River Marked by Patricia Briggs (Mercedes Thompson Series, Book 6)

River Marked by Patricia Briggs (Mercedes Thompson Series, Book 6)

Completion Date: March 12, 2011

Reason for Reading: Next Book in the Series.

Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She’s never known any others of her kind. Until now.

An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River—one that her father’s people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help…

New Mercedes Thompson book. YAY! I wait for these yearly and will be incredibly disappointed when the series comes to an end. They just keep getting better and better. This is by far my favourite in the series. I was a little worried at first because I did know that a lot of the secondary characters that I love play a minor role, but it all worked out. This was a chance to get to know Mercy and Adam better, so they had to be alone in order for that to get the attention it needed. There were still other characters, though, and I thought they were done really well.

Has anyone ever read Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King? That is probably one of my favourite Canadian novels of all time. It is about Native mythology, so characters like Coyote play a key role. I unfortunately read it before blogging, but I strongly recommend it to those that haven't read it. Anyway, this book by Briggs reminded me a lot of King's novel. Or, actually, Charles de Lint. He writes from the same ideas, but he puts his own spin on it. Briggs does about the same. She takes commonly held beliefs and does her own fictional account. She may have almost toppled King off my pedestal, but not quite. She did write my favourite Mercy book so far, though. I love history and mythology, so a book that includes both will have me very excited to begin with. If you can pull if off in a great way, though, I will be in love!

This paragraph will be a bit spoilerish for the previous books, so if you haven't read the series yet, don't read this paragraph. This is the book where Mercy marries Adam. I thought how that all came together was a fun idea. It was also a good way for the secondary characters to have a little bit of page time. The next Alpha & Omega book has been pushed back again, so you need to take what you can get. After this it is just short stories until 2012. There is also some continuation from Stefan after the events from the previous book. That's the thing I like about Briggs, though; she always tries to address on-going story-lines. Stefan is a different sort of vampire from the others in the book. The Scooby Doo idea is hilariously brilliant. It was good that in the midst of everything else that Briggs is trying to address, she finds time to fill the readers in on Stefan.

Okay, safe again. What I absolutely loved about this book was the addition of characters like Coyote. I think that Briggs captured them really well! She kept me glued to the book, so I wound up easily finishing it in essentially one sitting. If you haven't read this series yet, you are really missing out! If you have read this series before and just haven't made it to this book yet, you are in for a treat!!

Many thanks to Penguin Canada for sending me a copy of this book!

Mercedes Thompson Series:

Moon Called (reread)

Blood Bound

Iron Kissed

Bone Crossed

Silver Bourne

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs (Mercedes Thompson Series, Book 5)

All-new action in the #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series

When mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson attempts to return a powerful Fae book she'd previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down.

It seems the book contains secret knowledge-and the Fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side-leaving Mercy to cover for him, lest his own father declare Sam's life forfeit.

All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she might not have many more to live...

Do you ever read the last page of a book and feel like you could cry? Not because the end was sad, but because everything is over and you have leave the characters behind. There are a few authors and series that make me feel like that; so that's part of the reason why I am so slow in reading in series. Some series, though, I have read to completion and have to wait for each new book. Then, it is torture when the book comes out. Should I read it right away or wait until the next book is closer. I just finished the latest book in one series: Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs. This is the fifth installment in the Mercedes Thompson series. With this one, I chose to read it right away, but it was agonizing! I consider Mercy Thompson one of my favourite literary characters, so I am sad that now that I have finished this book I have to wait a year for another one.

One of the problems with reviewing books that are part of series is spoiler issues. If you haven't read this series at all, most anything is a potential spoiler. If you are still a couple books back, I could give away the big plot issues that you are waiting for. I think that is why I am slack in reviewing books lately. I never know what to say. The simplest thing is that this is another fantastic addition to the series. Once again Briggs managed to write a story that was a page-turner and kept you waiting for what was going to happen next. There is a fantastic cast of characters and storylines that have run through the entire series that she chooses this book to start to sum up. This is a paranormal fantasy series, but it is also a bit of a romance, thriller, and adventure story.

When the first book came out I got caught up in the paranormal fantasy genre and read a bunch of different authors and series. Now that it has died down a bit there are only a couple authors that have survived the test of time. Patricia Briggs is one that tops the list, but she joins the company of Kelley Armstrong and Colleen Gleason (even though this series is actually finished, I have not finished reading it...). There are a few others that have potential that I might look into in the future, but as it stands right now this is my 'best of' list. The new book did nothing to destroy that, so I am very happy to once again tell people to really give this series a try. You won't be disappointed!

My thanks to Penguin Canada for sending me this book! This book also counts as a read for the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Fall by Colin McAdam

A masterpiece of adolescent perspective, emotion, impulse, and relationships: the riveting story of two male roommates at a co-ed boarding school and what happens when the girlfriend of one of them goes missing during their final year.

From an internationally acclaimed, prizewinning author, whom critics have compared to Dave Eggers and Michael Ondaatje, comes a tour de force: a mesmerizing novel that is at once a spellbinding psychological thriller and a brilliant portrait of adolescence that goes deep into the heads of two very different boys.

Awkward Noel thinks he's been allowed into the inner circle of his elite boarding school when he discovers his senior-year roommate is to be handsome, athletic Julius. Julius, in turn, cares only for the fleeting joys of teenage life: sneaking out to parties, playing pranks with friends, and most of all, spending the night with his girfriend, Fall. As Noel narrates this fateful semester from a perspective of many years, interwoven is Julius's own in-the-moment experiences of first love and male camaraderie.

Always an outsider, Noel develops an unhealthy fascination with Julius, and his crush on Fall begins to border on a dangerous obsession. As Julius experiences all the pleasures of an eighteen-year-old in love, we watch as Noel self-consciously analyzes his interactions with Julius and Fall, convincing himself of a deep connection that might not exist. When Fall disappears close to winter break, Julius and Noel are forced to face their own inner desires, a confrontation that ushers the two boys out of the innocence of adolescence and into adulthood.

A tremendous literary page-turner that perfectlycaptures the agonies and delights of adolescence, Fall is the exhilaration and angst of teenage love and friendship- and the ultimate transience of those feelings.

From BarnesandNoble.com

I was going to leave 2009 in the past and start fresh for 2010, but there are a few books I read last year and loved. I thought they at least deserved a review. I read this book because it was shortlisted for the Canadian Giller Award. I always plan to read them all, and I own most of them, but my reading always slows down at about this time of the year. Needless to say I did get around to a few of them and this was my favourite so far. There was a time in the middle of the book where I thought it was going to all come crashing down, but McAdam managed to keep the novel alive for me. I was disappointed it didn't win the Giller, but I also haven't read the book that did win yet. If it was better than this one it must be a really great read!

This book takes place in a boarding school, which I have discovered is an aspect of novels that I really enjoy. I am not even sure why, but some of my favourite reads from the last few years have taken place in boarding schools. I thought that McAdam wrote very believable characters that have stayed with me even though a few months have gone by since I have read the book. Even scenes from the novel are still circulating in my mind as I write this review. It is not like it is about things that have never been written about, but it is done in such a way that will keep you on the edge of your seat. While I can not necessarily relate to the experiences that these teens have, I can relate to the emotions that you experience as a teen and are trying to fit in any way that you can. It was a very believable book.

I really think you need to give this book a read. It is easily one of my favourite Canadian reads from 2009. I am looking forward to reading more from McAdam in the future. I think he has a Giller in his future if he can keep up the strengths of this novel.

This was my very first read of a review copy from Penguin Canada. I am very happy that my first experience was a win!