Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs

There are a lot of threads in this story, the main ones being that Mercy is still unhealed from what happened in the least book and now her brother has landed on their doorstep, unable to communicated. It turns out that he too has come in contact with a fae artifact and the owner of the artifact is wreaking havoc with certain weather patterns until it is recovered. The storm is centered around a lodge outside of Libby, Montana where there are hot springs. A lodge that is supposed to be hosting a billionaire's wedding but is, instead, snowed in with thirteen people, not all of whom are human. 

There are some side stories about other wolves in the pack. Mary Jo has broken up with her boyfriend Renny, Darryl is protecting a group of white witches in New Mexico, someone has tried to push Sherwood in front of a train. Most of these are small vignettes showing that there are things going on outside of Mercy and Adam. It could be a build up to a bigger story but it is also proof that their pack can take care of themselves and don't need their leaders to rush in and solve everything for them. 

And Bonarata is still tormenting Mercy though that ends up being a smaller part of the story. 

A somewhat quieter story but I really enjoyed that there weren't as many bodies as some of the others. 

Four stars

Mercy Thompson #14

This book comes out June 18, 2024

Follows Soul Taken

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs

Mercy has barely recovered from the events of the last book when Marsilia shows up and tells her to find Wulfe. That, if Mercy can't find him, the Pack will be blamed. And rumors start up soon after that the Pack can't actually protect the people it claims to protect. A number of magic users (not very powerful but having some magic; mainly witches and goblins) have gone missing. Could it be the Soul Taker? 

There is a movie that has just finished filming that purports to be based on a local urban legend involving a young man who was possessed by a scythe and compelled to murder. Mercy discovers it was not so much legend as truth since Zee was called in to destroy the artifact. But he might have been slipped a fake. That seems especially like a possibility since similar deaths are cropping up. And at least one ghost isn't allowed to leave this plane of existence.

Regular readers will really enjoy this book but I would not recommend starting with this one. We get quite a bit of history for a couple of characters, one that adds a little bit of a wrinkle for pack dynamics.

Four stars

This book came out August 23, 2022

Follows Smoke Bitten

Followed by Winter Lost

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs

Mercy is worried about her mate bond. Her husband Adam has been distant and she's not sure why. But that comes in second when Underhill, the magical land of the fae who can take a human form, comes to visit. And with that visit, a dangerous fae escapes. One who can assume the form of any one or anything. It has already killed some of Mercy's friends and now it is coming for her. Because it can't control Mercy and it wants to know why.
I'm not sure I connected with the monster story in this one but I'm sort of okay with that because of the way we got to see Adam and Mercy's relationship build on itself as well as getting better glimpses into some of the characters that have been firmly B or C level before. I'm really excited to see where Briggs takes Wulfe (I think we got some glimpses in this book) and also hope that we will see some friendships building between Mercy, Aurielle and Honey.

Three stars
This book came out March 17th, 2020
Follows Storm Cursed

Followed by Soul Taken
Ebook from Library
Opinions are my own

Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs

The book starts off with a goblin hunt and leads into complete zombie fest. Mercy originally set out with Ben and Mary Jo (the latter of whom she is still trying to figure out; she saved the woman's life but she still hates Mercy) but ends up needing the help of powerful witch Elizaveta. But, for some reason, no one at her house is answering the phone. It seems that a witch consortium is building power and if Elizaveta's family isn't with them, they are against them. And Mercy's pack? They're automatically against them. And the cute little zombie goats that begin the story have nothing on the creatures that these witches will unleash in the search for power.
This story definitely move forward the stories of a lot of the main characters as a couple of the B characters in this series. A nice addition to the series that is making look forward to the next.

Four stars
This book came out May 7th, 2019
Follows Silence Fallen
Followed by Smoke Bitten
Ebook from Library
Opinions are my own

Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

It's a night of pirates and gaming when Mercy discovers she needs more ingredients to bake cookies. She goes out but then wakes up battered and bruised in a cube with two vampires, her pack and mate bonds seemingly severed. She is on her own. Luckily, Mercy is underestimated once again and she manages to escape (because the pack was practicing their Jackie Chan moves, she knows how to run up the corner of a wall.) But now she's in Europe. Alone. With no known allies (and a lot of enemies), Mercy needs help more than ever but her pack doesn't know where she is.

This book is nice because Briggs introduces a third person omniscient that follows both Mercy and Adam at different points and that was really fun, to get more of a look at his side of the story.

Three stars
This book came out March 7th, 2017
Follows Fire Touched
Followed by Storm Cursed
Ebook from Library
Opinions are my own

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

The werewolves are out. Humans now know that they exist. They also know about the fae. And the humans are frightened. So when there is a troll on a bridge, the werewolves are on the list to help take care of it. And while dealing it, some old friends show up to help and they bring a small boy. Mercy  agrees to take care of the boy for 24 hours and accidentally declares that her wolf pack is in charge of the tri-cities (which is more than three, really.) But the small boy turns out to be both a blessing and a curse - he has spent a long time in Underhill and has been changed in ways that make the fae jealous. Mercy will have to protect him from the Grey Lords themselves.
A good story but I'm not sure about Aiden and what that will mean for Mercy in future books.

Three stars
This book came out March 8th, 2016
Follows Night Broken
Followed by Silence Fallen
Ebook from Library
Opinions are my own

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Would you want your husband's ex-wife living with you? A wife who is known for manipulating the people around her? I sure wouldn't. But Mercy Thompson is a kind person who wants to help everyone, especially her stepdaughter's mother. Even if that means that she's made to feel uncomfortable in her own house as the ex hides from a recent bad breakup. Like, he killed her last boyfriend bad breakup.  And... it might be that he's a slightly crazy fire-godlike-creature. Oops.
It will take the might of the full wolf-pack as well as Mercy's vampire friend Stefan to make sure that everyone makes it out alive.
This was a nice, fast read and a good addition to the series. I didn't love seeing Christy getting to walk all over Mercy but at least we're finally starting to see the pack rally behind her.

Three stars
This book came out March 5th, 2013
Follows Frost Burned
Followed by Fire Touched
Borrowed from Library
Opinions are my own

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

The book opens on Black Friday with Jesse having talked Mercy into braving the midnight shopping options. While heading to the mall, she experiences a panic attack and plows into the car in front of her. And she has good reason to panic; the pack has been taken. The entire pack. Supposedly, the people that took them worked for the government but she has good reason to believe that is not the truth.
Her mate bond with Adam is tested and she learns more about who her allies are and what they can do. And it seems that there may be a Big Bad who is using the government for their own purposes.
And that link didn't quite make sense to me. Maybe it was because I was listening to the audiobook but I didn't quite get the link. Lots of action in this book, not as much character development.

Three stars
This book came out March 11th, 2014
Follows River Marked
Followed by Night Broken
Borrowed from Library
Opinions are my own

River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Mercy has been dragging her feet on her marriage plans to Adam, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack. Not because she doesn't want to marry him, but because the arrangements are getting so insanely out of hand. When her own hand is forced, it's not such a bad thing. At least she and Adam are getting to go on their honeymoon. Except that, even there, it seems that fate seems to intervene, making sure that their time together isn't going to go exactly as planned.
A nice addition to the series. More background on Mercy and her parentage is added which is nice but there is a lot of lore that can make it hard to follow.

Three stars
This book came out March 1st, 2011
Follows Silver Borne
Followed by Frost Burned
Borrowed from library
Opinions are my own

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

In a previous book of the series, Mercy had borrowed a book from a man named Phin. She has been very busy in the mean time and has been reading it off and on because it has very interesting handwritten stories about the fae. But there is something more about this book because Phin is gone after leaving a cryptic message to protect the book and there are strange fae hanging around his shop trying to get her to give them the book.
There is also something going on with her BFF Samuel and it's bad enough that she can't tell anyone else. And even worse, there are still members of Adam's pack that resent Mercy and they're going to have to figure it out before the pack falls apart.
Great build up until the end and then a lot was resolved in the last 15 pages and that felt rushed.

Three stars
This book came out March 30th, 2010
Follows Bone Crossed
Followed by River Marked
Borrowed from library
Opinions are my own

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

A couple/few books ago, Mercy Thompson killed two vampires. One that she was sanctioned to kill and one she was not. Now, however, the local head of the vampires has discovered that she was the one to kill the second vampire and has basically opened the floodgates for creepy-crawlies to come after Mercy.
At the same time, Mercy's old college friend has shown up and asked Mercy to come help her get rid of a ghost that is terrorizing the woman's son. But the timing of the invitation is more than a little suspicious. Does Amber really need help with her son Chad? And why was disbeliever Corban, Amber's husband, the one to suggest that Mercy be the one to call?
This book moved along nicely and built more on Adam and Mercy's relationship and Mercy's on character.

Four stars
This book came out February 3rd, 2009
Follows Iron Kissed
Followed by Silver Borne
I listened to this as an audiobook
Opinions are my own

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

Mercy's mentor Zee has called her in to help solve a series of murders. The victims were all fae so the human police haven't been brought it. Mercy quickly determines the killer but is shocked when Zee is arrested for the man's death. He is obviously not the killer but the Gray Lords are willing to let him take the fall in order to have it cleaned up quickly. The acceptance of fae by the humans is imperative and having one person go down is not beyond their plans.
But Zee belongs to Mercy. Whether or not he wants her to investigate, she's going to. And this book ends with a rather graphic scene and some discussion of what happens in the aftermath of rape. I am so glad that I read this book even though I listened to the rest of the series because there is at least a bit of space between the book and the brain that sometimes isn't there if you are absorbing a book through your ears. I haven't personally had the experience but, from the outside, it seemed like an eloquent description of what a victim has to wrestle with.

Three stars
This book came out January 2nd, 2008
Follows Blood Bound
Followed by Bone Crossed
I listened to this as an audiobook
Opinions are my own

Iron Kissed by Patricia Biggs

Mercy's mentor Zee has called her in to help solve a series of murders. The victims were all fae so the human police haven't been brought it. Mercy quickly determines the killer but is shocked when Zee is arrested for the man's death. He is obviously not the killer but the Gray Lords are willing to let him take the fall in order to have it cleaned up quickly. The acceptance of fae by the humans is imperative and having one person go down is not beyond their plans.
But Zee belongs to Mercy. Whether or not he wants her to investigate, she's going to. And this book ends with a rather graphic seen and some discussion of what happens in the aftermath of rape. I am so glad that I read this book even though I listened to the rest of the series because there is at least a bit of space between the book and the brain that sometimes isn't there if you are absorbing a book through your ears. I haven't personally had the experience but, from the outside, it seemed like an eloquent description of what a victim has to wrestle with.

Four stars
Follows Blood Bound
Followed by Bone Crossed
This book came out January 82 2008
Ebook borrowed from library
Opinions are my own

Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs

Mercy agrees to help her vampire friend Stefan by being a witness when he goes to warn a vampire that he is encroaching on the local seed (not sure of spelling). But what they find is something far worse than a regular vampire. Shut out from the investigation at first, Mercy suddenly becomes the only one that can save the world.
I don't love love triangles. And to throw in someone else is just even more frustrating. And there still aren't a lot of women in this series which makes it hard to identify with (basically there's Mercy, then a bitchy werewolf named Honey and the head of the vampires, Marsilia -- not exactly shining examples of womanhood.) I'm giving the series a couple more books but am not interested in a series that drags out the will-they-won't-they.

Three stars
Follows Moon Called
Followed by Iron Kissed
This book came out January 30th, 2007
Opinions are my own

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson might have been raised in a town of werewolves but she is not one of them. Instead, she shifts into a coyote and may have some magic as well. Unfortunately, her ability comes from her father's side, a man who was killed before she was even born and his family wasn't interested. Her mother is nice but flighty so Mercy ended up with foster parents who were better able to understand a child who sometimes changed into a canine.
Her life has been fairly quiet lately. She bought a mechanics shop from a goblin and has been making a living. But a teen boy turns up in her shop. He's a recently turned werewolf and accidentally brings trouble to her door. Trouble that has her killing two werewolves and then fighting to save the Alpha of the pack next door as well as his kidnapped teenage daughter.
There was a lot of world building in this that kept us from getting to know Mercy and there were very few well-developed women but I'm hoping later books in the series will correct that oversight.

Three stars
Followed by Blood Bound

This book came out January 31st, 2006

Opinions are my own