Sunday, July 21, 2013

Frost burned by Patricia Briggs

Frost burned is the seventh book in the Mercy Thompson series so this review contains ***SPOILERS*** of what happens in the previous books.  If you like to read series in order then don't read anymore of this review until you have read the other books in this series - a series that really benefits from being read in the right order.

Mercy has settled in well to her role as Adam's wife and the role of being the mate of the Alpha werewolf - even though there are some members of the pack who are not particularly happy with some of the changes she has made, never mind the fact that she is a skin walking coyote rather than a werewolf.  A somewhat easier role to settle into has been the role of Jesse's stepmother, but even that has it's challenges on a busy night when everyone and their dog (or coyote in this case) is out searching for bargains leading up to Christmas.  The worst thing Mercy should have to worry about is looking for a decent parking space, but instead she finds herself bumped and bruised after a car accident - and shaken and lost when she realises the pack has been drugged and taken by force by a mysterious group of people who claimed to be federal agents.

It is a stressful time for Mercy, not only is she nursing some physical injuries, but she is also nursing a few spiritual and emotional ones as well.  She is never afraid to face danger head on, but when there are vulnerable civilians in the way things become much more complicated - especially when the bad guys prove that they are not above playing dirty to get what they want.  It is times like these when Mercy realises just how much she misses because she is coyote rather than a werewolf like everyone else, the subtle little things that everyone else does rather than having to think about it.  Feeling the loss of Adam, and sickened through their pack bond, Mercy has to figure out what is happening and fast - otherwise she could loose more than just her Mate and her Pack.

The Mercy Thompson books and the Alpha and Omega series are both guilty pleasures for me - not because they are fantasy novels, but because I usually slink away to hide in the house somewhere so I can try and read them in one sitting.  Frost burned is no exception to this rule, although I did have a little trouble settling into the story for the first chapter or two because I had to remember what had happened in the last book (through the veil of all the books I have read in between) - this is a professional hazard of reading as many books as I do in a year.  This is not a reflection on Frost burned, which started with a bang (okay that might have just been the car wreck) and built the mystery and tension until the villain was ultimately revealed, along with a little more information about the law of vampires and werewolves in Brigg's addictive and well imagined world. 

I am a shameless addict and Frost burned was definitely a good fix while I wait for the next Alpha and Omega and Mercy Thompson books to be written.  There are several series out there that have a similar vibe, but they have quickly become too tangled in their mythology, loosing some of the charm of the series and become too complicated to follow across time - that is not the case of Brigg's world.  A very satisfying read.

If you like this book then try:
  • Moon called by Patricia Briggs
  • Tinker by Wen Spencer
  • Night shifted by Cassie Alexander
  • Cry wolf by Patricia Briggs
  • Kitty and the midnight hour by Carrie Vaughn
  • Dark descendant by Jenna Black
  • Burning water by Mercedes Lackey
  • Kitty goes to Washington by Carrie Vaughn
  • Blood price by Tanya Huff
  • Urban shaman by C.E. Murphy
  • Spiders bite by Jennifer Estep
  • Dead witch walking by Kim Harrison
  • Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway

Reviewed by Brilla

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