That was another enjoyable installment in the Mercy Thompson series. The books are quick reads with likable characters and lots of action; it's a series I'll keep reading as long as she keeps writing them.

2019 update: Still enjoying the Mercyverse reread! Fun fact: “In Red with Pearls,” is the short story that fits chronologically between Silver Borne and River Marked. It didn’t have anything to do with this book, but it’s a great story from Warren’s POV, and it lays foundation for the books to come, especially the most recent one. So, read it if you haven’t already. Or be like me and read it again.
I’d forgotten big chunks of this book, so it was fun to revisit and get the skinny on Coyote and see Mercy learning more about her ancestry. And there was lots of nice mushy Mercy-Adam stuff with no one coming between them or kidnapping them. Hooray!
Next up: Fair Game. Onward! ( )

re read ( )

Change is in the air as Mercy and Adam embark on their married life. It will be eventful if their honeymoon is a sign of what's to come. Far from home, Mercy and Adam find themselves in trouble as the River Devil takes an interest in Mercy. It's a wild ride with plenty of danger and new allies, but I found myself missing the usual gang. ( )

A good solid addition to the series.

Things I particularly liked:
1 Native American mythos - It was refreshing to see Mercy dealing with some Native American magical creatures. I'm kind of tired of the fae.

2 Coyote - He is sometimes written as a character in novels as someone so mystical and tricksy you can't really understand what he's doing or saying or meaning. Here he was a bit mystical but not obnoxiously so. I understood him as well as Mercy did and since we are filtering through Mercy's POV that was very well done. What a relief not to have to wade through too much vague shamanistic crap.

3 Adam and Mercy married - a. as we all know from watching various TV shows like Lois and Clark and Moonlighting, sometimes consummating a relationship in a series can take the tension and excitement right out of it. Here that didn't happen. I think it helps that the books don't normally revolve solely around their relationship. Mercy gets in trouble and Adam gets dragged into it trying to protect her. That can work for many books, keep them coming. b. Their relationship just gets sweeter and sweeter and it is great to see.

4 Bran - he wasn't in the book but hey I love him, so he always gets a mention.

5 Mercy is not invincible - she wins but it isn't effortless. She gets beat up and can't stop some bad things from happening.

Which leads me to the one thing I didn't like
1 I never like it when little kids die. Even though it's fiction and it made the bad monster that much more realistically evil. I know. I know. Call me Mary Sue and plant me some daisies.

And just because it ticks me off: handloomed is not at word. You weave with a loom. You don't loom with a loom. Therefore the correct phrase is handwoven. As a weaver and as an English major this irks me every time I see it. It's near the end of the book. You probably won't even notice it. Unless you're a weaver.
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One of my favorites in the series -- partly in that it introduced me to the fascinating area around Maryhill, which I then got to visit with my dad. I love that the history/places in this series are based on real things.

read 3 times so far. The audio book versions are good, too! ( )