3.77 AVERAGE


I haven't picked this book back up in almost a year so I'm officially giving up. I probably approached it with wrong expectations seeing as I'm a huge fan of Mercy Thompson series by the author. 

I was just not in the mood for this band of fantasy. 

An interesting book...it’s a pretty quick read but still packs in a lot of action and emotion. The main character is likable without being overly perfect, and the magic system is well thought out. I enjoyed the side stories as well; there were some great characters among the many people around Aren. Patricia Briggs is an excellent story teller.

This is my least favorite Patricia Briggs, but since I pretty much love all of her other books, that doesn't mean anything bad about this book. I think there was a bit too much going on here, and not enough pages to give everything justice. It needed to be expanded into two book probably, or maybe had at least one plotline cut out. Still a fun read though.
adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Aren and Caefawn. A magical tale with adventure, fallible characters, unimaginable evil and love where you least expect it. The story starts with the last day of Aren's 'normal' life. Almost a dystopian future story but really the dystopian life is the one they leave behind. In a medieval world where magic has long been suppressed by Bloodmages, Aren and those like her, hide their wee bit of magic. If found, they may be killed by the other villagers out of fear, or worse, they may be taken and used by the Bloodmages. A horrible day for Aren, becomes worse for everyone, when the spell suppressing the magic is suddenly and catastrophically broken. Now a land that had been welcoming the 'One God' is overrun with every magical creature imaginable. Aren finds that even her own meager magic skills are expanding exponentially and scarily. The magic isn't just presto, abracadabra, but has rules and a pseudo science to it. The town fears her and yet needs her help with the raiders and the more dangerous of the magic folk. Aren turns to the last Hob to make a bargain for the safety of the town. A bargain that will change her own future. I loved this story and the characters. All are complex and have strengths and weaknesses and are not what they at first seem. Even the villains have layers of subtlety. She doesn't even meet the Hob til a third of the way into the book. Until then he follows her unseen and aids her when she needs it. There's no graphic sexy times, just sensuous suggestions. But I didn't think it was needed. I did, however, find his tail titillating!!
Some call this a Beauty and the Beast tale, but I didn't think Caefawn was tragic. Sure, he's the last of his kind, but he has a sense of humour and a sweet nature despite his large scary appearance.

This was more enjoyable than I thought it was going to be! I only wish the author would expand on the world. I wouldn't mind another book about the Hob.

This is a cute story that could easily have been a trilogy. The characters were likable, the world was well designed, and the action was well managed.
adventurous challenging medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I picked this book up because I needed to fill a prompt for a challenge I'm doing: an author's fourth book. According to fantasticfiction.com, this is Patricia Briggs' fourth book, and I absolutely love Briggs' Mercy Thompson series and her Alpha and Omega series. So, I decided to give it a try. It was a slow start, but picked up about 80 pages in and I ended up enjoying it. In my opinion, Briggs is better at Urban Fantasy than High Fantasy. The world-building is just a bit lacking. As with her other High Fantasy series, the rules of magic are never clearly explained and there's time jumps that come without warning and throw the reader off a bit. But I can forgive that because Briggs' ability to write a bada$$ female mc who doesn't need to be rescued while still being feminine and caring is absolutely unparalleled! Along with that, her ability to craft realistic m/f relationships where they love and respect each other while growing together and complimenting each other is amazing.

This book was a nice distraction if you enjoy fantasy.

But if you're looking for some really great character development and "Low Fantasy" or "Urban Fantasy", then there's nothing better than Briggs' Mercyverse! 

3.75

More great fantasy from Patricia Briggs. I think I've only read one piece of fiction by Briggs that I was disappointed by, and maybe that's more my tastes than the quality of the writing. Briggs writes great characters and believable worlds, cultures, character motivations and dynamics. Not as complex as Game of Thrones or other longer high fantasy series, Briggs is better at making stories with big stakes seem relatable and grounded.