Book #113 - River Marked (Mercy Thompson #6)

River Marked (Mercy Thompson #6), Patricia Briggs
urban fantasy
326 pages
Started 10/17/12
Finished 10/19/12
4 STARS

With River Marked, I come to the end of the Mercy Thompson series - at least for a little while. Frost Burned, the seventh and final book in the series, releases on March 5, 2013, and with it comes the end of a really fun journey for me. One that has proven that I can love urban fantasy as much as paranormal romance, which was something I didn't think was possible.

Back to River Marked. Mercy and Adam went to the chapel and got themselves married. In true werewolf/shapeshifter fashion, they decide to go camping for their honeymoon. And, in true Mercy fashion, trouble follows in their wake.

To be honest with you, River Marked was my least favorite of all the Mercy books. Many of my favorite characters - Samuel, Warren and Kyle - were largely absent. But, beyond that, the pack dynamic as a whole was missing. Just as it seemed as if Mercy was finally starting to get a handle on her end of that - after the dynamic ending of Silver Borne - that aspect of this series was removed. It happened at an inopportune time, in my opinion.

In a series as long as this one, you need momentum to continue carrying the story forward. Up until this point, this series has had momentum in spades. Although each book has been encapsulated with its own mystery, the relationship dynamics between Mercy and Adam, Mercy and Samuel, Mercy and the pack at large and Mercy and her strange menagerie of friends has spurred the story forward and kept me interested. Once you remove everyone but Adam, even the introduction of some new characters can't stop the sound of screeching brakes.

But, no matter, because I have full confidence that Briggs will bring all our favorites back for the very last Mercy book and send her off with several exclamation points.