Thursday, October 6, 2011

River Marked by Patricia Briggs




















River Marked (book 6)

By Patricia Briggs

Book Blurb:
Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She’s never known any others of her kind. Until now.

An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River—one that her father’s people may.



Well as you can see by my last 5 book reviews, I've been buried in the Mercy Thompson series. I also must add, I've been loving this urban fantasy continuation story dearly. So let me tell you how hard it was to decide whether to even purchase River Marked or not. You see, I like all my books to match on my shelf. Every Mercy Thompson book I had got was paperback. River Marked is currently available in either hardcover or Kindle BUT there is the kicker. On Amazon the hardcover of River Marked is $16.43 and the Kindle copy of River Marked is $15.65 and the paperback is not coming out until next year. So what is a girl to do??? Yep I was frustrated. $15.65 is way above what I allow myself to spend on Kindle books. Reading on Kindle is my favourite way of reading books. I dislike holding hardcovers. So I decided I need my Mercy and Adam fix and went against my rules and paid $15.65 for a Kindle copy but I was and still am pretty grumpy about it!

I know none of the above is the author's fault but it is still a thorn in my side. I suppose the publishing world is laughing in my face because I went ahead and bought the Kindle version. 

River Marked is exactly what I was craving for since I started to read the series. A book solely dedicated to Mercy and Adam. River Marked started right off with their "surprise" wedding and dove right into their honeymoon. I loved it! I am super excited that the next books in the series are the continuation of Mercy and Adam as a married couple. I just think the series will get better and better. 

River Marked is different from the other books aside from Mercy and Adam being married. The cast is absent from this book since the duration of River Marked they are on their honeymoon. Now camping is not my personal favourite place to have a honeymoon but clearly a perfect spot for Adam and Mercy. 

Just to make their honeymoon even more interesting, the readers learn a lot about Mercy's heritage, her father and some troublesome fae are thrown in for good measure. I love that even though they are on their honeymoon, the author Patricia Briggs still takes time to insert newlywed arguments to make it even more realistic. I love the scene where they had a very common argument that new couples experience and Adam tries to make it up.  I have to insert it because it makes me smile. (they are in their  wolf and coyote forms)

"He dropped a second rabbit at my feet and lay down in front of me, nose on his paws and his ears flattened. Nothing says you're sorry like a dead bunny."
Loc 1126-27

Regarding Mercy's heritage, I am still deciding how I feel about it. It was a lot of information to absorb. The lowdown about her biological father was a bit confusing to me. I think that Patricia Briggs wrote it that way to be confusing. I am still on the fence about it. I did love reading about the new character, Coyote. I loved his personality and his wit. It was not what I was expecting at all. 

The villain this time around was a river monster that gave me the heebie geebies about underwater creatures. If the River Devil was not scary enough, Patricia Briggs threw in the fact that the creature enjoys eating children the most. It was heartbreaking to read about. 

The battle that Mercy fought with the River Devil was heart pounding and I admit to going back and re-reading. I was reading it so fast that I had to go back to absorb it once I knew how it all ended. Poor Mercy sure takes a beating in her books. 

All in all a great book but perhaps not as good as the previous ones. I am super excited that Adam and Mercy are married and I look forward to their many adventures. That was undoubt the best part of River Marked for me was the solidification of them as a couple. 

Teasers - wedding butterflies, not so cute otters, Wal-Mart smackdown, magic fae staff moves on???





6 comments:

Julie said...

Loved the wedding. I totally cried! And the river monster is creepy - you are very right. I also LOVED Coyote. But I apparently liked Mercy's heritage a little more than you. I'm anxious to see how it all plays out in the next book...in 2013! Cry...I know... Great review.
Oh, and your 'wanting your books to match', very funny but I'm the same. But lately my reading addiction has become so bad that I buy or receive the hardcovers from publishers and I don't even get upset anymore. LOL

Sabina said...

I loved that book - and 2013 is TOOOO long to wait!! (Sighs). One of my favourite parts in the book (the rabbit being another) is were Mercy is talking to The Coyote. (short version) Mercy asks:"How big do you think that River monster is?" The Coyote throws her in the river. And when she finaly gets up he just says: "THAT big!" It was hillarious!!! :-)

vadeluna07 said...

This is one of my favorite series. I absolutely love reading these books and I have to agree that I loved this book because it was all about Mercy and Adam. I love that they are married now and I also cannot wait until the next book. I am hoping for way more Mercy and Adam. Can't wait to see what the next book will have in store for us!

Denise Z said...

I have wanted to read River Marked since it was on preorder:) But I too have a real problem with the publisher setting the price so high for a digital copy of a book. The author's definitely deserve to be compensated for their work and talents and I have no issue with that, but I will have to wait until for me it is more affordable. I have read all of the others and have bought hardbacks, but I now use an ereader as they are easier for me to hold and I am able to store my library without difficulty. Thank you for giving me a little taste, I cannot wait to read River Marked:)

Vanessa N. said...

Loved the book. The wedding was great and learning about Mercy's heritage was cool. Can't wait for the next one.

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Anne said...

This is one of my top two series. I agree with the 4 star rating , but found I liked it better the second time around. I think I missed all the secondary characters. My favorite series all have the same main two characters and big supporting casts. It makes them richer i feel.