Moon Called: Mercy Thompson, Book 1

I will admit I am new to reading books by Patricia Briggs but I am now kicking myself for not picking up her books sooner. I literally read all of the available Mercy Thompson books in less than a week. I just could not put them down. Patricia has managed to create a world that is believable and interesting and you cannot help but love the characters. This is why I love series so much because you get to continue reading about characters you fall in love with. Mercy is a great heroine because she doesn't believe she is. She is down to earth and a little bit of a smart ass. She antagonizes the local alpha of the werewolf pack of the tri-cities on purpose because she can and he lets her get away with it because secretly he loves her. Mercy has managed to basically stay out of trouble her entire life, that is until now. All of a sudden she goes from being a nobody to someone in the mist of danger and it is up to her to save the day. When the local alpha is wounded badly (which leaves his status up for grabs if his wounds are out in the open) she takes it upon herself to be his savior. She takes him to the Marrok (the leader of all leaders) who protected and raised her (did I mention she is a coyote shifter) - werewolf protecting a coyote! They deal with the immediate threat and get Adam on the road to recovery and Mercy learns that she wasn't the pain she thought she was to the Marrok (even though he would never openly admit just how much she means to him). Soon Mercy is back to the tri-cities with not only one dominate werewolf but two (the second being the son of the Marrok who she almost ran away with when she was 16) - Samuel the Marrok's son was sent for a few reasons: 1) to try and get him out of his suicidal funk - the Marrok thinks sending him with Mercy will help 2) to protect the wounded alpha and 3) to keep Mercy from doing anything stupid while looking for the Alpha's daughter who has been kidnapped. Of course Mercy manages to get herself into trouble but not before the Alpha is kidnapped and she is needed to rescue not only him but his daughter. In the end she of course succeeds and now has not only one werewolf trying to court her but two (the Alpha has named her his mate to keep his wolves from attacking her as she is a coyote in were wolf territory and the Marrok's son Samual who has decided he is moving in with her with or without her approval (he has no qualms about camping out on her porch). The characters are relatable and you learn to like them quickly. I am glad the series continues so you can keep learning more and more about the characters you love. Did I mention the characters are great? Anyway, long story short - read this book!

I love it when I can read a book for a second time and enjoy even more than the first time. There are a few book worlds that I hate to leave and Mercy's world is one of them. When I finished reading Fire Touched recently, I wanted more Mercy so I decided it was time to listen to some of the audiobooks from this series that have been sitting in my audible account for a couple of years. I was surprised by how much more I liked it this time around. This is the first book in the Mercy Thompson series and it does a really good job of introducing a large number of the key players in the series. This book is one of the really great first books in an urban fiction series. All of the world building works nicely into the plot. The book opens with a lot of excitement and you just kind of learn how things work as the plot moves forward. I loved going back to spend time with an earlier Mercy. She is such a wonderful character. She is extremely brave in this story despite being fully aware of her limitations. She is smart and able to make good decisions under pressure. She really shows a protective side in this story with both Mac and Jesse which I really liked. It was really fun spending time with Adam, Samuel, Bran, Zee, Stephen, Jesse, Warren, and the rest of gang in this book. The mystery in this book was solid. When a young werewolf ends up in Mercy's garage, she quickly learns that some strange things are happening. Adam is quickly pulled into the mystery and is actually quite vulnerable during much of this book. Mercy and the werewolves must find out what is going on and what their motives are in order to keep everyone safe. I really liked seeing how many things from later in the series were foreshadowed in this book. There were so many things that I didn't pick up on during my first reading. It took me a few minutes to adjust to the narration of this audiobook. Don't get me wrong, I thought the narration was great in the end but Mercy is a character that I have been reading about for years so I had a preconceived notion about what her voice should sound like. The narrator didn't match the voice in my head at the beginning of the story but by the end her voice was Mercy's. I think that the narrator did a fabulous job with all of the different character voices. I really enjoyed how much emotion came across in her reading of the story. I definitely plan to listen to more audiobooks featuring Lorelei King's narration. I would highly recommend this book and series to fans of urban fiction. The Mercy Thompson series along with the Alpha & Omega series which is set in the same world are among my favorites. This is a series that is best read in order so this book is a great starting point. I am looking forward to re-reading the second book in the series very soon.

This book offers a refreshing twist on the familiar world of werewolves, vampires, and the fae. The story follows Mercy Thompson, a shapeshifter—and one of the last of her kind—who tries to live a fairly normal life. Raised by werewolves, Mercy eventually leaves the pack’s reservation and becomes a mechanic. But when a lone werewolf shows up at her shop, her quiet life quickly spirals into danger and intrigue. It’s a great read—fast-paced, atmospheric, and full of supernatural depth. If you’re looking for a true romantasy, though, this isn’t quite that. There are romantic threads and potential love interests, but they take a back seat to the action and world-building.

Werewolves, Vampires, and Coyotes... the world of Mercy Thompson is full of many things that go bump in the night; some are new twists on classic favorites, and some borrow from myth, legend, and tradition without much embellishment--some cultures and their stories simply do not need them. Moon Called is the first book of the Mercy Thompson series, and dumps us headfirst into the world of the paranormal and supernatural. Unlike the normal fantasy fare, Mercy Thompson is a walker--a coyote walker--in a world where werewolves rule over most canines. To werewolves, coyotes are prey, and Mercy Thompson survives in the Tri-Cities with a little help from Adam, the Alpha male of the Columbia Basin werewolf pack. With the pack's protection, and an arrangement with the local vampire seethe, Mercy works and lives as a Volkswagen mechanic. The story begins when Mercy meets Mac, a very young werewolf who is on the run, without a pack to help him control his wolf. When she asks Adam for help, she doesn't anticipate how much trouble Mac will bring to her door. The story is written in an interesting style; it blends present and past tenses as appropriate to the story, an interesting technique I've never really seen used elsewhere--at least not without making me flinch a lot. Patricia Briggs does a masterful job at it, although there are a few times where I did wince at the shift in tenses. It's a quirk to Briggs' writing that makes her stories unique--and intense. But what I think I enjoy most about Moon Called is the use of stereotypes and tropes, twisted in such a way where the story feels very unique--all the while remaining on familiar, comfortable ground. This is a good thing. It makes Moon Called an easy read, and very easy to get absorbed into, without the reader being forced to think too hard to understand how the world works. Now, I'll be honest here--I enjoy when stories make me think and work to understand them. That's why I like Jim Butcher's stories--I have to work to follow the threads, and I like that. But Briggs manages to use comfortable ground to propel the story forward, and the depth I like is built from novel to novel, with crossovers from Mercy Thompson's series to Alpha and Omega, which focuses on Anna and Charles. One thing that bothers me—a little—is that I walked away feeling like the twist and conclusion could have had a bit more punch. But I'm a picky reader. Those who just want a really good story will likely enjoy Moon Called--as well as the later novels in the Mercy Thompson Series. Now, that said, there is one thing about Moon Called that I found a little saddening; there are romantic elements at play, but as a general rule, there are very few surprises in the romance department; it's so straight forward that you would have to have skimmed every page of the book not to figure out who was partnering with whom. Mercy is given a harem of potential lover boys, but from the very start, it's pretty obvious which male she's most likely to hunt as much as she's being hunted. Still, I enjoyed the story quite a bit--and there are a lot of good things going for this plot, even considering the fact there are times where I felt it could be a lot more complex. Some people may not agree with me, but I find this is one of those cozy urban fantasies--the type you read when you want to get lost in another world and forget about your own for a while. I first read Moon Called in an airport, and trust me on this one, there's definitely reason to want to get lost in a good story. Moon Called delivered. I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy with some thriller and horror components. It also has romance and mystery; in short, I feel this type of story is about life, which is more than one simple classification--a life full of werewolves, vampires, and coyotes, of course. This book was a very quick read for me; without skimming (as I will skim if my attention wanders... it didn't in this novel) it took me about two to two and a half hours to work my way through. Quick, but entirely enjoyable. I enjoyed Moon Called the first time I read it... and the second... and the third... and the fourth. For those who care, it is written in first person. I recommend it.

I can't believe it's taken me so long to read this series. Patricia Briggs work is sort of essential reading for most Urban Fantasy lovers, as is evidenced by the 5 star ratings her books get on almost every blog/review site. I'd just put off reading her because werewolves in general are not my favorite urban fantasy creatures, and ware-coyotes (or walkers if you want to get technical) sounded even less interesting to me. After reading two chapters of Moon Called, I found myself soundly smacking myself on the head for putting off reading the book for so long. It is SO good. Like really really engaging work. Every book in the series is action packed, full of amazing characters, and beautiful story telling. - Premise - Mercedes (Mercy) was raised by a pack of werewolves, and while she's moved away in an attempt to distance herself from their politics, she still maintains close ties with them. When her local pack alpha (the oh so sexy Adam Hauptmann) comes under attack, she does the right thing and steps in to lend aid. - World - The story really does read as unique to me because it focuses on werewolves. Although Fae and Vampires exist in the world, they are distant side characters. Her wolves are smart, well organized, and very likeable. The author has created organizational structures for each of her supernatural species that make sense. The world building is simple - but superb. There aren't any complex magical or scientific principles to explain, but everything is very well laid out and makes sense. There's nothing that feels far fetched or implausible to me. - Characters - Characterization is definitely this author's strong suite. Mercy may very well be one of the best strong female protagonists in this genre. The only gal I'd put against her would be Merit from the Chicagoland Vampires series. Mercy is strong without being foolhardy or full of insane bravado. She's the kind of girl that's too smart to foolishly throw herself in the way of danger, she'll handle whatever comes her way on her own. No knights in shining armor needed here. She's honorable and loyal, and would gladly sacrifice her life to do the right thing for people she cares about . You can't help but love this gal. Adam Hauptmann is the alpha werewolf of Mercy's local pack, and he's just fantastic. On one hand he's the semi classic alpha type you find in many romance novels - he's anal retentive, controlling, and over protected. On the other hand there's this soft side to him. He works to really hard to know the people around him. I had the sense through most of the story that Adam understood Mercy, and half the other characters in the story better than they understood themselves. It makes him an amazing leader, as well as a down right loveable character. Sam is the son of the Alpha of all Alpha werewolves. He's ancient (like hundreds of years old), but has a very human personality. He's really the heartbreaker of the series - his backstory is very tragic, and you won't be able to help but care for him when you've seen all he's been through. His soft, light happy personality seems odd when you consider his past, but it just makes him all the more loveable. Side characters include a fantastic Scooby do loving vampire named Stefan who is probably one of the more multi-dimensional characters in the story, and an ancient iron fey named Zee who used to run Mercy's mechanic shop and is old, grumpy, very powerful and downright cool. - Romance - These books aren't romance focus - it sort of takes place in the background, and it very yummie, but not very "in your face." There's a love triangle present in this book between Mercy, Sam, and Adam. I'm not normally a big love triangle fan, but this one didn't bother me, mostly because the romance wasn't a huge part of the story, and Mercy didn't bounce back and forth too much between the guys. I also liked each of the characters in the triangle for various reasons (although Adam was definitely my favorite). - Plot - Fantastic, page turning, and impossible to put down. I felt this way about every book in the series up to River Marked, which seemed slow paced to me. Moon Called will suck you in within the first few chapters, and you'll probably avoid sleep, eating, going out or anything else that would distract you from its pages until you're done. HIGHLY recommended book/series. If are a urban fantasy fan, these books should be considered a "must read."

I have just gotten myself out of the worst reading slump ever! Sure I picked up books and read through them but they were getting boring, the same old song and dance with each book I finished. Though after reading Moon Called, I became hooked with this series! It’s been awhile since I have been in the Fantasy/Paranormal world and where the characters aren’t teenagers. I loved this refreshing read and getting back into a genre other than contemporary and New Adult. Patricia Briggs brought out a great debut to a series and once I finished book 1 I immediately bought book 2 and 3 because I just knew they were going to be as great as this one. Mercy Thompson is a Walker, she can shift into a coyote and while that may not seem as cool as turning into a werewolf I thought it was different and one of the many things that caught my attention from the beginning. She lives in a world where vampires are lurking about, witches are real, the fae are practically everywhere and an Alpha werewolf and his pack live right behind her trailer. It all seems like too much but every character and their affiliation is introduced perfectly and at the right times. Mercy is that type of character where trouble seems to find her but unlike some protagonists she doesn’t need to voice for help, she can save her own skin and can very well prove it but that doesn’t mean her Alpha wolf neighbor Adam won’t step in from time to time. While I started to get bored of the romance books the relationship Adam and Mercy had was an interesting one, they had that hate-love relationship where anyone with eyes could tell they were attracted to one another but they never acted upon it. With Adam around and growing up in the wolf pack life Mercy knew the ups and downs about pack and being in pack. Learning about the pack dynamic was another intriguing aspect of the book that I am eager to learn more about and to see where Mercy fits into all of it. Other than Adam we meet other werewolves in the story, most of them from Adam’s pack, but some old friends that Mercy was reluctant to see again such as Samuel, Mercy’s kind of old flame. Samuel introduces the idea of a love triangle that I may or may have not rolled my eyes at. Though I lessened my dislike for him when we get to see how strong he is that intertwine well with his gentle heart that pulled on my heart strings a little. We also meet Bran, the Marrok, or ruler of all werewolves, Samuel’s father and Mercy’s father figure she had while growing up in his pack. The magic aspect in the book was not geared just toward the fae but also the persuasion of vampires and their fangs. But a magic I did not expect was pack magic and how the alpha can take his strength from his pack and vice versa. I’m really hoping we get more of an idea about all of this later down the road with the next books. The book isn’t complex at all and was a quick and easy read, one I enjoyed and am most likely continuing with the sequels. I hope you all take a chance to read the series and get a good look at Mercy and the gang as they hop onto their adventures that Mercy probably got them into. I know this review may seem kind of vague but I don’t want to give too much away so go read it! Over and out.

MY RATING SYSTEM 5 stars--WOW 4 stars--would read again 3 stars--was good, won't read again 2 stars--read it, but didn't enjoy it 1 star--didn't finish, it was so awful Do I need to read books before this one: no Cliffhanger: no SUMMARY A boy approaches Mercy as she fixes cars in her shop, hoping to earn cash. Mercy smells he's a new werewolf, takes him on, will figure out how to get him to Adam, the alpha here who's also her neighbor. Her human police friend, Tony, stops by, sees Mac, and tells her he's seen Mac sound and he's not violent nor on drugs. Later, Mac confides he and his girlfriend were attacked in Chicago. He survived the Change, she didn't. He woke up in a cage, heard someone sell him, and had a variety of drugs tried on him. She goes back to the shop to bring Mac a blanket and finds him being threatened. Mercy shifts into her coyote form, kills the werewolf and scares off the human with a gun. She calls Adam, who takes Mac home to introduce him to the pack. She also calls Elizaveta, the witch the pack pays to do cleanup. In the morning, Mercy's cat wants out. Mac is dead on her doorstep. She mourns, then hears noises at Adam's. She races over, kills another werewolf who's fighting Adam, and sees his 15yo daughter, Jesse, has been kidnapped. Worried about a coup to take Adam's leadership, Mercy can't call his pack, so she puts Mac's body and Adam in her van, then drives to Montana to the head alpha of North America, Bran. She'd been fostered in his pack, though she's a skinwalker, not a werewolf. She calls Zee, the gremlin who taught her everything about fixing cars and sold her his garage, to cover for her while she's gone and warn him about what happened. She also calls Stefan, her vampire friend, to explain she hauled a dead body in his van (painted like the Mystery Machine), though Elizaveta cleaned it. In Montana, she shifts to hunt the hills for Bran. She finds Samuel, her old boyfriend she'd planned to marry until Bran interfered. Bran makes it clear Mercy is welcome home so the pack don't hurt her. Samuel, since he's a doctor, tends to Adam and will investigate Mac's body and the tranquilizer dart she'd found by Adam. In the morning, she reconnects with Dr Wallace, the human who'd helped her after her foster parents died; he's now a werewolf, but he won't hunt because he's a veterinarian and a vegetarian. Samuel returns to Kennewick with Adam and Mercy to keep Adam's wolf controlled until Adam is healed, and to investigate the attacks. EVALUATION Excellent story. Mercy's compassion for Mac drew me in; her being friends with a variety of supernaturals and humans intrigued me; and her snark made me laugh. Her character is well developed: her history includes loneliness, love, loss, fear, and self-acceptance; her present is developed through action and dialog rather than a lot of interior monolog. Other characters are introduced, though not as well developed, and I look forward to knowing them better. The plot starts simply, and keeps growing, not going where I expected. RECOMMENDATION Everyone who enjoys fantasy should read this. FAVORITE QUOTES There’s a lot of truth in the adage that all cars named after animals are lemons. His voice was soft and sweet as molasses; but my mother once told me that you had to trust that the first thing out of a person’s mouth was truth. After they have a chance to think about it, they’ll change what they say to be more socially acceptable, something they think you’ll be happier with, something that will get the results they want. “I don't like lies. Not even lies of omission. Hard truths can be dealt with, triumphed over, but lies will destroy your soul.” “Living's easier than dying, most times. Dance when the moon sings, and don’t cry about troubles that haven’t yet come.” “Happiness is German engineering, Italian cooking, and Belgian chocolate” “Siebold Adelbert’s Smiter from the Black Forest,” I translated, using my required two years of a foreign language course for the first time ever. For four years I banged out tunes for a half hour a day and hated the piano more each year. It hated me back. Politics. Humans, werewolves, or, apparently, vampires, it doesn’t matter; get more than three of them together and the jockeying for power begins. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” I confessed. “Maybe when this is all over, you can drive, and I’ll stick my head out the window.” “Next to vinegar and baking soda, WD-40 is the miracle discovery of the age.” “I’ve never heard you swear before. At least not like that.” “Power words. Without which mechanics the world over would be lost.” POSSIBLE TRIGGERS (spoilers) Sex: kisses Language: 0 F words, 1 Lord's name in vain, 1 S words Violence: animal maulings, threats, gun fights, drug experiments, report of suicide CRITIQUE (spoilers) I'm not clear how Clark died. Is there a coup happening in the vampires?

I didn't mind the writing style or plot as much as some reviewers here, but I was very bothered by Mercy's characterization. She says she is strong and independent, but her actions show something else. She is extremely deferential to the werewolves, constantly telling the reader that they are aggressive or can't control their actions in X and Y scenario. She has to cow before them (literally in one scene as one werewolf loses control of himself and she is in her coyote form) despite constantly insisting that she is not a werewolf and not required to follow their rules. She flinches when someone uses a mild curse word and again when someone takes the Lord's name in vain, revealing a far more conservative outlook than I expected from someone who is a modern single female and business owner in the Pacific Northwest who left her chosen family behind when her beloved turns out to be using her as an incubator for their potential future children. (The fiancé wanted biological werewolf children, which in this book is extremely rare for werewolves. Mercy being another kind of shifter makes it much more likely that their children would live; therefore, the character was going through the motions of making her his mate in order to get the children he wanted.) I accept that the plot brought the two characters back together again; hey, we've all had to deal with an ex now and again. But the fact that she was immediately ok with being sent back to her hometown with him as her ally to help with the main problem of the novel? No. I don't care what special powers and abilities he has. Surely there's someone else available who didn't treat her as if she were a baby machine with no thoughts or feelings of any consequence. Mercy doesn't seem to mind overly much, even though this person manipulated her emotions (she was 16 at the time; he is centuries older) tried to trap her in a sham marriage, and use her. So there's not only toxic masculinity, but toxic masculinity that's shrugged off by the narrative. There's a lot of odd sexism in these books, usually tossed into the casual explanations of werewolf culture. Women are not allowed to be lone wolves. Non-werewolf mates are usually not told about their werewolf partner until AFTER the marriage. (Which is stupid, as marriage is not an indicator of a strong relationship and is falling out of fashion in recent decades). There's indicators throughout the book that another alpha character has put some kind of mating designation on Mercy without her knowledge or permission. She excuses it, assuming he's done so for her protection. Excuse me? You've said 14 times so far that you are not part of his pack and do not follow their rules. So why would it ever be ok that someone is involving you in those things without even telling you, let alone without giving you the chance to decide for yourself if that's something you want. So there's not only sexism, but supernatural sexism. The only character I really felt for was a gay werewolf who was tossed from his original pack because sexual attraction for men puts off other werewolves and causes them to have aggression problems. He finds a new home with this pack, and finds a human partner he genuinely cares for. But he, the werewolf cannot mention that he is a werewolf because his alpha has ordered him not to. The alpha didn't actually agree with this, so he's fine when Mercy breaks the rules and tells the confused partner the truth about his lover. So there's not only politics in this book, but stupid politics. I'm so tired of reading shifter novels about hairy, overbred jerks who go around growling and losing control of the beast. They are wolves, yes, but they are also MEN. They should be shown to be as varied and as nuanced and as progressive as some MEN are, because although they may get hairy at certain times of the month, they still navigate much of the world as MEN. Actual wolves, too, do things for reasons. They don't just fall on each other snarling because their testosterone levels are too high. So why are these werewolves portrayed like this? I don't know anything about the author, but I assume from this characterization that she is conservative and Southern. Her male characters are jerks (except for Adam, from what I can see, but he was wounded and asleep most of the book!) and there wasn't much about this supernatural world that made me want to learn more about it. If I were Mercy, I'd move to a new town and not give any of these jerks my number.