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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
The good thing about a series is the familiarity with the characters. You know what to expect and what will you get. And the same goes with this.
I like a kickass heroine and Mercy is one of them. Despite of her name. She can hold her ground and call for a good judgement, and most importantly much less whiny.
However, I think this vampire-heavy episode (but not a lot of Stefan, sadly) is a bit rushed. Hence, the three stars. But at the same time, I could understand why it has to be packed this short. Unveiling Stefan and Marsilia past would be in other books, obviously, and this is part of the breadcrumb trail.
I like a kickass heroine and Mercy is one of them. Despite of her name. She can hold her ground and call for a good judgement, and most importantly much less whiny.
However, I think this vampire-heavy episode (but not a lot of Stefan, sadly) is a bit rushed. Hence, the three stars. But at the same time, I could understand why it has to be packed this short. Unveiling Stefan and Marsilia past would be in other books, obviously, and this is part of the breadcrumb trail.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is the first book with a dual POV - mainly because Mercy is almost immediately kidnapped and spends the majority of the book away from Adam and the rest of the pack.
I know I make jokes about how many times kidnapping has been a story line in this series (and that is valid) but the stakes this time around were SO high and having Adam's POV and his distress over not being able to find his mate, really elevated the emotional stakes of this book. Mercy embracing her true superpower, chaos, was delightful as she really did find herself in some SITUATIONS - from surviving the kidnapping attempt (her kidnappers did not realise she is mostly human and nearly killed her in a car wreck), gathering information and escaping (in coyote form, through vineyards with a werewolf on her tail) to working out what to do when you find yourself in a foreign country - with no clothes, money or way of contacting home... and all this is just in the opening chapters.
Loved the way this book built on storylines, Mercy learnt more about being Coyote's daughter and what being a Walker could mean. The escalating situation with the Colombian Basin Pack being cut off from the Marrock's rule and how Mercy feels about this perceived abandonment by Bran.
I know I make jokes about how many times kidnapping has been a story line in this series (and that is valid) but the stakes this time around were SO high and having Adam's POV and his distress over not being able to find his mate, really elevated the emotional stakes of this book. Mercy embracing her true superpower, chaos, was delightful as she really did find herself in some SITUATIONS - from surviving the kidnapping attempt (her kidnappers did not realise she is mostly human and nearly killed her in a car wreck), gathering information and escaping (in coyote form, through vineyards with a werewolf on her tail) to working out what to do when you find yourself in a foreign country - with no clothes, money or way of contacting home... and all this is just in the opening chapters.
Loved the way this book built on storylines, Mercy learnt more about being Coyote's daughter and what being a Walker could mean. The escalating situation with the Colombian Basin Pack being cut off from the Marrock's rule and how Mercy feels about this perceived abandonment by Bran.
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
I have always loved this series but I found this book to be a little lackluster. It's nice to get inside Adam's head and Mercy is one of my favorite characters overall. She has such mysterious abilities and I like to see them put to use in new ways. It was also nice to see a little more vampire.
However, I was not a fan of the format. The notes at the beginning of each chapter were addressing the reader in a way that felt strange and considering the warning at the beginning of the book about timelines, I was expecting more craziness and confusion. I think the timing for characters was close enough that the notes made it feel stilted in pacing. Briggs hasn't done this with other books in the series and I hope she doesn't in the future.
I'm also not sure about the twist at the end. It was delightful and yet when I went back to read the appropriate sections, it seemed unlikely. I noticed that that particular character seemed a little odd and I certainly didn't guess why but I feel like the setup was designed to confuse instead of intrigue. Perhaps it was just too subtle for my appreciation but when Adam didn't address it in any way while we were in his head? I dunno.
Finally, Stefan was just sort of shoveled into the background at the end. Mercy and Adam are certainly the focus and they should be but Stefan is a major link in Mercy's life and I expected some kind of interaction at the end. I love the tension it creates with Adam and his wolf and that was an important point early on but then it was just gone.
All in all, I was a little disappointed and this may be my least favorite installment of the series. However, I love Briggs as an author and I'm still excited to see where she takes this world and it's characters.
However, I was not a fan of the format. The notes at the beginning of each chapter were addressing the reader in a way that felt strange and considering the warning at the beginning of the book about timelines, I was expecting more craziness and confusion. I think the timing for characters was close enough that the notes made it feel stilted in pacing. Briggs hasn't done this with other books in the series and I hope she doesn't in the future.
I'm also not sure about the twist at the end. It was delightful and yet when I went back to read the appropriate sections, it seemed unlikely. I noticed that that particular character seemed a little odd and I certainly didn't guess why but I feel like the setup was designed to confuse instead of intrigue. Perhaps it was just too subtle for my appreciation but when Adam didn't address it in any way while we were in his head? I dunno.
Finally, Stefan was just sort of shoveled into the background at the end. Mercy and Adam are certainly the focus and they should be but Stefan is a major link in Mercy's life and I expected some kind of interaction at the end. I love the tension it creates with Adam and his wolf and that was an important point early on but then it was just gone.
All in all, I was a little disappointed and this may be my least favorite installment of the series. However, I love Briggs as an author and I'm still excited to see where she takes this world and it's characters.
Really a shame that the author felt the need to put in a "dear reader" warning about the timeline of the book not being 100% chronological and asking us to pay attention, in addition to already explaining it very slowly and repeatedly for the idiots in the back at the beginning of each chapter. Also, the chronology wasn't even that convoluted and would have been 0% confusing even without the repeated warnings. Who made her do this. Did she trust her readers so little.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No