Reviews

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

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sechurae's review against another edition

2.75

Rather a dud for me.

Things I liked: Mercy's character, for the most part, how eye-rolly she was at the posturing. The way the author decided to portray the supernatural creatures, the fact that werewolves are violent and overbearing, in a way that didn't feel like it was done just for the titillation (anger issues, control issues, painful changes, etc.) Some of the non-werewolf side-characters like Zee. Also Dr. Wallace's suffering and struggle with being a werewolf; if that was focused on more I would have loved this book.

The conclusion and motivation of the overarching conflict was a tiny bit tear jerking.

Things I didn't like: Wow was there a lot posturing and dick-measuring in this book. The first third was still bearable because it felt like Mercy was humouring it, but still essentially disdaining it, but as the book progressed, it stayed prevalent and it became something that we (and Mercy) just accept. Other things, like the role of women in this story, the question of mates and werewolf miscarriages causing a lot of the animosity between the Mc and the other nameless, faceless women didn't sit right with me. I don't harp on this as a rule, but this story would have benefited so much more to have sympathetic, fleshed-out female character to combat the testosterone.

All in all, really liked the first third, went downhill with Mac got killed. Also, there was not nearly enough urgency trying to find and rescue Jesse.

Most likely will not continue on with the series.

kmirea's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I love these books. I've read this series time and time again. It's not just nostalgia, these books are the best.

b_dav1s's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

calycat2's review against another edition

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funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

crystalstarrlight's review against another edition

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4.0

Vampires, Werewolves, and Skinwalkers: All in a day's work
Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson runs a mechanic shop in the Tri-Cities area. Life is pretty ho-hum until Mac, a 16-year old werewolf, appears asking for a job. Mercy agree and slowly gets sucked into a plot that involves her sexy neighbor, Adam, Alpha Wolf, and her ex-boyfriend, Samuel.

I Liked:
Mercy Thompson is rad! I love how down-to-earth she is, how there really isn't a whole lot special about her, even when there is something special about her (her skinwalking ability). She was a fascinating character, funny, witty, sympathetic, and enjoyable.
I also found myself fond of other characters, something that can be a little more challenging in books written from the first person point of view. Jesse was really quirky and fun; I liked how Tony didn't end up being one of Mercy's harem (at first, I thought he would); Warren was a very cool addition to the urban fantasy realm (a gay werewolf? Might sound odd, but Briggs does a beautiful job); Adam was charming and arrogant (and even made me want to smack him some times!); Samuel is sweet and endearing.
The story is very interesting, starting with a trivial incident (Mac working for Mercy), and then continuously building as it progresses. Coupled with this, Briggs does a marvelous job introducing us to her new urban fantasy world. Besides the obvious vampires and werewolves, she also introduces witches and fae, such as Zee. I thought that was really cool, as was her description of their being discriminated against.

I Didn't Like:
There is a lot of setup, as is expected from a first novel. All the characters have to be introduced, which ends up being time-consuming and a little confusing.
The end battle and the “who-dunnit” were both a little weak. The end battle felt a little confusing, disjointed, while I still am grappling with understand why “X” did “Y”.

Overall:
My biggest forays into Urban Fantasy have been the Twilight novels. I've been interested in other vampire-ish novels, but I'd heard so much about this series, I had to check it out. And am I glad! Mercy Thompson is a delightful protagonist, independent, strong-willed, and yet not so abrasive that you don't root for her. This book has made me 100% more interested in werewolves, and I am most definitely interested in checking out the rest of this series.