Moon Called, by Patricia Briggs

2010-01-27-moon-called-by-patricia-briggs
If I had to describe Patricia Briggs's novel Moon Called in a single line, I'd probably go for something like: Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series—only way less annoying!” Like the Anita Blake series, Briggs's book features a tough-cookie heroine with a bevy of supernatural suitors, a quirky day job, and a set of ever-evolving powers that even she fails to understand. Unlike Hamilton's series, however, Moon Called shows few signs of devolving into straight-up "erotica" as poorly written as it is mind-numbingly tedious.

Briggs's heroine is Mercy Thompson, a human/coyote shape-shifter with a VW repair shop in Washington State's Tri-Cities area. Mercy's life is full of supernatural beings, all of whom are considerably more powerful than she is: her former boss is a gremlin, her next-door neighbor a werewolf Alpha, and her favorite customer a vampire with a van painted to look like the Mystery Machine. Mercy is quick-witted and charming, and while her bravado frequently gets her into trouble she's always been smart enough to get herself back out. But when a tortured and half-starved werewolf turns up on her doorstep, Mercy discovers that there are some situations even she can't fast-talk her way through.

To give the devil her due, the first few books in the Anita Blake series displayed considerable imagination, and Hamilton's love of random supernatural minutiae did a superb job of creating a fleshed-out world for her characters to inhabit. But Briggs is no slouch at the details, either—Mercy's world is well-defined, and her supernatural love interests offer an appealing blend of power and angst. (Plus, they have yet to swan around in a pair of spandex bike pants, waist-length curls, and a pirate coat. The same, alas, cannot be said of Hamilton's equivalents.)

Megan—whose eagle eye for fun supernatural romances misses nothing, seriously—absconded with the second title in this series, but I'm looking forward to reading it when she's done. Moon Called won my heart when its heroine whipped out a sheep necklace to fend off a vampire (Mercy has a phobia about crucifixes, but the "Lamb of God" thing works just as well), so I have high hopes for future awesomeness.

Note: Meg wants y'all to know that the cover of this book is neither attractive nor in any way indicative of the story within. She's totally right, too.
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Posted by: Julia, Last edit by: Julianka

Comments

Megwin
Megwin
02 Feb, 2010 05:17 AM @ version 0

I loved this book and I am happily reading this series as fast as I can purchase them. The characters are great in this series and Briggs is great at creating amazing tension with Mercy's romantic interests. I am off to get the 4th book in this series tonight and I can't wait until March for the 5th. Definitely recommend this series!

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