River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Series: Mercedes Thompson Series, Book 6

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Copyright: 2011

Pages: 326

Rating:  4/5

Review: If Mercy and Adam together is what you're looking for, this book is a very happy present. Almost the entire book is the two of them together.

Mercy and Adam are on honeymoon and there's an ancient monster in the river near their campground - one they'll obviously need to take care of. There they meet some of the locals who help them fight the monster and we get an insight into Mercy's Native American heritage, her father and a whole lotta other people who I'll leave in suspense for now. You'll love Coyote!!

After waiting 5 books for more of Mercy & Adam together, this book gives you just that - but I think in overload. I missed not having the rest of the pack around - Bed, Warren, Samuel, especially no cameo by Bran. I can't believe I'm writing this, but there was just too much of Mercy and Adam and yet not enough to their interaction to make me happy.

"But you better put a shirt on, or your gorgeous self will cause an accident if you go running by the road, and someone sees you."

This different side to Mercy also surprised me. I don't know if I didn't notice it in the previous books but the number of times Mercy kept commenting on Adam's gorgeousness stood out for me in this one. I don't remember her going on about it so much before - but then again I guess being finally mated to someone like Adam would do that to you. 

I like that even with book 6, this series is still so lovely to read. The story flows along smoothly and in what is typical with Briggs' writing, you get immersed into it. This one is a lot more relaxed reading than the previous books. This was my first Briggs book where I took breaks in between and didn’t feel the urge to read the whole thing at one go, and in that I feel a bit disappointed, cause I've come to expect 5 star quality from Briggs. I did expect a whole lot more from River Marked, and while it didn't meet all my expectations, its still a good Mercy Thompson book.

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Blood Bound (Mercedes Thompson, #2) - Patricia Briggs

292 pages

Rating 4.5/5

Under the rule of science, there are no witch burnings allowed, no water trials or public lynchings. In return, the average law-abiding, solid citizen has little to worry about from the things that go bump in the night. Sometimes I wish I was an average citizen...

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places - and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary - and neither is the demon inside of him...

In typical Briggs style, the book gets you involved in it from the get go.
There's more of the vampires in this book. Stephan asks Mercy for help when going to check out a new vamp in town who turns out to be more than just a typical young vampire. The wolves get involved to help stop the killings, and its up to Mercy to save them all.

This book had some lovely scary scenes (i like scary scenes, hence the 'lovely'), like when Stephan and Mercy first meet Cory Littleton the vampire or when he scratches Mercy's trailer.

I like the vamp characters in this book. There's more of Stephan, and like i mentioned during book 1, anyone driving the Mystery Machine is awesome in my books. The vamps aren't your typical bloodsucking-but-good-guys types. They're more concerned bout themselves and have no value for human life (They call the humans they feed off 'Sheep') or anyone not vampire - something i found refreshing. Except for Stefan. Who seems to have a heart. I hope there's more of Stefan in the books to come. Also more of Wolfe, i liked the idea of a wizard vampire, and he has a interesting character.

Mercy is still torn between Samuel and Adam. Sam is now living with her ("So how are you going to explain to your neighbors that there is a strange man sleeping on your front porch?" when Mercy refuses to let him stay) and Adam and her are finally getting somewhere. I can see her with Adam, but i do hope Briggs has something good in store for Samuel.

The part where he talks about his life in Texas and asks her "I wonder if she knew that I had money, would she still have killed my baby?... Was it my fault?" broke my heart.

Once again i didn't see the end coming. I'm usually good at guessing the whodunnit. Mercy had the balls to fight the good fight knowing there would be consequences, and i think that is one reason I'm still reading these books and will continue to.

Review for book 1 - Moon Called

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Moon Called (Mercedes Thompson, #1) - Patricia Briggs

292 pages

Rating: 5/5
Werewolves can be dangerous if you get in their way, but they'll leave you alone if you are careful. They are very good at hiding their natures from the human population, but I'm not human. I know them when I meet them, and they know me, too.

Mercy Thompson's sexy next-door neighbor is a werewolf.
She's tinkering with a VW bus at her mechanic shop that happens to belong to a vampire.
But then, Mercy Thompson is not exactly normal herself... and her connection to the world of things that go bump in the night is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble.

I was pretty reluctant to start reading this series considering all the hype - i figured this would be another series i wouldn't like despite the good reviews (flashack to Twilight and sparkly Vampires)

Boy was i wrong

Mercedes Thompson is a coyote (or walker) who grew up with a werewolf pack. After leaving one werewolf love behind, she moved to the tri-states and is now an established VW mechanic who lives next to the local Alpha werewolf.
The book started off pretty boring for me, but as the pages went by, i was hooked.

Life takes a rollercoaster turn when a lone new wolf turns up at her garage. What follows is werewolf killings, the kidnapping of the Alpha's daughter, return to her original werewolf pack for help, Samuel - her first love and a plot that i didn't figure out until i actually read the actual who-dunnit.

Too many people have reviewed this book a lot better, so I'm not giving away any plot. However, i will say that for once i loved ALL the characters in a book.

I liked Mercy - she is well grounded, knows her limits, and is comfortable in her abilities - human and otherwise. She has a brain in her head. She wasn't out to prove anything, and new when it made sense to give in and when to go for it.

Adam as the local Alpha werewolf is hot. The attraction between Adam and Mercy is subtle and fun to see. They both care for each other, and they're just beginning to show it to each other. You can tell it'll be a good romance in the next book. You cannot help but like Samuel, the love Mercy ran away from at sixteen. Despite their problems in the past, they still have feelings for each other. Bran, as the Marrok - the alpha of all alpha's, had just the right amount of complications to make him a mysterious character. Warren and Kyle were fun as a gay couple. I liked Kyle trying to hit on Samuel. A vampire who drives around in the mystery machine will always be thumbs up in my book.

This book really has it all - werewolves, vampires, fae. You can tell that despite Mercy's smart mouth, she's surrounded by friends she cares about and who are loyal to her.

I loved Briggs description of werewolf politics and rules and culture.

The beauty of this book was that it got me completely involved in the lives of Mercy, Adam, Samuel and everyone else. Each of the characters was well rounded and made a connection. That's what makes it a great book.

Aaah well. Just go read it if you haven't already.

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