A review by libraryjen
The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs

adventurous challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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!