A review by alyssadorn
Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.25

With this series’ writing style, I find myself being so slowly sucked in that at first I don’t realize how engrossed I am but by the end of this book I was up reading until 3am. 

It reminds me of a style of book, a style of writing, I haven’t read in a while and it’s almost nostalgic for me— urban fantasy with less romance and that’s more detail-heavy. Less inside of the FMC’s head and emotions, and more focus on the mystery and her thought process on that. The emotions are very subtle, but effective. 

I liked this book a lot more than the first one; the nuance of the characters really deepened and I enjoyed Adam’s playfulness and sweetness and protectiveness in equal measure. 

And Samuel’s and her conversation about their relationship was so well done— it felt real and so true to their characters. 

Now to discuss the last 20%— wow. So intense and heartbreaking and realistic, and how hard is it to have such a fraught plot point and still stay true to the character’s core self? But Briggs does it so well, and Mercy’s actions and reactions are so in line with her internal conflict that l had been brewing all book long about personal choice and autonomy, as well as everything we know about her strength. 

And Ben is my new favorite character. His depth of understanding was heartbreaking in its own way, and his choice to be vulnerable to share his understanding and help Mercy was so impactful to me. 
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