Patricia Briggs

Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1

Moon Called

Rebecca C Wright

Love this series...Mercy is tough and sensitive...something unique in the UF genre. Great world building and her other characters are so well developed you find yourself wanting as much time with them as with Mercy. All around excellent.

Moon Called is the first book in the "Mercy Thompson" series. This is a series I have been itching to read for at least a decade. I tend to be very picky around UF books. To be honest, I never feel like they have enough romance, however, sometimes when I am in a certain mindset, I can really enjoy them. In this one, I did read Moon Called through audio which I think was a really smart decision. Especially with the romance just barely getting off the ground in this one. Maybe once the romance is more steady, I can switch to the ebook.

Moon Called was a really fascinating setup for the beginning of this series. I really enjoyed the way this story was written. It had some interesting intricate details that were blended into the story very well. I also really enjoyed Mercy's character. She was a surprise for me because she isn't your average UF heroine. She is a blue-collar heroine and isn't overpowering which makes her more relatable. What I tend to struggle with in UF is the too-strong heroines that can be cringe worthy. But Mercy was very likable in ways that I didn't expect her to be. I also was all over the fact that she

had a nature that isn't typical in UF. She isn't controlling but adaptable to whatever situation that she is placed in. We are also introduced to two men that she has a "bit" of interest in. Sam (who is the doctor and believes her to be his mate) and then we have the alpha of the pack "Adam" who was sexy as sin. I love this grump who is also a single dad. Their interactions were sexy but also witty and endearing.

It's not a five-star read (but it TAKES a lot for UF to get 5-star status for me) But it was a very solid read and I can't read the next book in the series.

Lover of Romance 

Moon Called is the first book in the "Mercy Thompson" series. This is a series I have been itching to read for at least a decade. I tend to be very picky around UF books. To be honest, I never feel like they have enough romance, however, sometimes when I am in a certain mindset, I can really enjoy them. In this one, I did read Moon Called through audio which I think was a really smart decision. Especially with the romance just barely getting off the ground in this one. Maybe once the romance is more steady, I can switch to the ebook.

Moon Called was a really fascinating setup for the beginning of this series. I really enjoyed the way this story was written. It had some interesting intricate details that were blended into the story very well. I also really enjoyed Mercy's character. She was a surprise for me because she isn't your average UF heroine. She is a blue-collar heroine and isn't overpowering which makes her more relatable. What I tend to struggle with in UF is the too-strong heroines that can be cringe worthy. But Mercy was very likable in ways that I didn't expect her to be. I also was all over the fact that she
had a nature that isn't typical in UF. She isn't controlling but adaptable to whatever situation that she is placed in. We are also introduced to two men that she has a "bit" of interest in. Sam (who is the doctor and believes her to be his mate) and then we have the alpha of the pack "Adam" who was sexy as sin. I love this grump who is also a single dad. Their interactions were sexy but also witty and endearing.

It's not a five-star read (but it TAKES a lot for UF to get 5-star status for me) But it was a very solid read and I can't read the next book in the series.

karrington pease 

Rating: 3.5

I loved this book!! Mercy Thompson is one of my favorite main characters. She is so relatable, funny, and genuine. I really loved how realistic this book seemed (despite its genre). She got hurt during fights and did not act invincible like most protagonists do. She also admitted when she made mistakes and overall had a great personality that showed in the book! She was one of the first female protagonists that I've read that did not get rescued a million times throughout the book! In fact, she did most of the rescuing. 

I also loved the two male characters, Sammuel and Adam. Adam is by far my favorite! I LOVE werewolves/shifters!! I wished there was a novella that explained the relationship and dynamic between Sammuel and Mercy. I would have loved to explore more about what occurred between the two of them in detail. But this book did well with explaining the dynamic. 

Although I loved the book, there were spots in it that did bother me in a way. I felt this book could have easily been at least 5 more chapters long. The ending felt a little rushed when it didn't need to be. Briggs spent a very good amount of the book leading up to the plot and developing characters/characters' dynamics, however, more attention to the actual ending would have been appreciated. Another thing about this book was that I found myself getting confused at some points. Briggs did a pretty good job explaining the world of Mercy Thompson, but a few areas could have used a little more attention and detail. 

Overall, this book was a GREAT opener to the Mercy Thompson series and I am extremely excited to continue the series and see how the characters grow and develop!! I hope that Briggs is able to more detail into the endings of the books! I just started the second book of the series and will be reviewing that as well.

Anyaconda

Re-read via audiobook in 2022 in order to continue with the series.
3 stars
This was a light and entertaining urban fantasy. I love the Sookie Stackhouse series to death and I wanted something similar this year as palate cleanser between chunkier and heavier books.



Read in 2018 - 4 stars

Jacalyn Boggs

I love that the main character is not a werewolf in this book. Instead she's a Walker. She's native american and she turns into a coyote. She's not called by the moon. Of course the weres are much as they always are, snotty in thinking they rule all. Thankfully she's got the eye of the local Alpha.

I also liked the mix of vamps and various fae. There's definitely an interesting culture mix going on in Mercy's world.

I like that Mercy is a mechanic and one tough cookie. She's not gonna roll over when people that she cares about are in danger. 

I look forward to more Mercy books!

Haley Murray

I had multiple problems with this book but altogether it wasn't that bad. I will at least give the second book a try to see if I continue with the series or not.

Yulande Lindsay

Excellent. Enjoyed this thoroughly. A female protagonist who is smart, independent, strong, thoughtful, gutsy and fun. Bring on more! On to Blood Bound!

I finished this on Monday and forgot to mark it as read lol

Review to come but i enjoyed myself thoroughly

THE FIRST MERCY THOMPSON NOVEL! Moon Called is the novel that introduced Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson to the world and launched a #1 bestselling phenomenon... Mercy Thompson is a shapeshifter, and while she was raised by werewolves, she can never be one of them, especially after the pack ran her off for having a forbidden love affair. So she’s turned her talent for fixing cars into a business and now runs a one-woman mechanic shop in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State. But Mercy’s two worlds are colliding. A half-starved teenage boy arrives at her shop looking for work, only to reveal that he’s a newly changed werewolf—on the run and desperately trying to control his animal instincts. Mercy asks her neighbor Adam Hauptman, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack, for assistance. But Mercy’s act of kindness has unexpected consequences that leave her no choice but to seek help from those she once considered family—the werewolves who abandoned her... “In the increasingly crowded field of kick-ass supernatural heroines, Mercy stands out as one of the best.”—Locus

Sarah Escorsa

► BR with my 
  MacHalo Freaks
 starting Nov 15, 2015.

Note to self: you should review books right after reading them. When you don't you always end up lowering your original rating (view spoiler)[Oh well (hide spoiler)].

I should be bummed about this. I really should. And I should be wondering why most people in the universe LOVE this book. Well, most people except my dear daughter Liz, that is. But she takes after her amazing father (aka me), meaning she has pretty spectacular book taste ← this is not making any sense? It's okay, it shouldn't. And yes, I am perfectly sane, thank you very much. Anyway, I'm not bummed over this and I couldn't care less that I'm one of two people who didn't like this book. Why? Because my not liking it means I can take another series off my TBR shelf!!!!! Victory!!!!!



 Okay, so I didn't like the book. It doesn't mean it's total crap though. It's not badly written. It's not a case of STOOPID. It's just an unimpressive, big ol' MEH. And I'm afraid meh has come to mean deadly in my world. Deadly boring and deadly lacking inspiration. So much so that I don't have much to say about it. So we'll just stick to a short list of pros and cons, shall we?



① Mercy Thompson is a coyote
No, she's not a coyote ALL the time, you silly. She's a walker. Yes, the Jane Yellowrock type of walker. Only that Mercy kind of sucks since she can only turn into one animal instead of a whole zoo like our dear girl Jane. But hey, I still like Mercy more than I do Jane-the-tea-snob-and-walking-contradiction. Anyway, the whole coyote thing is pretty cool and a lot more refreshing than your basic were-stuff. That's good. Yes. It really is. Absolutely ← this is me trying to think of anything else I like about Mercy. But failing miserably. 



② Mercy Thompson is a car mechanic
Hey! The chin rubbing scheme worked! I just remembered something else I liked about Mercy! Yay me! So yes, I do like the fact that she's a car mechanic. That's surprisingly refreshing fact #2 for you. I don't understand why Briggs felt the need to mention she had a history degree, though. Is that supposed to make her appear more intelligent? Because car mechanics without a degree are supposed to be stupid? Huh. It doesn't add much to her character so I don't really understand what purpose it serves. Much like the "I'm religious, I go to church every Sunday, blah blah blah" side of her persona. It doesn't make much sense and doesn't really fit her character either. I don't know, the whole thing just feels weird and I don't understand where it's coming from (her foster parents? Her Pack upbringing? Huh again). It simply doesn't add up in my little head. Hey, wait a minute. This is supposed to be the cons section, right? Right. That's what I thought. Be positive Sarah, be positive. You can do this. There must be tons of other pros here.

③ Trying to think of something… Trying to think of something…
Oops, sorry. Definitely not working. Moving on.



① The boredom fest
The premise is interesting enough but the book is a big, huge YAWN. Your basic, unoriginal UF story (unoriginal, boring werewolves! Unoriginal, boring vampires! Unoriginal, boring fae! Yay! ☢ sarcasm alert ☢ (view spoiler)[← pointing this out just in case (hide spoiler)]) + WAY too many detailed descriptions of EVERYTHING + uninteresting digressions galore + slow-paced plot =



② The most resistible, lackluster, unexciting, uninspired male characters ever
Not a single harem candidate here. Not. A. One. Quite an achievement when you think that, apart from Mercy and a 15 year old kid, it's an all-male cast. Well done, Ms Briggs! I'd say that 95% of your male characters are boring as hell. Okay, I guess Zee is alright but I can't say he's that fascinating either. Stefan and his Mystery Machine might have potential but you don't get to see much of him here (and no, I won't bother with the rest of the series just to find out how hot he supposedly is). Then we have Samuel, who is not only boring but also a complete douchebag. He thinks he knows better than anyone else, too! Because, you know, he's a DOCTOR. Wow. I'm so impressed right now ☢ sarcasm alert ☢ (view spoiler)[ ← pointing this out just in case (hide spoiler)]



Anyone else not worth mentioning? You bet! Bran, the most boring Alpha ever and his buddy Adam, most boring Alpha ever #2. I swear these two must be the less imposing, awe-inspiring, frightening, fearsome Alphas in the history of Alphas. Gentlemen, may I suggest a 6-month internship at the Keep with His Furriness? I'm pretty sure it would work wonders for you and your less than intimidating personas. Have faith! Believe! You can do this! You can be scary baddasses, too! Maybe. In another life. Or something.



→ Okay, so you're wolves and not lions. Could you please stop being so ridiculously detailed-oriented for a minute? Besides, you could definitely use a little RAWR practice. Trust me on that one.

③ The Love Triangle of Death
What's worse than a Love Triangle of Death? A Love Triangle of Death with two male characters that have less personality than barnacles. Yet another outstanding achievement on Ms Brigg's part. You have to admit it really takes a lot of talent to make a love triangle yawning material. Love triangles in books tend to bring out the homicidal maniac in me and I feel the sudden urge to stab a few things whenever I come across one. But here? The love triangle is as unexciting and dull as the rest of the book. I do not give a damn about the love interests. I do not give a damn who Mercy ends up with.



Actually, I'd be more excited if she ended up dating Medea the cat. No, I am not kidding here. I mean, the cat is named Medea! Isn't that awesome in itself?! Medea rocks, people! I'm pretty sure it's Brigg's only inspired idea here. More inspired than her choosing Mercy's freaking neighbour, Adam, as a love interest. Especially since the guy acts like he's her father most of the time. But even less inspired is the idea of ridiculous Samuel wanting to have Mercy for her BABIES. GAH. GAH. GAH. ← this might remind the most ancient GR users of this. Now try to get it out of your head. You're welcome. At this point in the story I seriously considered putting a bullet through my little head. Then I got distracted because one of my eyeballs popped out of its socket after eyerolling too much. Sigh. Reading can be such a painful physical experience sometimes. 

④ The emotional wasteland
Since first writing this review, I've been trying to understand why this book didn't work for me. Sure, I thought it was boring, didn't like the male characters and blah blah blah. But there was something else I couldn't put my finger on. And then last night, TADA, I saw the light! Sudden flash of inspiration and all that! I think it all comes down to the absolute flatness of it all. The characters are about as emotional as rocks. I'm pretty sure zombies have more life in them than the comatose bunch on display here. No matter what happened, I never felt anything and couldn't bring myself to care: Mercy is supposed to have conflicted feelings over Samuel? Okay, I believe you. Mercy was supposedly scared to death during the scene with the vampire mistress? If you say so. She is supposed to feel something (whatever it might me) for Adam? Sure, right, of course. No emotion, no passion, no warmth, no sympathy, no intensity, no pleasure, no pain, no excitement, NOTHING. This book is flatline paradise.



►► Okay, it's recap time here: we have one pro, another pro that is a con in disguise, and 4 cons. Sounds like a total winner to me. Bye bye, Mercy Thompson, it was nice not reading the rest of your adventures.



· Book 2: Blood Bound ★★ ← I didn't want to DNF read it! They forced me!

Molly Ginnegar

really fell victim to judging a book by the cover on this one. Very glad it kept getting recommended to me. A quick read that draws you into the world in an engaging manner. Just picked up the next one and am looking forward to diving back in.

After reading this again you might think I'd change up my thoughts... but I didn't. I still loved how awesome a character Mercy was, she was strong and badass and did what she wanted even if people told or not to (especially when people told her not to). She was really awesome and is the reason I want to read all of these books (so why have I only read two books in the series).

I was put off by this series after reading the extra bit at the end of the book from Briggs herself where she stated where the idea came from and her plan and it mentioned a love triangle type thing and I so didn't want to read that but really that was a stupid reason for not driving through and continuing reading and I will slowly be remedying this (even if these books do cost a fortune on Kindle and I should really buy physical copies instead even though there is no room on my shelves!)

In the end, this was a great book. I liked Stefan, Sam was cool even if he is a bit of a dick, and I have an undying love for the control freak that is Adam. Like, seriously.

Becky

petit-chocobo

http://petit-chocobo.eklablog.com/mer...

En voilà une autre série Urban Fantasy qui fait des émoies, appréciée de la blogo en générale, et suivant mon amour naissant pour la Urban Fantasy, je ne pouvais pas passer à côté. 
Mercy Thompson est une série Américaine actuellement en cours, elle a bien démarré puisqu'elle contient déjà 7 tomes sorties en France et 8 aux Etats-Unis avec un 9ème tome prévue début 2015. Une série loin d'être encore terminée et qui pourrait durer ainsi pendant longtemps puisque chaque tome est indépendant, avec un début et une fin, mais il est toutefois conseillé de les lire dans l'ordre pour suivre l'évolution des personnages. Une bonne petite série donc, qui plus est possède une collection de couvertures sublimes, c'est d'ailleurs ce qui m'a convaincu d'acheter la série en livres papiers plutôt qu'en Ebook. Puisque de manière générale, les livres avec des couvertures moyennes je les réserve pour ma Kobo!
 
Ce qui m'a tout de suite capté dans cette série c'est son personnage principale, Mercedes Thompson, soit Mercy. Mercy change de la gamme de jeunes héroïnes que l'on retrouve souvent dans le genre Urban Fantasy et Bit Lit, finie les Midinettes entraînées contre leur gré dans une grande aventure, ici Mercy est une vraie dure qui ne se laisse pas marcher sur les pieds. C'est une jeune femme indépendante, forte et déterminée. Possédant son propre business, un garage, elle n'a pas peur de se salir les mains et ne compte sur personne d'autre qu'elle-même pour gérer ses affaires. Son business la conduit d'ailleurs à devoir se mêler à des personnes peu recommandables, voire même dangereuses. Mercy évolue dans un univers dangereux ou la femme est le plus souvent vu comme une simple compagne, une image qu'elle ne cessera de tenter de briser tout au long de son aventure.
 
Comme Mercy le dit au début du tome, il est peu commun qu'une femme gère son propre business, ainsi les hommes ont tendances à la regarder soit avec un total respect soit avec un dégout prononcé pour les femmes sortant du lot de la simple ménagère. Le rôle et la place des femmes est un thème trés présent dans ce tome, il est évoqué non seulement dans le monde des humains mais encore plus particulièrement dans celui des Faes et autres créatures. Parce que vous l'aurez compris Mercy n'est pas tout à fais humaine, c'est une changeuse, elle peut se changer en coyote à sa guise. Mais les changeurs ne sont pas les seuls personnages fantastiques que vous pourrez rencontrer en lisant les récits de Mercy, en effet une multitude de créatures vous attend telles que des lougs garous, vampires, changeurs et autres Faes pour ne citez que les plus connus. 
 
Et comme je le disais plus haut, si le rôle des femmes chez les hommes est déjà peu glorieux dans certains endroits relativement éloignés, il l'est encore moins chez les créatures magiques. Par exemple, dans la communauté des loups garous que vous aurez le plaisir de rencontrer assez tôt dans ce livre, les femmes (appelées d'ailleurs femelles) ne sont vu presque que comme de simples compagnes destinées à assurer la descendance de leurs males et ainsi perpétuer l'espèce, un rôle qu'elles ont intêret à tenir si elle ne veulent pas se faire éjecter. Mercy ayant été élevée dans une communauté telle que celle-ci, doit sans cesse se battre pour être considérée comme un membre à part entière à la meute, objectif qu'elle n'atteindra pas forcément.
Il et donc trés intéressant d'assister à cette bataille constante qu'est celle de Mercy pour prouver sa valeur en tant que femme ainsi qu'en tant que changeuse.
 
Quant à l'intrigue en elle-même, elle démarre assez rapidement. Les évènements s'enchaînent trés vite et on se retrouve embarqué avec une Mercy pour le moins perdue mais qui toutefois fera ses preuves. Cependant, il y a quelques passages un peu mous faisant redescendre la tention, ce qui a ralenti un peu ma lecture. Mais étant le premier tome d'une longue série, il est normal que l'auteur prenne le temps de poser correctement les bases de l'univers peu commun dans lequel évolue Mercy. On en apprend donc beaucoup sur notre héroïne et sur son passée, notemment sur ses déceptions et ses peines qui l'ont conduites à devenir la femme forte et indépendante qu'elle est aujourd'hui. 
 
Ce qui me fait revenir sur les personnages, comme je vous l'ait dit plus haut j'ai adoré le personnage de Mercy avec son tempérament de feu mais surtout parce qu'elle sait rester humble et ne cherche pas pour aurant les ennuis. J'ai aussi beaucoup aimé les personnages masculins, surtout Adam dans son rôle de male alpha de sa meute de loup garou sur lequel reposent de terribles responsabilités, ainsi que sa jeune fille Jesse qui est une vraie bouffée d'air frais et c'est assez rare que j'apprécie les enfants qui tiennent en règle général le rôle de casses pieds de service. Les autres m'ont tous été trés sympathiques si ce n'est peut être Sam, le supposé amour de jeunesse de Mercy que j'affectionne moyennement. Néanmoins je comprend maintenant les réactions de ce personnage pour le moins compliqué, de toutes façons on ne peut pas aimer tout le monde dans un roman!
 
Le seul autre petit point négatif (outre les quelques passages un peu mou) que j'ai relevé, qui n'est pas si petit que ça finalement puisqu'il m'a exaspéré au point que j'ai du m'arrêter quelques secondes et lever les yeux au ciel en une prière silencieuse manifestant toute ma détresse, l'annonce d'un triangle amoureux... Que dieu nous protège. Les dernières lignes ont donné un sale coup à toute l'estime que j'avais pour Mercy, j'espère néanmoins que ce n'est qu'une fausse impression de ma part et que la suite ne s'engagera pas plus sur cette voie bien trop empruntée à mon goût qu'est celle du triangle amoureux.
 
 
Ma note: 4/5
Aprés tout j'ai énormément apprécié ce premier tome qui nous promet moulte rebondissements, j'espère seulement que le triangle amoureux restera en second plan. Je lirais le tome 2 avec plaisir dés que je l'aurais sous la main. En attendant je ne peux que vous conseiller cette série à vous fans de Urban Fantasy et Bit Lit.

Sara Gaspar Farinha

Mercedes Thompson é uma personagem principal excelente. É uma super-mulher modesta, inteligente e determinada, que vive num mundo povoado por machos dominadores, prontos a lutar pela sua posição dentro do grupo sob qualquer pretexto (qualquer semelhança com a realidade é pura coincidência :-P)

Gostei particularmente da forma como o leitor é enredado pelos pormenores sobrenaturais. Torna-se fácil imaginar as situações que os personagens vivem, sobretudo quando estão sobre quatro patas. Os instintos, os movimentos, as texturas e os comportamentos, não nos são desconhecidos (ou não vivêssemos acompanhados de canídeos há tantos anos). A cena de Samuel e Mercy na traseira da carrinha (e não, não é o que estão a pensar) está excelente.

A apontar, não à história em si mas à versão portuguesa, é a tradução. Em alguns excertos o decalque do Inglês é notório, o que compromete a qualidade do texto final.

Quanto aos amores e desamores da personagem principal, trio descreve a situação na perfeição. E no final do primeiro livro, nenhum dos candidatos parece estar em vantagem, pelo que fica o engodo para o segundo livro “Vínculo de Sangue”.

Resta-me adquirir o segundo… após ponderar se devo optar pela versão original.

Kb james

Sally Salinas

Chantale

Sans

I had tried to read this ages ago when it first came out. It just didn't do anything for me at that time. But now? Totally awesome. Even with the love triangle (square? Is Stefan sniffing after Mercy too?). There were some sections that were little more than info-dumps, but it didn't stall the story. I admit to being confused about a few things, but I'm hoping those get cleared up in the next few books.

Moon Called Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1

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