Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, #1)

by Patricia Briggs

THE FIRST MERCY THOMPSON NOVEL!

Moon Called is the novel that introduced Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson to the world and launched a #1 bestselling phenomenon... 

Mercy Thompson is a shapeshifter, and while she was raised by werewolves, she can never be one of them, especially after the pack ran her off for having a forbidden love affair. So she’s turned her talent for fixing cars into a business and now runs a one-woman mechanic shop in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State.

But Mercy’s two worlds are colliding. A half-starved teenage boy arrives at her shop looking for work, only to reveal that he’s a newly changed werewolf—on the run and desperately trying to control his animal instincts. Mercy asks her neighbor Adam Hauptman, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack, for assistance. 

But Mercy’s act of kindness has unexpected consequences that leave her no choice but to seek help from those she once considered family—the werewolves who abandoned her...

“In the increasingly crowded field of kick-ass supernatural heroines, Mercy stands out as one of the best.”—Locus

• ISBN10: 0441019277
• ISBN13: 9780441019274
• Publish Date: 2 March 2010 (first published 31 January 2006)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 16 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Ace Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 324
• Language: English

Reviews

[booksandcats]

I started this series yesterady and then stayed up all night because I couldn't put it down. I loved it, it was so soo good.

Mercy is cool, she is badass and can hold her own, but is very aware that she isn't "naturally" powerful, and that she is weaker than a lot of other People she encounters. She makes up for it with her brains and quick wit. It's also really interesting how she is able to deal with the more dominant alpha werewolves. She is, after just her first book, definitely up there in my list of favorite female characters.

The world in itself is also interesting, so far not too unique compared to other Urban fantasy settings, but well thought through and with much potential. Basically our world with hidden magical races like the fae, werewolves, vampires etc who are all slowly coming out to humans.

What I maybe loved most are the side characters and their interraction with Mercy, I can't wait to read more about all of them in book 2. Highly recommend.

[Berls]

Just as good as I remembered! It's the first time I've done it in audio at all and that was weird, just because it's the same narrator as Charley Davidson and I kept thinking of myself there. But still very good narration. I'm glad I decided to join in on the read along and reread it.

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

~*Check out all my reviews over on The Bent Bookworm!*~

“I have a degree in history, which is one of the reasons I’m an auto mechanic.”

Somehow, I am only now getting into the very popular and long-running Mercy Thompson series. It’s been recommended to me for years, but I put it off…and now I am in the fortunate position of having 11 books to binge if I so choose…my library has all of the main books, but I think I’ll have to hunt down the many, many side short stories.

Can we just take a moment and lament this unfortunate cover? *eyeroll* I really, really hate cover art of this style. I literally refuse to buy physical copies of books with covers that use solely sex appeal to sell. Thankfully, there is an alternative cover version of these, which I did buy after deciding this was a series I could enjoy over the long term.

“Honey,” he drawled, pulling on his Southern roots. “When a wolf watches a lamb, he’s not thinking of the lamb’s mommy.”
I grinned. I couldn’t help it. The idea of Bran as a lamb’s mommy was too funny. “I’m not much of a lamb,” I said.

Things I Liked

- There is just so much wit infused through the entire book. I chuckled so many times and belly-laughed a few times as well. Mercy has such a dry sense of humor, I loved it.
- The age-old werewolves vs. vampires thing is present, which makes it easy for anyone remotely familiar with that mythology to jump into this story.
- Politics, brawls, and feelings – there’s a mess of all three, and I feel like there is SO MUCH backstory for all the main characters yet to be explored.

Things I Didn’t Like

- I was not entirely convinced of the attraction between Mercy and Bran. It felt a little forced. Also, I’m kind of terrified it’s going to turn into something a la Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum and her never-ending-on-again-off-again relationship.
- The guys don’t seem to entirely respect Mercy. They’re forced by circumstances to let her participate, but they keep trying to baby her. ARGH!

If You Liked…

- Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, you’ll probably like this series. Very similar in setting, but with a female main character and different tone.


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[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4.5★ Audiobook⎮ Let me start by saying that I will, without a doubt, be continuing on with this series. The discovery of it has made my week. The Mercy Thompson series is one of those that has been on my peripheral radar for a while now, but I hadn’t seriously considered giving it a try until just recently.

I’ve been on a paranormal kick as of late, giving a few new series a shot, and Moon Called has made the biggest impression on me. I was most taken with the main character, Mercy Thompson, and how strong of a female protagonist she is. I’m used to only seeing male protagonists written this well, which is a big reason for my general distaste of the portrayal of female main characters.

The way Patricia Briggs writes Mercy Thompson is so refreshing that I could almost feel my soul sigh with relief. Mercy has such a strong flavor of character that she effortlessly comes to life in my mind. She is strongly, richly and distinctly developed. This may be premature, but Mercy Thompson definitely has the potential to become my all-time favorite protagonist.

I’ve always struggled with Werewolf/Shifter storylines, but I have never given up on finding one that satisfies me. I nearly swore it off altogether after struggling with Maggie Stiefvater’s Wolves of Mercy Falls series, despite loving all of her other work. Moon Called is much more well-developed and less trope-ish altogether. This is a story you can sink into like a hot bath.

The world of Mercy Thompson is home to several kinds of paranormal creatures, Werewolves, Demons, Vampires, Witches, Shifters, and they all have a place. Briggs saw to that with her intricate and enveloping style of world building. Still, I got the impression that she was pacing herself for the rest of the series (10+ books). Pacing is something else Patricia Briggs did exceedingly well. She magnificently combined world and character development with an action plot, leaving everything feeling perfectly balanced.

There was even a wee bit of romance, but it definitely took a backseat to everything else. In my opinion, Briggs definitely had her priorities straight and was very much in tune with who Mercy is as a character. Forcing a romance into a larger part of the spotlight would have felt untrue to Mercy’s development and what I feel Briggs was trying to accomplish by writing her in this way. There is romance in Mercy’s past (and most likely in her future), but in Moon Called, we were given the chance to become very well acquainted with Mercy as an individual. If a romance does develop in future installments (as it probably will), it will feel like a natural progression in Mercy’s life, not a plot requirement.

I’m super excited to begin the next installment in this series and fall more in love with Mercy and her world!

Narration review: Lorelai King gave an outstanding performance in Moon Called. King’s work is as new to me as Briggs’ and I’m enamored with them both. King’s narration lent an air of maturity and seriousness to Mercy’s character that enhanced Briggs’ depiction of her. Everything King did, from her timing to her characterization and tone, aided in my enjoyment of Moon Called. ♣︎

[stacey_is_sassy]

Mercy me, they are an interesting bunch...

I liked Moon Called, but I struggled to find the spark. All of the characters were interesting, original and likeable. I laughed at the required times, felt my heart rate speed up when the conflict played out and shed a tear when the emotions were high. All of these things together were good…but I wasn't consumed...in love...or...desperate for more.

Mercy has powers that I don't think she even knows the extent of. She has friends she can call on at any time from all different types/walks/species. A vampire gets Mercy to service his vehicles, she was brought up in a wolf pack and bought her business from a gremlin who she stayed friends with. Mercy came across as neutral ground and very approachable. I really liked her character and think she has the potential for greatness.

One measly little kiss right at the end did not leave me satisfied AT ALL!! I want to see Mercy feel overwhelmed with feelings. I want to know why Adam has a photo of Mercy in his bedroom but acts so wishy washy when in front of her. If this is supposed to be a love triangle…who is the third guy? I’m presuming it’s Samuel but I did not feel anything but sibling love between them. I like to see passion, animal attraction and uncontrollable possessiveness in my paranormals. I just didn’t feel it.

The suspense and mystery part of the story felt a little anticlimactic. The excitement and trepidation of knowing that a war was looming had me on tender hooks but when it was all laid out in the end I was...huh...that's it...really?

Now, I didn’t hate Moon Called but I definitely didn’t love it and want to stop everything I was doing to go on. I just thought (hoped) it would have a little more romance in it. Mercy was strong, smart and independent and was definitely my favourite character. Adam has potential and Samuel should maybe move on from the past (even though it was devastatingly sad to know his history) and find a fresh start. I thought Bran was cool, Stefan is interesting and Zee is hiding something.

A good introduction to this series but definitely not a romance...at this stage.



I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -

[littleread1]

I REALLY liked this! But I do kind of wish I hadn't read one of the earlier novellas, with Samuel and Bran's story, because with the introduction to it, I was spoiled on something that I think might have made this story a little more exciting. BUT - still loving this! Moving right along!

[EBookObsessed]

Mercy is a “walker” who can turn into a coyote, but who was raised by werewolves, and not just any werewolf, by Bran, the Marrok (or leader of all the werewolves).

Mercy lives an ordinary life, well, sort of…she owns her own garage which she bought from a retiring Fae named Zee, and she is friends with a vampire named Stefan who has a VW bus painted to look like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo.

She also shares a property line with the local Alpha of the Columbia Basin pack named Adam Hauptman and his teenage daughter, Jesse. Adam keeps a powerful Russian witch on retainer for hiding the werewolf’s presence from the humans. Pretty much an average, ordinary life.

When a runaway teen shows up at her garage, she quickly smells that he is a werewolf and this young werewolf is not part of a pack. Mercy offers him a job so she can keep an eye out for him. When a werewolf and a human come looking for him, Mercy is forced to help him defend himself. After blood is shed, Mercy calls Adam in to take care of the young Wolf and introduce him to pack life.

But things aren’t that simple. The people who are looking for Mac are daring, or just stupid enough to attack Adam in his home. Mercy helps Adam defeat the intruders, but not before Adam is seriously injured and his daughter, Jesse, is kidnapped. Mercy needs to find a more dominant werewolf fast because once Adam regains consciousness, his injured wolf will be uncontrollable until he is healed. The only ones Mercy knows that are strong enough to control a powerful Alpha like Adam is Bran and his sons.

Mercy might not be part of Adam’s pack, but she is now embroiled in what might be a pack war. She has to find out who attacked Adam and who would have taken his daughter.

THOUGHTS:
I was recently offered a review copy of the upcoming Night Broken (which is Book #8 in this series) so I did a search of the Mercy Thompson series and it sounded right up my alley. I decided to take some time to catch up and get to know some of the characters.

This is a much better Sookie Stackhouse type of story plot, meaning she is not part of any specific group, but she keeps getting dragged into pack or vampire business. In this series, Mercy is a preternatural creature since she is half human/half walker. She is immune to some magic and she can shape shift into the form of a coyote. She is not a part of Adam’s pack (even though Adam told his pack Mercy was his) but she gets drawn into pack business when Adam is badly injured, and something makes her afraid to call in his pack for fear that there is a traitor in the pack. Who else would try to attack an Alpha in his own home?

She has several preternatural connections who she contacts to assist her in helping Adam heal as well as tracking down who would abduct his daughter.

I like that although Mercy is brave, she is not stupid. She doesn’t just jump into a fight unprepared. For example, when Mac is tracked down by a werewolf and a human. Mercy knows she can’t out power the werewolf and the human has a gun. She watches and observes and it isn’t until Mac is being attacked that she jumps in, using the element of surprise and getting the werewolf to chase her while using her brains to outmaneuver his bulk.

This story wasn’t non-stop action since it was the first in the series and involves a lot of introduction of characters, including explaining the dangers of the werewolves and the vampires in general, and how the Fae have been forced into the public eye and how the werewolves are considering joining them. We are also introducing the base characters of the story: including Mercy, Adam, Jesse, Zee, Stefan, Bran, Samuel, several members of Adam’s pack as well as Bran’s pack, and Mercy’s relationship with each of these characters.

It was good storytelling and interesting world building and it held my interest throughout. I have already started Book 2 where we start by Stefan asking Mercy to make good on the favor he did her helping find Jesse.

This is the start to a great series of books and I really love Mercy Thompson and her personality. This book has werewolves, vampires, fae and I loved the world that Patricia Briggs created. It's one of the few vampire and werewolves books where I love the world of supernatural that Briggs created and the hierarchy that the vampires and werewolves follow.

[MurderByDeath]

This one started out slow for me, although reliable friends recommended it to me so I wan't too worried I wouldn't love it. The story really kicked in for me once they hit Montana and I was hooked from there. I like Mercy - she's got enough humour about her to keep the whole thing from feeling too dark. Adam is exactly what Adam should be! :D Zee is fun and Stephan is, again, what he should be. So a great cast of characters you can get involved with.

The plot itself was delightfully labyrinthian - not so complex you couldn't follow it, but complex enough to keep you guessing right up until the very end, when even the bad guys were somewhat sympathetic.

I'm not yet ready to add this series to my top 5 list, but I'll definitely be reading the next book as soon as possible.

[liz089]

This one and more on my blog !! Freyja Eats Books


At first I was kind of skeptic, it seemed like one of those standard UF/PR books I’ve read before. Innocent tough chick with awesome powers who gets mixed up in the world of the supernatural and later on the series she only has a huge amount of sex with every mildly attractive male walking by. It has happened. I won’t call names, but maybe you get me.

So, starting this one was kind of a surprise ! I really enjoyed it and went through it rather fast. It was not a big read, only 270 pages, but it went nice and smoothly. And the best part: She only got kissed once !!
But before I’ll get there I would like to start with Mercy. She was totally awesoooome. A kick-ass woman who can hold herself together in a world with dominant werewolves and vampires. Respect. She didn’t drool all over the males who happened to came by. Even more respect. Yeah some were really hot and I suspected some heavy and steamy scenes, but she stayed with the story and didn’t get sidetracked.

Even though I’m not always happy when the romance is low in a story, this worked better for the plot and I didn’t miss it ! Though I do hope to find out more about the romantic side from a certain werewolf in the next part haha.

Oooee, I also really liked that she put a gay werewolf in the story. It but some diversity in the story, with him and his human boyfriend ! Plus he was really loyal and good to both Adam and Mercy.

I also enjoyed all the different magical beings put together in this series. You have witches, vampires, werewolves, fae, skinwalkers, loved that. The lesser fae have been put to public notice, as some sort of guinea pigs to see how humans react and are well.. discriminated in bad ways. Even though, they think it will be only a matter of time before the other supernaturals will be known. With the current developments in science they are afraid humans will find out about them, and that it is better to take control of that by deciding when and how they will be made known. I like that idea, she put some thought in that haha.
Also the way the supernatural are all organized, you have packs, the Marrok, vampire’s have their own system, I liked that.

The plot is not too predictable and it surprised me every now and then. I like that they mixed her story with her background, and fused it together. Even though it was not a long read, it didn’t feel too rushed or anything, just a good pace.
Her own background (the whole skinwalker thing) still has a lot of question marks to it, and I like that she left some mystery in the story for the next parts ! It has much potential to make it a good series, so I hope it won’t be ruined later on.

I also read that she has a spin-off series, and I would like to pick that one up in a little while. There are sooooo many books to read, most of the time I don’t even know where to start ! I do think though that I won’t take to long before I get to the second part.