The Mercy Thompson series is a great urban fantasy series written by Patrica Briggs. Out of the series so far, my favorite has been Silver Borne which I burned through in a night. River Marked, while enjoyable, didn't meet my expectations.
Description (from Goodreads): Car mechanic Mercy
Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and
not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a
shape-shifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's
never known any others of her kind. Until now.
An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate will need their help.
Review: Compared to the adrenaline rush of Silver Borne, River Marked is much more mellow and easy going. Mercy has taken a big step in her life, ready to settle down and marry her mate. Things are great with a lovely wedding and the start of a romantic honeymoon until a man is found in a boat on the Columbia River with a bitten-off leg and his sister is missing and presumed dead, that's when things get interesting and a bit weird.
While there is not much character growth for Mercy, we do learn a lot about her Native American background which had been shrouded in mystery until now. I really enjoyed the Native American mythology and thought it was woven nicely into the story. Though the usual cast in Mercy's world, which I love are missing after the wedding, the stand-in cast is funny and likable.
The mystery surrounding the river creature was a bit ho hum for me. There wasn't intricate or dare I say complicated enough to resolve. I wasn't really excited and drawn into the story as much. After finishing the book, I thought River Marked might have worked better if it was a novella instead of an actual book. The pacing was a bit slow and the tone was different (not necessarily a bad thing) compared to the other books. Overall, I enjoyed River Marked but it's not my favorite book in the Mercy series.
Rating: 3 stars
Words of Caution: There is some language, strong violence, and a few non-descriptive sex scenes which take place off the page. Recommended for older teens and adults.
If you like this book try: Kate Daniel series by Ilona Andrews, Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, Stray by Rachel Vincent
Description (from Goodreads): Car mechanic Mercy
Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and
not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a
shape-shifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's
never known any others of her kind. Until now.An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate will need their help.
Review: Compared to the adrenaline rush of Silver Borne, River Marked is much more mellow and easy going. Mercy has taken a big step in her life, ready to settle down and marry her mate. Things are great with a lovely wedding and the start of a romantic honeymoon until a man is found in a boat on the Columbia River with a bitten-off leg and his sister is missing and presumed dead, that's when things get interesting and a bit weird.
While there is not much character growth for Mercy, we do learn a lot about her Native American background which had been shrouded in mystery until now. I really enjoyed the Native American mythology and thought it was woven nicely into the story. Though the usual cast in Mercy's world, which I love are missing after the wedding, the stand-in cast is funny and likable.
The mystery surrounding the river creature was a bit ho hum for me. There wasn't intricate or dare I say complicated enough to resolve. I wasn't really excited and drawn into the story as much. After finishing the book, I thought River Marked might have worked better if it was a novella instead of an actual book. The pacing was a bit slow and the tone was different (not necessarily a bad thing) compared to the other books. Overall, I enjoyed River Marked but it's not my favorite book in the Mercy series.
Rating: 3 stars
Words of Caution: There is some language, strong violence, and a few non-descriptive sex scenes which take place off the page. Recommended for older teens and adults.
If you like this book try: Kate Daniel series by Ilona Andrews, Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, Stray by Rachel Vincent
Labels:
2012 100+ Reading Challenge,
3 stars,
Adult,
Fantasy,
Marriage,
Mercy Thompson series,
Mystery,
Paranormal,
Romance,
Urban Fantasy
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Yes, this was the weakest link for me too so far, I'm afraid. ON the other hand, her recent release, Fair Game, was very close to perfect. She's made serious progress with her Alpha and Omega series, and in a way, I'm glad it will take so long for the next Mercy book to come out. The series has definitely lost some steam and a long pause should fix that.
Great review!
I've heard this book is a little bit slower than the previous ones which is a bit disappointing. I like kick-butt take-numbers Mercy though I'm super excited that she and Adam are finally married! LOVE them:) I still need to read this one, but I might wait until the next installment which will hopefully have more action and I can read them together:)
I agree, but with the ramifications of Alpha and Omega's Fair Game...I can't wait until the next Mercy book. However, to be fair, considering what she has endured...she deserved a bit of a break....
Have you read Alpha and Omega series yet?
Everyone is talking about Mercy this week. I feel so out of the loop since I haven't read any of the books. Boo on me.
@Maja: There's suppose to be only 2 more Mercy books after the 2013 release.
@Jenny: This one didn't have a serious cliffhanger at all so that was good. Just curious as to where this series is headed next.
@Una: I got them on my TBR pile. In fact just got "Cry Wolf" from the library. Just need to find time and read them!
@Heidi: I missed them too! I think that's what took the excitement away for me. I also wondered if the walking stick would ever be explained-at least it was of use!
@Missie: LOL, I had no clue about all the Mercy talk this week. I think you'd really enjoy them. She's such a strong and lovable character.
Oh I never thought I'd hear that a Mercy book would be better as a novella. Still, I love this series so much I'll still need to read it. I also need to catch up. I've read so little in this series. :(
I've never tried this series. I've seen it a lot, but it's never interested me. If it delved more into the Native American ancestry, I might like it more, but it feels like there are a lot of series out there that are like this one, just with a different character with a different job. What do you think?
@Heather: There are a lot of similar tropes within the UF genre. I really liked about Mercy is that she is a strong female who was a minority and never felt like she belonged. She's very tomboyish and relatively comfortable in her own skin. I'd say give the series and Mercy a shot. :)