Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, book 4) by Patricia Briggs
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Edition Reviewed: Paperback
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Goodreads: Bone Crossed (4)
View our feature on Patricia Briggs’s Bone Crossed.
Shapeshifter Mercy Thompson hit the #1 spot on the bestseller list with Iron Kissed...
And she's planning a return trip.
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:
Let's be honest. Briggs has introduced the bad guy first thing in every book. Attempts at red-herring and yada don't work. You know who it is. It's been consistent for 3 books. So what does she do? She not only has them talking about Blackwood before he shows up, but then after he shows up they make fun of Mercy for being able to attract the only vampire in the whole area. Then the true mystery and intrigue happens. Because Blackwood is one creepy-creepy-creepy goose bumps inducing vampire. On top of that Marsilia KNOWS and it's time to pay the evil vampire Mistress. Boom! Two amazing vampire villains in one book. Both of them have ulterior motives and it is one messy and wild-scary ride.
Bone Crossed not only does the villains and mystery plots right, but it picks right up from that cruel cliffhanger. Come on. Any first time reader will admit to being scared witless to how the series would continue after that. There was a chance that Brigg's totally neglected Mercy's character development, after she took IT there. Or Adam was going to go from amazing to despicable. All depending on how this played out. Well it was perfect. Handled well and this is very much a book of growth. Because it's Mercy it's not beaten into readers heads with a tire iron (yeah, poor taste I know) and over dramatized.
Instead Mercy is growing and healing. Her mother comes to town, and it's such a treat. Bran stops in. And basically Mercy realizes that she's not alone. Adam is there to help her heal and it does wonders for both of them. Since Mercy and Adam had a history before Moon Called started up that, while I loved them as a couple, there were some important things missing from their relationship. Iron Kissed started to slyly feel in the blanks. Bone Crossed filled in the rest. Mercy is healing herself, but Adam helps and plays a role in it. It's beautiful and I appreciated it.
Now another time for honesty. Stephan. My poor beloved Stephan. Fans have preached to me since I've first mentioned it, but I stand by my words: Stephan has never truly been fully developed. It's clear that he is a third (cough fourth) wheel in the romance. It's always been Sam or Adam. And we all knew who would win out of those two. So it's nice that he gets some page time here. (Come on he was there a little bit in Moon Called, Blood Bound was surprisingly short on page time, and Iron Kissed was empty of Stephan!)
What's more is that Marsilia has Stephan on her shit list. Not only does this show how freaking evil Marsilia is—she's ALWAYS working some kind of angle—it shows how amazing Stephan is. Don't get me wrong Stephan is a monster and Mercy has been grumbling about it. However, I think all of the paranormal beings are monsters. Even Adam and Sam. It's the way the Mercy Thompson world is. What makes them slightly less monstrous is how much of humanity they want to rub off on them, or that they respect.
Bone Crossed is definitely the strongest book yet in the series, one where Briggs hits every single spot. Which is saying something from such an amazing series. The politics are fabulous as Mercy becomes embroiled in them. Honestly I love seeing how the vampire, werewolf, and fae stuff ticks. Especially when they all start butting heads. Because war doesn't just mean death among the paranormal beings, if the humans find out it won't be pretty for the paranormals as they try to come out and join society. There's a lot at stake. With Marsilia's devious threats, Blackwood's chilling connections to Mercy, and the underlying mysteries Bone Crossed is sure to be a fan favorite. Sometimes the development and certain decisions feel rushed, but only Briggs could make it seem perfect to the story. Bone Crossed is the best entry yet and I love how Mercy's love life is playing into it. It's not over the top and she figures things out before jumping into a relationship. No angsty love triangles here. Build up people. Freaking build up.
Sexual Content: Sex scene, sexual humor, rape is mentioned. Still a pretty clean read.
5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession!
| Previous book(s) in series: | ||
| Reviewed on BW: | Amazon: | Goodreads: |
| Moon Called (1) | Moon Called (1) | Moon Called (1) |
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