This one is a little hard for me to rate. I am having a hard time pulling my scattered thoughts together about this book but I'll try to be as clear aThis one is a little hard for me to rate. I am having a hard time pulling my scattered thoughts together about this book but I'll try to be as clear as possible.
First of all, I honestly think that the reason I am struggling to put my thoughts down is that I bought into the hype of this series. I think that I hyped it up too much in my mind so I am feeling a little disappointed that it didn't fully meet my expectations. I am not saying that I didn't like or enjoy this book, because I did. I just expected to be over the moon with it and instead, I am finding that there are numerous things about the book that are just nagging at me.
The storytelling style wasn't my favorite. It felt like much of the story fell victim to telling instead of showing the reader. There was an enormous amount of information dumping, especially in the beginning. I felt like some of those things would have been better discovered throughout the natural course of the story through scenes and character interactions and experiences rather than simply having the main character monologuing internally. A little bit of information dumping is fine but too much just slows the story down and makes it impersonal to the reader.
The world-building was excellent. The world was described vividly and it had a distinct feeling to it.
This book has a large cast of characters. At first, it was kind of difficult to keep everyone straight in my mind. I actually had to find a Mercy Thompson wiki online to help me keep things straight. I liked Mercy's character well enough but there were things about her that nagged at me. I think that I was just a little disappointed because the Mercy I got was not the one that I had envisioned. I pictured Mercy as a total badass that kicked tail and took names and that wasn't exactly what I got. The hype about her character really messed with me. Mercy was certainly headstrong and capable but she was very inexperienced and unknowledgeable. There were other things that irked me as well. For instance, Mercy lived in a werewolf community practically her whole life, and yet she oftentimes seemed ignorant to their ways. She also seemed ignorant to the workings of other supernaturals and I found that odd. She was just hyped as being a total badass when she was really just an inexperienced girl who was brave. The other characters I liked well enough. I wouldn't say that I was overly connected to them though. They were likable but not entirely memorable. They were just lackluster and missing that spark. Many of them were mysterious and made me want to know more about them though. I am curious about how their characters will develop as the series continues.
The romance was hard to pin down. Mercy had several potential love interests with hints here and there for each one. She had a history with Samuel and even loved him. She and Adam had strange-ish chemistry and he seems super possessive of her even though she isn't part of his pack. Sam said that Adam had claimed Mercy as his mate in front of his pack but there really wasn't any further explanation about that. There wasn't really any real romance in the book until the last few pages and it was a whisper of romance at best. Mercy's thought process at the very end leaves possibilities open for her as she explores her feelings and who she really wants to be with. I guess we'll see how it goes for her in the next book. This is a verrrrry slow-burn story so far.
This is probably a personal preference but I didn't really care for all the religious undertones in the first half of the book. I don't mind spiritual characters at all, but it starts to scratch at my skin if I notice it too heavily.
Lastly, I'd like to note that I listened to this book on audio. I think that this also plays into my overall feeling and rating for this book. I honestly didn't much care for the narration. I thought that the narrator was skilled, so it isn't that. It just felt like this voice actor was not the best fit for Mercy's character. I could not get into the story as much because her voice just felt wrong to me for Mercy. Unfortunately, it was just a feeling that I couldn't shake while listing to the book. And like it or not, the performance in an audiobook can really impact the way we experience a story.
Overall, I know that this review may sound fairly negative but it really isn't. I enjoyed this book and I will definitely be continuing the series. I would definitely recommend this book. Briggs has created an interesting urban fantasy world with likable characters. I think that this series has a lot of potential and I am curious to see what kind of journey Briggs takes us on.
Vanessa Gayle ⚔️
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Books:
2006-release
(1)
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