Review: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

Frost Burned
by Patricia Briggs
Series: Mercy Thompson #7
Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: March 5, 2013
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchase
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Mercy Thompson’s life has undergone a seismic change. Becoming the mate of Adam Hauptman—the charismatic Alpha of the local werewolf pack—has made her a stepmother to his daughter Jesse, a relationship that brings moments of blissful normalcy to Mercy’s life. But on the edges of humanity, what passes for a minor mishap on an ordinary day can turn into so much more.  After an accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack for that matter. They’ve all been abducted. Through their mating bond, all Mercy knows is that Adam is angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related—and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no matter how unlikely.

The Mercy Thompson series is one of my favorites! I purchased Frost Burn on release day and was delighted when I finally had a chance to immerse myself in the world Patricia Briggs has created. Filled with non-stop action and suspense I consumed this in a single day. As always Briggs delivered exactly what I wanted. I do not recommend reading this out of order as the overall arc and characters are not explained. Three word review: action-packed, heart-tugging, perfection.

The tale begins at almost midnight on Black Friday and if you can believe it Mercy is out Christmas shopping with Jesse.  She is no longer in a wheel chair and fully healed. When the two get into a fender bender and are unable to reach Adam or any of the pack they realize something is dreadfully wrong. Through her bond she realizes they have all been kidnapped and the tale that unfolds is non-stop action with twists and turns as Mercy and her unusual friends must save the pack.

I love all of the characters in Briggs Mercy Thompson series even snarky Honey and the Vampire Queen. I enjoying the growth we continually see in Mercy and love the slow building thread that reveals more and more just how special this shape-shifting coyote is. Mercy is really starting to feel comfortable as the mate of Adam and her role in the pack. Their relationship is healthy, heated and continues to become stronger. We see her use her position with confidence more as she finds it necessary and despite her call to protect and dive in to save the day she is really balanced. Briggs gave us a real treat as we got a third person POV from Adam. While this was necessary because of the plot, it also gave us a little more insight into the smexy alpha himself and I quite enjoyed it.  Since the pack was kidnapped we got a chance to spend more time with Kyle, Warren’s mate. I have always liked Kyle, as a lawyer he is pretty level headed and his attention to fashion always makes me giggle. Missing were both Samuel and Bran which was disappointing since I like them both. Bran does send aid to help but we never really get to know this wolf.  Stephan, the Fae and the vampires are back. We learn things, see a different sides of their personalities and I was quite satisfied. The humans are involved and their police and military branches added to the overall arcs political unrest.

One of the things that I enjoy about this series is the non-stop action and clever twists. From the moment you open a book in this series you know you are in for one hell of a ride. Briggs carries your emotions right along with it. She takes us from sweet moments that make me giggle, to the saddest moments that had me wiping tears from eye. I love that we continue to see growth from Mercy both as a coyote and as a woman. We didn’t get a lot of alone time with Adam and Mercy but when we do it is both romantic and intense. I really liked getting inside Adams head and would love to see more of this but in first person. His love for Mercy just makes me shiver and the responsibility and burden he carries close to his heart for his pack, wife and daughter is touching. Why the pack was kidnapped and the end game were exceptional well written and had me on edge. The overall arc regarding revealing themselves to the humans and the consequences are present and we get hints of things to come. 

Frost Burned was a delicious, intense addition to the Mercy Thompson series and this remains one of my favorite urban fantasy series. Night Broken the eighth book is expected to release in 2014. 

Four and half cups of coffee out of five