"I could smell her fear, and it satisfied something deep inside me that had been writhing under her cool, superior gaze. I curled my upper lip so she could get a good look at my sharp teeth. I might only weigh thirty or so pounds in my coyote shape, but I was a predator..."
Mechanic Mercy Thompson can shift her shape- but not her loyalty. When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to Mercy to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not.
Mercy's loyalty is under pressure from other directions, too. Werewolves are not known for their patience, and if Mercy can't decide between the two she cares for, Sam and Adam may make the choice for her...
Title: Iron Kissed
Author: Patricia Briggs
Published: 2008
Publisher: Ace
Pages: 304
Genre: Paranormal-Dark Fantasy, Adventure
In the third and current novel Iron Kissed, of Patricia Briggs’ best-selling series, mechanic and coyote skinwalker Mercy Thompson is back and like in the previous books, someone needs 
Mercy’s special talents and since the Fae are the only species left that haven’t played a major role in one of the stories, they’re it.
After the last fiasco in the second book Blood Bound, Mercy has understandably developed a healthy fear of vampires so there aren’t any in Iron Kissed, not even Stefan. Thankfully it doesn’t take away from the story so there was much more time spent with the werewolf pack and resolving some of her feelings as well as hunting down bad guys.
I’d like to warn without spoiling for some: there is a pretty ugly, emotionally graphic scene near the end of the book that I thought was totally out of character for Patricia Briggs, at least judging by the other stories I’ve read by her. It is important though and it also helps the reader to get to know one of the characters (Ben) that Mercy has disliked from the very beginning of the series. Hopefully everyone will heal and it won’t leave too many mental wounds for the author to prod in the next book in the series.
Patricia Briggs’ official site, has recently been updated in more than just looks! Her What’s Next? Page has her new works in progress on it like the first book in the series parallel to Mercy’s called Cry Wolf starring Samuel’s brother that comes out in August 2008 and I’ve recently learned that the Mercy series is being turned into a graphic novel courtesy of Dabel Brothers Publishing. Wikipedia has Briggs’ complete bibliography available as well as more information on the author too.
The Mercy Series:
- Moon Called
- Blood Bound
- Iron Kissed
I never gave much thought to faeries, but Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files changed that for me. I'm definitely looking forward to this authors take on faeries. Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by these series with continuing characters. I don't know if, as a romance reader, I would find them satisfying... I need to know who ends up with whom by the end of a book.
ReplyDeleteKnow what I mean?
Oh they really aren't romances. More like paranormal adventures with just a teeny tiny smidge of romance thrown in.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to say that with these books you might not know who ends up with whom by the end, but because it's drawn out and complicated, the payoff is pretty good when you finally get there!
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I feel about her starting a new series, though - I want more of THESE first!!! (Although I suppose I'll come around when I read it, and of course I'll read it.)
I enjoyed your review - and I really liked that scene near the end with Ben - very powerful, emotional stuff. She sure did a great job with this one, didn't she?!
I just finished this one (and posted my review) - I thought the piece at the end with Ben was extremely interesting. It seemed that for all that was explained, there was a bunch of stuff left unsaid.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for book 4 and the new series. I didn't know about the graphic novel series though so thanks for that! I was really glad she put in the ugly scene, it makes Mercy so much more human somehow despite being a walker.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I liked this one best out of the Mercy books so far, especially because of how brave and strong Mercy was.
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