Even though Mercy is struggling from the fall-out of the last book’s events, trouble doesn’t leave her alone. She’s chosen to be alpha werewolf Adam’s mate, but before anything can be finalized, her vampire friend Stefan appears in her house at the edge of death. Turns out Marsilia, the mistress of the local vampire seethe, has discovered that Mercy killed two of her vampires and that Stefan helped to cover it up, and so she has declared Mercy’s life forfeit, and that of her friends. Just in time, an old friend appears asking for Mercy’s help; a ghost has taken over her home. Mercy takes the opportunity to leave her friends safe by removing herself from the area, but in the process attracts the attention of the crazed vampire in Spokane. How is she going to get out of this one?

While this was a little bit of a let down after Iron Kissed, which would have been hard to top, there is still a lot to like about this installment of the series. Mercy has a lot to recover from since she was raped and she finds that she doesn’t just get over it like often happens in fiction; no, she has panic attacks, she cowers, she has trouble even kissing Adam. Adam, of course, more than proved his worth with patience and understanding and I liked the way that their relationship developed.

These books wouldn’t stand alone very well, but that isn’t a criticism here. The events from previous books are still ongoing, while the book has its own plotline to keep the action going and provide new excitement. It’s a little like plotting for a TV show; there is a bigger conflict and then there is the driving force behind each individual episode. Everything has repercussions, but the ghost storyline allows Mercy to develop and heal a little by herself.

I’m definitely still recommending this series and eagerly awaiting the fifth book! ( )

Summary: Car mechanic and sometime shape-shifter Mercy Thompson has learned - the hard way - why her race was almost exterminated. When European vampires emigrated to North America, they found Mercy's people had a hidden talent for vampire slaying. Unfortunately for Mercy, the queen of the local vampire seethe has discovered her true identity.

The undead queen is also furious when she learns Mercy has crossed her and killed one of her own. Mercy may be protected from direct reprisals by the werewolf pack (and her interesting relationship with its Alpha), but that just means Marsilia will come after Mercy some other way. So Mercy had better prepare to watch her back.

I was a bit disappointed with this book. After the amazing and awe-inspiring third book in this series, I expected this one to be a home run, or well, a grand slam - if I am using baseball analogies. It seemed like the whole climax of the story was rushed through, I would have loved to have a better description of what went on when Adam and Mercy finished bonding, and also more about the mysteries stick that keeps following Mercy around, although it finally comes in handy in this book. I did like that we learned a bit more about Mercy's powers, and met some new and different characters. I am also still completely in shock and awe of what the mistress did the poor abused Stephan, that was just messed up. This book is a good read to hopefully bridge for a better book in the 5th installment of this series.We shall see.

Also posted: http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/2... ( )

The main werewolf series by Patricia Briggs features Mercedes Thompson, a Native American VW mechanic who can turn into a coyote and who was fostered with werewolves when she was a child. As far as she knows, she's the only (skin)walker around, since the colonization of the New World led to the extermination of its native magical creatures by the European magical types, just like the real history of American Indian cultures. The stories are set in the Tri-Cities of Washington State.

The fourth book, Bone Crossed, picks up immediately after the third, with overlapping closing and opening scenes. It's basically a revenge of the vampires story, no, it's a ghost story, no, it's even more bad things happen to Mercy story. We learn a little more about walkers, and vampires, and fae, and ghosts. Mercy has not one but MANY males of various supernatural persuasions trying to control her. She ends up imprisoned, but no major physical damage for a change. Just the heebie-jeebies of having someone control her memories and also controlling some of the others around her on a visit to Spokane to help an old college friend. And the political and magical fallout of being joined to the werewolf pack. And still dealing with the after-effects of her earlier traumas. I liked this story okay, but I think it has more holes in it and doesn't hang together perhaps quite as neatly as earlier stories.

So why do I like this series? Multiple strong minority characters including African American, Native American, multiracial African-Asian, Latino, gay, and probably others that I'm not bringing to mind right now. Most of the characters are still white and straight and male, but not all of them, and the minorities are liberally scattered through the series in important roles, not just a token here and there.

There aren't as many women characters; certainly, Mercy doesn't appear to have any female friends (besides Adam's daughter). She apparently had problems in her youth with the female werewolves in the pack, and the female werewolves in the present-day storyline are mentioned only in passing with the exception of Honey, who appears to be developing into a friend after initial antagonism. The only other female characters who get any time are Jesse, the teenage human daughter of Adam, the local Alpha, and Marsala, the mistress of the local vampire seethe.

It is nice to see a plucky female protagonist succeeding in a patriarchal society (and the werewolves are that), and that this character is realistically portrayed, including the physical and emotional and mental costs of coping with crises. However, it is a little disturbing that these costs are escalating throughout the series, which the characters themselves point out. I recently came across a discussion of the
Women in Refrigerators pattern in comic books, which was later expanded to other fictional media . Other characters are taking real beatings too, but they're men with supernatural healing powers that Mercy lacks. I'm not saying that Patricia Briggs is being sexist here, but this escalation of horrors for Mercy is troubling.

Other reasons I like the series--engaging characters, generally good dialogue, interesting ideas like the fae reservations, certainly fast-paced action stories with a good dollop of romance and emotional depth. It's not set in one of the obligatory major urban areas--New York and California really don't need any more attention. The Pacific Northwest needs to be better represented in fiction, in my opinion. The character is blue collar and worries about paying her bills. She also has a sense of humor. These are all things I can connect with, though my collar's been bleached in the last couple years. ( )

Mercy has an incredible ability to put herself in trouble with insane ease. Marsilia knows our walker killed Andre, and trying to save her friends from the vampire's reprisal, Mercy gets herself in even more trouble.

How can it be worst then a vampire queen wanting your death? How other 2 powerful vampires wanting your death?

On top of imminent, and not negligible, death treats. Mercedes finds herself between a rock and a hard place when Stefan and Adam find themselves fighting for her attention.

Bone Crossed was another great book written by Patricia Briggs. Characters are well thread, and some of them are very edgy. You never quite know what to expect from them, which makes the story much more interesting!

Her plotting skills are awesome and you can't really figure out which way the action is heading.

It's gonna be real hard to wait until march for Silver Born to release, and have you seen how gorgeous is the cover? The clothing is kinda off though, can't imagine Mercy wearing that hehe. ( )

Good read. Easy to read and get right back into the flow of the universe of Mercy and the wolf pack. No big surprised on the overall plot. A few new character types from the fae. ( )