I have mentioned before that book characters, especially those who I have a strong connection or response to, feel real for me. I care for them as if they were a personal friend. I hate to see them hurt and go through terrible times in their lives. I get angry at them when they are being stupid (I'm looking at you, Edward Cullen). So when I heard that Sam, one of my favorite characters from the Mercy Thompson series, was headed for some major trouble in Silver Borne, I got worried and anxious. Bracing for the worst as I watch him slowly deteriorate from the first book, I just had to know if he was okay or at least on the road to being okay which is why I burned through Silver Borne.

Description: When Mercy attempts to return a powerful Fae book she'd previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down. The book seems to contain some powerful and secret information about the faes and the Fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't make matters worse, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side. Mercy has to help him before Samuel's own father declare Sam's life forfeit. 

Review: I have been having a hard time adjusting to the time change for daylight savings and quickly get exhausted after a long day at work. I was looking forward to reading Silver Borne since the next book in the series, River Marked, has been released last week, but I was afraid my exhaustion would detriment my enjoyment of this fabulous urban fantasy series. I am thrilled to say that this book sucked me in right away. In fact, I had to force myself to sleep in order to get up for work in time, but I couldn't put it down until I found how it ended. Silver Borne is the fifth book in the Mercy Thompson series and currently my favorite book in the series thus far.
  Briggs has maintained her well plotted mysteries and world building, but also upped the action and romance while furthering character development in this installment. Unlike its previous installments, Silver Borne tackles many different plot lines that left me on the edge of my seat. I tend to frown upon multiple plot lines because they are generally boring or they don't seem to fit the overall tone of the book, but this is not the case in Silver Borne where all the subplots make up not only the plot but also several character arcs. I did not find myself skimming any parts of the book, in fact, I had to slow done into to absorb the snarky humor and the romantic tidbits in the book.
  Mercy continues to be an awesome and humble heroine. I like that she feels uncomfortable being in the spotlight and finds herself ordinary. There is no air of arrogance surrounding her. She can take care of herself yet call on others for help. In the past books, Mercy has struggled with the mentality of the wolf pack. She's terrified of losing her own identity and power. Mercy doesn't do submission and she never will. In Silver Borne she comes to realize the importance of pack, which I seem to understand in our layman terms would be family. While the pack does have it's social and political structure, it also has intimacy and affection which Briggs excellently demonstrated in the romance and the lack of for certain key characters in the book. 
  I have been a bit disappointed with the mystery aspect of the previous Mercy books, however, with Silver Borne I didn't have any idea of what would happen next. I enjoyed the twists and turns. I was truly in the dark along with Mercy. I did, however, miss Stefan, Mercy's vampire friend, but thought he needed some time off considering what he went through in Bones Crossed.
  If you do decide to pick this series up (I really don't know why you wouldn't), I would highly suggest that you start at the beginning or at the very least with the second book in the series, Blood Bound, in order to get a sense of how Mercy's world works, and most importantly how the characters interact with one another. I love these characters and can't wait to see what happens next. Silver Borne is a must read for all Mercy fans. And yes, Una, you were right on when you told me that I would love this book. Thank you again for introducing this series to me!

Rating: 5 stars

Words of Caution: There is some language and some strong fantasy violence. There is also a small sex scene that is not overly graphic. Recommended for mature teen readers only and adults.

If you like this book try: River Marked by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #6), Kate Daniel series by Ilona Andrews, Fray by Joss Whedon, Buffy the Vampire Slayer series by Joss Whedon