Patricia Briggs “has reached perfection”* in this #1 New York Times bestseller, as Mercy Thompson faces a shapeshifter’s biggest fear… Mercy’s life has undergone a seismic change. Becoming the mate of Alpha werewolf Adam Hauptman has made her a stepmother to his daughter Jesse, a relationship that brings moments of blissful normalcy to Mercy’s life. But on the edges of humanity, what passes … edges of humanity, what passes for a minor mishap on an ordinary day can turn into so much more…
After a traffic accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack. They’ve all been abducted. Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related to the political battle the werewolves have been fighting to gain acceptance from the public—and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outmatched and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no matter how unlikely.
*The Nocturnal Library
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Another great Mercy book! I liked this much better than the last one (not to say that I didn’t like the last one, but that it wasn’t one of my favorites of the series) and I’m curious to see where the series is going next.
I loved this book!!!!!!!
I agree with most that although I really enjoyed River Marked (Mercy Thompson #6), I felt that it really had lost something that the previous books in the series had. I didn’t know if it was because the struggle of “will they or wont they” between Adam and Mercy was gone or not but it felt like some of the tension had really left the series. I was scared when I heard that the series was continuing for the simple fact that if that lack of tension was going to be in every book from River Marked on, then we Mercy fans were going to end up losing interest. As I said, I acknowledge that River Marked was a little lackluster compared to the rest of the series BUT I also still really enjoyed the book. I decided when I was done reading it that I would give #7 a try and if it went further downhill, the series was going to lose priority in my To Be Read pile.
I am ecstatic to say that this was not at all the case with Frost Burned.
That passion and intensity is back in FULL FORCE with the story line in Frost Burned!
As with the rest of the Mercy Thompson books, the action takes off from the very beginning of the story. I listened to the audiobook with this one so I don’t know page count but I can tell you that the shit starts hitting the fan approximately 5 minutes into the audio and just keeps going.
One thing I can say with Frost Burned is I was completely and totally blindsided with the reveal of the Big Bad in this one. I did not see that coming AT ALL. I’m glad I didn’t see it coming because I was a little floored when I found out and that just adds to the excitement and experience of reading one of these books.
Another treat (and if you read Dolly’s Review, you already know this) is we get a glimpse inside the mind of the wolf in this one. That’s right kids! There are some parts of this book that are told from Adam’s point of view and I loved it!!! It was a rare glimpse behind the curtain that is the ever cool and in control Alpha of the Columbia Basin pack. I. Loved. It. He’s such a great character and I have always thought it would be awesome to get an extended peek inside his head. Well, Patty Briggs totally delivered.
There was a LOT that happened in this book and quite frankly, not all of it was happy. Be prepared with a box of tissues. I had 2 teary sessions while listening to this book and the first one HURTS. Very, Very sad. Actually! 3 teary sessions if you count the death of the VW Rabbit. Yes, you read that right and yes it was a minor spoiler. Sad, sad day in the life of Mercy Thompson….err Hauptman. Still getting used to that.
We got to see an appearance from all of the old favorites in this book and one of my personal favorites – Ben. The other thing I found lacking in River Marked was the lack of the standard cast. I think that’s why it seemed a bit off to me. This time around, we get to see just about everyone and it was superb.
Getting back to the reveal of the Big Bad. I have a theory that we are going to see the Mercy books take a serious turn for the intense and dangerous given the events at the end of this book. Mercy gets hit was some serious realizations that have the potential to change EVERYTHING for her, Adam and the pack. I think the future Mercy books are going to have a feel to them that they’ve never had before and I think it is going to frikkin jaw dropping. I can’t wait!
Something that we didn’t know when Dolly’s review was published was that Mercy Thompson #8 just got a name!!!!
According to Goodreads.com, Night Broken (Mercy Thompson #8) has a tentative release day of sometime in 2014. We will update you as specifics become available.
Also, a side note about the audiobook of Frost Burned: This book was narrated but the always wonderful Lorelei King. She has narrated the most of the series (someone else did book #1 and possibly even book #2) and she also narrated the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones. I absolutely love this woman! She still hasn’t taken over as my favorite. Tavia Gilbert will probably never leave that spot but LK is a damn close second place! Also, the music at the very beginning of this book during the credits is the same music they used during the credits of the Twilight series. When I started playing the audiobook on my iPod, I thought I had accidently clicked on the wrong book! Lol
I am giving Frost Burned 5 solid coyote prints!!! I adored this book! It brought all of the excitement back to the Mercy Thompson world and had renewed my anticipation for the next book in this series!
Overview:
Frost Burned is the 7th installment of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series. If you are a fan of urban fantasy and haven’t read the series yet, you absolutely should, but don’t start here. Go back to the first book, Moon Called. The story of Frost Burned was intriguing from the beginning, lost a little momentum in the middle, then picked up in action at the end, making it a satisfying read overall. The resolution section of the story was a bit disjointed, jumping between scenes, times, and tenses.
Characters & Voice:
This book, as well as the series as a whole, circulates around Mercy, a coyote walker, and her husband Adam, alpha of the local werewolf pack. Aside from these two, the werewolf pack is full of well-established characters who we get to know throughout the series, but not all of them made a significant appearance in this installment despite the whole pack getting nabbed at the very beginning. Aside from Adam, Mercy mostly interacted with Ben, Kevin, and Honey. She also works closely with Asil, a wolf who is not a member of their pack but is a character readers might recognize from Briggs’ Alpha and Omega series.
Mercy didn’t have as active of a role in the first two-thirds of this novel as I expected. By her own admission, she spends most of the story driving back and forth while the wolves save themselves. She does, however, make a good showing during the climax, when she gets to totally rock her special walker powers and save the day.
World-building:
Mercy Thompson’s world has been pretty well established at this point by the previous books. There is not much added about the fae or werewolves in this book, but we do learn a little more about the hierarchy of the vampires in the surrounding area.
Language & Mechanics:
As always, Briggs’ writing was smooth and vivid, with just the right amount of detail to keep me grounded in the scenes without slowing down the action. The book keeps up a good pace, with enough intrigue to keep the pages turning even in the lulls between action.
Digging Deeper (spoiler alert):
The spell to make Mercy compliant was a good callback to her rape and subsequent fear of being powerless, but it didn’t really go anywhere or affect anything. I feel like it should have either caused a real issue that impacted the story or been left out.
Audiobook, borrowed from library.
Frost Burned picks up shortly after where River Marked left off. And boy, was this packed to the absolute brim with action.
Shortly after the book starts, the werewolf pack gets abducted. This was the main attraction throughout the book, and it definitely kept me listening.
The different relationships Mercy has, not only within the werewolf pack, but also with the Fae and Vampires add a lot to these books.
One thing I don’t understand is why people continue to classify these as romance, because they really don’t have a lot in the way of romance. Like I said for the last book, there’s a dot/dash of romance thrown into this pot of stew, but you can’t really taste it.
Patricia Briggs is always good and this book is no exception
My favorite book series and author of all time! Love love love!!!!
This series has not disappointed yet. Ms. Briggs stays true to the characters and world that she has developed but still surprises.
Another fast paced, exciting adventure for Mercy and her werewolf family. This time Adam and everyone else in the pack except Ben are abducted and Mercy has to call on every friend she can to keep her stepdaughter Jesse safe and help her rescue her friend Kyle from the same mercenaries that have the werewolves. Of course the vampires are a part of the story, as well as her fae mentor Zee and his son Tad. I love seeing all the familiar characters and Mercy’s interactions with them – her friends are always there when she needs them. She attracts trouble in the most unique ways, but always finds a way to get through, maybe bruised and battered, but still in one piece. I love this series so much and I’m moving right on to read Night Broken next.
Patricia Briggs creates amazing characters that you will want to read more and more about!
My Review of Frost Burned, a Mercy Thompson novel by Patricia Briggs.
Favorite Quote: I was going to fight vampires, and my name wasn’t Buffy—I was so screwed.
In the newest book in Patricia Briggs wildly popular Urban fantasy series, Mercy Thompson , VW mechanic, shape shifting walker, and wife of the city’s alpha werewolf is out at midnight on Black Friday with her stepdaughter when she’s involved in a car accident. Soon after she finds that not only can’t she get a hold of anyone from the pack on her cell phone, but her mate bond with her husband is being blocked as well.
She tries to get her stepdaughter to safety and then to go find her mate and their pack, but finds instead rogue government agents and hired mercenaries have taken her husband and the pack by force, knocking them out with a secret drug that only the werewolves know about.
Mercy must be smart, deadly and ruthless as she tries to keep her stepdaughter and others out of these killers’ hands. But that is only the tip of the ice-burg, and she finds herself in the middle of the lethal politics of a vampire territorial battle, and in the cross hairs of fae assassins.
All in all, the usual for one of my favorite heroines, and Ms. Briggs doesn’t disappoint. Her characters are ever evolving, entertaining and can change allegiances in the blink of an eye. Her plot is sharp and quick, and the world she has written pulls you in and doesn’t let you go.
I lost a lot of sleep reading this book into the wee hours of the night.
Fantastic!