Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, #3)

by Patricia Briggs

[booksandcats]

This book...

First, it is a very very good book (in my opinion). I liked the books before this in the series, I like this maybe even more. I enjoyed, as alwys the World Ms Briggs has created and I was very much intruiged by how she is expanding it. I loved getting an insight into the Fae. One thing I really like about this series is, that not one species is superior then the others. They all have very different attributes, all with positive and negative implications and with very real and realistic consequences. Getting to know more about the Fae and Zee especially was fascinating and sometimes chilling, in a good way.

What I loved most are the characters, I like Mercy as the Main Character, but I also am really glad that the side characters aren't just there, but that all of them have development of their own and that we get to know more about them as Mercy does as well.

This book should definitely come with a trigger warning though, there are some very very hard to read scenes about sexual abuse and the trauma that the victims go through. Since I (luckily) haven't ever experienced something like that, I can't speak to how realistic or good the book deals with that trauma, but for me, it seemed real, very impactful and I belived it and I felt it. I felt the Trauma of Mercy and I personally liked how Ms. Briggs dealt with it. I do hope that it is something addressed in further books, as I believe it isn't something that can be overcome quickly, but rather something that would need to affect Mercy from some time to come.

To end this review on a higher note, I loved how the book dealt with Samuel and Adam and the love triangel and that it was resolved, I like that it wasn't made out to be Mercy just being indecisive, but that she was torn between two versions of herself basically, the one she was at 16 and the one now. Also, I loved that she realized that her decision would affect more than just her heart and feelings but, aside from her life, a lot of the people around her as well. It seemed a very nice and mature approach to a trope that, for me, usually involves a lot of immaturity, whilst still providing all of the angst, chemistry and romance that comes with it.

So, I would definitely recommend this if you liked the previous books, but please be aware that there is sexual abuse in this book and it could be hard to read.