Book Details:
Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, Book 2)
by Patricia Briggs
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published 2007, Penguin Group
Paperback, 292 pages
ISBN: 9780441014736
Synopsis:
"Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places-and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.
But this new vampire is hardly ordinary-and neither is the demon inside of him."
What I think I like best about Briggs' style of writing - at least in the Mercy Thompson series - is how in-depth the background information is. Everything and everyone has a history and then some - whether it be political, eventful, magical, biological, etc., Briggs' writes it and Mercy gets to discover it. I find it all intensely fascinating and makes me want to grill the author about all of the details that she has not yet uncovered.
For instance, I would really like to know what it is that makes all of these preternatural men fall for Mercy, first Samuel, then Adam, now Stefan, and I'm half-betting Zee, too. She may be a walker, but there can't be anything in the walker repertiore that resembles an Americanized Aphrodite. The fact that she sorely lacks in female friends, with maybe the exception of Honey, only adds to the image. Don't get me wrong - I love the tension building between the two dominant werewolves, even if Briggs' could stand to devote more plot time to it. Neither can I decide who I like better with Mercy - Adam seems to compliment Mercy's personality very well, but Samuel's interest in children appeals to my mothering instincts. Hopefully, Stefan's relationship with Mercy will be explored more in the next book so that I can form an opinion about him as well. I am also remotely wondering if Adam had some kind of relationship with Marjorie Hanna, Mercy's ghost friend, since she did a drawing of him apparently before she died.
So my overall concensus is fantastic background development, messy relationships, and lots of questions needing answered.
The Cover: The woman on the cover looks like the same one as the cover of the first novel, complete with watch on the wrong wrist, except that she seems to have gained a tattoo across the chest that is not mentioned in either the first or second book. She also looks to be standing in her garage, hefting a tool in one hand, which pays homage to her mechanical ways. I see bats in the background, which must be in reference to the prominence of vampires in the text. Though they are not mentioned as being able to transform, it is hinted that a few can travel very quickly in a mysterious way. The extra belt around her waist must also be the Fae knife she uses in the text. Overall, I like the cover, with the exception of the unexplained chest tattoo.
First Line: "Like most people who own their own businesses, I work long hours that start early in the morning."
As opening lines go, this one is boring, bland, gives no indication of what is to follow, and does nothing to propel the reader into reading the next sentence. This sentence could have lead into anything - a mystery, a horror, a memoir, etc. Most people read fiction to escape reality, and this sentence would only serve to remind the reader of reality.
Favorite Quote: "Any idiot can put up a website."
Read For: The 2nd Challenge, Support Your Local Library Challenge, Pages Read Challenge, Fantasy Challenge, 101 Fantasy Challenge
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