River Marked by Patricia Briggs

From GoodReads: Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She’s never known any others of her kind. Until now. 

An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River—one that her father’s people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help…

I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, when I picked up the first book in the Mercy Thompson series, Moon Called, it took me almost a month to get into.  I thought it was too slow, too adult (for me I mean, I don't like a lot of adult books because I find that they have way too much sex, swearing, or needless violence and gore), and just plain dull.  I forced myself through it, but had no intentions of reading the rest of the series.  

I then got another series by Patricia Briggs in at my library, the Alpha and Omega series.  I took this one home hoping and praying that it would be better than Moon Called.  It definitely was.  I devoured the two books that are out in that series and was DYING for more!!  So I knew if I wanted more from Patricia Briggs, I had to go back and read the rest of Mercy's series.  

I got book two, Blood Bound, and was sucked into it immediately.  I stopped reading after a couple of chapters just so that I could run to my library and get the rest of the series that was out.  In a matter of days I had read Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, and Bone Crossed.  I waited in agony for the release of Silver Borne, not waiting for my library book supplier to send it to me, but searching it out on release day.  After reading it in a mere couple of hours, I started the torturous wait for River Marked.  

The week before it was set to be released we received a box of books at the library.  In that box, much to my hearts content, was River Marked.  I think I scared half the people in the library when I screamed in delight. I raced home to start my favorite book-reading ritual of putting my kids to bed, filling the bathtub with bubbles, turning off my cell phone, and sinking into the world inside the pages.  

It took me about a day to read River Marked, only because I had to force myself to go to bed that night AND get up and go to work the next day. (Oh how I wanted to call in sick so I could stay in bed and read this book!)  I will start out by saying that a lot of the characters that you would normally find in a Mercy Thompson book were absent through most of the book.  While you got to see them a little in the beginning and at the end, the majority of the story involves only Mercy and Adam Hauptman (her boyfriend/fiance/pack leader).  But despite the missing characters and the change of scenery (not once in this book is Mercy working at her garage!), this book brought in a whole new element.  River Marked dives further into Mercy's indian heritage than any of the previous books.  It brings in brand new characters, evolves old relationships to new levels, and introduces a bad guy that we have never seen the likes of before.  It was a little slow at first, but it starts building your anticipation and emotions from the get-go, ending with your adrenaline pumping, your palms sweaty, and your heart racing with each page.  Once again, Patricia Briggs has outdone herself, creating yet another brilliant rollercoaster ride in River Marked, the sixth book in the Mercy Thompson series.  And while I don't recommend this series for younger teens or middle schoolers, older teens and adults will love this series, it's ramshackle cast of characters as well as  the action and adventure of these heart-pounding stories that make this series a must read in my opinion.