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heyhay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
muzik_mafia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
4.75
kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
First in the Mercy Thompson paranormal fantasy series and revolving around Mercedes, a VW mechanic in the Tri-Cities in Washington state.
My Take
I was surprised to see that I still haven't reviewed Moon Called, especially since I've been reading the series, over and over, for the past ten years!!
Yeah, I really like this series. I adore Mercy and that wicked sense of humor she's got. She's only one of the engaging characters in the series...I do like Adam and adore Warren. Kyle is an absolute crackup with a wicked wit. As for Zee...hmmm, I do want to know more about this growly fae. As for Bran, Samuel, and Charles...oh, yeah, I definitely want to know more!
Moon Called is brimming over with subplots and action that Briggs uses so well to introduce us to Mercy's entire world — the circumstances that resulted in her being fostered by the pack she grew up with; her relationships with the Marrok, her mother, and the pack she lives among now; and, her work life and the variety of people that come within that orbit. And that's barely dipping into all these interactions 'cause we can't forget the betrayals, the kidnappings, rescues, and more!
That Briggs is darned sneaky. I loved the scene where she introduces us to Medea and pokes fun at Adam for how he handles kitty and his annoyance with Mercy's trailer just across the fence of his backyard. A great way to avoid the dreaded info dump!
It's all first person protagonist point-of-view from Mercy's perspective. Thank god. Because I don't think we'd know a quarter as much...or Briggs would need one heckuva lot more pages! With the focus on Mercy, we quickly learn that her character arc over the series is one of finding a home, a place where she belongs and is accepted. I love that Briggs does this so well that I'm not wanting to smack Mercy upside the head..!
I'm with Mercy in her choice between a crucifix and her lamb. A much more positive choice to represent the Lamb of God.
Seems the Puritans weren't the only ones fleeing persecution for the New World.
Oh, lol, I did enjoy Zee's description of trolls: they "like money and extortion, a lot of them go into banking". Hmmm, or politics??
It's an easy read with so much going on that you'd better have Blood Bound, 2 (4) on hand! I should probably note that Briggs' Alpha & Omega series intertwines with Mercy Thompson (I call the combination the Mercyverse) BUT you don't need to read them both at the same time.
Hmm, there's a brief scene that mentions Charles' journey to Chicago with a result that's different from what's in this story, Shifting Shadows: "Alpha & Omega", 0.5 (Mercyverse, 1.1).
The whole series is about doing what's right and sticking up for the powerless. Briggs also gets in a major dig at bigotry and the idiots who fall into it. It just goes to show that you don't need to be strong...just sneaky, lol.
The Story
As a walker, Mercy has a sharp nose and an ability to sense magic, so she knows who, or rather what, Mac is when he approaches her, asking for work. It's that compassion of hers that is the inciting incident.
Mac had escaped from a cruel experiment, and then his captors show up looking for him. It's a battle that convinces Mercy that she has to introduce Mac to the local Alpha.
Before you can say “from the frying pan into the fire”, things go awry and Mercy finds and just barely manages to flee with a wounded Adam to the Marrok, the leader of all the North American werewolves, whose son Samuel is the man whom Mercy once loved and lost.
Meanwhile, Adam's fifteen-year-old daughter Jesse has been kidnapped by the same people who came after Mac.
Mercy must contend not only with all the fae, vampires, other werewolves, and a witch or two, but also with Adam's and Samuel's interest in her and the territorial contentiousness that results from it.
The Characters
Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson runs a one-woman garage, specializing in German cars. Yeah, yeah, she's heard all the jokes... She's also a walker, a Native American shapeshifter who turns into a coyote. Thankfully, she's also studying Shi Sei Kai Kan, a style of karate. Medea is the Manx cat (who adores anyone who'll pet her) who lives with Mercy in her trailer in Finley. Tad had been her faithful office boy and tool rustler...gone off to college on a minority scholarship. Gabriel Sandoval will be Tad's replacement...and work off those car repairs.
Zee, a.k.a. Siebold Adelbertsmiter, calls himself a gremlin after being forced to reveal himself five or six years ago. He's actually a Metallzauber who can handle all sorts of metals. He owned the garage that Mercy bought from him. Tad is his half-fae, half-human son.
The Columbia Basin Pack is...
...in the Tri-Cities and ruled by Adam Hauptman, the Alpha, a former Special Forces Ranger who was turned back in Vietnam, who owns a security company. The cheeky Jesse Hauptman is his fifteen-year-old daughter who loves to color her hair. Moms will freak, lol. Adam is divorced from her selfish flake of a mother, who lives in Eugene.
His wolves include Dr Darryl Zao, his second and an engineer at the Pacific Northwest Laboratories, whose wife, Auriele, is a chemistry teacher at Richland High. The gay Warren is Adam's third and a good friend. Kyle is Warren's friend, a very successful, gay divorce lawyer, who likes to make bigots squirm. Ben is a recent member, banished from England to get out from under a series of crimes. Mary Jo is a firefighter in Kennewick. John Cavanaugh is a realtor.
"Mac", a.k.a. Alan MacKenzie Frazier, is a starving, desperate werewolf who knows nothing. Joe is his brother. Meg had been Mac's girlfriend. Leo James is one of two of the Chicago Alphas. Elizaveta Arkadyenva Vyshnevetskaya is a very powerful Russian, almost black witch, under contract to Adam's pack. Robert is her grandson.
The Marrok is...
...the Alpha of all Alphas, in charge of North America. He's Bran Cornick, based in Aspen Creek, Montana, and very, very old — he came to Montana with David Thompson, a Welsh cartographer in the late 1700s. Dr Samuel Cornick, another werewolf, is Bran's oldest son (born when Bran was still human) who had tried to elope with Mercy years ago. Charles Cornick, born around 1813, is Bran's younger son and a genius with finance. He's also the Marrok's Enforcer. (He's about to head out to Chicago, Shifting Shadows: "Alpha & Omega"). Charles' mother had been a Salish woman with magic of her own. Leah is Bran's nasty mate, who hates Mercy.
Bryan, a werewolf, and his mate had been Mercy's foster parents. Lisa Stoval helps run the motel in Aspen Creek along with Carl and Marlie. Marlie's brother, Lee, was one of those who didn't survive the Change. Dr Carter Wallace is the Aspen Creek veterinarian. His son, Gerry, is a werewolf and the Marrok's liaison with packless wolves. George Brown, another werewolf, breeds award-winning mastiffs.
The Fae...
...came out thirty years ago. The Gray Lords are the powerful who rule the fae. Kieran McBridge is the garden sprite gardener accused of murdering Harlan Kincaid, a billionaire. Carin Kincaid had been his gorgeous actress wife.
The Mid-Columbia seethe is...
...the local vampires and are led by the depressed Signora Marsilia, a.k.a. the Mistress, who had been banished from the side of her love, the Lord of Night, the Master of Milan in Italy. Stefan Uccello, a vampire who loves Scooby Doo and has his own Mystery Machine, is friendly with Mercy. Lilly is a mentally challenged vampire with a gift for the piano. Estelle and Andre are more of Marsilia's vampires. The vampires extort protection money from every supernatural doing business in the area. Except for the Pack.
Tony is an undercover detective who is totally flummoxed as to how Mercy always recognizes him. He's in love with Sylvia Sandoval, a widow with a ton of kids, who is a police dispatcher who refuses to date a cop.
Margi is Mercy's overwhelming mother; Curt is her stepfather, a dentist. Mercy's biological father had been a Blackfoot rodeo rider, Joe Old Coyote. A great-grandfather's uncle turned out to be a werewolf.
Dennis (a retired pipefitter) and Anna (a retired nurse) Cather are Mercy's neighbors. McCue and David Christiansen had been part of Adam's fated unit. David has grandsons now: Connor, John-Julian, and Shawn. Geordi appears to be a rival for Kyle. Ally is Kyle's sympathetic sister. The Fairy Mound in Walla Walla is the fae bar for tourists. Uncle Mike's is a fae bar in Pasco, that is strictly for the fae. Karen had been one of Mercy's college roommates.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a range of blacks starting with that foggy gray background, a full moon centered at the top and a wrought iron gate with two baying wolves framing its center. In front of the gate is a cocky Mercy in hip hugger jeans, her hands framing the coyote print tattoo below her belly button. Her head is cocked, her long dark hair blowing across her face with one feathered earring visible. She's wearing a black leather cropped, sleeveless top with a jewel neckline that shows off her tattooed sleeves (not sure why as Mercy only has the one tattoo in the story). All the text is in white starting with the info blurb at the very top with the author's name below that. A testimonial is to the right of Mercy's upper arm with the title at the bottom.
The title is a reference to the werewolves, for they are Moon Called.
My Take
I was surprised to see that I still haven't reviewed Moon Called, especially since I've been reading the series, over and over, for the past ten years!!
Yeah, I really like this series. I adore Mercy and that wicked sense of humor she's got. She's only one of the engaging characters in the series...I do like Adam and adore Warren. Kyle is an absolute crackup with a wicked wit. As for Zee...hmmm, I do want to know more about this growly fae. As for Bran, Samuel, and Charles...oh, yeah, I definitely want to know more!
Moon Called is brimming over with subplots and action that Briggs uses so well to introduce us to Mercy's entire world — the circumstances that resulted in her being fostered by the pack she grew up with; her relationships with the Marrok, her mother, and the pack she lives among now; and, her work life and the variety of people that come within that orbit. And that's barely dipping into all these interactions 'cause we can't forget the betrayals, the kidnappings, rescues, and more!
That Briggs is darned sneaky. I loved the scene where she introduces us to Medea and pokes fun at Adam for how he handles kitty and his annoyance with Mercy's trailer just across the fence of his backyard. A great way to avoid the dreaded info dump!
It's all first person protagonist point-of-view from Mercy's perspective. Thank god. Because I don't think we'd know a quarter as much...or Briggs would need one heckuva lot more pages! With the focus on Mercy, we quickly learn that her character arc over the series is one of finding a home, a place where she belongs and is accepted. I love that Briggs does this so well that I'm not wanting to smack Mercy upside the head..!
I'm with Mercy in her choice between a crucifix and her lamb. A much more positive choice to represent the Lamb of God.
Seems the Puritans weren't the only ones fleeing persecution for the New World.
Oh, lol, I did enjoy Zee's description of trolls: they "like money and extortion, a lot of them go into banking". Hmmm, or politics??
It's an easy read with so much going on that you'd better have Blood Bound, 2 (4) on hand! I should probably note that Briggs' Alpha & Omega series intertwines with Mercy Thompson (I call the combination the Mercyverse) BUT you don't need to read them both at the same time.
Hmm, there's a brief scene that mentions Charles' journey to Chicago with a result that's different from what's in this story, Shifting Shadows: "Alpha & Omega", 0.5 (Mercyverse, 1.1).
The whole series is about doing what's right and sticking up for the powerless. Briggs also gets in a major dig at bigotry and the idiots who fall into it. It just goes to show that you don't need to be strong...just sneaky, lol.
The Story
As a walker, Mercy has a sharp nose and an ability to sense magic, so she knows who, or rather what, Mac is when he approaches her, asking for work. It's that compassion of hers that is the inciting incident.
Mac had escaped from a cruel experiment, and then his captors show up looking for him. It's a battle that convinces Mercy that she has to introduce Mac to the local Alpha.
Before you can say “from the frying pan into the fire”, things go awry and Mercy finds and just barely manages to flee with a wounded Adam to the Marrok, the leader of all the North American werewolves, whose son Samuel is the man whom Mercy once loved and lost.
Meanwhile, Adam's fifteen-year-old daughter Jesse has been kidnapped by the same people who came after Mac.
Mercy must contend not only with all the fae, vampires, other werewolves, and a witch or two, but also with Adam's and Samuel's interest in her and the territorial contentiousness that results from it.
The Characters
Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson runs a one-woman garage, specializing in German cars. Yeah, yeah, she's heard all the jokes... She's also a walker, a Native American shapeshifter who turns into a coyote. Thankfully, she's also studying Shi Sei Kai Kan, a style of karate. Medea is the Manx cat (who adores anyone who'll pet her) who lives with Mercy in her trailer in Finley. Tad had been her faithful office boy and tool rustler...gone off to college on a minority scholarship. Gabriel Sandoval will be Tad's replacement...and work off those car repairs.
Zee, a.k.a. Siebold Adelbertsmiter, calls himself a gremlin after being forced to reveal himself five or six years ago. He's actually a Metallzauber who can handle all sorts of metals. He owned the garage that Mercy bought from him. Tad is his half-fae, half-human son.
The Columbia Basin Pack is...
...in the Tri-Cities and ruled by Adam Hauptman, the Alpha, a former Special Forces Ranger who was turned back in Vietnam, who owns a security company. The cheeky Jesse Hauptman is his fifteen-year-old daughter who loves to color her hair. Moms will freak, lol. Adam is divorced from her selfish flake of a mother, who lives in Eugene.
His wolves include Dr Darryl Zao, his second and an engineer at the Pacific Northwest Laboratories, whose wife, Auriele, is a chemistry teacher at Richland High. The gay Warren is Adam's third and a good friend. Kyle is Warren's friend, a very successful, gay divorce lawyer, who likes to make bigots squirm. Ben is a recent member, banished from England to get out from under a series of crimes. Mary Jo is a firefighter in Kennewick. John Cavanaugh is a realtor.
"Mac", a.k.a. Alan MacKenzie Frazier, is a starving, desperate werewolf who knows nothing. Joe is his brother. Meg had been Mac's girlfriend. Leo James is one of two of the Chicago Alphas. Elizaveta Arkadyenva Vyshnevetskaya is a very powerful Russian, almost black witch, under contract to Adam's pack. Robert is her grandson.
The Marrok is...
...the Alpha of all Alphas, in charge of North America. He's Bran Cornick, based in Aspen Creek, Montana, and very, very old — he came to Montana with David Thompson, a Welsh cartographer in the late 1700s. Dr Samuel Cornick, another werewolf, is Bran's oldest son (born when Bran was still human) who had tried to elope with Mercy years ago. Charles Cornick, born around 1813, is Bran's younger son and a genius with finance. He's also the Marrok's Enforcer. (He's about to head out to Chicago, Shifting Shadows: "Alpha & Omega"). Charles' mother had been a Salish woman with magic of her own. Leah is Bran's nasty mate, who hates Mercy.
Bryan, a werewolf, and his mate had been Mercy's foster parents. Lisa Stoval helps run the motel in Aspen Creek along with Carl and Marlie. Marlie's brother, Lee, was one of those who didn't survive the Change. Dr Carter Wallace is the Aspen Creek veterinarian. His son, Gerry, is a werewolf and the Marrok's liaison with packless wolves. George Brown, another werewolf, breeds award-winning mastiffs.
The Fae...
...came out thirty years ago. The Gray Lords are the powerful who rule the fae. Kieran McBridge is the garden sprite gardener accused of murdering Harlan Kincaid, a billionaire. Carin Kincaid had been his gorgeous actress wife.
The Mid-Columbia seethe is...
...the local vampires and are led by the depressed Signora Marsilia, a.k.a. the Mistress, who had been banished from the side of her love, the Lord of Night, the Master of Milan in Italy. Stefan Uccello, a vampire who loves Scooby Doo and has his own Mystery Machine, is friendly with Mercy. Lilly is a mentally challenged vampire with a gift for the piano. Estelle and Andre are more of Marsilia's vampires. The vampires extort protection money from every supernatural doing business in the area. Except for the Pack.
Tony is an undercover detective who is totally flummoxed as to how Mercy always recognizes him. He's in love with Sylvia Sandoval, a widow with a ton of kids, who is a police dispatcher who refuses to date a cop.
Margi is Mercy's overwhelming mother; Curt is her stepfather, a dentist. Mercy's biological father had been a Blackfoot rodeo rider, Joe Old Coyote. A great-grandfather's uncle turned out to be a werewolf.
Dennis (a retired pipefitter) and Anna (a retired nurse) Cather are Mercy's neighbors. McCue and David Christiansen had been part of Adam's fated unit. David has grandsons now: Connor, John-Julian, and Shawn. Geordi appears to be a rival for Kyle. Ally is Kyle's sympathetic sister. The Fairy Mound in Walla Walla is the fae bar for tourists. Uncle Mike's is a fae bar in Pasco, that is strictly for the fae. Karen had been one of Mercy's college roommates.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a range of blacks starting with that foggy gray background, a full moon centered at the top and a wrought iron gate with two baying wolves framing its center. In front of the gate is a cocky Mercy in hip hugger jeans, her hands framing the coyote print tattoo below her belly button. Her head is cocked, her long dark hair blowing across her face with one feathered earring visible. She's wearing a black leather cropped, sleeveless top with a jewel neckline that shows off her tattooed sleeves (not sure why as Mercy only has the one tattoo in the story). All the text is in white starting with the info blurb at the very top with the author's name below that. A testimonial is to the right of Mercy's upper arm with the title at the bottom.
The title is a reference to the werewolves, for they are Moon Called.
kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
I do love Patricia Briggs and her Mercy Thompson series. I hadn't realized I'd not reviewed this before, although I did know I'd read it previously, which is why (after all that convoluted wording) I didn't take notes this time around. I'll try to remember the next time I read this!
Oh, yeah, there WILL be a next time, lol! And a lot sooner than not.
To tide things over, Mercy is a VW mechanic in Washington State and a skinwalker. But not the kind of skinwalker most of us imagine. Mercy is much more fun, and Briggs twists our perceptions of the fae, werewolves, and vampires as well.
If you enjoy urban fantasy or the paranormal, you really won't go wrong reading anything by Briggs.
Oh, yeah, there WILL be a next time, lol! And a lot sooner than not.
To tide things over, Mercy is a VW mechanic in Washington State and a skinwalker. But not the kind of skinwalker most of us imagine. Mercy is much more fun, and Briggs twists our perceptions of the fae, werewolves, and vampires as well.
If you enjoy urban fantasy or the paranormal, you really won't go wrong reading anything by Briggs.
ingo_lembcke's review against another edition
5.0
KickAss start for a series.
Bought this ebook cheap, probably for a promo price, not so long ago, had this on my wishlist rather long. Currently going without rhyme or reason through my TBR. This has Vampires and Werewolves, which after Twilight and other series I wanted to stay away from.
Mercy alone is interesting enough to make want to read the second book, although probably not so soon (and it is not really cheap, even as an ebook). She stands on her own and is rather headstrong, and so far she is single, although that may change. With this book she is my kind of heroine: strong, independent, submissive when needed, but so far her head is screwed right on.
World building rather well integrated during the story with flashbacks and learning by the MC (Mercy) on the job. Better than Magic Bites (link to my review), where I decided not to read more than this first book
Skimmed a few reviews of the second book and am not so sure wether I will like it or not (but will buy it and begin reading it), what with the religion etc. .
This book is a recommended 5stars, strong beginning of a series, lots of action, suspense and well done fight scenes.
Bought this ebook cheap, probably for a promo price, not so long ago, had this on my wishlist rather long. Currently going without rhyme or reason through my TBR. This has Vampires and Werewolves, which after Twilight and other series I wanted to stay away from.
Mercy alone is interesting enough to make want to read the second book, although probably not so soon (and it is not really cheap, even as an ebook). She stands on her own and is rather headstrong, and so far she is single, although that may change. With this book she is my kind of heroine: strong, independent, submissive when needed, but so far her head is screwed right on.
World building rather well integrated during the story with flashbacks and learning by the MC (Mercy) on the job. Better than Magic Bites (link to my review), where I decided not to read more than this first book
Skimmed a few reviews of the second book and am not so sure wether I will like it or not (but will buy it and begin reading it), what with the religion etc. .
This book is a recommended 5stars, strong beginning of a series, lots of action, suspense and well done fight scenes.
illusie's review against another edition
4.0
The world building is detailed and gives you a good sense of what people think of fae and what the position of the werewolves is. Mercy is not a werewolf, but she grew up in a pack. I like Mercy. She is funny and smart. It was easy to guess who her love interest was going to be. There is a lot of action in this book. For me it was a quick and easy read.
maddoxx's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars
The sheer amount of characters, pretty much all hunky werewolf guys, was pretty confusing to me.
To be fair, I knew what kind of book I was getting into before I started reading and it was exactly what I needed. An absolute delight.
It's not easy for me to find me a brand of supernatural romance that I like because I usually have a really hard time identifying with the protagonist and/or I have a completely different taste in men than the author. However, I really really like Mercy Thompson and my gay ass will probably stick around just for her. And while Adam isn't exactly my type, he's pleasant and a fun character.
For all this talk about alphas and dominance (something that's usually REALLY not my thing) I was surprised by how little it bothered me. I think I quite like the worldbuilding so far, including all of the werewolf shenanigans. Big fan of how Briggs included, apart from the obvious werewolves, vampires and witches, some fae folk as well. And of course, native american myths (but I'm not an expert about those and all I can pretty much say is "it's cool that they're in there!", so I don't feel qualified to talk about the matter).
I had some problems following the twists and turns but that might honestly be because of me misremembering or forgetting characters and because I wanted to get to the action, lol. The ending felt a bit rushed with a lot of strange breaks between scenes.
A fun read, I'd definitely recommend it.
The sheer amount of characters, pretty much all hunky werewolf guys, was pretty confusing to me.
To be fair, I knew what kind of book I was getting into before I started reading and it was exactly what I needed. An absolute delight.
It's not easy for me to find me a brand of supernatural romance that I like because I usually have a really hard time identifying with the protagonist and/or I have a completely different taste in men than the author. However, I really really like Mercy Thompson and my gay ass will probably stick around just for her. And while Adam isn't exactly my type, he's pleasant and a fun character.
For all this talk about alphas and dominance (something that's usually REALLY not my thing) I was surprised by how little it bothered me. I think I quite like the worldbuilding so far, including all of the werewolf shenanigans. Big fan of how Briggs included, apart from the obvious werewolves, vampires and witches, some fae folk as well. And of course, native american myths (but I'm not an expert about those and all I can pretty much say is "it's cool that they're in there!", so I don't feel qualified to talk about the matter).
I had some problems following the twists and turns but that might honestly be because of me misremembering or forgetting characters and because I wanted to get to the action, lol. The ending felt a bit rushed with a lot of strange breaks between scenes.
A fun read, I'd definitely recommend it.
yodamom's review against another edition
4.0
A good introduction to Mercy and her gang. I am looking forward to reading the next book. I listened to it on audio, it was well read.