Title: Fire Touched
Series: Mercy Thompson #9
Author: Patricia Briggs
Release Date: March 8, 2016
Mercy Thompson has been hailed as “a heroine who continues to grow and yet always remains true to herself.”* Now she’s back, and she’ll soon discover that when the fae stalk the human world, it’s the children who suffer...
Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.
Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?
*Library Journal
I have followed this series from day one. I have read every new addition, and re-read the earlier ones more than once. To say it's a favorite would be an understatement. I love the growth from the characters. That's really what keeps you reading after so many books. People change a little every day, and good characters should be no different. These characters learn, they evolve, their relationships mature and develop. New strengths are honed and perfected. Old hardships are resolved, or at least dealt with in a way that doesn't leave them to come up and be a new/old source of drama at every turn. Relationships are never static, they evolve and grow, whether together or apart, just as in real life.
As always, there is an outside conflict that touches on Mercy's life. It hits home just as hard for Adam, as this is a danger that threatens his territory, his pack, and the people he feels responsible for. This sets in motion a series of events that bring several simmering conflicts to a head. The pack's disrespect for Mercy, the Fae's retreat from the world of the human, and the continued fear and prejudice from the humans towards the wolves and the Fae. You're given a wholly new insight into "Underhill", seeing it as the entity it is, and into the politics of the Fae.
It was lovely seeing Mercy solve so much and receive so much aid from those she has developed a relationship with. It's one of those situations where you get what you give, and she's given so much throughout the series that seeing so much of it being returned by those she wouldn't normally be able to trust was refreshing. Her relationship with Adam has grown so strong, and being able to appreciate the intensity of it, even without graphic scenes, is also a testament to its power. An innuendo, a "nudge" and you know exactly where it's going. Fade to black, imagination take over.
The continued presence of so many well-loved characters, the explained absence of some old favorites, and the seamless introduction of the new keep this series revolving, and never stagnating. It was a one sitting read, devoured as all the others have been, and leaving me with nothing so much as the desire for yet even more.
~ Review by George
#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs lives in Washington State with her husband, children, and a small herd of horses.
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