booksandcats
Written on Mar 10, 2022
Mercy Thompson has been hailed as “a heroine who...always remains true to herself” (Library Journal). 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?
- ISBN10 0425256294
- ISBN13 9780425256299
- Publish Date 31 January 2017 (first published 8 March 2016)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint Ace Books
- Format Paperback (US Mass Market)
- Pages 320
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425256299
Reviews
Berls
Written on Mar 30, 2020
Quirky Cat
Written on Apr 30, 2019
This series is amazing for a lot of reasons, but one of them is the sheer amount of supernatural creatures Mercy comes up against. In Fire Touched Mercy is forced to face off against various fae, all of them more or less hoping for the same goal (with a few exceptions).
Warnings: The fae are not known for their kindness. There is abuse mentioned here, as well as the implied abuse and torture of children and people with the appearance of children.
Fire Touched was a whirlwind of a story, to put it lightly. It frequently looked like our heroes were in over their heads, and Mercy's mouth didn't exactly help the situation any. Though for the record I agree with her decision and declaration.
I absolutely love the way that fae are represented in Patricia Briggs' novels. They're dark and dangerous, but their motivations are as different as all humans are from one another. It's brilliant, and it makes it impossible to tell their motives as a whole, thus making them an even larger threat.
In Fire Touched many of the fae were of the same opinion and seeking the same goal. But the way they went about it was different. Some were more political in their attempts, willing to negotiate. Others were fully content to burn through the city – thus ruining any chance of peace with the humans – to get what they want.
Oh, and did I mention that what they wanted was a person who by all appearances is a child? He was kidnapped back when he was truly a child, and his exposure to fae magic has given him the ability to control and create fire. Unfortunately, his nature also makes the fae jealous of him. He can go where they cannot, and thus a threat.
The dynamics of this situation were very carefully laid out. You can tell that Patricia Briggs put a lot of thought into it. And honestly, it was impossible not to feel awful for this kid. Even knowing that he wasn't technically a kid.
The way Mercy and the pack got into this mess was absolutely amazing. It started out as a call to join a fight – that alone is impressive, since the humans reached out to the werewolves. And then it turned into a declaration and offer of protection. All of which came from Mercy.
Mercy's proclamation was without a doubt the right call. Adam himself said that he would have said and done the same thing, had he been capable of doing so. But by her being the one to do it, it upped the tension within the pack. This pretty much forced the building tension and general wariness against her out into the open. While Mercy would have preferred to deal with it, Adam had other things in mind. All of which proves that my theory about Adam was right (that he had been letting her fight her own battles because he knew it was her preference, not because he enjoyed watching her suffer).
On the whole I'm loving the newly revealed pack dynamics, and how Aiden fits into it all. I hope Aiden stays with the pack long term. And I swear I'm not just saying that because I'm still curious about him (though that is part of it).
I'm looking forward to started Silence Fallen next in my binge read session. It looks amazing.
For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
jesstheaudiobookworm
Written on Jun 15, 2017
liz089
Written on Jan 8, 2017
Though I did like this part a little less. I don't know why, but i could not really get into it. The plot seemed chaotic, and I missed the red line through the story so to say.
Apart from that, it was great to have Mercy back and I'm very curious how some events in this book will have an influence on the future.
Rating is more like a 3.5, but I will round it up to 4, because Mercy 3
Heather
Written on Mar 24, 2016
Can I just say how much I hate the covers of these books? Look at that picture. Mercy in the books has a Native American father. I appreciate the fact that they aren't whitewashing the cover but come on. Long feather earrings and two braids? On a mechanic? And what is with the clothes? She never, ever is described as dressing in shirts tied into improvised halter tops. She doesn't show skin at all. She also is described as having one small coyote print tattoo but look at her arms. Impressive collection of tattoos but way off the mark.
Anyway, in this book Mercy is still trying to make some members of the pack accept her as their Alpha's mate. That gives her status over them. It hasn't been going well. She isn't a werewolf and she keeps getting them into trouble. Now she has made a proclamation that the pack with protect any supernaturals in their territory from the Fae.
I don't know. I just wasn't a huge fan of this one. I like the series but this one felt flat to me. I've read several reviews that said that the readers felt like this was a big leap forward in the relationship between Mercy and Adam but I don't get it. He did stand up for her in the pack but their interactions together sounded distant and strained. Maybe it is because I've gotten used to the warmth of the relationships in Briggs' Alpha and Omega series that the more subdued relationship here seems odd.
Nothing really happened in the plot either. It sounds like there is going to be a war. The beginning with a fight with a troll is action packed but after that it is all political maneuvering and sitting around waiting for things to happen until the end. This definitely didn't have a "can't put down" quality in the middle. The ending did have an unexpectedly sad moment though.
One highlight of this book for me was Baba Yaga.
I love her. She is an old witch in Russian folklore who makes an appearance here to help in the fight with the Fae whether anyone wants her help or not. The book picked up whenever she appeared.
Bottom line:
This is a weak entry in a great series but it still worth reading or listening to if you have enjoyed the rest of the books.
This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story
Chelsea
Written on Mar 15, 2016
Quick Thoughts
1. Not the best Mercy book but still a great addition.
2. I was a little disappointed that we didn't see many of the other wolves or other characters we love. I know there's a lot though and it's hard to write them all in. All I'm asking is that we see more of them next time!
3. I think I'm happy with how things are turning out with the pack. I like that they're growing as humans and as wolves.
4. The plot didn't suck me in quite as much as the other books did. The start was great but then the ending climax wasn't as exciting as it should have been. It was a little bland.
5. It's still a Mercy book so it's hard not to love it. It was still great, just not quite as good as the other books.
Linda
Written on Mar 15, 2016
A visit with Mercy Thompson usually leaves me satisfied and happy, and Fire Touched is no different. This story had a little bit of everything that makes the series amazing.
There is a lot going on in Fire Touched! There is a troll going amok on a bridge, Baba Yaga shows up saying she might be able to help Mercy, and Adam takes a stand when it comes to the pack - after Mercy takes a stand when it comes to her city and what the fey think will happen in the future. It's fast-paced, and Mercy has to use her wits as much as her other skills in order to not only survive, but to keep the people she loves safe as well.
I love how Briggs manages to keep everything interesting in the Mercy Thompson series! And how intense the relationship between Adam and Mercy continues to be. The sexy banter between them, as well as the strong feelings they share for each other even after having been together for a while is one reason I enjoy this series so much. I love that Adam can be scared for Mercy, but still manages to let her be strong on her own, to make decisions that are best for the pack, even if she might be in danger. And the show-down with the pack - which was a long time coming - was so well done!
As you may have already surmised, I have nothing but compliments and high praise for Fire Touched. I was completely engrossed with the story, there is a lot of action, new and old characters with an agenda, a bit of new information coming from unlikely sources as well as love, friendship and that strong loyalty that always keeps me coming back for more. The character growth continues to be above par, and it's such a treat to visit with Mercy and her friends and frenemies, to see how they all interact, and the lengths those who love each other will go to in order to protect each other.
Bran made some very hard decisions, and while I could completely understand his reasons for doing so, I also wanted to kick him for it. And I can't wait to see what will happen in future books in the series. Fire Touched has its own full story arch while still managing to set up future books as well - it is definitely a feat to manage that without having a book feel like a filler! Briggs managed to do so with brio, though.
If something dire was going to happen, in my experience, it would happen whatever I was doing - and waiting around was singularly useless. So I worked.
Not all packs had the resources that we did. Money was a good thing to have in a werwolf pack. Werewolves had to work to control their wolves and too much stress made it worse. Lack of money was stressful.
He threw his head back and laughed. Adam... Adam tried to downplay it with a military haircut and clothes that were subtly the wrong color - I'd just figured that one out - but he was beautiful. Like magazine-model beautiful. I didn't always see it anymore, the inside being more interesting than the outer package, but with his eyes sparkling and his dimple flashing...
MurderByDeath
Written on Mar 13, 2016
Maybe my favourite of the nine books so far. It was fast-paced, a little bit breathless and everybody pulled their heads out of their... and started acting like a unit instead of a roomful of kids hyped up on too much birthday cake.
Fire Touched took a page of out Zee's book of philosophy and played no games; there weren't any sly plots on the side, no melodramatic angst, no misapprehensions or misunderstandings. It was a welcome change to have a story where Mercy and Adam worked together from beginning to end. I loved that Zee got a lot more page-time and I think it might be a little wrong how much I liked Baba Yaga's character. These two and Margaret's cameo made up for the absence of Samuel and the small bit with Bran (although I loved this scene, with Charles playing invisible chorus).
I'd have liked to have known more about Aiden's power (how it works) and his past, although I did enjoy learning a bit more about Underhill and, I don't know if the author intended this or not, I liked the allegory of mankind's treatment of Earth.
At the end of the book, I had a feeling it lacked a very small something, but on thinking about it, I think that's more about my expectation of side plots and melodrama (because let's face it, that's pretty much SOP in most books) going unfulfilled than anything of substance actually missing. I went 4.5 stars because as much as I really enjoyed the plotting, the writing and the characters, fae politics just aren't that fascinating to me, and that's purely personal taste. I'm looking forward to seeing what Briggs does next.
Silvara
Written on Mar 6, 2016
I received this book for free from Ace in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Fair warning: Once I picked this book up, I didn't put it down again until I'd finished it. So be prepared to spend an entire day doing nothing but reading!
All the books in this series have been amazing, this one being no less so. Trolls, fae, fire magic, pack politics, a sentient faerie home, and Baba Yaga suck you in from the first pages. We get more of Mercy and Adam being cute, as well as appearances from old favorites like Bran, Zee and Tad.
Besides the pack politics, we also get fae politics, bargains and exchanges. I liked Aiden once he'd loosened up a bit, and I liked the scenes with Mercy trying to explain human culture/manners to him. We didn't get Coyote actually showing up in this book, but he was mentioned a number of times. Jesse is growing up, and she's becoming more sassy. I loved her bickering with Aiden.
I love the twists that were thrown in, and how it seems to be setting up for something that will both challenge, and change Mercy, Adam and the pack, and the entire Tri-City area. I can hardly wait to see how it plays out in the next book, and what new and exciting things will happen because of it.
If you haven't read this book yet, this is your "nudge" to do so!
This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon