Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, Book 3)
by Patricia Briggs
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Book Reviews of Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, Book 3)
Book Review: I love Mercy Thompson
Summary: 5 Stars
The third book in the Mercy Thompson series is Dark. Though I knew the terrible price Mercy has to pay ahead of time (I looked it up), I was still on pins and needles from page one. Iron Kissed has delicious world building and great story telling, although it lacks the humor and light-hearted moments of the previous books. I especially like the world building about the fae that Ms. Briggs brings to life. Forget Tinkerbelle - Ms. Briggs has resurrected the original fairy tales in all their gruesome glory.
All is not right in fairyland. Mercy Thompson is called in to use her superhuman nose to find a killer as grisly murders rock the fae reservation in Eastern Washington. The lords of the fae will do anything and sacrifice anyone to keep the humans from finding out. Humans are already wary of the fae, and no one wants to give fodder to the fae hate groups. But when Mercy's old mentor Zee, who taught her everything she knows about cars and sold her the garage, is arrested for the murders, Mercy refuses to let an innocent man die. She hunts for the real killer even as the fae issue warrants for her death and fae-hate groups plot nefarious schemes around her. Will her loyalty cost her her life? By the skin of her teeth, Mercy tackles her most dangerous mystery yet. But the price is high.
Iron Kissed is great and I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT ONE. What - 2009??? Are you kidding me? I am not a patient person. At least Cry Wolf comes out in August. It is the sequel to the novella in On the Prowl and is about Charles, Samuel's brother and the Marrok's second son.
If you have yet to read any of the Mercy Thompson series, don't start in the middle. I highly recommend them in order:
Book 1: Moon Called
Book 2: Blood Bound
Book 3: Iron Kissed
Book Review: Really enjoyed this book...
Summary: 4 Stars
Okay, so normally I don't read reviews before I read books that look interesting. Especially bad ones. I check the star rating but never actually read the details. With this series, I broke that. I did read the bad reviews before I read the book - mostly because when these love triangles come into play they tend to not turn out the way I like. I was really apprehensive about this book. I knew that there was going to be some story line resolution in it and a large traumatic event for Mercy. Thank goodness that this author knows what she is doing. The entire event was handled VERY well, and the after part when Adam is fighting with Ben is the best part of the whole book. It gives a great chance to see how Adam really feels about Mercy, teaches us about Ben, and lets us understand what is going on a little better!
The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because some part of the book got a little to sluggish. All of the Fae stuff just kept dragging on - there was a lot of stuff that was unnecessary and the way the killer was discovered was really unrelated to the searching Mercy had done. Not that what she was doing didn't lead her to where she end up, but it was just seemed like too much of a coincidence. It would have been better if it had tied in with all of the running around that she did.
Overall, this book gets 4.5 stars (but Amazon doesn't allow 1/2 stars). I will definitely be eagerly awaiting the next book. Oh one more thing.. I wish the last page wouldn't have been cut off so soon. I have been waiting for the event for 3 books - a couple of details wouldn't have been so bad... **wink wink**
Book Review: Negative Reviews being deleted on Amazon...tsk tsk
Summary: 1 Stars
I keep track of my reviews. When they disappear, I simply repost them and then lower the number of stars accordingly. So when this review disappears again, you can trust, I'll just repost it. The date I am writing this is July 11 when it appears it will say Feb 18th since that is when I wrote the original review because Amazon will count this as an edited post not a new one, so it is pretty much proof that my earlier negative review was deleted. I have learned to copy and paste my reviews into a word document due to Amazon's reprehensible habit of bowing to the pressure of authors and publishers and rabid sycophantic fans but I'll have to wing this one as I didnt' have a copy of the original.
Major problems with this edition of the Mercy series. For example, in this case we find out some things that it is simply beyond credence that Mercy didn't already know. She was raised by werewolves, she was engaged to a werewolf, and we are supposed to believe that she was so completely ignorant of werewolf society that she had absolutely no idea what being declared Adam's mate meant? I don't think so. Significant plot failing on the author's part.
Spoilers for the ending follow...
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While I find it refreshing that we have a female character who was raped who does not just whimper curl up in a ball and die, vowing never to let a man touch her again but picks up and goes on, I sincerely doubt that she'd be picking up and going on a week after the fact and starting a new sexual relationship mere days after being raped. Doesn't gel at all.
Book Review: Packs an emotional punch
Summary: 5 Stars
If the first book in the Mercy Thompson series focused on the world of werewolves; and the second book revolved around the vampires; this third installment is book that gives us an inside look at the fae.
Mercy is a shapeshifter, who can turn into a coyote. And she owes the fae a favor for the use of some vampire killing tools she used at the end of Blood Bound. So when her friend and former boss, Zee, asks her to come to the fae reservation to help sniff out a murderer, she agrees. Using her coyote senses, Mercy makes quick work of her task. But things get really complicated when the perpetrator ends up dead and Zee is accused of his murder. That sends Mercy on a mission to clear her friend's name. And she has to go against the wishes of powerful fae to do it.
Mercy's also got a lot going on her personal life. She finally makes a decision between the two werewolves fighting for her love. And she's afraid of how that choice will change her life. And in the course of the book, Mercy is dealt an enormous, unexpected blow that will be very difficult to recover from. It was bad enough to witness the events on page, but the aftermath is even more crushing. How it was handled shows us what Mercy is made out of... and the reaction of the pack shows us where she really stands with them all.
This isn't a series for cursing or hot sex scenes. But the author makes some very bold choices. And this is an exceptionally strong installment to a very solid series. 5 stars.
Book Review: Still my favorite urban fantasy series
Summary: 4 Stars
I'll probably be saying this a lot on this blog, but I love Patricia Briggs. She manages to breathe life into everything she writes (I'm even enjoying her early straight fantasy works, though admittedly I haven't been able get a hold of a copy of Masques yet, but I will, someday...) And the Mercy Thompson books are my favorite urban fantasy series so far, with this third addition to the series being the best yet. With each successive book, more of Mercy's world is revealed (I loved that we get to see more about Zee and the Fae this time), and more hints about Mercy and her abilities. I think for most readers, we were eager for Mercy to make a decision about her increasingly complicated love life, which she finally does in this book (although I'm still holding out for Stefan).
*SLIGHT SPOILER* The assault that occurred at the end of the book surprised me (I had to go back and re-read the scene to make sure it had even happened). I thought the whole thing was handled tastefully as possible, but I'm not sure why the author chose to do that. It feels unnecessary at this point. Maybe the author will justify the assault in the next book. It necessarily affected the tone of the book. I don't know if the author will be able to recapture the lighter tone of the earlier books or if she should even try given what's happened. We'll have to read book 4 and find out.
Sexual Content:
A rape is alluded to, though never described. The emotional (and, to
a lesser degree, the physical) consequences of the rape are discussed.
There is a reference to child abuse as well.