Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, Book 2) | Patricia Briggs | Vampires and Werewolves and Demons....Oh...

Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, Book 2) | Patricia Briggs | Have Mercy on Me........

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Blood Bound (Mercy...

	Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, Book 2) Patricia Briggs Ace, 2007 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 144 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Mechanic Mercy Thompson 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.

Vampires and Werewolves and Demons....Oh My!

"Like most people that own their own businesses, I work long hours that start early in the morning. So when someone calls me in the middle of the night, they'd better by dying. "Hello, Mercy," said Stefan's amicable voice in my ear, "I wonder if you could do me a favor." Stefan had done his dying a long time ago, so I saw no reason to be nice."

Stefan is Mercy's vampire friend. If you could possibly call a vampire a friend, that is. And yes, she owes him a favor. He had gone to bat for her with his seethe when she had some werewolf trouble, and now he is calling in that favor. Stefan has been asked to investigate the appearance of a new vampire in town. One that didn't ask permission from the seethe, which is a big no-no in the vampire community. And Stefan wants Mercy to come along as a witness, in case something happens. He needs her for 2 reasons. Because she is a Walker, she is virtually immune to the powers of a vampire. And she can shapeshift into a coyote and no one will know who she is.

So Mercy goes along on the meeting. But when they meet up with this vampire, she knows that trouble has come to the Tri-Cities. Not only is he a vampire, but a sorcerer.....that has let a demon inside. He actually had the ability to control Stefan, and he's about the most powerful vampire around. And now this new vampire's bloodlust is causing a rather large body-count. Which for a group of vampires that don't want the human world to know their existence is big trouble.

What can I say? This is one fantastic series!! Mercy is tough as nails, funny, and exceedingly humble. I just love her! Strong female characters are always good for me, and Mercy is definitely one of the best. The main storyline is fascinating, as we learn a lot more about the vampire community. And Mercy's lovelife is only getting weirder. Not only is she caught in the middle between 2 dominant werewolves, now there is a little something with Stefan the vampire! Blood Bound is ever bit as good as the first book, Moon Called. Maybe better. I can't wait to see where Mercy goes next!!

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Have Mercy on Me........

This book was exciting from start to finish. I would have loved to see more of some Mercy and Adam interaction though.

Another Winner in an Exceptionally Strong Series

This series is so strong and chock-a-block with interesting characters, backstories, settings, etc., that it makes me want to write the author and beg her to write faster. I noticed that she stepped away from this series to create another book, but I'm anticipating that means the next book in THIS series will only be better. We have the expected paranormal background--the outsiders inching towards a place in society--but the spin on this series is the level of detail in Western European myths (world of the fae, etc.)and the touch of Native American stories of "walkers"--individuals able to assume the identity of native animals. Great bits like all smaller "animals" must wear dog tags so they can be returned to their owners and not impounded, the wish to be playful in animal form, returning sticks and balls with little children all create a different world than the more typical paranormal book soaked in too much blood, gore and questionable sexual activity. This series I would recommend to a teen finishing up the "Twilight" series rather than others in this genre. Every book in the series is a keeper.

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Great Addition, Superb Writing!

Book Two, "Blood Bound", of the Mercy Thompson story is just as good as the first book, while expanding the world Mercy inhabits. In "Moon Called", Mercy is called upon to repay her debt to Stefan, her vampire friend who helped in the first book. When dealing with vampires and other supernatural creatures, repaying debts is important. Honor matters.

Mercy repays the debt, but ends up getting more than she bargained for, as usual. What is nice about this novel is that mercy really doesn't want to be a hero. She tries to stay out of the main fights/investigations, but unfortunately, due to her specific talents and the nature of the evil they are facing, she has to throw herself into the fray once more.

Without going into the plot, as much can be ruined that way, this novel is just as good as the first, mainly due to pacing and Mercy. She is by far my favorite heroine in a long time. When reading novels I'm usually thinking "What doesn't she just do ?" Well, Mercy almost always does what a person with some common sense would do, while also going the extra mile to a bit more. I like it when the main character is intelligent enough to have contingency plans.

The romance is still there, but very much a back burner to the mystery and suspense of the story. My only complaint is that I have only one more book in this series before I have to spend 4 months waiting for book four, "Bone Crossed", to come out. Sad, that.

If you like urban fantasy or tough women, you should be reading this series! Heck, if you just like characters written as if they were real people, instead of supernatural creatures alone, you will love this entire series.

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Oh my, Mercy me...

Mechanic and walker Mercy Thompson just can't get a break. A rogue vampire-daemon-possessed killer is on the loose, leaving a trail of bodies hard to miss in the small town of Tri-Cities, WA. Worse, Stefan is collecting her debt to him. At the same time opening the door for the Mistress of the seethe to use Mercy as she sees fit, and she's got a hungry eye on a woman who can see ghosts, slip through the magical pull of most supernatural beings and has more loyalty and guts than most normal human beings. They hope. And good thing she's not really that human.

To add to the stress, she's not only fighting between the attraction between two dominant werewolves, Adam and Samuel, but Mercy also has to contend with a third, and surprising potential love interest. But romance takes a deep backseat when her friends go missing, and the daemon-vampire Cory Littleton only has eyes for Mercy.

This second installment, while pretty good and considering most second books in a series tend to be much weaker, Blood Bound made for an exciting and pulse-pounding tale of a woman who just can't back down when the people she cares about are in trouble. What scant restrained romance element there was, it was well done and keeps me hanging on. And I need more.

This one was more horror than real fantasy or otherwise, which is fine. And there were a few scenes with the vampires that was so well done, it gave me the creeps, a Clive Barker-esque sort of chill.

That being said, the weaknesses in Book 2 falls into the category that all authors tend to fall into. It seems that in order to reduce the candied and emptier versions of most vampire/were/witch/ghost series, and to make it more substantial with real emotional weight and character driven plots to ensnare the reader (and she's quite effective anyways), Mercy herself and other characters tended to 'talk' a lot. Talking about the mechanics of their world, its functions, explanations, to understand what is going on with the story at hand, is necessary but Briggs tended to just go on and on in several places. While inherently, that's almost unavoidable, because too little and it's just as tedious, Mercy herself became much more impersonal than she should have, considering the state of things in the story. At one point, all her friends are either mortally hurt or MIA, yet she's so calm and detached, almost not really that worried that they could all be dead. I hope Briggs doesn't fall into the fatalistic female heroine trap (think a la Eileen Wilkes. And, yes, LKH--and we all know how that series went down real south). Mercy is in danger of becoming that focal point in story where she's this invincible hero, but y'know, with everyday and girly problems, and men throwing themselves at her, minus the sex. Mercy went from girl next-door neighbor mechanic to Wonder Walker. Book 1 was so intriguing because Mercy really WAS a normal person, messing up but handling it a realistic way that I could relate too. She's not as relatable in this book, just...very supernatural and removed from that elemental normalcy that Book 1 had in spades. Stories that try to have booth vulnerable female leads but tough as nails hard-liners is a hard thin line to walk upon, but hopefully Briggs can manage the balance a bit better in Book 3. She's very talented and a fresh breath of air, so I have great hopes.

Also, there are also two endings which, after reading it complete, I didn't mind. But when you get to where it 'feels' like it should be done, and the movement completely stills because it's a scene with Adam, and you know what that werewolf wants and is thinking. But you can't help thinking: there's still thirty pages left? Even though you know what she's planning, it threw me. Then again, it's the calm right ahead of the storm before the final calm, and is a primer for Book 3.

All in all: a well-worthy second book. And I can't wait to start the third, something I both relish and dread.

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