When I started the Mercy Thompson books, I had low expectations. I had tried to get into 2 separate series’ in January because I was in the mood to get lost in a fantasy world. Moon Called really did the trick and even though there’s 13 books, I’ve been breezing through! As of March 30th, I’m already 6 books deep and thankful that my library has these books on Kindle so I’ve been able to slip into a new one as soon as the previous one ends.
The 31 days in March seemed to last 100 days. Maybe it’s because February always feels so short, but there were things I did in the beginning of March that I had completely forgotten about. I went to the Alameda Antique Fair (a huge outdoor market that’s every first Sunday of the month), despite the drizzle. I went for tea with my best friend and her adorable twin daughters. My sister had a birthday BBQ at her house (which is 2 hours away from me and tucked into beautiful nature) right before my work trip to Las Vegas (4 days and 3 nights is far too much for Vegas). And I wrapped up the month with a very early Easter (I can’t remember the last time Easter was in March!) with my family. All in all, it was a fantastic and very eventful month. I did some really cool things.
I stuck with the Mercy Thompson books, so if you’re not on this journey with me (or have no interest), you can skip down to the audiobooks. I still have beef with the covers and am happy these are on Kindle. If someone could take those early 2000s covers and make them not cringy, I’d be so happy.
Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson #3) by Patricia Briggs
My Rating: 4/5
What’s it about: Zee (Mercy’s ex-boss who sold her the shop AND fae) gets arrested for murders that Mercy knows he didn’t commit – because she was the one who used her coyote nose to figure out who the real murderer was! In her journey to find the murderer, she learns that there’s a local group of people who hate the fae, with members that are suspiciously aware of different types of fae and their weaknesses…
My Review: I couldn’t decide if I wanted to give this book all 4 stars. I wish I could tell you about my feelings for the entire book, but only one scene sticks out to me. A good friend of mine (Hi Shawn!) loves this series and has told me that this was also his least favorite of the series. The reason that it almost lost me was that there is (trigger warning) a scene where Mercy is r*ped. I have probably mentioned this before, but I can’t handle that in movies/TV and have refused to watch many things due to this (or turned it off/walked out). It’s incredibly unnecessary to actually show those scenes. In this book, there was far too much of the scene when I just wanted it to “fade to black”. Worse yet is how it all goes down. The reason Mercy is assaulted is due to a stolen fae goblet that if used incorrectly, can make someone your slave. Before and during the assault, the person who does this to her tells her that everyone will think she’s worthless and not want her – and she believes it due to the fae magic. I put this book down and didn’t know that I was going to pick up the next book. I read some reviews and talked to my good friend and did end up going on (and I’m very happy I did). If you get here and put it down due to this, I understand. I will say that the way it is handled afterwards (in book #4) is done incredibly well. Mercy working through her pain is written down on the page and feels very relatable.
Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson #4) by Patricia Briggs
My Rating: 4/5
What’s it about: While Mercy tries to figure out her life after the assault in Iron Kissed, she also finds out that the head vampire, Marsilia, wants her dead. She killed one of her favorites back in Blood Bound while on a mission to kill a demon witch vampire thing that was making zombies (kinda – it’s hard to explain). Luckily, Mercy gets an out due to an old friend asking for her help with a ghost in her house. She travels up to Spokane to investigate but quickly finds out that the area is “owned” by a lone vampire who does not like company. Now she has two murderous vampires ready to pounce.
Quote: “Want to explain to the kid that I’m more a Spike than a Buffy? A villain, not a superhero?” – Stefan [yes, I squealed when I saw there was a Buffy reference]
My Review: As I said, I’m happy that I continued on. Book #3 ends in a cliffhanger (probably to encourage you to read book #4) and this book picks up right where it left off. You know those cheesy things that guys say in books that you would 100% barf if they said it in real life? That’s Adam and I am here for it. This quote got me: “If you agreed to be mine, I can wait until Hell freezes over for you.” If Jacob told me that, I’d laugh in his face. But Adam telling it to Mercy (especially after the hell she has been through) made me feral. I enjoyed the change of scenery to Spokane. The new characters were interesting and it was a good way to hear about more vampires – since we know that they all can have different powers (think Twilight). Again, Briggs really does follow her own rules and I respect that so much. We also got to see more ghosts! That was pretty fun. Mercy really got to stand on her own two feet a lot more here and I loved her taking back her power after the last book.
Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson #5) by Patricia Briggs
My Rating: 4/5
What’s it about: Mercy is a really popular lady! In Bone Crossed, she borrowed a book from a man who she suspects has fae in his blood. Now, a bunch of nefarious fae are looking for this book and she doesn’t think it’s a great idea to give it to them. Oh also, Samuel is in deep trouble… His wolf is starting to take over.
My Review: I don’t know if I have favorites but this one might be it. At least so far. The fae book plot really intrigued me! I enjoyed all the side quests that Samuel (as a wolf) and Mercy had together gave me Scully & Mulder vibes. They work together so well. Meeting more fae and learning their stories was great. It’s cool that they take a lot of different legends that we hear about throughout childhood and work them into being real stories about real fae.
I wanted to take a moment to talk about proper dog training. I could write an entire post on this (maybe I will) but in one scene, a little girl runs up to what she thinks is a giant dog (it’s really Samuel in his wolf form). I CRINGED. Rule #1 to teach your child is that you do not run up to a random dog you’ve never met. Ever. That’s actually the only solid rule. Never ever do that. You teach them to ask both their parents and the owner if it’s okay to approach the dog – if both say yes, perfect. But this little girl immediately starts to try and ride him (luckily, our Samuel is better trained than a random pup but still). This is how a lot of dog attacks happen and if both parents and children were better about this, it wouldn’t happen so damn often. Respect is so important and honestly, I’m shocked Samuel’s wolf didn’t attack (Mercy was also shocked).
River Marked (Mercy Thompson #6) by Patricia Briggs
My Rating: 4/5
What’s it about: Mercy and Adam set out for their honeymoon at a private campsite (using Uncle Mike’s beautiful and huge RV) along a gorgeous river… only to quickly find that there’s a river monster that’s got some Otter Fae as her minions. Her plan is to drag people into the water to eat them and with Adam unable to swim (werewolves can’t swim, duh), Mercy reaches out for help from a very unlikely source: her father.
My Review: This book felt very much like a “side quest”. All the other books have different story lines and many have taken place not in the Tri-Cities but this really felt like a whole different series – which is not necessarily a bad thing. Mercy meets men from a local Native American tribe who tell her the story of Coyote… who’s supposed to be totally not real (it’s just legends, right?) but is totally real and he shows up to come help her defeat this river monster. I always love different types of folklore so this wasn’t any different. There was a lot more action and I wish Mercy could make it through a book without having her entire body (and sometimes spirit) completely broken. I did make a note that this book had a little more fluff than the others (and probably what leads to the “this feels like a side quest” feeling). At one point, Mercy says “How bad could it be” which we all know means it’s going to get very bad (and it does). I audibly groan every single time I see that exact line in any sort of media.
Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour [audiobook]
My Rating: 3/5
What’s it about: Mila is given the opportunity to teach and live in a remote, incredibly small, community. She’s excited for a change of pace – she just graduated high school and also aged out of the foster care system. She’s lost and looking for her place in the world. This opportunity was perfect… Until her memories started rushing back.
My Review: This book really felt like a tease. The author took me on this crazy but beautiful journey of Mila’s life (both past and present) and I was ready for some spooky shit. I feel like right when I was promised some action, the author pulled out a little white flag and said, “just kidding :)”. I honestly might give this 2 stars. The reason it even got 3 is because I super enjoyed the entire story but the last quarter of the book was such a cop out.
Know My Name by Chanel Miller [audiobook]
My Rating: 5/5
What’s it about: Chanel Miller tells her story after she was assaulted.
My Review: Chanel uses the name of her assaulter many times in her book. I will not be repeating his name here because I do not want his name on my blog. I held off reading this book for a very long time. I didn’t know if I could do it. I thought that listening to it would be better and maybe it was. Chanel reads it herself and I frequently found myself crying during my commute. This book has been the highest rated book of my “Want to Read” GoodReads shelf since I added it last year. And now I know why. Chanel gives words to feelings that I could never figure out how to express. She gave my feelings words that I didn’t realize belonged to me.
I really hope every person who defended him have the life they deserve. There is nothing that would make me write a character statement about someone who 100% admitted to doing what he did. The amount of people who blamed Chanel for being drunk was astounding. The fact that people literally believed that any woman wanted to be fingered behind a dumpster, laying in trash and dead foliage, is disgusting. I cannot wish for anything other than misery for every single person who defended this piece of trash. Promising Young Woman got it’s title from the judge who called this man a “Promising Young Man” all because he swims real well. Oh and the cincher is him stating that he’s working to bring awareness to drinking and “making bad decisions” while drunk. HOW ABOUT WE BRING AWARENESS TO CONSENT? Ugh, I’m getting angry writing this and this man has the most perfectly punchable face. Chanel states, several times, that she just wants him to GET it. He never once admitted that he had ever stuck his fingers in an unconscious and non-consenting woman and that is NOT okay.
Chanel talked about how hyper aware she was of men after her assault. How men would simply follow her around. This reminded me of a time when I was in college (I was 18 or 19) and I skipped school (sorry mom) and went to a bookstore instead. While in the bookstore, I wore my headphones – but always at a low volume because you have to hear what’s around you. I noticed a man staring at me very intently. Eventually he came up to me and I took one earbud out. I didn’t smile at him (I didn’t want to be welcoming) but I asked if he needed something. He asked if I worked there and I said no. Then he said that I seem to have good taste in books and wanted to follow me around the store. I felt like a deer in headlights. If I said no, he’d probably do it anyway. I could scream, but it felt so dramatic to do that because he wasn’t actually harming me. So I looked at him, shrugged, and said, “I mean, I’m just looking around”. He said that that was okay. I put my earbud back in and had him follow me around the store for at least 30 minutes. I felt threatened but also didn’t. I felt like if I went to an employee, he’d tell me I was being too dramatic. The man eventually left but I didn’t leave the store for at least 30 minutes. I ran to BART and threw up when I got home.
Chanel talked about getting a dog to feel more safe at home (albeit, a very tiny old dog). My dog is an 84lb Pit Bull Mix and if you fuck with me, she will rip your fucking throat out 🙂 She is sweet as can be but when I walk with her, she clocks people before I do (which is saying a lot) and she can sense when I’m uncomfortable. I absolutely know that if I were ever to be in danger near her, she would protect me. The laundry list of things I do to make sure I’m safe grow a WEE BIT smaller when Sidney is with me.
This book is a must read for everyone. Especially for men. I fully and truly believe that he knows exactly what he did to her. I believe he fully understands that he forced his fingers into an unconscious woman and I fully believe he would have gone further if he wasn’t stopped. I do not believe, for one second, that he thinks she said yes or that she ever wanted to do anything sexual with him. This book needs to be awareness for everyone: women (to stay safe but also know that you can take back your power), men (to always ask for and understand consent – and to recognize that if you’re too drunk and she’s too drunk, maybe don’t go for it), and everyone (to know that they can stop something terrible from happening). This story is not about “don’t get drunk”. Men get drunk and pass out so their friends draw penis’ on their face. Women get drunk and pass out so men assault them. There is something so incredibly wrong with our world.
Did you read any great books in March? Let me know in the comments! Also let me know your favorite fantasy series… not that I need a new one… but just in case…
Writes with Wolves 