Moon Called (Mercedes Thompson, Book #1)

published	January 31st 2006 by Ace
binding	Paperback
isbn	0441013813 (isbn13: 9780441013814)
pages	292
characters	Mercy Thompson
setting	United States
description	Werewolves can be dangerous if you get in their way, but they'll leave you alone if you are careful. They are very good at hiding their natures from the human population, but I'm not human. I know them when I meet them, and they know me, too. ...more [close] Werewolves can be dangerous if you get in their way, but they'll leave you alone if you are careful. They are very good at hiding their natures from the human population, but I'm not human. I know them when I meet them, and they know me, too. Mercy Thompson's sexy next-door neighbor is a werewolf. She's tinkering with a VW bus at her mechanic shop that happens to belong to a vampire. But then, Mercy Thompson is not exactly normal herself... and her connection to the world of things that go bump in the night is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble. [close]
date added	02-06-07 edit book

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Ana O. rated it:

06/27/08

bookshelves: 2008-read, english, keeper, mercy-thompson, personal-collection, urban-fantasy

Read in June, 2008

recommended to Ana O. by: Oriana

Mercy Thompson is a walker, more commonly known as a shape-shifter, unlike weres she's not bound to the moon and can change whenever she wants, her coyote form is faster than a wolf, she's got the same enhanced sense of smell and hearing, silver won't harm her but unlike werewolves she heals just like a regular person. There are no other walkers left, at least Mercy has never met another, her father descended from native American medicine doctors but he died when she was a baby and her mother ne...more Mercy Thompson is a walker, more commonly known as a shape-shifter, unlike weres she's not bound to the moon and can change whenever she wants, her coyote form is faster than a wolf, she's got the same enhanced sense of smell and hearing, silver won't harm her but unlike werewolves she heals just like a regular person. There are no other walkers left, at least Mercy has never met another, her father descended from native American medicine doctors but he died when she was a baby and her mother never knew much about him or his ancestors. She was raised by a couple of werewolves and knows more about them than she does about her own people, as the story progresses we get the feeling that there's more to Mercy than meets the eye, she's immune to vampire magic for starters and there's some kind of secret behind the fact that her people were practically decimated by them.

But Mercy doesn't feel special, she's your regular VW mechanic trying to make an honest living, for once we've got a brunette heroine, I was getting sick and tired of perfect blonds, you probably think the hair colour doesn't matter much, but trust me, it gets annoying after a while. One day a werewolf turns up at her door looking for work, he doesn't belong to the local pack and it doesn't look like he's been a werewolf for long, when a couple of days later he suffers an attack in front of her garage and Mercy is forced to kill a young werewolf, she decides to involve the local pack leader, Adam, her hunky next door neighbour. And that's where the story starts!

Patricia Briggs' sense of humour is perfect, not over the top as most paranormal authors tend to be, it was the subtle details that made me laugh out loud, she's got a Russian witch coming out to clean up the messes, hide bodies, clean up blood, etc., acting just like the Russian mob, the repartee between Mercy and Adam, when she left her old car right in front of his bedroom window just to rile him up and still threaten to take off three tires if he annoyed her, the fact that Samuel would go into the playground as a wolf and play with the children, pretending he was just a big dog and serving as a pony.

The story is well crafted, the outcome was unpredictable, but I felt the most important thing in this book were the characters, their lives, their past, their secrets, even the secondary characters were interesting, I loved Kyle, Warren's partner, I laughed out loud when he came on to Samuel just to make him uncomfortable, Elizaveta, the Russian witch was hilarious, commanding everyone, even the big and scary werewolves. I think the author managed to not make Mercy the centre of all the attentions, she's important, we want to know more about her, but she doesn't steal the scene and completely obliterate the other characters.

I really have to thank Oriana for almost beating me up if I didn't read this series and C. for bringing me the first three books from New York. Thanks girls! I'll probably be reading Blood Bound next, I'm really curious about what's going to happen next and I'm so hoping Samuel disappears, his reasons for wanting to run away with Mercy when she was fifteen were revolting, Adam on the other hand has my total support and I fell in love with him from the start! ;-) I also want to know more about Mercy's abilities and past!

Rating: 4.5/5...less

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10 comments

Ciara rated it:

05/17/08

bookshelves: urban-fantasy

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: everyone

My measure of a great book, one deserving of the coveted and rarely bestowed 5 heart rating, is if I feel bereft when I arrive at the last page. I’ve fallen so enthralled with the world and so in love with the characters that returning to the real world is physically painful and I must run out and grab the rest of the books in the series IMMEDIATELY. Mr. Wonderful is grudgingly tolerant of these 11 pm dashes across town to the Barnes & Noble, but he knows I need the next book like I need a...more My measure of a great book, one deserving of the coveted and rarely bestowed 5 heart rating, is if I feel bereft when I arrive at the last page. I’ve fallen so enthralled with the world and so in love with the characters that returning to the real world is physically painful and I must run out and grab the rest of the books in the series IMMEDIATELY. Mr. Wonderful is grudgingly tolerant of these 11 pm dashes across town to the Barnes & Noble, but he knows I need the next book like I need air to breathe.

Patricia Briggs has written one of these books. I want to chat with Mercy as she fixes my biodiesel Jetta and eat popcorn with Warren and Kyle. I want to date Adam and talk about babies with Samuel. I want to move to the Tri-cities, and I’ve been to the Tri-cities.

I read her novella in On the Prowl and was hooked, so I picked up Blood Bound (erroneously thinking it was the 1st book in the series and that it was a paranormal romance, since On the Prowl is a paranormal romance). The books are not romance (def: a story about a growing love relationship between a couple that has an HEA ending), but I hear Mercy finally picks one of her suitors in the third book Iron Kissed (which I will be buying as soon as Barnes and Noble opens in the morning!).

Mercedes is a Volkswagon mechanic who was raised by werewolves in Montana. She is not a werewolf, but a Walker: she can shift into a coyote at will, is independent of the moon cycle, and is resistant to many forms of magic. When a young werewolf, hungry, homeless, and lost, shows up at her shop looking for a job, she gives him one and introduces him to Adam, the local alpha of the Columbia Basin werewolf pack who is also her overbearing and handsome neighbor. Men bearing guns show up in pursuit and suddenly all hell breaks loose. Adam’s daughter is captured, Adam is wounded, and it falls to Mercy to save the day. What else can a girl do? She wipes the axle grease off her hands and gets to work hunting down the killers, braving crazed vampires, crafty fae, and Samuel, the man who broke her heart.

Mercy is a great heroine: tough as nails but still sympathetic. She’s loyal, smart, brave, and not afraid to get her hands dirty. The other characters are just as well crafted. I often have trouble relating to the heroines and heroes in Urban Fantasy, because they have too hard an edge and are too cynical. Ms. Briggs succeeds in creating dark urban fantasy with heart. The world-building is fabulous too, particularly the interactions of the werewolf pack.

I highly recommend this original and action-packed book, and eagerly anticipate following the rest of Mercy’s adventures....less

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