Blood Bound - Mercy Thompson Series

Blood Bound
Patricia Briggs
Ace Fantasy
304 pgs.












Amazon Blurb -
A sorcerer-turned-vampire wreaks havoc on Washington's Tri-Cities, causing death, destruction and a paranormal faceoff in the second of Briggs's series featuring Mercy Thompson, a mechanic and "walker": one who can turn into a coyote at will. After attempts by the paranormal community to destroy the malevolent sorcerer fail, Mercy finds herself pulled into the fray: though her werewolf and vampire friends are stronger than she, it turns out that Mercy's abilities make her the only one in town who can save them all. While she discovers the truth about her powers, she also learns more about her past, and the werewolves who raised her. Though the romantic subplot-involving two rival werewolves, Alpha wolf Adam and Mercy's roommate Samuel-fizzles, Briggs has a refreshing knack for imbuing her characters (even non-humans) with lived-in human qualities. When it gets going, this paranormal adventure story is engaging, but a flabby first-person narrative stunts the suspense. 
**********

Mercy's phone wakes her in the middle of the night.  It's Stefan her vampire friend, yes while she is slow to admit it he is her friend, needs her help and she owes him so up and out in the dead of night she goes.  He asks her to shift to her coyote and come with him to a hotel and find out about a vampire in town who hasn't checked in with the seethe's leader, Marsillia.  It turns out that this vamp is also a sorcerer and the damage he can and does do is off the hook!

The local werewolf pack is willing to help the vampires only due to the death and damage that is taking place.  Adam, alpha of the pack and Mercy's neighbor/maybe boyfriend/mate by his own words so she is protected, allows two of his to assist Stefan.

In the midst of all this is Samuel, Mercy's room mate and former werewolf boyfriend is walking a tight rope with the Mercy-Adam relationship and he isn't having an easy time of it.  He wants to be with her, she doesn't want to be a broodmare.  I like both Adam and Samuel so it's a tough call to choose, though you find out as the story progresses that Stefan has some feelings for Mercy too.  Of course loving the vamps more than the wolves, I wonder if in the later books this goes anywhere.

What happens to the wolves and the vamps was just a great story.  How Mercy comes to the rescue was great.  This is just a fantastically crafted character.  I love Mercy and will most certainly continue with the series!!

4 cannolis