Abandoned by Booklikes

I own all of the Mercy Thompson books and decided that I would try to re-read some of them since I just finished the latest book and really wanted some Mercy to read.

I guess I am shocked how I even continued with the series when I see a lot of problems here and there with the story-line. I did give it four stars, but that's because I know what's coming and how good the series gets. But I can see why some people read book #1 and said I am out. 

Set in the Tri-Cities in Washington state, we have a world where the fae, werewolves, and vampires walk alongside humans. And we even have a young woman (Mercy Thompson) who has the ability to shape-shift into a coyote.

I liked Mercy from the first. A half Indian and white woman, she is a mechanic working alongside a fae called Zee. We find out right away that Mercy has issues. And who wouldn't. When her mother realized that Mercy wasn't a typical baby, she went and sought help from someone (Bran "The Marrok" Cornick). Mercy ends up being raised by werewolves, but is quickly sent away again when she falls in love with The Marrok's son, Samuel. Eventually Mercy makes her way to the Tri-Cities and even though she know she's displeased The Marrok and her mother, she does what she wants and even lives next door to an alpha werewolf (Adam).

When Adam's teenage daughter Jesse is kidnapped, and then Adam is injured, Mercy goes investigating and even goes back to The Marrok in order to get answers about who is behind what is going on in the Tri-Cities and what they have planned for Adam and his Pack.

The writing in this first book is a little rough. And there is some info-dumping here and there. I think that in this first book, Briggs was trying to do too much. We get so many introductions to people, places, and things it was hard to keep things straight at first. Even I who have read this entire series went wait a minute what a couple of times. This is also kind of short (it's only 298 pages, electronic) and leaves a lot of questions that do get answered later on in the series. But I have to say that besides Mercy, I didn't get a good sense of anyone.

Also there were so many plot holes that bugged me. I also didn't get why Mercy didn't confront her mother, The Marrok, heck even Samuel more about how they played a game of hot potato regarding her. And even though Mercy doesn't act like it, I definitely in the first couple of books got a sense of her hurt that her foster father committed suicide after his wife died leaving her all alone again.

And people, there is a love triangle in this one. Thank goodness Briggs doesn't drag that out beyond book # 2 though the decision is finally made in book #3.

The ending I thought was clever when you find out the who and why. And I thought that the book that should be read after this is "Cry Wolf" which shows you the immediate aftermath of what goes does in this book. It gives a much nicer resolution to some things. And let's you see a different side to the werewolves that Mercy can only guess at. 

Bank:
April 15: $20
April 17: $23. I read "The Wangs Vs the World", electronic pages 368.
April 24: $28. I read "Dream Wedding", electronic pages 512.
April 25: $28. Landed on BL and had to post a vacation photo or tell a story about a vacation.
April 29: $31. Read "Whitethorn Woods", 354 pages Kindle edition, $3.00
April 29: $34. Read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", 256 pages;$3.00.
May 4: $37. Read "The Ghost Brigades" Paperback, 346 pages; $3.00

May 8: $42. Read "American Gods" Hardcover, 465 pages; $5.00. 

May 8: $45. Read "Moon Called" 298 pages Kindle edition; $3.00.