Moon Called

So I'm currently working on my first DIY post for you. I'm really excited about it and can't wait to share it. But my perfectionist side has to have it just right before I do so...So until then I'm going to share one of my favorite books with you. But first a little about how I discovered it.

About three years ago one of my co-workers won a Kindle in a door prize drawing at a conference he was attending. He's not big on reading but knew that I was and so he offered to sell it to me. I jumped at the chance and $80 later had my very own Kindle. Until then I was staunchly anti-e-reader. "They'll never replace books." I said. "I prefer the tactile feel and beautiful smell of paper." I opined. "Books have a marvelous weight to them that en e-reader doesn't have. And I'd miss turning the pages." I stated smugly. And to this day I maintain I am and was right on all counts. However...I'm not ashamed to admit that I love, adore and couldn't live without my Kindles (yes...two. I've actually owned three, but the first one I bought died a tragic death, saving my life. A traumatic experience for me.) and have passed it on to many of my co-workers and friends.

The best thing about a Kindle (or any other e-reader really, I'm just very devoted to the Kindle brand) is that if you like to read trilogies and series like I do then you never have to worry about the next book being at the book store. Its always there, unless it hasn't been published yet. I can't tell you how many times would finish a book and want to immediately start reading the next in the series only to find when I get to the bookstore that they don't have it in stock. They'd have the one before and the one after but not the one I NEEDED. Harumph! I quickly discovered that was not the case with my lovely Kindle. Which is great for me because one of the first series I read on it was the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs and I was so instantly captivated that by the time I finished it within 2 minutes I had the next in the series downloaded. So enough rhapsodizing about my Kindle and on to the book...

The first book in the Mercy Thompson Series is called Moon Called.

Moon Called
Book One in the Mercy Thompson Series
By Patricia Briggs

Don't let the cover fool you...this book is great. Honestly the whole series is stupendous. Briggs is great at character development. By the end of this book I was salivating for the next and it didn't even end in a cliffhanger. It was just that engaging for me.

Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson is a coyote skinwalker. This means she is both human and coyote. She is not a were-anything though and her changes are not dictated by the moon. She can choose when or if to shift anytime she wants and she doesn't have to shift at all if she doesn't want to. Mercy is very much an anomaly in her world, which contains werewolves, vampires and Fae. In fact the Fae have made their existence known to humans and vampires aren't far behind them. But to Mercy's knowledge there is no one else in the world like her.

Mercy is also a mechanic, working primarily on VW's and other German makes (she doesn't miss the irony of a mechanic named Mercedes who works on VW's) and owns her own garage, which she bought from her outted Fae friend Zee. Our story begins when a young boy, about 15 years old enters her garage asking for a days work under the table. Mercy can smell that he is a werewolf (being part coyote has a few advantages, not many though as we quickly learn) and that he is afraid. Making a snap decision Mercy agrees to hire him and puts him to work.

Now she has to decide if she is going to take Mac (the kid) to her closest neighbor Adam Hauptman, who is the local werewolf alpha so that he can possibly be integrated with Adam's pack. Adam is stern and often threatens to kill Mercy's cat when it wanders onto his property. He and Mercy have a relatively good relationship but she is unsure how he will react to a seemingly new, rogue werewolf in his territory and not knowing the dynamics of his pack worries that Adam will have Mac killed to keep him from endangering his pack.

No good deed goes unpunished as Mercy soon learns when she finds Mac involved in a struggle with a couple werewolves not of Adam's pack. She assists him and this is where the action and trouble begins. She will have to rely on Adam and make a return journey to the Montana werewolf pack she was raised by to help Mac and save Adam's daughter Jesse after she is kidnapped.

I loved this book more than I can say. Mercy is immediately engaging and witty and the dynamic between Mercy, Adam and Samuel (a werewolf from Mercy's past who lives with her foster family in Montana) is enticing without being over done.

This series is very much Urban Fantasy and as such there is very little sex in the entire series and none in this book. This is not to say however that there is no romance. But our Mercy is not one to jump in and out of bed with just anyone. She is practical, even if, like her coyote counterpart, prone to getting into trouble.

Have you read Moon Called? If so, leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I'm excited to discuss with you.