Blood Boundby Patricia Briggs
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780441014736
Series: Mercy Thompson #2
Publication Date: January 30, 2007
Pages: 292
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ace
Mercy has friends in low places—and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind. But this new vampire is hardly ordinary—and neither is the demon inside of him.
When the undead and the werewolves sent to find him don’t return, the local vampire queen turns to Mercy for help. A coyote is no match for a demon, but Mercy is determined to get her friends back—including the two werewolves circling around her heart.
A tad darker than the books I usually enjoy, Blood Bound sort of rides that edge of what I enjoy reading and what I’d rather put down and move on from. Though as I start to read more and more books similar to Mercy Thompson, it’s not easy to keep saying that. But, I really enjoyed it, in spite of it’s slightly darker intensity. Most of that can be contributed to my ‘bonding’ with the characters in the first book, so I found myself really wanting to know what was going to happen to all of them this time around.
I’m one who thinks you can never have too much humor, and there was enough throughout the dialog to keep things from becoming positively moribund.
The plot line is definitely dark stuff and the author gets big kudo’s from me for giving Mercy faith and using it as a strength, without becoming evangelical about it. She strikes a nice balance – Mercy is never, ever, preachy or superior, but she doesn’t hesitate to use that faith as a tool in her arsenal. Well done.
The climax was intense but I didn’t find it overly done and it didn’t drag out either. Following the sometimes labyrinthine vampire politics took some concentration, which at times I didn’t always have (especially when I’m picking the book up after a long day at work), but it added a level of intrigue that kept the plot from being too obvious.
I had my doubts about a were-based series – they aren’t my favorite paranormal species, but I’m really liking Adam and Warren and Bran. I’m looking forward to picking up the third book.