Another book review by ~Sara
Apparently, I am doing some reading again. Of course, that will continue right up until I get my new DS game (sometime next week - heh heh heh). But I thought I'd ship this off to you in the meantime. :0)
Well, I'm going to start this review with a whine. I know - shocker!?!!?! I am really sad but have decided that I have a couple of regular series I'm going to have to give up or at least ignore for awhile. I made this decision about the Dresden books, and I just added the Rachel Morgan books to the list after being absolutely bored and disappointed by the last two books. . . or is it three??? For Dresden, it was because there was too much focus on characters I absolutely didn't care for-hello new apprentice. For the Morgan books, it is because they've all become throw-aways. There was no real point to Kisten's death except to get rid of an inconvenient boyfriend, and the replacement characters are - well - icky to me. Maybe I'll go back to these used-to-be-loved favorites and maybe I won't. Sad but true. So, will this entire review be about my disappointment. No. It's actually all a huge set up to say how happy I was with the fifth book of the Mercy Thompson series, Silver Bourne. Go Patricia Briggs!
So this is another character debate for me (again, I know you're shocked since my prior complaints were NEVER about character). Strangely, I wasn't sure I wanted to read this series. In fact, Brigg's Alpha and Omega is what sucked me in and made me want to read more about the Tri-Cities pack. Now, I actually prefer Mercy. She is interesting and evolving. Her portrayal is consistent and - darn it - I root for her every time. Her on-going struggles as Adam's mate and her changing relationship with Adam's pack are believable. Throw in the blow up with Gabriel's mother and Samuel's life plans--I'm hooked. While I did miss Stefan, this was barely a blip as I finished the book. Instead, I spent time thinking about Ben. In fact, I started to re-label my opinion of him after Iron Kissed but the scene after the fire in this book really made me wonder if I would like the pack as much without him?? One of my other favorite scenes was how Mercy chooses her dating attire. It was a nearly perfect way to sum up Mercy and Adam's relationship as well as Mercy's relationship with Jesse. I suppose I could gush some more but to do that without revealing too much well-it ain't going to happen.
The downside of this book depends on your POV and why you pick your books. The plot is weak. In fact, I'd say the plot is merely a backdrop to explore how Mercy is going to fit into the pack and work out some of the Samuel issues. Additionally, a new character appears as a deus ex machine to help with the whole Samuel problem. Apparently such a long life means that you have met the perfect person to solve all problems and they will pop up possibly with the assistance of the all-knowing Marrok-just when things seem hopeless. Finally, the fact is that you don't get that much reading for the price of the hard cover book. For me, 352 pages and $24.95 (or whatever sale price you can get) should take more time to digest. However, that still wasn't enough for me not to love this book and not to be excited that River Marked is set for release January 25, 2011. No vacation from Mercy needed!
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