A Book Obsession..: River Marked

River Marked

, by Kt Clapsadl

River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Mercy Thompson #6

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...

Mercy Thompson doesn't have the sense to be really afraid of anything. She's faced so much in the past, from kidnapping werewolves and demon possessed vampires to killer fae queens and other villains with delusions of grandeur. So, it is a little amusing that the one thing that terrifies her the most is just an ordinary human, her mother. Margi has gone a little overboard in the wedding ceremony planning, so Mercy is determined to elope. Yet like all of good laid plans, that doesn't work out so well either. But what can you do when you are a magnet for trouble? Their honeymoon vehicle, a ginormous trailer courtesy of the fae sends them to a private campground. Mystery lurks in the nearby river, with a monster that destroys everything in its path. In their trials to find a way to stop the monster, Mercy runs into others of her kind. Despite the sting of their knowledge of her, she knows they will need help to stop the monster before it consumes them all.

One of the things I loved most about this series was the tension, both sexual and otherwise between Adam and Mercy. His controlling nature and her general rebelliousness always clashed making for some very interesting interactions between the two, especially when her more sneaky or snarky side came into play. So, I was a little worried that this book would be lacking that great dynamic now that the two of them are truly together. However, I am very happy to say that I should not have worried. While they are much more "mushy" in the past, neither of them have lost who they really are at the core, which means they will still have those great interactions that typically wind up in arguments. As Mercy says in this book, she loves fighting with Adam, and I'm so happy to see that we won't lose that. The only difference now is that the end of the fight typically turns a little "physical" as they work out their frustrations. There is nothing like a good round of make-up sex, as these two now well know.

This book had a different feel to it than its predecessors, yet that did not detract from the book at all. I think a lot of that had to do with the change in setting and the fact that most of supporting characters just didn't play a big role in the action. The focus of this book was also more on Mercy and her heritage rather than the issues of the three other "big bad" groups that she has dealt with in the past. Without spoiling anything, I will say that I found the truth about her father and her direct heritage made for a very intriguing surprise. However, when you look at Mercy's personality and general contrariness, it makes complete sense. I won't say any more on that, you'll have to read the book to find the rest out.

As always when it comes to this series, I highly enjoyed this book. However, the ending of this book sets it slightly apart from the others, as it left me with a great sense of satisfaction and happiness. Typically when I finish a good book I'm instantly desperate for more. While I will still eagerly await the next one, this one just left me feeling complete, making that wait a little easier. I highly recommend this book to any Urban Fantasy fans, being one of my top favorite series. Fans of the series will be delighted at the look into Mercy's heritage. However, if you have not read the series, this is definitely not the place to start. You'll need that foundation from the previous books to really appreciate the characters and their progressions. All in all this was a fantastic read that I cannot possible recommend any higher.

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