam. All in all, a good addition to the series.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.