Fire Touched
by Patricia BriggsSeries: Mercy Thompson #9
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Urban
Published on March 8th 2016
Pages: 352
Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head and when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae. Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?
Can I just say how much I hate the covers of these books? Look at that picture. Mercy in the books has a Native American father. I appreciate the fact that they aren’t whitewashing the cover but come on. Long feather earrings and two braids? On a mechanic? And what is with the clothes? She never, ever is described as dressing in shirts tied into improvised halter tops. She doesn’t show skin at all. She also is described as having one small coyote print tattoo but look at her arms. Impressive collection of tattoos but way off the mark.
Anyway, in this book Mercy is still trying to make some members of the pack accept her as their Alpha’s mate. That gives her status over them. It hasn’t been going well. She isn’t a werewolf and she keeps getting them into trouble. Now she has made a proclamation that the pack with protect any supernaturals in their territory from the Fae.
I don’t know. I just wasn’t a huge fan of this one. I like the series but this one felt flat to me. I’ve read several reviews that said that the readers felt like this was a big leap forward in the relationship between Mercy and Adam but I don’t get it. He did stand up for her in the pack but their interactions together sounded distant and strained. Maybe it is because I’ve gotten used to the warmth of the relationships in Briggs’ Alpha and Omega series that the more subdued relationship here seems odd.
Nothing really happened in the plot either. It sounds like there is going to be a war. The beginning with a fight with a troll is action packed but after that it is all political maneuvering and sitting around waiting for things to happen until the end. This definitely didn’t have a “can’t put down” quality in the middle. The ending did have an unexpectedly sad moment though.
One highlight of this book for me was Baba Yaga.
I love her. She is an old witch in Russian folklore who makes an appearance here to help in the fight with the Fae whether anyone wants her help or not. The book picked up whenever she appeared.
Bottom line:
This is a weak entry in a great series but it still worth reading or listening to if you have enjoyed the rest of the books.
That’s sad you didn’t like this more. I haven’t had a chance to read it.