Night Broken

It’s been a long time since I have had the pleasure of feeling a book hangover. In fact I can’t even remember the last time I had the time to read a book long enough to have a book hangover.

I’ve had as much trouble reading as I have with writing in the last month or two. I’m nearly done with The Desire Map by Daniella Laporte (which is actually fantastic) but I’m half way through Tara Moss’ autobiography/memoir/social commentary book (I’m not sure what to class it as and everything works!) as well as nearly finished with an omnibus that I loved as a teen. It currently takes me two months to finish a magazine too.

Safe to say that I’ve been a little out of the loop.

I finally got my hands on Patricia Briggs new Mercy Thompson novel Night Broken and I have to say: wow!

I really haven’t seen her break her stride and many other authors have. I’ve pulled my teeth, along with many others, when it came to Laurell K Hamilton (although she is doing much better now) and Charlaine Harris (I’m so behind on those books), even JR Ward who’s books I can’t put down normally, is sort of waning a little. Night Broken is full of everything I would have expected from Briggs and more.

The beginning of the novel starts with a reminder of what happened at the end of the last one, which is brief and concise, then it launches into all the juicy stuff. Adam’s ex-wife, Chrissy, is in some deep trouble, she’s bitten off more than she can chew when she takes on a lover who is supposedly behind the death of her ex-boyfriend and the suspected arsonist of her apartment building. She calls for help and being Adam’s ex-wife, he can’t refuse her. So in moves Chrissy where she starts to take over Mercy’s home.

She’s in her kitchen; using her dining room; making her pack feel sorry for her; she’s even using her bathroom. Christy is an infection and Mercy is letting most of it wash off her shoulders. She is being the better person, even if it means that she’s not eating and spending extra time at the workshop to make sure that she doesn’t have to see her face.

But there is something more pressing to deal with, the fey have come back to claim the walking stick and Mercy doesn’t know where Coyote is, she pulls her resources to try and find someone who can help her. Enter Gary Laughingdog, another child of Coyote. Together they discover that Christy’s lover is hunting down woman to find her and won’t give up until her finds her.

Night Broken is a brilliant read and my only frustration was that it was over too soon than it needed to be. I would like, for once, for Mercy to not end up knocked out or seriously injured. Okay I get it, she’s a shifter and she is not as strong as a werewolf, but enough is enough! Let her actually fight out a scene or two. She has some skills.

Briggs writing style is also so easy to read. There are only a few authors whom I can read and forget that writing is hard work, that it takes effort to be that flawless. She really puts the read into Mercy’s shoes and I even teared up a little when she was saying yet another goodbye to Adam.

All in all, I think that this series is definitely one that everyone should sink their teeth into. It’s funny and witty and Mercy’s temperament will make anyone adore her.