Moon Called, Patricia Briggs
This was a lot of fun. I guess it’s fairly standard for the sort of paranormal romance/urban fantasy genre, in terms of plot, but then there’s also a part Native American protagonist, a non-stereotypical gay man who is a werewolf and whose problems in his relationship are caused by that in an interesting way, and plenty of critique of the whole Alpha werewolf thing that the various men in the story do. If I were Mercy, I’d like to say I’d have clocked them a lot more often… on the other hand, Mercy uses their natures as a way to deal with them, as a plan of attack, so that works too.
Also, you’ve got to appreciate that Mercy is self-sufficient, a mechanic, a woman in a man’s world who demands respect from everyone — even people who have some measure of excuse for expecting her to sit down and shut her mouth, like the werewolves. It’s not unproblematic that they have to have that dynamic, but it’s better than pretending the issue wouldn’t be there at all in a bunch of humans half-influenced by wolfish natures.
The mystery itself is not that amazing; I didn’t feel like we had enough of the clues to work it out in advance, not properly; the explanation turned out to be a bit too convoluted. Still, it wasn’t bad either, using the clashes between werewolf culture and modern culture, between werewolf nature and human society. The way Mercy, a coyote shifter, interacts with the Pack and with vampires and Fey is also interesting.
Overall, I’m not that invested in who Mercy dates in the end, but the series has plenty of time to convince me of that aspect, with the groundwork laid here.
Rating: 3/5
I’m the kind of reader who doesn’t like romance in my urban fantasy but I loved this series! I’m now anxiously awaiting the next book…,
I’m wishing I could get the third and onwards from the library! It’s so annoying…
I love the Mercy Thompson series. The first book isn’t the best, but like a lot of UF series it does get better with the subsequent sequels.
I’m enjoying it, though there’s a couple of things I’m less than fond of…
…Please gods, tell me not to write my own review of the series at the point that I said enough, and the reasons why I have gotten less forgiving of that series the older I get. (Is a k-r from dw; I am having a shit week and a half, and am crotchety.)
There are things bothering me, especially as I’m reading the second book. Like, um, there is such a thing as an Alpha female wolf even in captive packs… and wild packs don’t have the same dynamics observed in captivity. So a lot of the excuses for Pack behaviour don’t actually hold. And Mercy is being held back and browbeaten a lot by the guys even though she’s perfectly capable.
I adore this series, and Mercy as a character – but I do agree with a comment above that the series tends to improve as it goes along. Warren is one of my very favorite characters, and I love how his story was developed.
She is pretty cool. And oooh, I’m looking forward to more of Warren!