Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

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Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4)

"Bone Crossed" is the 4th book in the Mercy Thompson series, and unfortunately the next book doesn't come out until March 30th, 2010! I have to wait! The good news is she has a companion series, Alpha and Omega, so I just ordered the first book in that series to read.

In "Bone Crossed" Mercy deals with the ramifications of her actions in previous books. She shows up at her shop one morning to find that it's been covered in graffiti. Some of it is rather harmless, but her door also has magically painted crossed bones on it, and she discovers they are a message from the Vampire Queen Marsalia. It's a sign to show that she has earned disfavor with the Queen, and any one who feels like taking her out has permission.

On top of that, an old acquaintance of Mercy's shows up asking for her help with a ghost. When Mercy investigates she finds the situation to be far more difficult than she would have suspected. Not to mention there is an adorable 10 year old boy who wraps himself around her heart.

There is also an ancient vampire making life even more complicated, but that's what we've come to expect from Mercy! On an interesting side note, she runs into a fae in this book who suggests that her coyote nature is carrying a little bit of "grandfather coyotes" chaos. It certainly explains why so many things happen to her!

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

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Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, Book 3)

"Iron Kissed" is the third book in the "Mercy Thompson" series. Mercy is a walker, one of the rare people who can change their form between human and, in her case, coyote. She also was raised by werewolves, is friends with members of the fae, occasionally helps out vampires, and can talk to ghosts. The world that Mercy lives in is different from the one that you and I live in. In most ways its the same, but the fae have come out into the open, as have (more recently) the werewolves.

There are many different stories out there about the fae, and many of them are false or hold only a small portion of truth, but one of the one's that is true is that most of the fae can not handle the touch of iron. One of Mercy's friends is different though, he is "iron kissed" and not only can handle the touch of iron, he has an affinity for it. In fact, Zee was the original owner of the shop that Mercy now runs.

Now there's trouble among the fae and Zee's the one that has been designated to take the fall. Mercy, of course, doesn't take too kindly to this idea and begins looking into solving the crime. This pits her against some powerful fae, but Mercy always has some tricks up her sleeve, and of course she has some powerful friends of her own.

Zee tries to stop Mercy from interfering. It's not so much that he likes the idea of being the fall guy, it's more that he knows that there are some incredibly powerful forces involved, and he doesn't think Mercy is going to be able to stand up to them. Mercy is stubborn though, and when it comes to her friends, very little can keep her from giving her 100% to help them! She does find herself in quite a bit of hot water before the book is over, but in true Mercy fashion, she also finds a way out of it.

Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs

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Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, Book 2)

"Blood Bound" is the second book in the "Mercy Thompson" series by Patricia Briggs. Once again she's written a great book full of magic, adventure, and even a little bit of romance! Whereas the last book delved deep into the world of werewolves, this book takes us (and Mercy) into the secret lives of vampires.

Mercy knows that vampires are, by definition, evil. She makes an exception for her friend Stephen though, so when he goes missing, she's more than willing to investigate! Plus she has the advantage of being semi-immune to vampire magic, which has lead to the queen of the vampire coven calling on her for help, because they are dealing with a rogue vampire.

Along the way Mercy learns a lot about vampire society that she never knew, and a lot about her friend Stephen. Including that he seems to care for her a bit more than just as a friend. How complicated can her love life get? She already has two werewolves vying for her attention...

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

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Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)

"Moon Called" by Patricia Briggs is a modern fantasy set in the Tri Cities area and is full of werewolves, vampires, fae, and the main character is a skin changer! For those of you not familiar with the Tri Cities, it's part of my home state, so that was a lot of fun for me. This is the first book I've read by Briggs and I'm really looking forward to reading more.

Mercedes, the main character, is a skin walker. She's of Native American descent and can easily change back and forth between her human form and coyote form. She didn't grow up in a Native American community though, no, she was raised by Werewolves. As a result, she knows way more about their culture than most, and she's on friendly terms with the local pack.

Actually, Mercedes seems to be able to make friends with just about anybody. Her former boss and friend is a fae, she regularly does car work for a local vampire, and she's quick to befriend a new werewolf when he shows up on the scene. Things go crazy not long after that as blood is shed and Mercedes finds the people she loves in terrible danger.

One thing I really appreciated about this story is that it's not your typical "oh it's fantasy so we have to throw some dirty, nasty sex scenes in." There is some romantic tension (and I loved it) but it's a pretty clean read. The cover art doesn't really reflect that though.