Monday, November 1, 2010

Mercy Thompson Series (Part I) by Patricia Briggs

Okay, so this particular series is currently a 5 book series (soon to be 6, YEAH!!). I was recommended to read it by my friend Heather on Goodreads and it has become one of my favorite series. I've decided to review the currently released portion of the series in 2 parts because I want to give it its due grace. Plus, there is so much I want to tap that I don't know if I could do it all in one series review.

Title: Moon Called (Mercy Thompson No.1)
Author
: Patricia Briggs
Pages
: 304 pages (mass market paperback)
Published: January 31st, 2006
Read: July 20th, 2010
Rating
: PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Synopsis: 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.(From Goodreads.com)
Title: Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson No.2)
Author
: Patricia Briggs
Pages
: 292 (Mass Market Paperback)
Published
: January 30, 2007 by Ace
Read
: July 25th, 2010
Rating
: PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Synopsis: 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. (From Goodreads.com)


Title: Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson No.3)
Author
: Patricia Briggs
Pages: 287 (Mass Market Paperback)
Published
: January 2nd, 2008 by Ace
Read
: July 26th, 2010
Rating
: PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Synopsis: When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to shapeshifting car mechanic Mercy Thompson to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not. And she'll have to choose between the two werewolves in her life-whether she wants to or not. (From Goodreads.com)



Flourish
So, as I said above, I was recommended to read this series by a friend on Goodreads and needless to say I absolutely loved it!! The main character Mercy Thompson is a half Native American, half white, Volkswagen mechanic. She also happens to be a shapshifter of sorts, technically she is a walker. I think the term is based off of the term "skin walker" from the Native Americans. Mercy (Mercedes is her full name...Yeah, she is a VW mechanic and her name is Mercedes :D) is my favorite character. She is one of the main reasons that I loved this series so much.

She is like this super tough, snarky lone coyote who gets into all sorts of mischief and still tries to take care of everyone around her.
She just cracks me up with all of the things she says and does. She lives in this 1978 trailer on three acres of land and Adam Hauptman lives in the giant house behind her... and he also happens to be the alpha werewolf in the area. Which, apparently isn't a good thing when you are a coyote walker, which is what Mercy is.

Mercy was actually raised by werewolves because her mother didn't quite know what to do with her and her father died before she was born in some freak accident. So Mercy knows how to get by without being killed, but that doesn't stop her from ticking them off whenever she can. Just to piss off Adam, she keeps a VW Rabbit in her backyard with only three of the wheels on it and at one point she takes off the rest of the wheels and spray paints, "For a good time call: *insert Adam's phone number here*", onto the side. I was laughing so hard at that part, I thought I was going to cry.


The first book in the series, Moon Called, sets up the series and the relationships between all of the characters, namely Mercy, Adam and Samuel. Adam and Samuel are both werewolves who both want Mercy and Mercy just can't figure out which one she wants. Oh, what would that be like? Mercy takes it in stride thank heaven, I think that's why I love her, she kicks ass and is still humble about it. I love the way Briggs wrote this portion on it, because it had me holding on waiting to see what would happen between the three and who would get the girl. I'm not going to really tell you who, and you don't actually find out til book 3, so don't cheat to find out, but I will say that the way Briggs wrote it, it just really really... works.

I love how she has so totally described and helped me to understand werewolves and how they are like 2 different species inside one body working together. The human brings different aspects as does the wolf. The human is supposed to control the wolf because of the human aspect of not killing everything. I'm not doing the best of explaining it, but Briggs does such an amazing job of helping you to feel and see everything in your mind, I felt like I was sitting there making out with 2 different men... ummmm... yeah, nevermind.


Blood Bound, the second in the series, still has a lot of werewolf, but it also has a lot more vampires in it than the first. Stefan, Mercy's best vampire buddy, was a hilarious character who has a huge obsession with Scooby Doo. Yes, that's right...Scooby Doo! He even had his VW Bus painted the same as the mystery machine. That I loved!

Iron Kissed, the third in the series, has a lot to do with the Fae and her really good friend Zee. If you have any previous knowledge of Fae, you know that most of them cannot touch iron. Well, Zee is one of the very very few exceptions, and that is where the term Iron Kissed came from. This book was where I really started to love this series! It was so intense and fast moving and kind of twisted that it had me addicted from chapter 1. The ending was fabulous and the romantic bits thrown into the story were some of my favorite of the series. And might I say, I would love nothing more than to make out with Adam in a dark alley, especially with his hard muscles pushed up against.... *clears throat* sorry bout that...

This brings me to my favorite character section. As I've already said, I loved Mercy. She was such a strong character who didn't take crap from anyone, even werewolves. I mean, she wasn't stupid, but she knew what she wanted and how to get it, but she didn't play the submissive little wolf - Thank HEAVEN! Plus, the way she was described sounded very... HOT (motor oil and all).


Adam, the Alpha werewolf, was like sex on a stick to an acute degree and had me wishing for my transfer into the tri-cities. He was characteristically strong and knew what he wanted and at the same time seemed to know when to tone it down. I loved how he could take his bossiness and shove it aside for Mercy and let her know that he loved her for who she was and exactly how she was and no different.


Dr. Samuel Cornick, the super shmexy male dominant werewolf under the Marrok. He was more dominant a wolf than Adam, but not Alpha because his father (the Marrok) was the most dominant wolf in North America (therefore the super super alpha). He was the McDreamy Doctor who was sweet and kind and somehow sensitive. He also loved Mercy, and knew how to deal with her eccentricities.


Overall, the first three books in this series helped to set the scene for the story. They carved a triumphant tale of magic, werewolves, vampires, fae, walking sticks, oak trees and mischievous coyotes. It was nice to have the new story of the walker coyote mixed into the story line and the romance had me heated up all over. All I can say is I absolutely love this series, I love Mercy Thompson and I can't wait for book 6 to be released next year.


Overall Rating
(first 3 books): PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket (4.5)
Quotes
:
"Mine" he said.
Adam's eyes narrowed."I don't think so.She is mine."
It would of been flattering,I thought,except that at least one of them was talking about dinner and i wasn't certain about the other."
Adam swore harshly. "New werewolves are dangerous, woman. Especially when they are cold and hungry." He looked at Mac, and his voice changed completely, the heat and anger gone, "Mercy, come here."

I didn't look down to see what he'd noticed in Mac's face. I took a step, but Mac was wrapped around my left leg. I stopped before I fell. "Uhm. I'm a little stuck for the moment."
A dominant wolf's desire to protect was a strong instinct- Samuel was very dominant. Give him an inch, and he's take over the world- my life, if I let him.(Mercy)
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.
"She sees ghosts,” said Samuel, impatient with my whining.
"I see dead people,” I deadpanned back. Oddly, it was Uncle Mike who laughed. I hadn’t thought he’d be a moviegoer.
Photobucket

4 comments:

Ginny said...

love your review, Jen!!

Anonymous said...

ive just read the first 3 books yet-the ones youve just reviewed- and I.LOVE.THAT.REVIEW. you got me laughing the whole time (as usual) and, though my favorite quote is not there *sobs a bit*, i think youve captured the humour of the books pretty well. lol the first quote is awesome!!

PS: the best quote of those books is without a doubt "Cheeses crusty, got all musty, got damp on the stone of a peach,” I agreed. He looked blank, so I repeated it with proper emphasis. “ ChEEZ-zes crusty. Got Al -musty. Got DAMp on the StoneofapeaCH."

Jen (@ Jens Book Closet) said...

@Ginny - Thank you my dear, I so do love those books!

@Leo - LOL!! I actually seriuosly debated adding in that quote, but I was afraid people would be like huh? So I thought I'd have to add in the beginning of page to help intro it and then I decided it was too much work. LMAO! yes, can we say Jen is a bit lazy at times.

Anonymous said...

lol i know that feeling

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