I’m going to review these two books together because their plot is closely linked. These books are also best enjoyed if read back to back.
Storm Cursed sees Mercy and the pack trying to deal with a new gang of witches, The Hardesty Witches, black witches who are trying to take over their territory. They kill Elizaveta’s family and create zombies that start wreaking havoc all over the city. Ultimately Elizaveta manages to kill the witches with key assistance from Mercy. Though once she absorbs the Hardestys’ power, she becomes a real threat to the pack. It ends with Adam killing Elizaveta to keep his pack and their territory safe.
Smoke Bitten sees Underhill create a doorway right in Mercy’s backyard, because she wants to be closer to Aiden. There’s also a new monster running amok in the wild, one that can not only turn people to it’s will once it bites them, but also wear their likeness once they die. As if that wasn’t enough, there are rival werewolves who want to depose Adam and take over the pack and their territory. And to top it all off, Adam’s not behaving like himself, he has sealed the mating bond and almost appears to be avoiding Mercy. So clearly, there’s a lot going on.
We are on books 11 and 12. That’s a lot of books in a series and it’s not uncommon for readers to start losing interest at this stage. The characters have developed and grown as much as they can, and the plots become repetitive. Pretty soon you realise that you’re essentially reading about the same characters, they just have different names.
So how does Briggs keep this series engaging for the reader considering that the protagonist in all of these books remains the same? Well for starters, each of the Mercy Thompson books is self-contained. In that they have a monster/problem they must deal with and it gets resolved by the end of the book. But with each book, Briggs adds new characters, new layers to existing characters, deepens the dynamic between those characters. This allows Briggs to keep the characters and the setting fresh. With each new book, we learn a little more about the characters, it allows her to switch focus from one character to another thus making all of them familiar to the reader. You begin to get invested in them even though they’re not the main characters, you care about their well-being and you want them to survive whatever’s trying to kill them this time around.
But that’s still only half the battle. Great characters are definitely an asset but saddle them with a lumpy plot and those characters will only take you so far. Briggs is great with plots as well. The plots are consistently well realised, the stakes just high enough to worry the reader but not so high that they seem insurmountable. They never overshadow the characters. These books are the perfect blend of great characters coupled with a well thought-out plot.
There are two levels of plot, one that serves as the monster of the week and the other that focuses on the relationships of the characters. The former is relevant across the series as a progression of what the characters have over come. But it is the latter that is the heart of the series. With each book, we see the relationships unfold, in that respect, character growth becomes a part of the plot.
I absolutely adore Mercy, she’s just such an amazing character. She is unapologetic and so true to herself, almost to a fault. She’s not above being sneaky and using her unique set of skills to survive and win. She fights tooth and nail to protect the ones she loves, those she calls her family. I love that she doesn’t take crap from anyone. She’s one of the rare heroines in paranormal romance/urban fantasy who always takes time to think things through, especially when it comes to her romantic relationships.
Adam Hauptman is probably the best alpha love interests I have ever come across. I was rooting for him from the beginning and it was so gratifying to see him and Mercy come together, it felt so damn organic, like that was the only plausible path either one of them could have taken. But happy endings run the risk of getting boring and Briggs always manages to keep them interesting and really outdid herself with Smoke Bitten.
There is something wrong with Adam and he doesn’t trust himself around Mercy, certain that he’ll hurt her. In the hands of a lesser author, this could have come left of field and felt out of character because if there’s one thing you can be sure of, it’s that Mercy and Adam really love each other. But Briggs sprinkled enough hints about his insecurities throughout the series that his actions feel believable. All of this becomes center stage in Smoke Bitten but have their origin in Storm Cursed. Elizaveta’s dying curse was a genius move and it only worked because those doubts and insecurities already existed. His behaviour therefore, though frustrating also made sense. He didn’t suddenly turn into an overbearing asshole. It will be interesting how his monster persona plays into the future books. Adam and Mercy’s relationship is one of the best parts of the series.
The Mercy Thompson series is really so full of amazing characters. I love the usual suspects, Stefan, Zee, Tad, Jesse, Warren, Kyle, Honey and Ben. In fact, I like most of the characters and even if I don’t like them, they’re well written enough that I enjoy reading about them. But this time I have to add Wulfe to the list. He’s so weird and unpredictable and I love it. You never know who’s side he’s on (most of the time he doesn’t either.)
The only people who frustrate me are Aurielle and Mary Jo. Their unwavering loyalty to Christie is frustrating considering that she was afraid of ALL of them because of who they were. Their inability to see that Christie is manipulative and opportunistic seems tiresome now. If I had one complaint about this book it would be Mercy’s utter lack of female friends and that is a shame. It would be nice if they could pull their heads out of their asses for a change.
The Mercy Thompson Series is an absolute joy to read and Storm Cursed and Smoke Bitten were just more of the same. It is one of the few series that can always, without fail, drag me out of a reading slump. Patricia Briggs manages to keep the plot and characters moving in a way that is a perfect blend of the new and the familiar.
Ravings of a Manic Reader 