Smoke Bitten (Mercy Thompson, #12)

by Patricia Briggs

[Quirky Cat]

Smoke Bitten is the latest novel in Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series. Thankfully, the series appears to be far from over. I, for one, couldn't be happier about that fact. This is a series close to my heart, and I will hang onto it with everything that I have.

Mercy, aka Mercedes Athena Thompson Hauptman, is used to finding herself in strange predicaments. She's a shapeshifter, daughter of Coyote, raised by the Marrock, and now wife of Adam Hauptman, pack alpha. She's come up against witches, werewolves, vampires, and fae.

It's going to take all of that knowledge and experience to work her way through the latest threat For a prisoner of Underhill has escaped, and they are not content to play nice with the people in the Tri-Cities. Or the people in Mercy's life.

“And that, children, is why ultimatums are a bad idea, said a memory speaking in the Marrok's voice.”


I know I say this a lot, but I absolutely devoured Smoke Bitten. And I have no regrets on that count! It was yet another fantastic read in one of my favorite series. Once again, it's a delight to dive back into Mercy's world.

A month or two back the first chapter (or two?) was made available for readers. I opted not to read it because I knew that it would make the wait for the whole novel that much worse. Having now read the introduction (and everything else that followed)...I feel like I made the right choice. I could not have survived the wait to see what was going on, had I been given a sneak peek.

Honestly? I loved everything about this novel. It was intense and fun, just like all of the other Mercy Thompson novels. Though I might be slightly biased, since I've been really enjoying Patricia Briggs' take on the fae, and thus am always happy to see them pop up again.

One thing that did surprise me about Smoke Bitten is how deeply personal it felt. Mercy (and Adam) has been through a lot these past few books, in particular. And it's starting to show. This novel dove right into the personal ramifications and consequences of trauma.

Actually, make that two things that surprised me. Though the second is arguably related to the first. I was surprised to hear of a certain character's actions, and how they were still getting under the skin of everyone around. I don't know why it surprised me, other than that I honestly thought that Mercy would get a break from that. How foolish of me, right?

Along with several really tense moments, I feel like this novel did a fantastic job of capturing the lives of the pack, Mercy, and everyone involved. And of course, I love that Aiden was given a couple of cute moments as well. He really needed that.

Speaking of, anybody else dying of curiosity about what is going on with Wulfe? I'm looking forward to seeing that progress in the next novel or two – because there's no way it isn't building up to something dramatic.

My one regret about Smoke Bitten is that it is now over, and the wait has begun again. All things considered, that isn't a bad complaint to have. So I will take it. And probably reread the series (or get caught up in the Alpha and Omega series, which I have been neglecting).

Check out more of my reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks