River Marked (Mercy Thompson #6) by Patricia Briggs

Released: March 1, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 336
Publisher: Ace
ISBN-13: 978-0-441-01973-1

I’ve been pretty sick the past few days and have done a lot of reading as a result. Unfortunately, I didn’t want to take the time to blog between books like I usually do so you’re going to get an abbreviated post today since I  just don’t have the energy right now for lengthy writing.

As I’ve said umpteen times on this blog, I love me some Patricia Briggs, probably in a way that’s unholy. I was so sad when River Marked‘s release got pushed from January to March but I’m happy again because I got my book in the mail a few days ago and it was absolutely delicious. The basic premise of River Marked is that it’s Mercy and Adam’s honeymoon, camping along the Columbia River and, Mercy’s luck being what it is, they run into trouble, in the shape of a people-eater river creature. Without giving too much plot away, this book explores what Mercy and Adam’s relationship is like when they’re away from the pack, which was great to read, even though I’m a huge fan of a lot of the pack members. It’s a real treat to see the two of them negotiating their relationship and really enjoying it, even when things aren’t going quite as romantically as planned. I think Patricia Briggs did a really fantastic job of staying true to the characters as they try to figure out how to balance each other’s natures.

River Marked also really delves into Mercy’s Native American roots, which is something I’ve been waiting for. We get a lot more information about Native American magic/mysticism/whatever-you’d-like-t0-call-it, in a way that’s very interesting and explains a lot about where walkers come from. I don’t to say too much about it here because I think it might spoil the story for people who haven’t had a chance to finish the book yet so I’ll just say that it was really satisfying. The focus on Native American mythology gives the reader a lot more to ponder while forcing Mercy to think about her family and her relationships a bit more, which is always good. I love it when authors make their characters uncomfortable.

Also, awesome cover! I love how what I’m assuming are Native American symbols have been incorporated into the background.

Book #1 in this year’s urban fantasy challenge from Dark Faerie Tales.