Book Review + TBR Discussion: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Synopsis:

Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water...

Oh Moon Called, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. Mercy Thompson: I LOVE Mercy’s character; she’s competent, interesting, funny, brave (albeit a bit stubborn)…and yet (THANK YOU PATRICIA BRIGGS) she’s not just a sarcastic, fearless, never-endingly horny (like, what is it with UF and paranormal romance heroines? THE WORLD IS ENDING AND ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS SEX) woman. First of all, her job as a mechanic makes her interesting from the get-go, especially for someone like me who has no aptitude for cars. Then she’s a walker, which means she can turn into a coyote, but she knows that she’s not nearly as strong as the local werewolves, and she’s smart about not ticking them (or other fae) off. Sure she’s witty, and clever, but it’s not in the annoying way that sometimes UF heroines are, where no matter the situation, the heroine has some clever zinger to throw out. No, Mercy actually has a range of emotions, not just snark and sass, and I love that we got to see all of them, even in this first book.

2. Werewolf Pack Politics: so Mercy, though not a werewolf herself was raised by werewolves. She lives next door to the alpha of the pack in the Tri-Cities. It was really interesting to see how the wolves responded to one another, the more dominant ones having more power, and vice versa.

3. ADAM HAUPTMAN. I feel like I don’t even really need to say a whole lot about about this awesome alpha, except that THANK YOU PATRICIA BRIGGS FOR WRITING AN ‘ALPHA MALE’ THAT HAS RESPECT FOR THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM. Sure, he knows he’s the alpha and he expects people to obey him, but it’s more like a captain and his crew on a ship. I get so tired of the alpha males in PNR that are just so alpha that they are abusive. Adam is an extremely likable character; he takes great care of his 15 year old daughter, and he respects and values the wolves in his pack. Plus, he has some interesting feelings for Mercy…

4. The romance: while there isn’t much time spent developing the romance in this first book, you could still feel the sparks every time Adam and Mercy conversed. There’s a teensy bit of a love triangle, but I feel that Samuel (the other part of the triangle), though he has a history with Mercy, is more of a friend. I know there’s going to be more drama and tension there, but it just feels like Adam and Mercy fit together.

5. There is a blessed and distinct lack of sex in this book. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of series like The Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost and I just started devouring Sarah MacLean’s Regency romances, so obviously sex scenes don’t bother me, but I really appreciated having a heroine who isn’t super sexed up all the time. Mercy has some really important things to think and worry about in this book, and while she is certainly attracted to Adam (and Samuel), there are bigger things happening.

6. There isn’t a ridiculous amount of language in this book. Sure there’s some, but sometimes in UF/PNR, there’s more cussing than non-cussing. I was glad that the language wasn’t overwhelming, and that Mercy used lots of good vocabulary. I liked that she was smart like that.

7. The paranormal/supernatural elements were well handled. Briggs doesn’t make them all sparkly clean and fun. There are some dark fae (and other creatures) and while the werewolves were cool, that wasn’t a walk in the park either. I think this is one of the main things I’m interesting in seeing how it progresses in the later books.

8. The cover makes Moon Called look trashy, but it’s not. Don’t judge this book by it’s cover. Mercy does not run around half naked, as the cover would suggest.

9: THERE ARE ELEVEN BOOKS IN THIS SERIES? IT’S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!

10. Upon writing this review, I am already on the third book (and by the time this review is posted I’m sure I’ll be even farther in than that) and my love for this series has only grown leaps and bounds as I’ve read.

Excuse me while I lock myself in my room and finish this amazing series.