Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson #3)
by Patricia Briggs

Paranormal
304 pages, softcover
Target reader: Adult

Ace
978-0441015665
Release date: January 2008



From the publisher:

"I could smell her fear, and it satisfied something deep inside me that had been writhing under her cool, superior gaze. I curled my upper lip so she could get a good look at my sharp teeth. I might only weigh thirty or so pounds in my coyote shape, but I was a predator..."

Mechanic Mercy Thompson can shift her shape—but not her loyalty. When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to Mercy to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not.
Mercy's loyalty is under pressure from other directions, too. Werewolves are not known for their patience, and if Mercy can't decided between the two she cares for, Sam and Adam may make the choice for her...

Read Chapter 1.

Series book: Moon Called (book 1), Blood Bound (book 2)

About that cover: Once again, I read the e-book and I didn't see this cover until months later. I used my Photoshop skills to blur the image.

This is one of those books where if I tell you very much, I'll give away plot points that would be better for you to discover on your own, as they unfold. I'll just say that the Fae are being murdered and Mercy's old boss is blamed. In her attempt to prove his innocence, she meets some very dangerous creatures who try to kill her and in the process acquires some magical objects. Mercy also finally chooses between Samuel and Adam.

While the characterization is still stellar—it's what Patricia Briggs does best—the plotting and storyline aren't quite as good as the first two books. It was interesting and kept me reading but there seemed to be a lot of repetition of certain lines of thought. It wasn't as tightly written as the others.

The language is both more frequent and more intense. The violence was ramped up—more murder, more blood and gore, more Fae trying to eat Mercy. There is a homosexual relationship, which had been referred to in the previous books but is more obvious in this one. We also learn of some of the details of Ben's sordid past and what makes him as ornery as he is at times.

There is also a rape scene that is disturbing both in its brutality and unexpectedness. It's at the end of the story and I'm not sure why it was included. It didn't seem to be integral to the plot or character development, other than as one more way to show how evil the Fae murderer was. It was so shocking to me that it colored the entire experience of reading the book in a negative way.

I may have to take a break from the Mercy books for awhile.


Plot:

Characters:

Ending:

Cover: Too sexy. I'd be embarrassed for anyone to see me reading it.



Content Ratings

Language: Quite a bit of swearing; some of it strong.

Violence: Murders, forced suicide, blood and gore, ripping of victims to pieces, rape.

Drugs/Alcohol: Adult drinking.

Immorality: Rape. Ends with the implication that Mercy and her declared boyfriend are going to be physically intimate, but there are no details.

Values/Themes: Not sure what the message of the book is, except that evil is really evil and violence happens to everyone. Pretty depressing.

Age Appropriate: Teens are reading this, but it's definitely for mature adults.

Writing Mechanics: Rambling and repetitious in places.


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