MOON CALLED by Patricia Briggs

Title: Moon Called
Series: Mercy Thompson #1
Author: Patricia Briggs

Summary

When a werewolf named Mac shows up at Mercy Thompson's garage looking for work, she's hesitant to hire him.  Mercy is no stranger to werewolves and their instincts, after all, she was raised by them. And while Mercy may look like an ordinary mechanic, she is a walker, born with the ability to transform into a coyote.  She can tell that Mac is new and unfamiliar with his new instincts, and even in coyote form she is no match for a determined werewolf.

After she learns Mac's story and sees the trouble that has followed him to Tri-Cities, Mercy has no choice but to contact Adam Hauptman, alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack.  But when Adam's house is attacked and he is severely injured, Mercy has to decide who she can trust, all while saving the alpha, rescuing his kidnapped daughter, and discovering who is targeting the werewolves.

My Impression

Mercy is an interesting character. While she is involved with the world of the werewolves (as well as the vampires and the fae), she is seen by many as weak.  However, as the book progresses, it is obvious that many people underestimate her and that very few actually understand what she is capable of. I liked that she has to make tough decisions and doesn't have solutions easily fall in her lap.  I think Mercy is a great heroine, and I admire that she sometimes gets herself in over her head because of her determination to save the people she loves.

However, I did get a bit frustrated because many of the people around her acted like she wasn't able to protect herself.  While most of their judgement of her was because she is not a werewolf (and thus doesn't have as much strength as they do), it was a little frustrating to see people not take this obviously intelligent female character seriously.

The other character I loved in this book was Adam.  He seems to be the person that could scowl at Mercy the most because he is a very strong and dominant male werewolf; however, he seems to be one of the few characters that completely trusts and depends on Mercy, and he actually believes that she is capable of a lot of things.  Plus, he just seems like a great character. (I will admit that my high opinion of him might be slightly influenced by later books, but I do still think he is a great character in the context of this book.)

I also really liked the conflict in this book.  Because this is the first view in to Mercy's world, it is almost impossible to predict who the villian is and what is motivating them.  I liked it this way because as Mercy tries to solve this mystery we learn a lot about the world of the werewolves, and it was in a way that didn't feel like I was just being told the information.

Why I Picked Up This Book

After reading "Alpha and Omega" and loving it, I wanted to read more books by Patricia Briggs. Once I learned that this series takes place in the same world with some of the same characters, I was hooked.

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Romance
My Rating: Five Stars

Interested in other books by Patricia Briggs?  Check here to read my reviews of other books from this series.