Mercy Thompson #10
Urban Fantasy
Ace Books | March 7, 2017

We all have those series we’ve been following for years, yet we still wait for their new releases like it’s our birthday.  Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega are two of those series for me.  The thing is, neither of them is on the top of my favorites list.  There are a lot of Urban Fantasy books I love more but what makes these special for me are how, when I do read one, I’m getting a solid well thought out book with characters I care about.

I was especially excited to read about Aiden, our cute little fire God.  I really loved the dynamic between Mercy, Adam and Jessie when they took Aiden in.  I love how, despite the fact that Aiden is thousands and thousands of years old, he’s become a little brother and an adopted son.  He really brings new, fresh, structure to the group.

Unfortunately, Aiden wasn’t a large part of Silence Fallen.  Silence Fallen is all about Mercy being kidnapped and swept away to Italy, and Adam going after her.  Most of the pack is left behind, and that includes their kids.  I thought I was going to be upset about it, but the plot with Mercy and Adam in Italy was good enough to sustain this book all on its own.

While trying not to give anything away, I do have a few key things I want to mention in this review, like how Ms Briggs handled the timeline.  There’s a time loop in Silence Fallen between chapters that can be a bit confusing.  Normally I hate having to pay attention to chapter headers in order to follow a timeline throughout an entire book.  In Silence Fallen, Patrica Briggs made it work.  They were witty and entertaining, reading them added to the quality of the story.  They were well done.

Second, I loved that Stefan was included.  I know in this world the vampires are bad and not to be trusted, but from the beginning Stefan has been one of my favorite characters and I love his friendship with Mercy.  (I even love how his feelings for Mercy make Adam all growly.)  It’s always a bonus when he’s included.

Finally, there’s a little surprise in the end that made me shriek out loud in joy.  It’s a small thing, but in its own way it was a massive thing.  I never saw it coming, and even after it was revealed I was astonished and went back to reread key scenes.  Absolutely my favorite part of the book.

Now that we’ve knocked out everything I loved, there is one little critique.  I think all the history and architecture of Italy and Prague was overdone.  This may make me sound bad, or shallow, but I don’t read books like this for the authenticity. I read them for the fantasy.  Some of the academic/cultural lessons we got from Mercy made me zone out and skim, until we got back to the plot.  Then I was all in.

Most of the time I was all in, honestly.  And I know when the next book in this world comes out, either Mercy or A&O, I know that it’s a guarantee I’ll be all in again.

Thank you to ACE Books, via NetGalley, for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.