Moon Called

This book is the beginning of an amazing series. I love the way Patricia Briggs folds in real-world concerns with shape-shifting and how every shifter is just a little bit different than the next.

Another fantastic element of her writing is the way she folds in various mythologies. It’s done absolutely seamlessly with the plot and makes for some incredibly enjoyable reading.

This one doesn’t have the same comedy element as most of the others, but it is funny in its own way.

Mercedes Thompson is a mechanic, and a coyote walker (shapeshifter.) I love this book for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that it blends a lot of the popular tales of werewolves, vampires, and more with the tales and mythology of Native American creatures in a way I’d never encountered.

I love that Mercy isn’t looking for love.She’s not looking for fame or riches. She just wants to fix cars and make her own decisions.… show more.

A Volkswagen mechanic named Mercedes?

A coyote shifter living next door to the alpha werewolf?

But what I like best about the Mercy Thompson series is the focus on how all the supernatural beings work (and don’t work) together. Vampires, werewolves, and fae.

Also, Mercy has a complicated backstory (don’t they all?) and the more we learn about it, the more problems arise because of it. Mercy is practical and smart and scrappy, and I adore her.

A nice take on traditional shifters and werewolves. Mercy’s witty banter and sarcasm are priceless. When a writer can seamlessly combine vampires, werewolves and fae without overwhelming readers, I’m always impressed. A very sweet tale with room to explore the slow burn between Mercy and Adam in the rest of the series.

Mercy Thompson is a wonderful woman with a mysterious background that gradually unravels in the succeeding books. I love Mercy because she's brave, loyal, and realistic. And her living next door to the leader of the pack, Adam Hauptman? Stellar real estate choice. Mercy is the best friend I can imagine having. She will never hang a friend out to dry.

I identified with the female protagonist in this book. She is part Native American and she’s a mechanic, which for me was wish fulfillment since I took shop in high school but have forgotten most of what I learned save for changing oil and a tire. She’s mouthy, but she is also unsure of herself, which gives Mercy a very real feel.

The Mercy Thompson series focuses on shifters trying to survive and stay hidden in a world much like ours. What I like about this series is Mercy is a simple mechanic that gets pulled into chaos no matter how much she’d like to stay out of it. It makes a fantastical character more relatable.

The MC Mercy is not only headstrong and independent, she has a wicked sense of humor which is all the more evident when she is interreacting with her divorced werewolf neighbor Adam. There are a ton of subplots and action that allow us to see that she is smart and cunning and puts her deductive reasoning skills on display. There is a reason that this book series is considered the quintessential introduction to the werewolf genre.

Moon Called is the first book in the Mercedes Thompson series. Mercedes, or Mercy to her friends, is a shape shifter who takes the form of a coyote. She was raised by a pack of werewolves, but she’s also an auto mechanic who works for a powerful Fae lord. She is a sarcastic, kick-butt, and take-no-nonsense heroine who manages to get herself in trouble quite often, but just as quickly and scrappily fights her way out of it. She is one of the most confident females I have ever read in fantasy, and she makes me laugh out loud constantly.… show more.

It's an easy choice to pick Patricia Briggs as my favorite werewolf author – the harder selection is between Mercy (the heroine of this series) and Anna (at the core of the Alpha & Omega saga). But I love Adam's pack and can't help thinking Mercy edges out the competition with her unique blend of coyote wiliness and willingness to stand up for the underdog. If by some fluke you haven't read this book yet, you need to stop everything and pick up your copy now.