Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, #1)

by Patricia Briggs

[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. ♣︎