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misterwisp's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The strong points are that it's a fast paced read and has a well written main character. The setting is straightforward urban fantasy where supernatural creatures are real and in the modern world etc. This version of that has the supernatural world only being partially publicly known. Only one type of creature is known openly in regular human society but others are not.
The big focus is on werewolves and their society. There is much ado about pack dominance structure that felt like it took itself too seriously and came across a bit dated and boring. There is all this stuff about how the Alpha can't show weakness around his pack and there are all sorts of hierarchy dynamics that play out. Only the men can be alphas and so on. The main character is outside of all of this and has to navigate through it, so I think it's maybe meant to be an analogy for regular real world society, but it felt a bit too cliche to really be something to like reading about. The main character is fun but all the werewolf ones seemed kind of obnoxious and I didn't understand what Mercy Thompson saw in them. In real life the whole idea of an "alpha" wolf leading others through dominance is being debunked, so maybe I brought that into the book more than I should have.
The ending felt a bit convoluted and too easy.
It was good to read and I think well written in terms of the main character and world. I think one's enjoyment depends on how much you're willing to tolerate stereotypes of "alpha" men. Despite the cringey parts I was left somewhat still wanting to try the sequel which I think shows the writing has strong points.
The big focus is on werewolves and their society. There is much ado about pack dominance structure that felt like it took itself too seriously and came across a bit dated and boring. There is all this stuff about how the Alpha can't show weakness around his pack and there are all sorts of hierarchy dynamics that play out. Only the men can be alphas and so on. The main character is outside of all of this and has to navigate through it, so I think it's maybe meant to be an analogy for regular real world society, but it felt a bit too cliche to really be something to like reading about. The main character is fun but all the werewolf ones seemed kind of obnoxious and I didn't understand what Mercy Thompson saw in them. In real life the whole idea of an "alpha" wolf leading others through dominance is being debunked, so maybe I brought that into the book more than I should have.
The ending felt a bit convoluted and too easy.
It was good to read and I think well written in terms of the main character and world. I think one's enjoyment depends on how much you're willing to tolerate stereotypes of "alpha" men. Despite the cringey parts I was left somewhat still wanting to try the sequel which I think shows the writing has strong points.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Miscarriage
brennaa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
As much as I enjoy the story, the prevalent Christianity and cultural appropriation of Indigenous cultures and beliefs means I won't be spending any more money on this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Medical content, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment