AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Frost Burned
Title: Frost Burned
Author: Patricia Briggs
Audiobook Narrator: Lorelei King
Series: Mercy Thompson (Book 7)
The following review has some spoilers for previous Mercy Thompson/Alpha and Omega books. There are no spoilers for Frost Burned.
Being a step-mom is a new role for Mercy, but it's one she embraces whole heatedly. This can be seen in her agreement to brave the Black Friday sales with her step-daughter Jesse. Unfortunately, their girls night out ends in a car accident that totals Mercy's old Rabbit. This leads Mercy to discover that her mate Adam is unreachable by phone, and the night goes from inconvenient to seriously troubling. Adam and most of the pack have been kidnapped, and are being held against their will. Finding herself cut off from most of her allies, Mercy will have to depend on her wits and her remaining connections if she is to help Adam.
Patricia Briggs has been on a bit of a roll lately. After a handful of good but not great books, she really hit her stride with the previous Mercy book, River Marked, and the last Alpha and Omega book, Fair Game. Frost Burned continues this pattern by being another great addition to the series, not only continuing the character arcs in the Mercy Thompson series (as can be seen in Mercy adjusting to her role as step-mom to Jesse), but touching on the storyline raised in Fair Game involving the Fae, who are in the midst of withdrawing from human society. The result is a book that is not only exciting, but continues to examine the tenuous relationship between humans and the supernatural.
At the beginning of the book, Frost Burned reminded me a lot of Changes by Jim Butcher. Just like with Harry, someone close to Mercy has been kidnapped and she needs to find out how to save the day. But unlike Changes, which was a pure adrenaline rush from start to finish, Frost Burned is more characters focused. This novel allows us to take a closer look at the characters that aren't usually front and center, including Warren's mate Kyle, and half-fae college student Gabriel. At the same time, Frost Burned has its fair share of action, especially towards the end, even if the transition to the final showdown can feel a little clumsy. But what really engaged me about Frost Burned has less to do with the action-y bits and more to do with the worldbuilding. After the events in Fair Game, the relationship between humans and supernaturals seem to be very tense, and figuring out where werewolves fit in the grand scheme of things (such as law) is very complicated.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: This is my first time reading a Mercy Thompson book as an audiobook, and I was pretty pleased with the results. Although I wasn't always fond of the voices King created for the younger characters, I thought she did a pretty good job as a whole.
Final Thoughts: Frost Burned is a great addition to Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series. The novel posesses a nice mixture of action, and character and worldbuilding moments, resulting in a book that is a lot of fun to read form start to finish. Four and a Half Stars
Author: Patricia Briggs
Audiobook Narrator: Lorelei King
Series: Mercy Thompson (Book 7)
The following review has some spoilers for previous Mercy Thompson/Alpha and Omega books. There are no spoilers for Frost Burned.
Being a step-mom is a new role for Mercy, but it's one she embraces whole heatedly. This can be seen in her agreement to brave the Black Friday sales with her step-daughter Jesse. Unfortunately, their girls night out ends in a car accident that totals Mercy's old Rabbit. This leads Mercy to discover that her mate Adam is unreachable by phone, and the night goes from inconvenient to seriously troubling. Adam and most of the pack have been kidnapped, and are being held against their will. Finding herself cut off from most of her allies, Mercy will have to depend on her wits and her remaining connections if she is to help Adam.
Patricia Briggs has been on a bit of a roll lately. After a handful of good but not great books, she really hit her stride with the previous Mercy book, River Marked, and the last Alpha and Omega book, Fair Game. Frost Burned continues this pattern by being another great addition to the series, not only continuing the character arcs in the Mercy Thompson series (as can be seen in Mercy adjusting to her role as step-mom to Jesse), but touching on the storyline raised in Fair Game involving the Fae, who are in the midst of withdrawing from human society. The result is a book that is not only exciting, but continues to examine the tenuous relationship between humans and the supernatural.
At the beginning of the book, Frost Burned reminded me a lot of Changes by Jim Butcher. Just like with Harry, someone close to Mercy has been kidnapped and she needs to find out how to save the day. But unlike Changes, which was a pure adrenaline rush from start to finish, Frost Burned is more characters focused. This novel allows us to take a closer look at the characters that aren't usually front and center, including Warren's mate Kyle, and half-fae college student Gabriel. At the same time, Frost Burned has its fair share of action, especially towards the end, even if the transition to the final showdown can feel a little clumsy. But what really engaged me about Frost Burned has less to do with the action-y bits and more to do with the worldbuilding. After the events in Fair Game, the relationship between humans and supernaturals seem to be very tense, and figuring out where werewolves fit in the grand scheme of things (such as law) is very complicated.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: This is my first time reading a Mercy Thompson book as an audiobook, and I was pretty pleased with the results. Although I wasn't always fond of the voices King created for the younger characters, I thought she did a pretty good job as a whole.
Final Thoughts: Frost Burned is a great addition to Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series. The novel posesses a nice mixture of action, and character and worldbuilding moments, resulting in a book that is a lot of fun to read form start to finish. Four and a Half Stars