Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson, #9)

by Patricia Briggs

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

[kimbacaffeinate]

From the moment I began Fire Touched, I could feel a contentment in Mercy that was missing in Night Broken. I enjoyed the playfulness of their home life and the banter between Adam and Mercy. However, we all know that peace never lasts; at least not when your name is Mercy. A call for help comes in and Mercy, Adam and some of the pack find themselves facing down an angry troll. The battle is brutal and set the plot into motion as tension between the Fae, humans and wolves heat up.

Mercy does something on the bridge, that was awesome but it has far-reaching implications. A friend is returned to her, but she also offers protection to a human child who was trapped in Underhill long ago. The storyline was tight, and we see movement in the overall arc despite the multiple threads. Adam finally does something he should have done long ago. Go Adam! In addition, Bran does something that at first pissed me off, but as I looked at it through his eyes, I understood. I am curious to see the impact if any regarding his actions. Gods above and below Christy showed up!!!! I just wanted to smack her. Development within the pack and character growth particularly regarding Mercy pleased me. Despite all the threats, action-scenes and drama Briggs weaved in humor and shared elements of pack living I adored.

Secondary characters provided interest and I loved all the different creatures that have weaved their way into Mercy’s circle. The human child, dealings with the Fae and decisions within the pack all made this tale addictive. Adam is back in my good graces and as swoony as ever. The Walking Stick both fascinates and annoys me and was heavily involved in Fire Touched. The Fae have always freaked me out, and dealing with them only proved me right.Briggs really brings out their creepiness with her descriptive writing. Thankfully, Mercy and Adam are clever and have those who come to their aid.

Mercy continues to be a kick-ass, fearless coyote whom I adore. I crave learning more about her full potential as she continues to surprise and impress me.

Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[layawaydragon]

YAY, Mercy’s Back!


The Good:
+Fucking everything

I love how this series stays true while continuing. I’ve been burned by long series before and I’ve no doubt Mercy won’t disappoint.

She’s still her in all her snarky without going overboard glory. She’s not the “chosen one” or most powerful or any of that nonsense. But she’s loyal, smart, and a fucking menace. Why can’t other paranormal books take a hint?!?!

Not to mention, her issues are real and grounded. It’s not shrugged off. She still has her insecurities, and PTSD. (Same with other characters as well, really). Even after 8 books with her, we still get to learn and see her grow a bit.

Mercy and Adam’s hard fought romance is balanced between equals that work on their relationship. They’re on solid ground so Fire Touched isn’t all about them working it out. It’s just nice to see them being a happy, healthy kick-ass couple. Adam is the right kind of Alpha. And I don’t say that often.


While Christy’s still Christy, it’s nice to find out there’s some movement on that front. Okay, so it’s like a paragraph reveal but still. Because she really needs to be dealt with. She doesn’t and shouldn’t hang around anymore. It’s tiring and a stick in the mud in their relationship. They have other shit they can do and work on. They’re not perfect and don’t need her to provide pointless relationship drama.

I love learning about how Joel’s faring and some different wolves. And thank fuck Adam finally put his foot down! Bigger, badder, and better things are coming finally; they have to be united to face it all.


Fire Touched has more politics than action, which is a nice break from constant fighting. It gives a purpose within a larger picture. And we learn so much more about the Fae. It’s set-up wonderfully from the previous installments.

The plot with the human boy stolen by Fae, Aiden, is fully resolved while we’ve got open-ended world developments to follow in the next books. Plus, we get to see some characters that have been sorely missed return and new faces that mesh perfectly.

Aiden is a well-done little shit! His characterization makes perfect sense. I liked him with Mercy, Adam, and Jesse but he did deserve to get smacked. I’ll be happy to see more of him, his progression, and path.

I do wish we learned more about the walking stick, but Mercy doesn’t know shit about it and neither does anyone else apparently. It’s very important in this book and while I don’t like its conclusion, I can see why it had to be. It became rather convenient and perhaps a little too helpful for plotting, suspense, and to keep Mercy grounded.

Now to wait for the next book! :( This is why I like waiting for series to finish before starting but Mercy is too good to miss out on!

[Melanie]

4.5 stars

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

In this ninth installment of Mercy Thompson series, we have Mercy doing what she does best, kicking ass as only she knows how. The pack is called in to help deal with a troll on a bridge. This is a very large creature and the police can’t seem to get it to leave the bridge. People are dying. Mercy has helped them in the past and was hoping that her and the werewolves would help again in this case.

The fight scene with the troll was extremely well written. I could completely see it play out in my mind as we have wolves fighting an extremely large troll. There are also wolves in human form, who don’t want to give up their identity fighting with crowbars, which with their iron content help better than you would think. We also get to see Joel as the tibicena. He is a great help against the troll. Tad and Zee make an appearance on the bridge too.

While fighting, Adam is injured along with several others. You can see how the pack has changed. Instead of challenging a weak alpha, like Darryl doesn’t even consider it. They just do what needs to be done. Mercy shows that even though she isn’t as strong as the werewolves, she is a force to be reckoned with. Though her actions do cause some other issues for the pack.

Adam finally takes a stand both to his ex-wife (which he should’ve done in the previous book) and his pack (also I guess better late than never). He lays down the law and make the consequences very clear.

The introduction of Aidan is the main focus of the story. He is a man in a 10 year old body. He was trapped in Underhill for many years. While his body never aged, his mind did. Not only that, he is now Fire Touched. He can control fire or fire can control him. He does sometimes set fire to his bed while he sleeps. Which really bothers him, while seeking asylum with the wolves. Little does he know the amount of damage a wolf can do to a house. The pack just had to purchase a bunch of fire extinguishers. The issue is that the fae or more importantly Underhill want Aidan back. But the wolves aren’t going to let him go without a fight.

I loved getting to spend time with Mercy and the pack again. I loved spending time with some of the characters that haven’t been around for a while in the fae. There are also some of the vampires who make appearances. The law that Mercy laid down could have overreaching changes for the wolves, fae and vamps. It will be interesting to see where it all goes. I’m already itching for the next book.

Narration
Once again Lorelei King does a great job with the narration of this series. This series was the first thing I her King narrate. She will always be Mercy for me. She does such a great job with all the characters. Ben’s british accent, Baba Yaga’s accent, Zee’s german accent. They are all great. She also does a great job with Jesse and Aidan’s younger voices. I just can’t recommend her narration enough.

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[EBookObsessed]

Mercy has been dragged into the middle of every supernatural problem and this time it is Mercy that drags the pack into the middle of the fae/human standoff.
Mercy has been dragged into the middle of vampire problems. She is been caught up in fae investgations. She has also been forefront in the pack’s own civil unrest. Not everyone in the pack is a supporter of their alpha’s new mate.

When the pack is called by the local police department to help with a slight troll problem on the bridge, Mercy, Adam and the pack come to the aid of the humans. Once the battle is over and the dust clears, it becomes quite clear that the fae sent the troll to start up trouble with the humans, and Mercy isn’t going to stand back and allow the fae the risk the lives of the people of the Tri-Cities in a power play with the humans.

Mercy takes a stand and publicly declares that the Tri-Cities is under the protection of the Columbia Basin Pack and anyone of attempt to do harm in their territory better be ready to face the wrath of the pack.

The werewolves in Adam’s pack have not all been very supportive of Adam’s coyote mate and those dissenters have been quite vocal about it, and Adams has had quite enough of listening to them. With the entire world watching the Tri-Cities to see if the pack can actually make good on their word, the pack has to be unified and Adam finally lays down the law, shut up or get out and any further disrespect will be met with a brutal punishment. Adam’s pack needs to be cohesive, especially since Bran has been forced to declare Adam’s pack as rogue. If he did not, Mercy’s declaration could drag the entire werewolf nation in a full out war with the humans, the fae, the vampires or even the other werewolf packs.

Zee and Todd have escaped the fae reservation and have brought with them a small human boy, a boy who has been a prisoner in the fae’s Underhill for centuries. This human boy has the power to control fire and the fae desperately want him back. Aiden is the first person that the pack will offer protection to as long as he can behave himself. A small boy with the power of fire can be very dangerous on his own and with the Grey Lords trying very hard to get him back from the pack, they wolves will be forced to stand strong and back up their promise.

The fae want more than just this boy and his access to Underhill. The fae want out. After being treated unfairly in the human courts, the fae retreated to the reservations. It has been several months and the fae are realizing they don’t really want to be trapped in close quarters together. The question now is do they make peace with the humans or will it be an all out war?

THOUGHTS:
I am a huge fan of the Mercy Thompson series, as well as the spinoff Alpha & Omega series. This story has plenty of action to keep you excited. We also have a visit from prior short story characters.

After all the stories where Mercy gets dragged into the middle of someone else’s problem, whether they show up at her garage or at her front door, it is a nice change that Mercy stood up and actually invited trouble to come find her. And in every way she is right in her declarations both to the world and to the pack. She declares that the Tri-Cities is under the protection of the Columbia Basin Pack and in doing so, she is challenging the fae, the vampires and everyone else hiding in the dark. When the pack objects, Mercy tells them that the fae would never have sent a troll into Bran’s territory simply because they know better than to challenge Bran. The fae sent a troll to rampage the Tri-Cities because they didn’t think anyone would help the humans. Mercy wants to make sure everyone knows better than to try and take on the Columbia Basin Pack, and then they won’t have to fight trolls ever again. The fae would now better than to challenge Adam’s pack ever again. The question to be answered is can they do it?

So far the vampires are just having fun with this declaration and they are making the pack take over the policing of rogue vampires who appear in the territory. I am sure we shall see if the seethe is going to sit back and make the pack take on any problems or will they protect their own in the future.

I was happy to have Zee back after several books without him. I missed his relationship with Mercy. Although the pack is angry in what they feel is Mercy and her friends dragging the pack into business which is not their own, Adam is quick to point out that Mercy’s friends have been quick to jump to the assistance of the pack whenever Mercy and Adam have needed them. The support of Mercy’s friends will be just what they need to help back up the pack in protecting the Tri-Cities. If everyone knows that they will face the pack, who are being backed up by vampires and fae, there won’t be any trouble to begin with, which of course won’t really happen or there won’t be any more stories.

I am already anticipating the next story. Who will be the first to challenge Adam, Mercy and the Columbia Basin pack?

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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