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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
I love werewolf books and this one checks the boxes but just doesn't hit the 5 star mark. The FMC is definitely my style. She's likeable, has good instincts, is independent, doesn't make a bunch of frustrating decisions, and is overall a capable badass. The conceptualization of the werwolves and pack dynamics is well done. The characters just fall a little one dimensional and the book drug on just a little too long. I liked it enough to read the next one and overall enjoyed it.
Re-read May 28, 2025, 3 stars
I think once I got past the first few chapters, this book was just as good as I remembered. I was reading it for personal research, and I was pleasantly surprised to be reminded that Mercy is a woman of faith. That detail about her just completely left my mind. I don't know if that is played with more in the series, but it does come up in the first book, and it's so nice and refreshing to have a positive view of religion and God, especially from a supernatural character.
The infodumping is still a lot, but it does turn out to be relevant to the plot. It's a great red herring, as we got it as a set up early on, so when it's presented as a solution, the reader can connect the dots and it makes sense to them. I think because I was paying attention to it, the mystery elements really hit well for me. I liked how the author set up both the red herring and the actual solution in such a subtle way. They won't piece it together right away, but when they get the solution, they can go back and see that it was all laid out for them. I liked that.
Still not a fan of the woman-on-woman hate and how Mercy talks about not being as strong as a man; definitely not a fan of the Alpha male stuff. But I can give that a bit more grace since it was a huge thing in the genre for a while. And Mercy ends up saving the man in the end, which is great. I'll be going back through this series, so we'll see how much of it I like after all this time.
Re-read December 10, 2024, 2 stars
What a difference the years make. I was thinking about this series and decided to go back to it. Either I didn't notice the flaws, or I've grown more picky over the years. Whichever it is, I can't even finish the book this time.
Problem number one: the info-dumping. There is just so much info-dumping. Entire pages are dedicated to explaining aspects of the world; sometimes the plot is derailed for more info-dumping. I would rather be shown this rather than told! Half of it doesn't even feel important when it's explained, either. It just feels like a bad way to let the reader know about the world. And if dumping in narration wasn't bad enough, Mercy also dumps through dialogue. I can sort of understand her doing that with the werewolf pack, but why did we need to hear her full backstory?
Second problem was the repetition. I don't need to be told over and over that Mercy was raised by werewolves. The writing style in general was very odd. There was a lack of description, and it often told instead of shown. Also, I forgot how misogynistic this series is. All the other women hate Mercy, the men hate Mercy and talk down to her/yell at her, and she constantly talks about how she's not as strong because she's a woman. It's so tiring.
I want to give the book kudos for having a POC main character, but I just don't think it's done right.
Original Review, February 9, 2016, 4 stars
A coworker of mine recommended this series to me, selling me by describing the main character and some of the events taking place in the first book. I'm glad he did, because the book turned out to be a delight. I liked all the characters, the plot moved around at a good enough pace to keep me interested and ended in a way that felt satisfying enough that if this was the only book, I would be okay with it. But since it is part of a series, I'll definitely be looking into the next book.
In ways, this book serves as the next thing for adults to read who grew up loving all those supernatural YA novels. It has the werewolves, vampires and fae that they grew familiar with, but makes them as dangerous as they are supposed to be. And while this book does have a bit of romance and what looks like the start of a love triangle, it's very underplayed. It focuses more on the supernatural intrigue and mystery, which is awesome.
There were other things to like about this book, too. Like despite it being targeted to adults, it didn't bring in many swear words. Characters actually made a conscious effort not to swear. I also liked that Mercy was not a "special snowflake" character. She had her limits and sometimes missed out on the action; I like how she was resourceful but sometimes just plain lucky. She was a fighter but was smart enough to know she couldn't take on every foe. The other characters were great, too. Especially the undercover cop and Zee. The book had some tear-jerking moments, too.
So yeah, I'm really glad that I took a chance on this book. I hope that the spirit continues on in future installments and doesn't get too bogged down by stupid love triangle stuff.
I think once I got past the first few chapters, this book was just as good as I remembered. I was reading it for personal research, and I was pleasantly surprised to be reminded that Mercy is a woman of faith. That detail about her just completely left my mind. I don't know if that is played with more in the series, but it does come up in the first book, and it's so nice and refreshing to have a positive view of religion and God, especially from a supernatural character.
The infodumping is still a lot, but it does turn out to be relevant to the plot. It's a great red herring, as we got it as a set up early on, so when it's presented as a solution, the reader can connect the dots and it makes sense to them. I think because I was paying attention to it, the mystery elements really hit well for me. I liked how the author set up both the red herring and the actual solution in such a subtle way. They won't piece it together right away, but when they get the solution, they can go back and see that it was all laid out for them. I liked that.
Still not a fan of the woman-on-woman hate and how Mercy talks about not being as strong as a man; definitely not a fan of the Alpha male stuff. But I can give that a bit more grace since it was a huge thing in the genre for a while. And Mercy ends up saving the man in the end, which is great. I'll be going back through this series, so we'll see how much of it I like after all this time.
Re-read December 10, 2024, 2 stars
What a difference the years make. I was thinking about this series and decided to go back to it. Either I didn't notice the flaws, or I've grown more picky over the years. Whichever it is, I can't even finish the book this time.
Problem number one: the info-dumping. There is just so much info-dumping. Entire pages are dedicated to explaining aspects of the world; sometimes the plot is derailed for more info-dumping. I would rather be shown this rather than told! Half of it doesn't even feel important when it's explained, either. It just feels like a bad way to let the reader know about the world. And if dumping in narration wasn't bad enough, Mercy also dumps through dialogue. I can sort of understand her doing that with the werewolf pack, but why did we need to hear her full backstory?
Second problem was the repetition. I don't need to be told over and over that Mercy was raised by werewolves. The writing style in general was very odd. There was a lack of description, and it often told instead of shown. Also, I forgot how misogynistic this series is. All the other women hate Mercy, the men hate Mercy and talk down to her/yell at her, and she constantly talks about how she's not as strong because she's a woman. It's so tiring.
I want to give the book kudos for having a POC main character, but I just don't think it's done right.
Original Review, February 9, 2016, 4 stars
A coworker of mine recommended this series to me, selling me by describing the main character and some of the events taking place in the first book. I'm glad he did, because the book turned out to be a delight. I liked all the characters, the plot moved around at a good enough pace to keep me interested and ended in a way that felt satisfying enough that if this was the only book, I would be okay with it. But since it is part of a series, I'll definitely be looking into the next book.
In ways, this book serves as the next thing for adults to read who grew up loving all those supernatural YA novels. It has the werewolves, vampires and fae that they grew familiar with, but makes them as dangerous as they are supposed to be. And while this book does have a bit of romance and what looks like the start of a love triangle, it's very underplayed. It focuses more on the supernatural intrigue and mystery, which is awesome.
There were other things to like about this book, too. Like despite it being targeted to adults, it didn't bring in many swear words. Characters actually made a conscious effort not to swear. I also liked that Mercy was not a "special snowflake" character. She had her limits and sometimes missed out on the action; I like how she was resourceful but sometimes just plain lucky. She was a fighter but was smart enough to know she couldn't take on every foe. The other characters were great, too. Especially the undercover cop and Zee. The book had some tear-jerking moments, too.
So yeah, I'm really glad that I took a chance on this book. I hope that the spirit continues on in future installments and doesn't get too bogged down by stupid love triangle stuff.
This was a good start to a series. I like urban fantasy. There were a lot of characters and different stories introduced, which I'm hoping the next books will go into more detail.
There was little to no romance, and I'm hoping that picks up in the series as well.
The plot was fine until the end. I found the reason for all the drama and chaos underwhelming.
There was little to no romance, and I'm hoping that picks up in the series as well.
The plot was fine until the end. I found the reason for all the drama and chaos underwhelming.
Kind of disappointed by this one since i liked aloha and omega and that’s from this same world.
with this one the romance was almost nonexistent, it was all over the place
also i felt like i was just reading sentences of description instead of living through this story and i didn’t like it.
i might give the next one a chance but idk
with this one the romance was almost nonexistent, it was all over the place
also i felt like i was just reading sentences of description instead of living through this story and i didn’t like it.
i might give the next one a chance but idk
Love this series! Good writing and characters, fun to explore the mythology.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
First of all: The cover's awful, we all agree, moving on...
Second: Allow me to make it clear that this is not a bad book. My star ratings reflect a subjective, personal assessment of content, which in this case evens out to "Eh, it's ok."
Most of my problems with Moon Called are stock building blocks of its genre. I'm not big on Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance to begin with, but I'm pretty sure Mercy Thompson is one of the better series out there. One major plus: She's not engaging in horizontal shenanigans immediately after meeting a potential romantic partner. (In fact, this book contains none of that at all. Which, while it cheers me, I know can be a major draw in this genre, so ymmv.) However, Mercy does take the time to painstakingly describe all of the pretty men in her orbit, of which there are several, as apparently lycanthropy--if you survive the change--is the fountain of eternal youth.
At least until you get yourself killed in a fight, which is also likely, as all of these men are Extremely Macho Alpha Males(TM). Typical of the genre? Yes. Kind of annoying? Also yes. There are hints that Adam (The youngest of her potential love interests, and still twice her age) has a softer side toward the end of the book, but most of it is told and not shown.
Mercy is kind of a fun protagonist (An auto mechanic who turns into a coyote, cool). She's smart, stubborn, and determined to succeed. As a narrator, she has a habit of info-dumping that I don't care for, but this is the first book of a series, so some of that is to be expected. However, she has no positive female relationships whatsoever. I don't just mean that in the sense of "why is there only one woman in this movie/book/tv show/etc?" No, there are other women, but at best they are coldly polite and at worst Mercy informs the reader that the other women actively hate her.
Well, wait, there is Adam's fifteen-year-old daughter Jesse, but--in this book at least--she's more plot-device than character, so take that for what you will.
The plot was a little weak toward the end but, you know, it wasn't bad. It's the sort of book I'd read on a plane to pass the time, and I've been told the series gets better.
Second: Allow me to make it clear that this is not a bad book. My star ratings reflect a subjective, personal assessment of content, which in this case evens out to "Eh, it's ok."
Most of my problems with Moon Called are stock building blocks of its genre. I'm not big on Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance to begin with, but I'm pretty sure Mercy Thompson is one of the better series out there. One major plus: She's not engaging in horizontal shenanigans immediately after meeting a potential romantic partner. (In fact, this book contains none of that at all. Which, while it cheers me, I know can be a major draw in this genre, so ymmv.) However, Mercy does take the time to painstakingly describe all of the pretty men in her orbit, of which there are several, as apparently lycanthropy--if you survive the change--is the fountain of eternal youth.
At least until you get yourself killed in a fight, which is also likely, as all of these men are Extremely Macho Alpha Males(TM). Typical of the genre? Yes. Kind of annoying? Also yes. There are hints that Adam (The youngest of her potential love interests, and still twice her age) has a softer side toward the end of the book, but most of it is told and not shown.
Mercy is kind of a fun protagonist (An auto mechanic who turns into a coyote, cool). She's smart, stubborn, and determined to succeed. As a narrator, she has a habit of info-dumping that I don't care for, but this is the first book of a series, so some of that is to be expected. However, she has no positive female relationships whatsoever. I don't just mean that in the sense of "why is there only one woman in this movie/book/tv show/etc?" No, there are other women, but at best they are coldly polite and at worst Mercy informs the reader that the other women actively hate her.
Well, wait, there is Adam's fifteen-year-old daughter Jesse, but--in this book at least--she's more plot-device than character, so take that for what you will.
The plot was a little weak toward the end but, you know, it wasn't bad. It's the sort of book I'd read on a plane to pass the time, and I've been told the series gets better.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Great little pocket book. Easy to get into with likable characters. The ending felt rushed as did the beginning of Adam and Mercy's feelings for eachother. But other than that a nice little urban fantasy!