Archive for sexy werewolf
Kate Daniels has her hands full:
- While attempting to apprehend a homicidal madman (wielding a deadly fire-throwing salamander) a mysterious assassin with a crossbow kills her prisoner. He then appears to vanish into thin air. Kate needs to find this guy, determine the motive for the killing, and if needed, take him out because he’s apparently very dangerous.
- A female member of The Pack, the local werewolf clan, visits Kate to inform her that she plans to marry Kate’s ex-boyfriend. If that’’s not shocking enough, she also tells Kate that in order to do this she’ll need the permission of Curran, the Pack Master, and that she wants Kate to approach Curran to obtain his approval. By the way, Kate and Curran don’t get along.
- A different member of The Pack hires Kate to find the crossbow assassin who just recently stole some valuable maps from them.
- While looking for the mysterious archer Kate comes upon a distraught young girl searching for her missing mother. She decides to help the child find her mother, a witch last seen in the presence of a new coven leader, because a 13-year old girl alone on the streets of the city probably wouldn’t make it through the night.
Speaking of the city, Kate lives in an urban city which fluctuates between periods of “magic” and “tech.” When the magic is “up” strange and deadly supernatural creatures come out. Buildings crumble upon themselves. Technology like telephones don’t work. Overall it’s a time when humans without supernatural abilities are vulnerable.
When “tech” is up man-made technology devices start working again but most protections, like wards against magical creatures, cease to function. Although in the past fluctuations between tech and magic were somewhat predictable the city has recently experienced infrequent shifts between the two phases.
Throughout most of the book Kate has to juggle looking after her new ward while trying to capture the assassin. This makes for a great action adventure story with lots of twists and turns. Additionally, the tension between Kate and Curran is great and adds an element of romantic suspense to the book. By the way, Curran definitely qualifies as one of those Sexy Werewolves to Howl About.
Ilona Andrews has done a great job balancing all of the plotlines in this book, especially since it comes in under 300 pages. This is due in part to Andrews’ great world building; it’s not hard to imagine Kate and the supporting cast in this environment.
Overall Magic Burns was a good read that gets my recommendation. Check Prices
This is Book 4 in the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. If you’ve read the last book “Kitty Takes a Holiday” you know that Cormac, the gun-loving mercenary vampire and werewolf hunter, is in prison for killing someone in order to save Kitty. That leaves Kitty and Ben (a newly made werewolf) to fend for themselves.
This fantasy book opens with them receiving a visit from a local vampire named Rick. It seems that Rick wants to overthrow the Denver master vampire and wants Kitty to help him. He also Read More→
Iron Kissed represents Book 3 of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series. In this one Mercy once again finds herself thrust into the politics of one of the supernatural races; this time it’s the fae, one of the more secretive magical groups. She finds out the hard way that “curiosity killed the cat” can apply to shape shifting coyotes like her as well.
Oh, and on top of that her love life is an absolute mess.
The Story
Mercy’s mentor, former boss, and fae member “Zee”, asks her to accompany him to a crime scene to see if she can “sniff out” the identity of a killer (mass murderer to be exact). You see, someone has killed several fae and thus far, the murders have gone unsolved. Zee knows that Mercy, a shapeshifter that can take on the form of a coyote, has a heightened sense of smell after she’s shifted. He’s hoping she can identify the scent of the killer.
Since Mercy owes the Fae a favor she agrees to the proposal. As such, Zee takes her to one of the fae reservations, a guarded compound/community that the local fae relocated to soon after they revealed themselves to the world. The reservation is a strange place whose lands (and people) hold many secrets. The fae would like to keep it that way so Mercy is forewarned not to ask questions or dwell on any oddities she might witness. For her own sake, she doesn’t want the fae thinking she might reveal their secrets to the rest of the world. Security risks like that are usually dealt with swiftly - no questions asked.
Although apprehensive about the assignment, Mercy is successful in determining the identity of the killer but through a series of events Zee ends up in jail. As Mercy attempts to prove his innocence she learns even more about the Fae - too much some might say. It’s this storyline that provides heart stopping suspense and adventure.
Mercy’s relationships with Adam and Samuel, two werewolves interested in her romantically, provide some of the subplot material in the book although Patricia Briggs handles this in a manner that keeps the reader interested. It’s also handled in a very believable manner. I can actually identify with the uncertainties displayed by Mercy. Rest assured this is nothing like the tiresome Jean-Claude vs. Richard tug-of-war that occurred in Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series.
With Iron Kissed Patricia Briggs has written another entertaining and action packed fantasy adventure. This book, more than the others in the series, sheds some light on the psychological makeup of the werewolves, in particular, Ben and Adam. Although it’s difficult to promote the humanity of aggressive and violent creatures like werewolves without emasculating them at some level, Patricia Briggs seems to have found a feasible and believable balance.
As with the other books in the series the pace is consistent and the storyline is nicely balanced with suspense, humor, action, and a little romance. Although I recommend that you read Book 1: Moon Called and Book 2: Blood Bound (simply because they’re good) it’s not necessary to do so in order to keep up with the story. Patricia Briggs has a talent for providing just enough backstory to get new readers up to speed while not appearing redundant to return readers. Not many writers can pull this off.
A very significant arc occurs near the end of this book. It’s actually quite heartwrenching and affects me even as I’m writing this review. I don’t believe I’ve read a fantasy book that touched me in this way. I commend Patricia Briggs for having the courage to write this into the storyline. It makes the series even stronger. Bottom line: Iron Kissed is an absolute solid winner for Briggs.
You can purchase Iron Kissed and spend several productive hours immersed in a fantastic fantasy story that’s entertaining and thrilling or spend the 7 bucks on two small chocolate Godiva truffles that will rot your teeth and expand your waistline. Your call.
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Meet Mercy Thompson, a shapeshifting no-nonsense female mechanic. Mercy’s a “walker”, a term that dates back to the original Native American’s that occupied this country. A walker can shift into the form of a coyote at will; their power isn’t linked to full moon cycles. No, she’s not a werewolf and she’s not as strong as one, but in the form of a coyote she’s much stronger and faster than any human.
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Mercy is friends with Stefan, a hip, modern day vampire that’s a throwback to the 70’s. Stefan wants Mercy to renovate his VW van so it looks like the Scooby Doo vehicle. He also asks another favor of her: accompany him on a mission to deliver a message to a trespassing vampire. You see, before entering another vampire’s territory it’s proper etiquette to pay a visit to the local vampire leader to seek permission to “hunt” in the area. Apparently a vampire has ignored the rules and Stefan’s leader has ordered him to deliver the vampire a message of warning.
Mercy usually avoids getting involved in local vampire politics, primarily because a centuries old feud exists between vampires and werewolves. Although she’s not a werewolf, in the eyes of most vampires, her coyote-shifting status puts her in the same category.
Stefan wants Mercy to witness the delivery of the message. Why? Because he believe this particular vampire is very powerful and uses mind control over other vampires to make them do his bidding. Since Mercy, as a walker, is immune to the effects of magic she’s a good companion for a mission like this. Mercy reluctantly agrees to accompany Stefan.
Needless to say, the meeting with the vampire is a bloody disaster and Mercy and Stefan barely escape with their lives. They discover the source of this vampire’s power; he’s a hybrid - a vampire sorcerer. This presents a great concern for the other vampires in the area because it means even their strongest might not be able to defeat him.
The werewolves, who came “out of the closet” years ago and made their existence known to humans can’t afford to let this vampire’s work be blamed on them. The vampires, who aren’t known to humans yet, can’t afford to let this guy spoil their secrecy. Since the vampire in question is leaving a bloody path of dead bodies in the area and since the local police are now involved, the werewolves and the vampires decide to join forces to find and destroy the vampire. Let the fun begin!
As usual, Patricia Briggs weaves a captivating and engaging tale of adventure and romance. In this book she delves further into vampire society, their organizational structure, their rules, and their politics. She correctly makes no attempts to show empathy for their habits but instead emphasizes the fact that many of them have lost both their humanity and their emotional attachment to the human race.
Patricia Briggs also doesn’t glamorize the lifestyles of the werewolves. They may not be as calculating as the vampires but they’re equally as deadly if provoked. Note: this series contains male characters partly responsible for My Sexy Werewolf Obsession. Check it out.
As for Blood Bound, I can’t recommend this book enough. Patricia Briggs has developed a believable modern day world that just happens to be inhabited by witches, werewolves, vampires, and fae. This is the first Mercy Thompson series and I predict that after reading this book you’ll want to read Moon Called, the second book in the series.
With Moon Called Patricia Briggs stirs up a storyline containing great action, a few sprinkles of romance, and a dash of adventure. This is the first installment in the Mercy Thompson contemporary fantasy book series.
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Mercy, the shapeshifting coyote heroine, is working in her mechanic shop when Mac, a newly-turned werewolf stumbles in seeking shelter and food. Mercy is initially reluctant to help him because she makes it a point of staying out of werewolf matters. Additionally, because this werewolf isn’t a member of the local clan she knows he’s technically considered a trespasser, a situation that often times results in death. However, she can sense that this young werewolf knows next to nothing about his situation so she decides to give him a job working in her garage and let him sleep there at night.
The action begins when she discovers he’s being hunted by other werewolves and humans. A fight ensues and Mercy ends up killing a werewolf while defending Mac. It’s then that she realizes she needs the help of the local Alpha, Adam.
Although her intent is to place these problems in the hands of the local werewolf clan, when a werewolf turns up dead on her doorstep and two of her closest werewolf friends are kidnapped (one of which is a teenage girl), Mercy realizes she can no longer sit on the sideline and watch the story unfold. She joins the hunt for the kidnapped victims and their persecutors and along the way learns some surprising facts about the werewolves she thought she knew.
What follows is a great story by Patricia Briggs involving the local vampire seethe, a new group of deadly werewolves, local witches, and a gremlin. Although she considers some of these characters to be her friends, the situation at hand forces the different races to side with their on kind. Thus, Mercy finds herself unsure of who she can trust.
Patricia Briggs has created a wonderful character with Mercy Thompson. Mercy is strong but yet vulnerable at the same time - something many readers can probably relate to. One admirable character trait is her ability to step out of the limelight and let other (often stronger or knowledgeable) characters provide assistance when she gets in over her head. Additionally, she doesn’t try to be the “super heroine” that’s so headstrong she ends up getting into deeper trouble. Quite the contrary: she asks for help when she truly needs it. Mercy also has a wry sense of humor which Patricia Briggs inserts nicely into the storyline.
Patricia Briggs includes a proper balance of sexual tension and action adventure, something both the romance and contemporary fantasy fans will appreciate. The story flows beautifully and has an ending that is as surprising as it is well written.
In summation, with Moon Called Patricia Briggs has once again spun a believable tale of werewolves, vampires, and witches in modern day society. Any fantasy book that makes you think "hmmn, this could really happen" has done its job as a paranormal fantasy book. Patricia Briggs delivers ten-fold.
You’ll definitely want to purchase Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1) as well as the other books in the Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson fantasy series.
