Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

Frost Burned (2013) (Orbit)
Patricia Briggs
Grade: A
Genre: urban fantasy
Sex scenes: mild
Source: own
Mercedes Thompson: (1) Moon Called, (2) Blood Bound, (3) Iron Kissed, (4) Bone Crossed, (5) Silver Borne, (6) River Marked, (7) Frost Burned

Romance RBC 2014: An urban fantasy 

Mate of the local alpha, Volkswagen mechanic and coyote Mercedes Thompson is looking forward to some peace in her life. Unfortunately, peace is definitely avoiding Mercy. After being involved in a minor traffic accident with her step-daughter Jesse, Mercy suddenly can’t get in touch with her mate, Adam, or any of his pack, save Ben, who escaped injured in order to warn and protect Mercy and Jesse.

It soon becomes clear that the pack has been kidnapped, and anyone who has the strength and means to take on a pack as big and powerful as Adam’s is a serious danger to them all. With the help of her unique mate-bond to Adam and the assistance of her own powerful friends (vampire, fae, werewolf and regular human alike), Mercy must juggle the delicate strings that are werewolf and vampire relations and locate her mate and pack before their time runs out …

Patricia Briggs is one of the most consistent and best urban fantasy writers in the business, and I don’t think I’m biased, despite the fact that she’s the only urban fantasy writer I actively read. I first read book 1 in 2008 and my last interaction with the series was in August 2011 with book 6. Now, having read book 7, I’m addicted all over again and can’t see any good reason why I shouldn’t buy the whole series so that I can re-read it from start to finish. In the meantime, I’m actively searching for book 8, Night Broken.

Mercy is a wonderful heroine to read: practical, slightly impulsive, sometimes dangerous in her own right and often prone to throwing herself into the deep end, especially against enemies who are a whole lot bigger and badder than she is. She takes knocks in her stride and very little stops her from battling causes she believes in. This leads to interesting storylines (who knew little coyotes could get into such big trouble?) and Mercy’s hero, Adam, has mostly resigned himself to the fact that Mercy is a magnet for trouble. They’re one of my favourite couples to read because of their pure cuteness. I don’t find Adam majorly alpha in his everyday dealings, which makes for an especially thrilling read when he does get stoked up. Who doesn’t love an alpha werewolf? I’d choose werewolf over vampire, any day.

It’s difficult not to get excited about this wonderful series. This is definitely one you can’t read out-of-order. The series is deceptively complex – it’s only something I remember when I get tied up in the storylines again that I’m reminded of the fact, and so skipping books isn’t to be taken lightly. What’s great is that the rest of the pack (and there’s a lot of them) get their turn as secondary characters and they are each other’s strengths. Mercy might have a lot of enemies and might never seem to find the peace and quiet that she deserves, but that’s all part of the thrill. May Night Broken bring just as much excitement.

Image courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.