Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
Also by this author: Dead Heat, Silence Fallen
Series: Mercy Thompson
Published by Penguin on March 8th 2016
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Urban, Romance, Paranormal, General, Action & Adventure, Contemporary
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
ISBN: 9780698180918
Goodreads

This post contains affiliate links, please see our 'About' page.

FTC disclaimer applies, please visit 'About' page

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?   *Library Journal
From the Hardcover edition.

Buy on Amazon

If you are a Mercy Thompson reader, you are going to buy this book and love it. If you have never heard of Mercy Thompson then you have been missing out on one of the best paranormal/urban Fantasy  series of all time.  The series focuses on a coyote shifter named Mercy Thompson who happens to be a VW mechanic.  The Fae of European legend, Native American folklore,  werewolves,  vampires and other supernatural characters, all swirl around Mercy Thompson of the Tri City area of Washington State.  It is truly a great series, and the main reason is that Patricia Briggs even though she writes paranormal characters in fantastical situations, never ever lets the genre tell the story.  She lets the people, even ones with magical powers, propel her story.  It is the people and the relationships that are always at the forefront in a Briggs’s novels.  She never lets the world building over shadow what is essentially stories about families and the connected relationships that are involved in them.  Family in Mercy’s world doesn’t even mean being related by blood or marriage, it is who she chooses to love and trust. Even if you don’t like Mercy if the girl considers you her’s she has you back, and if I could pick a paranormal character to have at my back it would be Mercy.  As paranormal females go she really has minor magical powers, wow the girl can turn into a small canine, as she is a coyote skin walker.  Not a huge super power when it comes to the paranormal.  Mercy despite her lack of super powers is one girl that has more guts than is good for a person.  She makes hard choices and always seems to put herself in peril for other weaker beings be them of the mundane or magical variety.

The books are written via Mercy’s point of view, so I know Mercy about as well as I know myself.  I adore Mercy,  BUT…. the very best paranormal male characters, who could actually be a real person is Adam Hauptman  (with one N, not matter how many times my darn Mac want to add an extra n).  He is just what every love should be.  If you are looking for paranormal that is a thinly veiled sexcapade you are barking up the wrong tree with this series.  As the sex is not what propels this story, it is the mystery adventure that Mercy gets tangled up with that moves these stories along.  Now when it comes to sex, yes the later books do have some sexy times.  They are written in such a visceral that any reader would envy Mercy, as her husband Adam is PERFECT!  Plus he is a werewolf, so no one is going to mess with Mercy without getting bit.

In this newest story,  Fire Touched, Mercy is again having to deal with the Fae, as Z and his son Tad are A.W.O.L, and the book starts right off with a huge Troll on a bridge.  A lot is resolved in this story among the pack,  a situation that has been a long time coming.  Bran makes an appearance via video chat, and I am not liking the alpha very much in this book.  In all honestly he is alpha because he can make the hard decisions, better him than me.  Some character I love are absent, but the time frame of this novel is a short one. I never have enough time with Mercy, could she not just call me up and have me come over for tea, I would bring cookies.  We do get introduced to some really good new characters.  I am hoping for a spin off series Vampires of San Francisco.  As I started this review I mentioned that these books are inherently about family and this one is by far the most family centered one to date.  It is a must read for series lovers and if you haven’t read this series you really should.

Rating Report
Plot
Characters
Writing
Pacing
Cover
Overall: