#50 Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
Holy crap I’ve read 50 books so far this year! Do I have any semblance of a life? 
Cut for spoilers for previous books in the Mercy Thompson series. There are no spoilers for Bone Crossed.
After three books, Mercy Thompson has chosen her man, werewolf alpha Adam. Unfortunately, she has little time for romance. Right after she makes the decision to become his mate she receives not just one, but three unexpected guests. The first is her mother. She is concerned over the news that Mercy has been raped, and frustrated that her daughter has not contacted her about it. The second is a beaten, mutilated, and starving Stefan, dropped on her threshold through magical means. He warns her that the local vampire Queen Marsilia has discovered that Mercy has murdered one of her vampires (see: Blood Bound) and now she’s out for Mercy’s well… blood. The third is an old college friend who begs Mercy to help her deal with her suddenly haunted house.
As you can see from above, there is A LOT going on in the fourth volume of The Mercy Thompson Novels. Unlike the previous volumes of the series, this is not one that can easily stand alone. Instead, it builds off of the unresolved plot strands from the first three books. This gives Mercy a lot to do in a little over three hundred pages. To be honest, for the first hundred, it feels like a little too much. We have Mercy dealing with multiple supernatural storylines, as well as recovering from the trauma of being raped, and feeling the weight of becoming the mate of an alpha. Fortunately, once Mercy heads off to deal with the haunted house, the book seems to gain focus and direction. The story starts getting really good and continues to get better and better up into the end.
I like a lot of the things that Patricia Briggs does with this series. I like how she makes Mercy a truly tough character, but not a superwoman. As a walker, her ability to shift into a coyote is very useful (and pretty cool), but against werewolves and vampires she is outmatched when it comes to supernatural strength. She makes up for this with her intelligence. Like some other paranormal heroines, Mercy doesn’t need to be “saved” constantly, but she has to work for her victories, which makes you feel as if she’s really earned them. Mercy is also an easy character to sympathize with. I have no idea what it’s like to go through something as physically and emotionally violating as rape, especially when the news of the event was splashed across the papers. My heart went out for her there. I was also happy that it looks like she’s finding a healthy relationship with Adam. I’m really glad Briggs didn’t treat his love like a magic bullet to all of Mercy’s problems. She realizes that recovery isn’t something that can happen instantly, but it doesn’t mean that life has to be over. I admire her for that touch of reality.
Bone Crossed features the return of the vampire Stefan, as well as some interesting new characters. Samuel doesn’t play as large of a role as usual, but rumor is the next book, Silver Borne, will feature him a bit more. That’s something to look forward to. Although I prefer Blood Bound and Iron Kissed to Bone Crossed, I like it just as much as Moon Called and the first Alpha and Omega novel, Cry Wolf. I will be picking up an actual copy when it comes out in paperback, because I want my books to match.
Rating: four stars
Length: 309 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
TBR Pile: 144 books
Similar Books: Mercy Thompson is one part of the trifecta of female-lead shape shifter fiction. The other parts are Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville Series (see my review for book 5 and 6), and the Elena books of Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Underworld Series (they are Bitten, Stolen, Broken and the forthcoming Frostbitten). All are good reads.
Other books I've read by this author: Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, Cry Wolf. I’ve also read the novella Alpha and Omega.
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds
Cut for spoilers for previous books in the Mercy Thompson series. There are no spoilers for Bone Crossed.
After three books, Mercy Thompson has chosen her man, werewolf alpha Adam. Unfortunately, she has little time for romance. Right after she makes the decision to become his mate she receives not just one, but three unexpected guests. The first is her mother. She is concerned over the news that Mercy has been raped, and frustrated that her daughter has not contacted her about it. The second is a beaten, mutilated, and starving Stefan, dropped on her threshold through magical means. He warns her that the local vampire Queen Marsilia has discovered that Mercy has murdered one of her vampires (see: Blood Bound) and now she’s out for Mercy’s well… blood. The third is an old college friend who begs Mercy to help her deal with her suddenly haunted house.
As you can see from above, there is A LOT going on in the fourth volume of The Mercy Thompson Novels. Unlike the previous volumes of the series, this is not one that can easily stand alone. Instead, it builds off of the unresolved plot strands from the first three books. This gives Mercy a lot to do in a little over three hundred pages. To be honest, for the first hundred, it feels like a little too much. We have Mercy dealing with multiple supernatural storylines, as well as recovering from the trauma of being raped, and feeling the weight of becoming the mate of an alpha. Fortunately, once Mercy heads off to deal with the haunted house, the book seems to gain focus and direction. The story starts getting really good and continues to get better and better up into the end.
I like a lot of the things that Patricia Briggs does with this series. I like how she makes Mercy a truly tough character, but not a superwoman. As a walker, her ability to shift into a coyote is very useful (and pretty cool), but against werewolves and vampires she is outmatched when it comes to supernatural strength. She makes up for this with her intelligence. Like some other paranormal heroines, Mercy doesn’t need to be “saved” constantly, but she has to work for her victories, which makes you feel as if she’s really earned them. Mercy is also an easy character to sympathize with. I have no idea what it’s like to go through something as physically and emotionally violating as rape, especially when the news of the event was splashed across the papers. My heart went out for her there. I was also happy that it looks like she’s finding a healthy relationship with Adam. I’m really glad Briggs didn’t treat his love like a magic bullet to all of Mercy’s problems. She realizes that recovery isn’t something that can happen instantly, but it doesn’t mean that life has to be over. I admire her for that touch of reality.
Bone Crossed features the return of the vampire Stefan, as well as some interesting new characters. Samuel doesn’t play as large of a role as usual, but rumor is the next book, Silver Borne, will feature him a bit more. That’s something to look forward to. Although I prefer Blood Bound and Iron Kissed to Bone Crossed, I like it just as much as Moon Called and the first Alpha and Omega novel, Cry Wolf. I will be picking up an actual copy when it comes out in paperback, because I want my books to match.
Rating: four stars
Length: 309 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
TBR Pile: 144 books
Similar Books: Mercy Thompson is one part of the trifecta of female-lead shape shifter fiction. The other parts are Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville Series (see my review for book 5 and 6), and the Elena books of Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Underworld Series (they are Bitten, Stolen, Broken and the forthcoming Frostbitten). All are good reads.
Other books I've read by this author: Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, Cry Wolf. I’ve also read the novella Alpha and Omega.
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds