Title: Frost Burned

Author: Patricia Briggs

Series: Mercy Thompson #7

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Mercy Thompson’s life has undergone a seismic change. Becoming the mate of Adam Hauptman—the charismatic Alpha of the local werewolf pack—has made her a stepmother to his daughter Jesse, a relationship that brings moments of blissful normalcy to Mercy’s life. But on the edges of humanity, what passes for a minor mishap on an ordinary day can turn into so much more…. After an accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack for that matter. They’ve all been abducted. Through their mating bond, all Mercy knows is that Adam is angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related—and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no matter how unlikely.

The Review:

I never have anything bad to say about Patricia Briggs! I have loved every book in the Mercy series so far, putting them at the top of my all-time favorites list.  Already owning the paperbacks, I decided to invest in the hardcovers because I like them that much. Not only are they fun to read, but they also have excellent characters, story, and humor.

 With each new book so far, Briggs has introduced a new element of supernatural expanding the otherworldliness of her series. Now were at the point where there is so much back history and development with each creature and character that the storyline for this book was almost a culmination of everything we have read so far. Frankly, the characters could be doing practically anything at this point and I would still enjoy reading about it.

Conflicts that happen in past books play a big role in this one, so it didn’t take long to get into the action of the story. I love how Briggs paces her novels, there is usually barely enough time to catch your breath before she launches from one action scene to the other. Mix that with fantastic, lovable characters and a great deal of humor, and you have yourself one fantastic series! I am bummed that it’s going to be at least a year before I get to read another one… It kind of makes me wish I had read it slower. Oh, well. I guess I’ll just have to go back and do a series reread!

As a side note, I chose to read the Alpha and  Omega series because there are rather important things in those books that played a major role in Frost Burned. In fact, if I hadn’t read them I would’ve been a little confused with the feeling of, “Wow, I don’t remember that in the last Mercy book… What other stuff that I forget?” (this usually only happens if I read books in a series too far apart). Anyway, the first A&O book, Cry Wolf, I didn’t really care for. However, the other two, Hunting Ground and Fair Game, were every bit as good as the Mercy series, adding a lot of back-history to the werewolf culture.

Recommendations: These books don’t have near as much language and sex as many other urban fantasies on the market, which is why (aside from their obvious awesomeness) I recommend them the most often. Along with Butcher’s Dresden Files, these books are excellent starter sets for the genre and must-reads for any hard-core fans!

by Niki Hawkes

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