Review: Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

Bone Crossed

Author: Patricia Briggs

Publisher: Orbit

Series: Mercy Thompson Series, Book 4

ISBN: 044101836X
Purchase Information:
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For more information please visit Patricia Briggs's website.


Marsilia, the local vampire queen, has learned that Mercy crossed her by slaying a member of her clan. Now, she's out for blood. But since Mercy is protected from direct reprisal by the werewolf pack-and her relationship with its sexy Alpha-it's not Mercy's blood Marsilia is after...

Review:

Have you ever read a series that you simply couldn't put down? That you couldn't wait to get your hands on the next installment? Well, the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs is just such a one for me. You can always be certain that these novels will have a wonderful mix of action, suspense, magic and a touch of romance that will leave you wanting more.

Bone Crossed begins immediately where the last novel leaves off allowing us to jump right back into the action and drama that is Mercy's life. After being attacked and raped by Tim she is still scarred, both emotionally and physically, and the moment to choose her Alpha is upon her. The moment she gives in to Adam I couldn't help but squeal like a school girl. It was truly a moment I've been waiting and hoping for since reading the first novel and the moment didn't disappoint. It was filled with tenderness, passion and understanding about Mercy's recent trauma which only made it that much more special and proved that Mercy did indeed make the right decision. However, the moment is quickly over and the chaos that seems to plague her ensues yet again. One thing can be certain with this novel, there is always something going on! Throughout, we are led through one situation to the next. With old grievances coming back to bite her in the backside and new ones looming over her head, I was riveted and enthralled.

And yet despite all the goings-on, the chaos around Mercy never spreads into the writing. In fact, this is one of my favorite aspects to Briggs's writing. There is such a fluidity about it that no other author has been able to duplicate. The plot lines are always intricate and even though she allows some of the issues to drop for a time, when they are revisited they still pack the immediacy they originally held. For example, in this novel the death of Andre is brought to bare. Stefan is punished and Mercy is declared a traitor to the seethe. However, despite the obvious simplicity of the situation, the design of this is so much larger then the reader can imagine. And yet, the end result makes so much sense! You can see the pieces coming together and understand the characters so much better because of it.

But, not only does the plot line intrigue me, the characters do as well, and not necessarily the ones you'd expect. While I love Mercy (I mean who couldn't? She's beyond awesome) I can't help but love Adam and Stefan more. While they are supporting characters they still are astoundingly well developed and you build a kinship with them that is hard to explain. I think it's the little quirks in their characters that make them seem so lively. Look at Stefan for instance, a vampire who rides around in the Mystery Machine and loves Scooby-Doo. Yet, despite being a bit of a dork, he is known in his seethe as the Soldier-extremely powerful and unbelievably loyal. While a monster, both by his own admission and his vampiric nature, he is more human then one can believe. He protects and loves Mercy as much as he is able, choosing her over his seethe and his Mistress which rouses a bit of contention in the vampire hierarchy. Not to mention his heroic thwarting of the claim and desire of a powerful master vampire called the Monster over her. And then there's Adam. What can you say about him? His love of Mercy is cosmic and I loved how this novel explored the Mate bond as well as the Pack bond that now connects them. The fact that he accepts Mercy and her independence without question or dispute just makes me love him more. And while these two are by far my favorite characters all of them are just as well imagined. Brigg's has a way of making them seem effortlessly organic, from the villains to the heros and even those few in between that you can't even begin to classify in such simple terms.

Likewise, the world created in this series is diverse and the societies extremely well explored. The mythos is intricate and constantly being built upon and yet it maintains a continuity that other series often don't have. And as the series progresses we come to find out more about not only the fae, the wolf structure, and the vampire seethe, but also a bit about Mercy and what she is truly capable of as a Skin Walker. There is always something new being added to keep the series fresh, and yet keeps a rigidity that helps the reader understand the rules of the world.

My only complaint about the novel was that it did take me a few minutes to get back into the story. With it beginning so abruptly where it left off it took me a bit longer then in previous novels to become reacquainted with the characters and the recent history from the previous book, Iron Kissed. Add to that an extremely action packed first couple of chapters and it became a little cumbersome. However, despite this, I was engrossed immediately and couldn't pull myself away until I finished!

Overall, this novel had to be my favorite in the Mercy Thompson series! It was filled with everything you could ever want in an urban fantasy novel and the writing is beyond reproach. Ever expanding, addictive and above all else, fun-if you haven't read this series yet you are definitely missing out.

My Rating: 5 out 5 Scars