Review – Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (3/5 stars)

This is another new series that I picked up to read. I have read a lot of preternatural series and I was hoping this would be a good one. I know Patricia Briggs has written a lot of fantasy in the past and I was curious about what she would write for this alternative reality-type series.

This is the first book in the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Mercy is an auto mechanic who is also a walker. As a walker she can change into coyote shape. She was raised by werewolves and does a lot of auto mechanic work for the preternatural community. When a boy shows up on her doorstep looking for work at the garage, Mercy finds out he is a new unclaimed werewolf. From there on everything gets complicated and dangerous.

There were somethings I liked about this book but more things I disliked. I liked the fact that it is hinted that Mercy’s walker powers are not yet fully discovered. I liked Mercy’s honest character and her tough girl facade. I also liked that Mercy knew where to draw the line most of the time. If she knew a situation was out of her league she usually admitted it. I also like the addition of fae into the novel and I especially enjoyed Mercy’s old teacher Zee. I liked that the novel was fast-paced and fun; it was easy to read too.

Unfortunately there was a lot I didn’t like. The whole situation between Mercy and Samuel echoes the situation between Anita Blake and Richard a bit too much for my comfort. I found that I didn’t really like any of the main characters all that much; most of them fell flat for me. There wasn’t anything all that special about the writing either. For the most part the book was written in a straightforward style with little description; the book never really grabbed me and made me desperately want to finish it.

All in all I liked this book better than the recent Anita Blake books but I liked it a lot less than the Kim Harrison Hallows books or the Jim Butcher Dresden books. The book was okay, just nothing special to me. I already bought the next two books in the series (I found then for cheap used) so I will probably read the next one and see if I get more into this world and the characters. I was a bit disappointed that this wasn’t something a bit more special.