Waiting on Wednesday: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week Chrissie has a "can't-wait-to-read" selection for you:

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #8)

An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.

Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.
Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.

Review: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #7)

Publisher - Orbit
Publication Date - 5th March 2013
Paperback - 368 pages
Genre - Urban Fantasy

Source - Purchased

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - Now that she's the mate of Alpha werewolf Adam, Mercy Thompson's life finally seems to be calming down - but not for long. After a traffic accident, Mercy suddenly can't reach Adam or the rest of the pack. All she knows is that Adam's angry and in pain.

If Adam's disappearance has anything to do with the werewolves' fight for public acceptance, it means the entire pack is in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy will have to seek help from an unlikely ally - no matter how grave the consequences.

My Thoughts - For those of you who've read my reviews of the previous books in this series, you'll know that it is probably my favourite series...ever! With possibly the exception of River Marked (book 6) which I didn't enjoy quite so much, so much so that I seem to have forgotten to review it completely, these books have been amazing. And I'm glad to say that with this instalment, the author seems to have got over her little funk that she experienced with the previous book and it was well on par with the earlier books in the series.

Mercy is her usual kick-ass self, and when the rest of the pack is taken and she is the only person who can rescue them, she quickly gets into action and does what she has to do. This is one of my favourite qualities in Mercy... she knows what has to be done and she's not afraid to get her hands a little dirty in the process. She loves Adam and will do anything to get him back, as well as the rest of the pack, even if that does mean teaming up with an unlikely ally.

I love how there is always a mystery involved with each of these books for Mercy and the gang to solve. Once again, the mystery element perfectly compliments the more paranormal elements, and had me turning the pages to find out who was behind the kidnapping (or wolf-napping) and what the reason behind it was. And it was not obvious at all, well not to me at least, who was involved.

Summary - A perfect addition to a kick-ass urban fantasy series. Fans of this genre will love it and people who aren't fans of the genre should still read these books.

Other books in the series:
1. Moon Called
2. Blood Bound
3. Iron Kissed
4. Bone Crossed
5. Silver Borne
6. River Marked
7. Frost Burned

Review: Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #5)

Publisher - Orbit
Publication Date - 1st April 2010
Paperback - 352 pages
Genre - Urban Fantasy

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 5 out of 5: It was amazing!



Book Info - When mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson attempts to return a powerful Fae book she'd previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down. It seems the book contains secret knowledge - and the Fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side - leaving Mercy to cover for him, lest his own father declare Sam's life forfeit. All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she might not have many more to live...

Review - Wow, I really love this series! There is a great mystery surrounding a fae item that Mercy was given in a previous book and once again Mercy finds herself in a whole heap of trouble as the fae try to find this item. This part of the storyline is full of intrigue and, luckily, was nowhere near as complicated as the plot for Bone Crossed.

Samuel plays a big part in Silver Borne too, as he becomes suicidal and his wolf has to take control (this is only a slight spoiler as it happens very early on in the book). It becomes Mercy's responsibility to care for him and to make sure he doesn't have a run in with Adam's pack. It is obvious that Mercy cares a great deal about Samuel and I really hope he gets his Happy Ever After.

But, for me, the best part of Silver Borne is seeing how Mercy interacts with the others in her new pack and watching how she learns to deal with her mate bond with Adam. Although this storyline is first established in Bone Crossed, it was never fully examined as she spends a lot of time away from the pack. In Silver Borne it becomes obvious that, although Mercy does have some supporters, there are a lot of members of the pack who think a coyote has no place within a wolf pack and Mercy has to work hard to prove her worth to them.

In this book I also felt as though Mercy and Adam are a real couple now. She is slowly learning to trust him and to rely on him to help when she gets into trouble - not that she has become any less kick-ass though! Mercy and Adam are, by far, my favourite fictional couple and I hope to see them become stronger as the series continues.

Summary - I loved this book! It is full of drama, mystery, action, romance and supernatural creatures. If you haven't started this series yet then you need to go to your nearest bookshop/library today and get your hands on the first book!

Other books in the series:
1. Moon Called
2. Blood Bound
3. Iron Kissed
4. Bone Crossed
5. Silver Borne
6. River Marked
7. Frost Burned

Other reviews of this book:
Book Smugglers / Dear Author / Feeling Fictional

Review: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega #2)

Publisher – Orbit
Publication Date – 1st October 2009
Paperback – 304 Pages
Genre – Urban Fantasy
Source – Purchased

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was ok

Book Info - Anna Latham didn't know how complicated life could get - until she became a werewolf.  And now she's not just part of any pack, but under the direct supervision of Bran, leader of the North American werewolves.  And her mate is his son Charles, the pack enforcer.

With all the advances that have been made in forensics, the werewolves will not be able to hide their existence from humans much longer - and Bran wants their coming out party to be on his terms.  But his European counterparts don't see things the same way.  Anna and Charles are chosen to represent Bran at a key meeting.  But when a French werewolf, one of Bran's most vocal opponents, is found murdered, Charles's reputation shoots him to the top of the suspect list  And among the wolves, there is one penalty for breaking the law: death.  The killer must be found, or Charles will take the fall.

My Thoughts - Hunting Ground carries on a few weeks after the events of Cry Wolf. Although I enjoyed the first book in the series, I did not enjoy this book as much.  Anna and Charles who are newly mated, must attend a conference in Seattle with other werewolf leaders to discuss the fact that the Marrock will soon be announcing their existence to the rest of the world. Because of this a huge portion of the novel is focused on werewolf politics, which meant that there is a lot of talk and no action for the most part and it did become quite confusing and complicated at times. This meant that the story was very slow moving at the start and I didn't find it particularly interesting.

However, it does begin to improve just over halfway through but this may be too late for some readers who might have already given up on the book by this time. I perservered because I am a big fan of Briggs' Mercy Thompson series, but this was the only thing keeping me going through the first half.  The action does begin to pick up when somebody is killed and it becomes clear that Anna is also a target of the murderer. It becomes more than just talk between all the uber-dominant wolves that are gathered and more than a few fangs are bared in the second half of the story. The writing became a lot more like what I expected from the author and it made me feel that I hadn't wasted time ploughing through the first half of the book.

But even the mystery element of the story wasn't great. I managed to work out who was behind the murders way before Charles and Anna did so the ending didn't really hold any surprises for me.

The final thing that didn't sit right with me about Hunting Ground was the relationship between Charles and Anna. Their wolves declared each other as mates in the first book, but I just didn't feel the connection between them which I found frustrating at times. As a result, I had trouble connecting with them.

Summary - Hunting Ground is an ok Urban Fantasy novel. I think that fans of the author would enjoy this book, so long as they persevere with it. If you've never read anything by Patricia Briggs before then I would highly recommend her Mercy Thompson series instead - that is one of the best series' I've come across since I started reading this genre!

Other books in the series:
Alpha & Omega (Novella from the On The Prowl anthology)
1. Cry Wolf
2. Hunting Ground

Other reviews of this book:
Dear Author / Love Vampires / The Book Smugglers

Review: Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs (Alpha and Omega #1)

Publisher - Orbit
Publication Date - 6th August 2009
Paperback - 320 pages
Genre - Urban Fantasy

Source - Purchased

Rating - 4 out of 5: Really liked it!

Book Info - Charles Cornick is his pack's enforcer and lives a harsh life, doing jobs other wolves can't - or won't. And his most recent task was rescuing Anna Latham from a life of brutality. This leaves him shot and wounded, but he's happy to pay the price. Charles is strongly drawn to Anna, and her growing 'Omega' powers will see his people through dangerous times.

Anna desperately needs her new mountainous home to be safer than the life she's left behind. But when a rogue werewolf starts murdering hikers, Charles and Anna are sent into the winter forests to investigate. Charles is still weak and will need Anna's strength as they discover a web of witchcraft that could drag down the whole pack. Including its leader Bran, Charles's father, head of a vast network of wolves. And if Bran weakens, dark madness could run like a fever through half a continent.

My Thoughts - I thought that both Anna and Charles were interesting characters and that they were written really well. Anna is a strong Omega but she has been beaten down by her previous experiences and it takes Charles’ patience and love to help her to recover from her past traumas. Charles is Bran’s assassin and I really liked the way that he was portrayed. Although he kills for a living and most people in the area are obviously very scared of him, when he is with Anna he is shown to be kind and loving. He is also shown to have compassion and understanding rather than just being a ruthless assassin.

I also really enjoyed reading about the relationship between Charles and Anna. Their wolves have picked them out to be mates and they both feel like they are meant to be together even though they do not know each other. Charles feels very protective of Anna, especially given the events of her past, but can sometimes come across as being possessive. Anna, meanwhile, is slowly learning to trust Charles as they get to know each other and she overcomes her fear of him.

Summary -  I loved this book. It was easy to read and full of great descriptions that really pulled me into the story. I loved the characters and the setting and I will definitely be trying to get my hands on a copy of the second book in the series: Hunting Ground.

Other books in the series:
0. Alpha and Omega (Novella)
1. Cry Wolf
2. Hunting Ground

Other reviews of this book:
Blog Critics / Love Vampires / Story Wings
(If you would like your review of Cry Wolf included here, please leave a link to your review in the comments and I will be sure to add it)

Review: Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #4)

Publisher - Orbit
Publication Date - 5th February 2009
Paperback - 304 pages
Genre - Urban Fantasy

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it!

Book Info - By day, Mercy is a car mechanic in the sprawling Tri-Cities of Eastern Washington. By night, she explores her preternatural side. As a shapeshifter with some unique talents, Mercy has often found herself having to maintain a tenuous harmony between the human and the not so human. This time she may get more than she bargained for.

Marsilia, the local Vampire Queen, has learned that Mercy crossed her by slaying a member of her clan—and she's out for blood. But since Mercy is protected from direct reprisal by the werewolf pack (and her close relationship with its sexy Alpha), it won't be Mercy's blood Marsilia is after.

My Thoughts - So after a huge cliff-hanger at the end of Iron Kissed (how I would love to have a certain alpha werewolf waiting for me on my bed!) I was really excited to start on Bone Crossed. And luckily Patricia Briggs has delivered again in book four of my favourite series.

The action starts right from the very first page, completely sucking me into Mercy's world once again. I do feel sorry for Mercy as trouble constantly finds her and she never has a moments peace, but this does make for a great reading experience.

At the beginning of Bone Crossed Mercy finally agrees to become Adam's mate officially and I really enjoyed reading about how she fits into the pack and the reactions of the werewolves when their alpha takes a coyote as his mate. As can be imagined, things don't go smoothly for Mercy but she handles it with the same strength that has made her one of my favourite main characters. But there was one minor drawback to the relationship between Mercy and Adam (apart from the fact that I want him all to myself!). Despite the fact that Adam is now her mate, Mercy still refuses to let him in completely and always tries to solve problems on her own. And she makes a couple of very questionable decisions considering the fact that she now has the pack to think of. I really hope that as the series progresses Mercy will learn to lean on Adam more and be more considerate of her responsibilities within the pack.

Stefan the vampire plays a major role in Bone Crossed and I am growing to really like him. He is a great friend to Mercy and is incredibly loyal to the people he loves.

The storyline moves at a fast pace, making it very difficult to put the book down. This, along with a great cast of characters that I love reading about, makes Bone Crossed a very good addition to an amazing series. The only reason I didn't give it 5 out of 5 is the complexity of the final solution to the mystery surrounding Marsilia (the vampire queen), Stefan and Blackwood (another vampire that features in this book). For me it was just far too complicated and I'm not even sure I'll remember the finer points of it by tomorrow. As well as this, there are several brainstorming sessions between Mercy, Adam and Samuel as they are trying to work out the connection between these three vampires and what is happening to Mercy. There were a lot of complex scenarios being thrown around in a short space of time and I really did have trouble keeping up with it all.

Summary - Overall, I absolutely loved this book and the characters contained within it. The author is able to beautifully draw Mercy's world for the reader, allowing us to become completely absorbed within it. This series really is a must-read.

Other books in the series:
1. Moon Called
2. Blood Bound
3. Iron Kissed
4. Bone Crossed
5. Silver Borne
6. River Marked
7. Frost Burned

Other reviews of this book:
Book Smugglers / Dear Author / Feeling Fictional 
(If you would like your review of Bone Crossed included here, please leave a link to your review in the comments and I will be sure to add it)

Review: Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #3)

Publisher - Orbit
Publication Date - 7th August 2008
Paperback - 320 pages
Genre - Urban Fantasy

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it

Book Info - It wasn’t hard to follow the scent of blood to the living room where the fae had been killed. It had been a violent death, perfect for creating ghosts.

Mercy Thompson enjoys being a mechanic, but life is never simple given her increasing closeness to the local werewolf pack, and her ability to change into coyote form at will. And when a member of the fae community calls in a favour, needing her skills for a covert murder investigation, she jumps into the hunt.

But the dangers multiply and she clashes with shadowed creatures of great power. When her old boss Zee is charged with a brutal assassination, Mercy finds herself fighting alone. There are those who love her, who would keep her safe, but she is wary and holds her freedom precious. Until, that is, she has nothing left to lose but her life…

My Thoughts - Before I get started on my review, I must warn you that I may be doing a lot of gushing. This series has become my favourite Urban Fantasy series and I absolutely loved Iron Kissed. Although this is part of a series you could probably read this as a stand-alone novel (but I wouldn’t advise that as Moon Called and Blood Bound are amazing too and definitely worth a read!). I have noticed that in each book, the author seems to concentrate on a different type of supernatural creature. Moon Called was focused on werewolves, Blood Bound on vampires and Iron Kissed on the fae.

It was interesting to read all about the fae in this book, although as a whole they seem to be my least favourite paranormal creature in fiction. But the author manages to provide just enough details mixed in with a huge amount of mystery to keep my interest in their storyline. I really like Zee – he is a good friend to Mercy but at the same time he is such a mystery and I was really happy to see him as one of the main characters in Iron Kissed.

The novel seems to start off at a slightly slower pace than the previous books in the series, but things seemed to speed up for me once the werewolf pack was reintroduced to the story (could this be something to do with the delicious Adam Hauptman? Possibly *swoon*). As well as the problems she has to deal with for the fae, she also has some things to sort out with the local werewolf pack. When Mercy moved to the area, Adam, the Alpha of the pack, declared her as his mate to keep her safe from other werewolves – apparently wolves kill coyotes in the wild so he was trying to stop this from happening to Mercy. But Mercy finds out that Adam has declared her his mate for another, more personal, reason. He is in love with her. To complicate matters, Mercy is currently living with her ex-boyfriend (and uber-dominant werewolf) Sam, who is still in love with her. It becomes clear to Mercy that she must choose between the two as her indecision is having a strange effect on the pack.

I love the dynamics between Mercy, Adam and Sam. Mercy loves them both a lot, but for completely different reasons, and she doesn’t want to see either of them get hurt. She also knows that she will lose whoever she doesn’t choose and she can’t bear for that to happen, so until now Mercy has been trying to keep both of them at arms length. During Iron Kissed, Mercy is visibly torn between the two and having to choose is obviously breaking her heart. But she knows it isn’t fair to keep them both waiting for her.

At several times during this novel, we are shown a much more vulnerable side to Mercy. Don’t get me wrong, she still has her tough, say-exactly-what-she-thinks, do-whatever-needs-to-be-done-to-save-the-world attitude, but the events of Blood Bound and Iron Kissed have taken a toll on her and she starts to have panic attacks and there is a fearful side to her that wasn’t there in Moon Called. I absolutely love Mercy as a main character and this vulnerability only makes me love her even more.

My only complaint about this book would have to be the ending. I loved the direction it was going in, but just as the author starts detailing an event that I have been waiting for for a long time, the book just stops. I would have preferred more details about this this event (a LOT more details!).

Summary - Overall, this is an amazing installment from one of the best Urban Fantasy series’ around. If you have not started this series yet – DO IT NOW!

Other books in the series:
1. Moon Called
2. Blood Bound
3. Iron Kissed
4. Bone Crossed
5. Silver Borne
6. River Marked
7. Frost Burned

Other reviews of this book:
Dear Author / Love Vampires
(If you would like your review of Iron Kissed included here, please leave a link to your review in the comments and I will be sure to add it)

Review: Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #2)

Publisher - Orbit
Publication Date - 3rd July 2008
Paperback - 352 pages
Genre - Urban Fantasy

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 5 out of 5: It was amazing!

Book Info - Like most people who own their own business, I work long hours that start early in the morning. So when someone calls me in the middle of the night, they’d better be dying...

Mechanic Mercy Thompson is woken at 3am by a vampire calling in a favour. He has to deliver a message to a fellow undead and needs a witness that won’t be noticed – and Mercy’s shapeshifting abilities make her the perfect candidate. But the assignment turns into a bloodbath and Mercy attracts the attention of not just a powerful vampire, but the even more powerful demon possessing him. She can count on the supernatural community for protection – and alpha werewolf Adam would like her to rely on him in other ways too – but when it comes to being proactive, she’s on her own.

My Thoughts - Once again, I absolutely loved the character of Mercy – she is quite possibly my favourite character from an Urban Fantasy series! She is incredibly strong and brave, and she puts herself in a lot of danger in this book in order to help others and to do what she feels needs to be done. However, when she does find herself in these troublesome situations, she still manages to come across as a likeable and believable heroine due to the fear and struggles she faces when making certain decisions. Sometimes I think characters can lose a little bit of their believability if they come across as completely fearless, but this is not the case with Mercy. In fact she comes across as stronger than these other characters as she gets the job done despite the way she feels about the situation. I also really enjoy reading about Mercy’s interactions with the werewolves around her, and the way that she fits in with the Pack. This series is one of the best that I have read with regards to explaining a pack mentality and I find it fascinating to read.

But of course there are two werewolves whose interactions with Mercy I most enjoyed reading about, and these are Samuel and Adam. They both have feelings for Mercy, and she also has special feelings for them, but there are complications which stop her from being with either of them. As I said in my review for Moon Called, I am a big fan of Adam, and I have to say that I am very impressed with Mercy’s willpower as I don’t think I could have avoided the situation with Adam for as long as she has! But the fact that she has remained by herself despite the fact that she has got two very sexy werewolf males after her just goes to show how strong and independent she is. It also adds a lot of chemistry to the book, which I think could be spoilt if Mercy does ever choose between them.

We learn a lot more about the character of Samuel in Blood Bound and, because of the things that we find out about his past, he has become a much more likeable character for me. There are times when we see a very vulnerable side to him and I really started to get a feel for his character. Although I still don’t think he is right for Mercy, Samuel is definitely a great character in this series.

At the end of this novel though, the character I found myself thinking about most is Ben. He is a werewolf who we first meet in Moon Called and right from the start he is portrayed as a bad guy. He is linked with some bad things that happened a long time ago but it is never really known whether or not he was involved with these events. And throughout the course of Blood Bound we start to see another side of Ben until something very sad happens to him at the end of the book. I would really like to find out a bit more about him in future books, including whether or not he is really as bad as Mercy seems to think he is, and what really happened to him in Blood Bound. I hope that Mercy will now take the time to get to know Ben a bit better as I think that he could be a fascinating character.

Summary - Overall, I absolutely loved Blood Bound and these books are fast becoming my favourite Urban Fantasy series of all time - I highly recommend them to all fans of this genre! They are well-paced, with a good balance between characterisation, action, romance and story. I can’t wait to read the next installment in the series – Iron Kissed.

Other books in the series:
1. Moon Called
2. Blood Bound
3. Iron Kissed
4. Bone Crossed
5. Silver Borne
6. River Marked
7. Frost Burned

Other reviews of this book:
Book Chick City / Dear Author / Love Vampires
(If you would like your review of Blood Bound included here, please leave a link to your review in the comments and I will be sure to add it)

Waiting on Wednesday: Fair Game

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week my "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Fair Game by Patricia Briggs (Alpha and Omega #3)

When the FBI request a pack consultant on a serial killer case they’re following in Boston, Anna and Charles are sent in. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves - all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And if Charles and Anna can’t get to the bottom of this mystery, they may be next...