Blood Bound

No joke this is the best series I've ever read.

"Moon Called," author Patricia Briggs' introduction to the shapeshifting Mercy Thompson, was good. "Blood Bound," the sequel, is better. Mercy lives among werewolves in a society that knows they -- as well as various fae populations -- exist. But Mercy isn't a werewolf; lycanthropy is a culture based in European roots, while Mercy's coyote shape is rooted in Native American lore. She is far less powerful in her coyote form, but has certain advantages, such as a natural resistance to vampiric mind games. That will prove to be a useful trait in "Blood Bound," which pits Mercy, the local werewolf pack and the community of vampires -- who have not been revealed to the public at large -- against a rogue vampire with a demon in thrall and powerful sorcerous abilities at his command. As the body count rises and key characters are taken out of play, Mercy finds herself fighting an enemy she can't even find, much less defeat with any certainty. To add a delicious layer of tension to the story, her allies may prove as deadly as the sorceror she's hunting -- she definitely can't trust them to watch her back. And all she really wants to do is keep her garage open for business and tinker in her spare time on her beloved VW Rabbit. Refreshingly, the romance aspect of the story -- Mercy has two powerful werewolves and maybe a vampire vying for her affections -- is subdued, almost inconsequential to the plot. Some folks might be disappointed, but romance is making such a heavy push into contemporary paranormal fiction, it's almost a relief to see it de-emphasized for a change. Mercy is no heart of stone, but she certainly doesn't feel the need to have a man in her life, for love or protection against the greater dark. "Blood Bound" is a compelling story with a strong, capable heroine who defies expectations in an increasingly crowded genre. Characters, action and suspense work together smoothly to drive the plot in interesting directions, and readers will hug the pages as Briggs takes unexpected turns. by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor

Blood Bound picks up not too long after the first in the series, Moon Called. Introduced to mechanic and sometimes-coyote, Mercedes Thompson in book one we get to dive right back into her world. A walker raised by werewolves, trained in mechanics by a fae and friend to vampires and ghosts, Mercy's world is far from ordinary. Blood Bound finds her vampire friend Stefan calling on her for return of a favor from Moon Called (book one). There's a new vampire in town and he's brought a demon with him. From here the story takes off at a stop-start pace involving both the local wolf pack and the vampire seethe, even getting some of the fae involved. But it is Mercy's ability to speak to ghosts that is in high demand and eventually she saves the day. With diverse characters carried over from the first book and a few new ones salted into this one there were no faces I missed. I look forward to more unique and enjoyable characters as the series continues. Her efforts to make Mercy a girl-next-door-who-just-happens-to-be-a-shapeshifter character who is a girl most readers can relate to are spot on. I won't compare her to other characters of books in this same genre because she tops them all in sheer likability. As a native of the area Briggs' tale takes place in I was once again impressed with her knowledge of the region and pleased at how well she carried me back home through her accurate description of the simple things like the climate, local culture and real places within the area. The unique choice of location certainly adds to the story as cities like New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles and such, while all wonderful places, have been over-used in similar series. Using an area not widely known has given this series a refreshing change from the cliched and expected. If you enjoy a good paranormal tale with vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts and the like that won't get lost in between pages of sex scenes this series is for you. While there's still a tantalizing love triangle element I appreciate that Mercy is a very real woman who doesn't sport a harem of Adonis-like fellows at her beck and call. Briggs never loses the story's plot in attempts to hook her heroine up with her heroes.

Patricia Brigg brings her coyote shape-shifter character Mercy back in this sequel to Moon Called. Mercy is a rare coyote shape shifter raised by a werewolf pack. By day she works as a mechanic in a world that has only recently become aware of the fae--who live on a reservation, and werewolves--who keep a very low profile. Vampires are still not part of the mainstream. Yet Mercy seems to collect preternatural friends of all types, from her werewolf roommate, to her fae ex-boss and her vampire friend. When a demon possessed vampire goes on a killing spree, Mercy goes into action to stop him from outing the vampires in a very bad way. Her friendships and budding love-affairs with two werewolves are put to the test as Mercy resists efforts by the local vampires and werewolves to control her. Briggs does a nice job of portraying a gutsy preternatural hero in a supernatural alternate universe. Her characters are appealing and lively. The writing in Blood Bound is tight and creates spine-tingling suspense. My only gripe is that I wish it were longer!

Ok, Mercy is a used car auto-mechanic who specializes in German manufactured cars. Mercy is also a coyote skin-walker. Her best customer is a vampire who drives around in an old VW mini-van with a Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine paint job, and her next door neighbor is the alpha-male of the local wolf pack, who she has gone out on a couple of dates with. Her room-mate is the son of the chief were-wolf in North America, who she almost eloped with when she was 16. Her ex-boss is a fey who calls himself a gremlin, and whose talent is working with metal and iron (normally poisonous to all fey.) With her first book, Moon Called, we barely meet the vampires and fey in the Tri-Cities of Eastern Washington State. In this book, not only have the weaker fey creatures been outed, but the were-wolves have also outed themselves to humanity. Vampires are still unknown however; and the local vampire sidhe queen needs help stopping a rogue vampire who is a sorcerer, a human who has invited a demon into his body giving him powers over vampires, were-wolves, and fey. Can Mercy stop this sorcerer/vampire? Part of what makes this book and series important is the look into the politics of the various supernatural groups in Briggs's modern world, and Mercy's struggles as a businesswoman and member of the paranormal community. She must also help protect her fellow humans, while struggling with her potential boyfriends, and helping all her friends whether human or paranormal. Briggs along with David Weber, Kim Harrison, and Charlaine Harris do an excellent job of this with differing levels of emphasis. By the way, I agree with Patricia Briggs that this 2nd novel is an improvement over the first novel, and I am avidly looking forward to book 3 which has been submitted to the publishers even as we speak.

It's difficult to find good urban fantasy these days, but Patricia Briggs has started a new series. The first book, "Moon Called" which came out last year, introduced us to Mercedes 'Mercy' Thompson, a girl who was raised by wolves--well, werewolves to be exact. It seems Mercy is a skinwalker. She appears to be human, but can change to a coyote form at will. In this society, the fae have come out and many are restricted to reservations. Weres and vamps are also in the process of coming out, but there's quite a bit of politics and public relations involved in this process. Mercy isn't in your typical glam profession, either. She's a mechanic, a VW mechanic to be precise, named "Mercedes." The second book, "Blood Bound" returns to Mercy's world. Stefan, a friend and not your typical vampire (he drives a VW bus decorated as the "Mystery Machine"), asks Mercy to come along as witness in her coyote form. He suspects a vampire-sorcerer is loose in the Tri-Cities area. He's right--Mercy witnesses a vicious murder. Worse, as the heat increases, tempers everywhere are flaring and the body count is rising. Marsilia, the Master Vampire, comes to Mercy and tells her that she's the only one who can stop this sorcerer. Between the vamps and the fae, Mercy has the skills and the tools to do the job. Just before she can, the vampire-sorcerer has taken the Alpha Werewolf and her close friend, Samuel. Mercy's pretty sure by nightfall that the two of them will be added to the death toll. Mercedes is definitely a likeable heroine. I enjoy reading about a VW mechanic's life juxtaposed into a fantasy situation. The world she's created is interesting and mostly believable. Briggs definitely knows how to keep you turning pages. I certainly did til I was done with the book.