Tag: Werewolf

Blog Topic, Book review, Reading

Book Review: Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, #2)Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The chief said, ‘I’m going to need your badge, your gun, and your ability to turn into a werewolf.’

Harry Dresden is living on the memory of ramen noodles and hasn’t heard from his contact at the Chicago Police in ages. But with the full moon dawning, a spate of murders leads Lieutenant Murphy to call on his wizard skills. With the FBI sticking their nose in, Murphy under investigation, and a pack of werewolves on the prowl, Harry is up to his neck in trouble before the moon has risen.

Jim Butcher really does love to make Harry suffer. He is obviously a big believer in creating a large stack of insurmountable odds for each of Dresden’s adventures. This is both entertaining and frustrating. Entertaining because it keeps the suspense up. Frustrating because you kinda want there to be fewer fires layered under the frypan Dresden falls out of. Or to put it another way, you start asking, ‘Isn’t it time to kill the bad guys yet?’ Or to put it another way, the damned suspense nearly killed me.

This was another enjoyable Dresden adventure. I’m looking forward to my next one.

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Book Review: Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse, #13)Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Did you hear the one about the Vampire, the Were, the Shifter, and the Barmaid?

In this final Sookie Stackhouse novel, Sookie discovers she has many enemies. One group decide to frame her for murder. Another group decide to just murder her. Another decides to steal her boyfriend. Her friends have other ideas about letting any of that happen without a fight.

I haven’t been closely following Charlaine Harris’ series. I’ve enjoyed all the instalments I’ve read so far, and Dead Ever After was no exception. Although, I was surprised to discover this was the final novel in the Sookie Stackhouse series.* This felt like any other instalment in the series to me.

Apparently fans of the series were annoyed with the less than satisfactory ending. A lot of one star reviews have been thrown at this book. One thing seems clear, Sookie didn’t end up with the right guy. Apparently. So if you are an invested fan, this book will probably be used to heat your home in winter. For the less invested fans, this will be regarded as a solid instalment to the series.

*Yes, I can see the tagline on the bottom of the cover. Kinda hard to read when it is thumbnail sized though.

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Book review: Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson, #9)Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Who knew trolls were brightly coloured down there. Something to keep in mind during your next internet argument.

Adam and Mercy’s pack is quickly becoming the go-to problem solving group. Vampire dispute: call the pack. Wayward fae: call the pack. Troll rampaging on a bridge in town and threatening to kill everyone: call the pack. Since that isn’t happening anywhere else, Mercy claims the Tri-cities as their territory and any and all are under their protection. Only took a few seconds for someone to take up the protection offer and give them another headache in the form of a fire-touched human hunted by the fae.

This instalment in the Mercy Thompson series sees some of the older conflicts resolved, only to be replaced by new conflicts as the importance of the Columbia Basin pack in the wider world grows. The way Patricia Briggs has gradually grown the Mercy’s world, and the characters who live within it, has felt natural, whilst upping the stakes. Of course now that I’m up-to-date with the series, I have a fortnight to wait for the next instalment to be published.

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Book Review: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Night Broken (Mercy Thompson, #8)Night Broken by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you are dyed blue are you at risk of being abducted by Smurfs?

Mercy and Adam have an unwelcome house guest, Christy, Adam’s ex-wife. She is fleeing a stalker who has killed at least one person and burned down a condo. Oh, and he might be a volcano god. Even more reason for Christy to try to manipulate her way back into Adam and the pack’s life.

This instalment of the Mercy Thompson series is filled with tension. The injection of Christy back into the werewolf pack politics, the new enemy, the need to protect people who are trying to hurt you, and the suspicion of the werewolves being responsible for a rash of murders, could induce reader anxiety. Patricia Briggs has certainly left no obstacle out of Mercy’s way in Night Broken.

Needless to say, the review of the next instalment, Fire Touched, will be coming soon.

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Book Review: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson, #7)Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Is the correct term for the abduction of shapeshifters werenapping?

Our favourite coyote is back, the rest of her pack less so. Some mad fool has decided to abduct Adam and the rest of the Tri-Cities werewolves. They also come after Mercy and all of her friends. That’s one way to invite yourself to be dinner I suppose.

Halfway through the novel I was reminded why I’ve been enjoying the Mercy Thompson series so much. Patricia Briggs sets a plot in motion but doesn’t follow the standard path you would expect. Without spoiling things, we get more plot and a different endpoint than you were initially expecting. Most authors would set that initial plot in motion and try to make the ride enjoyable. Briggs makes the ride to the shops enjoyable but also changes the destination for somewhere with ocean views.

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Book review: River Marked by Patricia Briggs

River Marked (Mercy Thompson, #6)River Marked by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are times when you really need a bigger boat.

Mercy and Adam have decided to get married and go on a honeymoon. Of course, everyone else has plans on their time, including a few odd jobs they could do. Such as figure out why so many people are disappearing near the river… At least Mercy isn’t repairing cars on her honeymoon.

In River Marked we have some reveals about Mercy’s real father. This hints at things to come as well as explaining why she seems to have been attracting trouble. As always, Patricia Briggs has progressed the series and characters, filling in the gaps in a natural and satisfying way. We never get all the answers, but Briggs is revealing them without it feeling like she has been obstinately hiding details or making them up on the fly.

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Book review: Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson, #5)Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Returning overdue books has never been quite this dangerous.

Mercy borrowed a book to help her understand the fae. But when she tries to return it she finds the bookstore owner has disappeared and several nasty foes who wouldn’t mind eating her. If only Samuel was feeling himself and someone wasn’t trying to sabotage date night with Adam she could deal with this situation.

Despite their standalone nature, the plot of the books in this series overlap a lot. While you could jump into the series with Silver Borne and enjoy it without any problems, the significance and development of the plots would be a little incomplete if you hadn’t read the previous instalments. That said, this novel feels like a turning point in the series, with Mercy starting to come into her own. Hard to comment without spoilers, and it really is just easier to read and enjoy.

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