I have a new series to add to my favorites of all time: The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. This series follows a woman who can shift into a coyote and her increasing involvement with supernatural mess. Her neighbor is the alpha werewolf of the pack in her area, she was raised in the werewolf pack of the most powerful werewolf in America, and one of her best friends is a vampire sympathetic to humans. I love this series for its fast pacing, strong characters, and for Mercy herself because she is so cool. I started this series with the most recent release and had no problem going along with the plot. I’ve noticed in many urban fantasy/paranormal romance series the individual entries are semi-standalones; they have a place in the overall plot or character arc of the series but present a complete story and remind the readers of who everyone is anyway.
What I’ve Read So Far
This is the first book of the series but the second book I read. What I loved most about this first book is how quickly it established the characters’ personalities and relationships and got to work. Mercy is a coyote shifter who doesn’t actually know much about her coyote/Native American heritage besides the fact that her father was a cowboy who died in a car accident. Her status as a coyote allows her to shirk werewolf rules and pack magic in a way the wolves are physically incapable of doing and sets up some of the tension Mercy has with the wolves in her life. She’s very independent and chose a more difficult career path not using her college education, just to show you what she’s like. I love her. Smoke Bitten got me interested in the world overall but Moon Called is where Mercy settled in as one of my favorite characters ever.
Mercy has history with Sam, an alpha werewolf who tried to claim her as his mate when she was just a teenager, and this book goes into she is rightfully mad about his past actions and wary of his current intentions but she still wants a place for him in her life. This was high-key grooming but it was addressed and Mercy has not had contact with Sam since they were separated. If you choose to read these books (or have already) we can talk about if this topic was handled well or not, but its inclusion did not ruin my reading experience.
The plot of this first book: a mysterious threat is challenging Adam’s position as alpha and Mercy is forced to help. I enjoyed the plot and the world building of the supernatural side of this universe was a good place to start and left me happily anticipating more details in the future books.
Blood Bound might be my favorite of the entire series. I’m going to read the rest and see if any of them come close to how I felt reading this one. The villain of this book was a sorcerer-vampire, a human possessed by a demon and then turned into a vampire, and he brought the danger I love to read in urban fantasy. It’s a unique creature I haven’t encountered before. Stefan the vampire had a spotlight in this and I absolutely loved his relationship with Mercy. Stefan turned the love triangle between Mercy-Sam-Adam into a love square and I thank him for it. Three supernatural men across two species all want Mercy and I was here for it. This book fully introduced the vampires, their politics, and the role they play in the greater supernatural society. Drama, romance, and danger were the elements I came into this genre for and it really delivered.
In Iron Kissed Mercy takes a more active role in the supernatural shenanigans. The first two books brought problems to Mercy and she was forced to react, this book gave Mercy the ability to show her skills and handle a mystery on her own. Something is killing off fae on their own turf and Mercy’s friend asks for her help. As a coyote shifter most magic doesn’t work on her and she might be able to identify clues to help find this serial killer. When that same friend is framed for the murders Mercy goes sleuthing to find the real killer. The world is further developed with the addition of characters from Adam’s pack and the fae reservation, and going more into depth about how humans feel with the new knowledge that supernatural creatures exist. There is a sexual assault on page, not graphic, and the recovery process is started. I did like the tension of this one, but it lacked the oomp of its predecessor. There was also a scene where Mercy refers to herself as a “mongrel” which greatly put me off. I understand that the language used often includes animalistic elements and references dogs/wild traits, but for a Native woman being described and thinking about herself I don’t feel comfortable with the use of that word. If this was a book in the own-voices category I would stay in my place and just take it as an individual expressing a truth in their community, but this is a white author and it rubbed me the wrong way.
Bone Crossed marks my next 5 star read of the Mercy series. This time my girl Mercy is tasked with ghost hunting while she is being hunted herself because the vampires from book 2 are out for blood. As Mercy tries to exorcise the ghost haunting her college roommate she unknowingly steps on the radar of a dangerous vampire. This book shakes up all of Mercy’s relationships: her and Adam go through changes, Stefan and her experience some things, and Mercy’s relationship with Adam’s entire pack is called into question. Mercy’s mother is finally introduced and I wanted more of her immediately. I think this book best showed how close everyone in Mercy’s nontraditional pack is to her, especially when they were all willing to cooperate for her safety.
Shifting Shadows is a collection of the short stories in the Mercyverse and was the final push I needed to read the companion series Alpha and Omega. Before reading Shifting Shadows I wasn’t sure if my love for the Mercy Thompson series would extend to the other series because Mercy isn’t there. The side characters add to my reading experience but I don’t particularly care for any of them; Stefan is cool but he’s not involved in the books as much as the wolves are and I don’t like Sam at all. The various short stories added depth to the world and made me care about their protagonists and their journeys. Unexpectedly, I now love Bran, the alpha of all wolves in America and Mercy’s default father figure. I understand Sam more even if I still don’t like him. The standout short story for me was actually Alpha and Omega mainly for Charles, Bran’s younger son and a character I hadn’t met yet. His presence in that book was not enough for me and I am going to read the companion series mainly for him.
This was my entry into the Mercy Thompson series. My opinion on Smoke Bitten left me with the impression that the Mercy series would be right up my alley and I was correct. In this one Mercy is investigating and smoke-creature that can possess the bodies of others, draining their power and life force until death. Mercy’s pack is in danger and she seems to be the only one who can do anything about this creature. Mercy and Adam are having troubles with their marriage and Adam has a dark and magical secret he’s keeping. There were some elements that I only got the bare-bones explanation for and I didn’t mind that at all. I know that I can simply go back in time to get the full understanding of certain moments with the characters or to get a better understanding of the magic. I will point out that knowing the outcome of the love square never dampened my enjoyment of it. There was never really a chance that Sam, being a predator in Mercy’s eyes at one point even if they’ve reconciled, and Stefan whose existence is in opposition to Mercy’s values, were going to win her heart.
Now that I have read the first few entries to this series I like Smoke Bitten a bit less. The rift between Mercy and Adam made things a bit frustrating at times. They weren’t talking to each other and having read the first four I know how strange it is for them to keep secrets once they began their relationship. Lives were on the line and their messy teamwork annoyed me. Still a fun read!
What’s your favorite series right now? Or your favorite standalone?
Intisar Speaks 