Review: Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs

Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson #2) by Patricia Briggs

Publication Date: January 7th 2007 by Ace

Pages: 335

Narrator: Lorelei King

Audiobook Length: 10hrs 2min

Source: Purchased Audio & e-book

Purchase Link: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

About the book:

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places - and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary - and neither is the demon inside of him.

So FYI, I originally read and posted this review while on another blog: The Readers Den, back in August of 2013, but as I participate in of Anne @Books of My Heart read-along & series giveaway (For info & giveaway click HERE). I thought I'd re-post my review and my re-read updates. I first re-read the entire series back in 2017 and I've just started my third re-read a couple of weeks ago. This series is so awesome and I can't recommend it more, so if you're at all interested join all of us in the read-along!

My Thoughts:

Re-read for the 3rd time April 2nd, 2020. I notice more to love with every re-read! 

Re-read March 21st 2017. Even better the 2nd time around!

4.5 Stars

Blood Bound, the second installment in the Mercy Thompson series has me officially addicted!

This begins as Mercy’s friend, Stephan the vampire, calls in a favor owed. Little does she know that repayment puts her and the pack in grave danger, not something Stephan intended, either. What they stumble upon is a powerful threat that Mercy can’t let stand and before you know it, she’s waist high in dangerous vampire politics. Trying to distinguish the truth from subterfuge is difficult and vital if Mercy plans on staying alive.

Like most UF’s I’ve picked up, Mercy Thompson has a new mystery/problem to overcome with each book and also a continuing story arc that progresses, bit by bit in each installment. The new mystery is the vampire/sorcerer-crazy with massive amounts of power and wicked intent. There were parts of this story that genuinely made heart race from fear! Vampires are scary (and not sparkly), especially in the end!

I love Mercedes Thompson! She’s intelligent, a master of reading complicated situations and handling them with care. She reads between the lines and looks beyond the obvious, making her a force to be reckoned with.

The continuing arc is the romance, and it’s the part I love best! There is sort of a love triangle with Adam and Samuel in the mix, but not in an irritating way. Samuel has decided to stay in Washington, more specifically, with Mercy, when she’s made it clear she’s not interested. Samuel makes it clear he is. He was her first love but finding out exactly why he was interested her sent her running years ago. Highlight for spoiler: Mercy could bear his children, ones that would have the potential to be born werewolves, and therefore Samuel would have children he wouldn’t outlive. Finding out this was more a motivator than love broke Mercy’s heart at sixteen. End of spoiler. Now that Mercy looks back, though, she doesn’t regret the situation, because she realizes now that Samuel, as dominant as he is, would’ve wrapped her up in a protective cocoon and stifled her independent spirit.

Adam, the Alpha of the pack is domineering but still respects and appreciates Mercy for who she is rather than what she can do. He’s attracted to Mercy the woman, and isn’t looking for a pack brood mare. Mercy knew that Adam claimed her as his mate but thinks this was in name only, just for protection. A lone “walker” coyote like Mercy without protection would be a target for the wolves and probably wouldn’t last long. A few things happen that make it apparent that Adam’s “claim” has more power and sincerity behind it. This puts Mercy in a bind with Samuel back. Poor Mercy, *not* with two handsome, possessive, alpha males after her!

This was an exciting, and sometimes frightening read. Parts at the end gave me chills and goose bumps! I tried to force myself to put it aside just for my commutes. Something I wasn’t at all successful at! I’ve just finished book three: Iron Kissed, and I have to say the series just gets better!

I loved Lorelei King as the narrator. She has a warm, rich voice with a slightly sarcastic and humorous tone that I find perfect for Mercy. Her male voices are also quite good, as well, and the story flowed seamlessly because of it. I highly recommend the audio version!

4.5 Suns

Review: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Moon Called (Mercy Thompson #1) by Patricia Briggs

Publication Date: January 31st 2006 by Ace

Pages: 295

Narrator: Lorelei King

Audiobook length: 9hrs 14min

Source: Purchased e-book & Audiobook

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible

About the book:

Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water...

So fyi, I originally read and posted this review while on another blog: The Readers Den, back in July of 2013, but as I participate in of Anne @Books of My Heart read-along & series giveaway (For info & giveaway click HERE). I thought I'd re-post my review and my re-read updates. I first re-read the entire series back in 2017 and I've just started my third re-read this last week. This series is so awesome and I can't recommend it more, so if you're at all interested join all of us in the read-along! My Thoughts: Re-read for a third time March 29th 2020 and I'm upping my rating from 4 stars to 5! With each re-read my appreciation for the writing, characters, and story grows. The story was captivating even knowing what happens, and with each re-read I notice new things I missed previously. I've already started on book two! I listened to the audio again. Lorelei King's performance is perfection! She is Mercy Thompson to me! Re-Read March 19th 2017. Still awesome! Moon Called is the first book in the Mercy Thompson Urban Fantasy series, and it was a strong start. It was fun, fast paced, with strong characters and an engrossing plot. I love my female protags to have some spunk and be able to kick a little ass and Mercy Thompson ticks all those boxes and more! Mercy Thompson is a “walker” and can shapeshift into a coyote. Mercy isn’t a werewolf but she is very close to them after being raised by a powerful pack. At sixteen, she leaves after the pack Alpha sends her away to prevent her mating with his son, Sam. Now situated in the state of Washington as an auto mechanic, she comes under the Columbia Basin Wolves’ pack in a round-about way, under the charismatic, hot-tempered (and just plain HOT) Alpha, Adam. Not that she admits to it, mind you. Being a coyote she’s not obligated to be under any pack. When Adam is attacked and his teenage daughter, Jesse, is kidnapped, Mercy takes it upon herself to help him and track down his daughter. Mercy returns to her roots for help in unraveling this mystery and getting Jesse back safely. Her past and present collide in the form of Sam and Adam. We are tossed into Mercy’s world with her as our guide, and as a narrator she’s easy to like and root for. If you’re tired of frustrating or whiny female leads, Mercy is your girl! She’s a smart, witty, and feeds us just enough background information so we’re not lost in the story, yet doesn’t overwhelm with too many details. This makes me extremely happy because info dumping is a sure-fire way to put me to sleep! I steeled myself to be patient with this book because I’ve come to realize that in UF usually the first book lays the groundwork for the whole series and might not be as satisfying or riveting because of that. This was not the case in Moon Called. I was immediately drawn into the story and it captured and held my attention just fine throughout. Also, because this is the first book in the series, the romance is just getting started. It seems possible for Adam or Sam to be the love interest, there’s definite chemistry between Mercy and both of them. But it does sway to one a little more than the other by the end. Moon Called wraps up nicely with the main mystery solved by the end, however, the story of the characters, and their relationships have just begun. I can’t wait to see how everything plays out and I’ve got the next one locked and loaded, ready to listen to. Lorelei King narrates this story and she is spot on! I’m familiar with this performer because she narrates the Charley Davidson series as well. She brings just the right amount of sarcastic inflection when needed to make the character’s wit and spunk come through loud and clear. She does a great job with the male voices as well, and most of the time it doesn’t even cross your mind that a female is narrating those parts. Her performance made the story come alive.

5 Suns