Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Review: Fire Touched

Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson - Book 9) by Patricia Briggs

Publication Date: 03/08/2016
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: ACE
Genre: Sci Fi/Fantasy/Paranormal
Pages: 352
ISBN-100425256766
ISBN-13978-0425256763

(Received for an honest review from ACE)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, itunes

Patricia Briggs on the WEB: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads

Books in the series:

Mercy Thompson

1. Moon Called
2. Blood Bound
3. Iron Kissed
4. Bone Crossed
5. Silver Borne
6. River Marked
7. Frost Burned
8. Night Broken
9. Fire Touched


Coverart: Click the image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.




Excerpt from Fire Touched, courtesy of the author's website.

Synopsis:

Mercy Thompson has been hailed as “a heroine who continues to grow and yet always remains true to herself.”* Now she’s back, and she’ll soon discover that when the fae stalk the human world, it’s the children who suffer...
 
Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.
 
Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?


Thoughts:

Mercy Thompson is back! Readers have been waiting for this one for awhile. Patricia Briggs continues the Mercy Thompson series with the ninth book, Fire Touched. All out war is coming and the pack had better be ready. Humans, fae, werewolves and shapeshifters all have a part in the latest addition to this wonderfully written paranormal series. Briggs delves deep into her characters in this one, taking them to new places of growth. A great new book, from a great paranormal writer!

What I liked:

Mercy Thompson is a heroine after my own heart. She isn't perfect, she has her moments just like everyone else. Her problems may be a little different from the average reader considering she is a coyote shapeshifter, but it all boils down to one thing. How we survive in the world and finding our place within it. Patricia Briggs has given readers a heroine they can stand behind and relate to, regardless of whether this is a paranormal story or a regular one. 

Mercy has some big choices to make in this one and I felt like the novel was much more focused on her as a character than the action that is typical of this series. That was a nice change and felt organic and natural. Her relationship with Adam was also in the forefront, as well as, her relationship with the pack and what it meant to be Adam's mate. There was definitely action in this book, but it wasn't the main focus. It was much more character driven than usual and I found that I liked that and that it was needed this far into the series.

Most of you know that I am from Scottish decent. I read a lot of books that are related to Scotland and Ireland in some way. I also read a lot of paranormal fiction. The fae are characters that I am well acquainted with. Whether from stories passed down or from books I have read and it's alway interesting to see how the fae are portrayed. I find that there are stark differences in how readers view fae and how they view fairies, though they are essentially the same thing. In the Mercy Thompson series readers aren't getting Disney fairies like TinkerBell. These fae mean business and they are not sweet and cute and fluffy. I liked the hard nosed approach to the fae because that's how legend truly portrays them. 

There are some hard moments in this one including some tragedy. I like books that don't necessarily let everything end in a happy ever after scenario and this one does that. You have the paranormal characters all at each others throats here. You have a human child hanging in the balance. It can't all end well and Briggs proves that sometimes the conflict can't always be resolved with rainbows and bunny rabbits. It was tough one, but a necessary one.

What I didn't like:

Some readers will not like the fact that this particular Mercy Thompson book is not quite as action filled as usual. Personally, this didn't bother me that much, but I can see where it will be a problem for some readers, so its just something to keep in mind. I liked all of the introspection and growth, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea.

Bottom Line:

If you are a long time fan of this series, this book will be very satisfying. This one is a lot more character driven than any of the other books in the series. Mercy is basically coming into her own and owning both her victories and her mistakes. Her relationships are very important in this one so the action has to take a back seat. This book is not without it's tragedy and readers will be left feeling, sad at moments and happy in others. A great addition to this wonderful series!

On a side note, I'm going to a book signing with Patricia Briggs and Anne Bishop later this week and I look forward to interacting with the author of this series! 

Fire Touched is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!




About the Author:


Patricia Briggs, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mercy Thompson series, lives in Washington State with her husband, children, and a small herd of horses. She has written 17 novels to date. Briggs began her career writing traditional fantasy novels, the first of which was published by Ace Books in 1993, and shifted gears in 2006 to write urban fantasy. In Fall 2010, Patricia made another foray into traditional fantasy, when Ace published a revised version of her very first book, Masques (2010), and its never-before-published sequel, Wolfsbane (2010), both of which debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list for Mass Market Fiction.
In 2006, Ace Books published Moon Called, the first book in her #1 New York Times bestselling—and signature series—about Mercy Thompson. The non-stop adventure left readers wanting more and word of this exciting new urban fantasy series about a shape-shifting mechanic spread quickly. Blood Bound (2007), the second book in the series, debuted at #12 on the New York Times bestsellers list. After the incredible success ofIron Kissed (2008), which landed at #1 on the New York Times list, the Mercy Thompson saga continued to win the hearts of readers and grew in popularity with the release of each book. Bone Crossed (2009), the fourth book in the series and first to be published in hardcover, debuted at #3 on the New York Times Hardcover bestsellers list, where it stayed for four weeks. The most recent hardcover, Silver Borne (2010), debuted at #1 on the New York Times Hardcover bestsellers list and stayed on the printed list for a total of three weeks!
Briggs also writes the Alpha and Omega series, which are set in the same world as the Mercy Thompson novels. What began as the novella “Alpha and Omega” in an anthology called On the Prowl (2007), was then expanded into a full new series. The subsequent books were Cry Wolf (2008) and Hunting Ground (2009), both New York Times bestsellers. The third book of the Alpha and Omega series is Fair Game (2012) and debuted at #4 on the New York Times bestsellers list. For more information about Patricia Briggs and her marvelous novels, feel free to visit the author on the web at www.patriciabriggs.com.

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