Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs Narrator: Lorelei King
Series: Mercy Thompson #3
Published by Penguin Audio on November 1, 2009
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Length: 9 hours, 11 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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It wasn't hard to follow the scent of blood to the living room where the fae had been killed. It had been a violent death, perfect for creating ghosts.
Mercy Thompson enjoys life as a mechanic, but life is never simple given her increasing closeness to the local werewolf pack, and her ability to change into coyote form at will. And when a member of the fae community calls in a favour, needing her skills for a covert murder investigation, she jumps into the hunt.
But the dangers multiply and she clashes with shadowed creatures of great power. When her old boss Zee is charged with a brutal assassination, Mercy find herself fighting alone. There are those who love her, who would keep her safe, but she is wary and holds her freedom precious. Until, that is, she has nothing left to lose but her life ...
We continue our read-along on the Mercy Thompson series, with a review by Carole at Carole’s Random Life in Books:
This book left me with all kinds of feelings. I have had a hard time getting it out of my head since I finished it hours ago. This was a re-read for me but it has been roughly 6 years since the first time I read this book and it really had a bigger impact on me this time around. I have so much love for this series having read all of the books set in the Mercy world and now working on re-reading them as time allows. This book felt like a really pivotal book this time around since I know how things do work out. I am in awe of the magic that is the Mercy Thompson series.
Mercy is asked by Zee to help out with an investigation investigation involving the fae. Things get a whole lot more complicated almost immediately after when Zee is arrested and charged with murder. Mercy knows that he is innocent so she is going to do everything in her power to set the record straight even when she is told to leave things alone. I will be honest and admit that I didn’t remember who the bad guy was in this mystery and was trying to puzzle through everything right along with Mercy and she discovered new pieces of information.
The other major point in this book focuses on Mercy’s love life. In the previous books in the series, Mercy has had both Adam and Sam showing interest in her. Sam ended up moving in with her as roommates and Adam has declared her as his mate. Sam and Adam are both very strong Alpha wolves and a choice has to be made. Mercy does finally figure out where her heart is in this book and she does it in a way that reminds me why I love her character as much as I do.
The final section of the book really got to me. It was intense to say the least. I was emotionally all over the place as I listened to the everything that happens to Mercy. I was angry for her. I wanted to cry for her. I wanted to help glue back all of the pieces or try to do something to make it be that things didn’t really happen. I think that the way that Patricia Briggs decided to share how Mercy was feeling during the aftermath of the big event is genius. I am in awe of her writing ability. Mercy dealt with the pain by turning into her coyote. In doing so, the way she acted and her body language took on a very obvious meaning. It was powerful stuff to say the least.
I would highly recommend this series to others. I do think that this is a series that is best read in order since the relationships between the character grow and change over the course of the series and events from earlier books do come up from time to time. I can’t wait to continue with my re-read of this fantastic series!
Narration:
I loved the narration of this book. Lorelei King did a spectacular job in narrating this story. There are quite a few characters in this book and she did a fantastic job in using different and consistent voices for those characters. She really showed the emotions of the characters during this story. The pacing of her reading was really nice and I found myself being able to listen for hours at a time.
Listen to a clip:
Games:
Who said (enter the answer in the Rafflecopter, don’t put in the comments)
““I like you,” she said to me. “You play an underhanded and subtle game—and like Coyote, you shake up the order of the world.” She laughed. “Coyote indeed. Good for you. Good for you. ”
There are other options in the rafflecopter for you to enter discussion questions and quotes to share.
Share your review/ thoughts on Iron Kissed:
I thought it might be fun to link up reviews so we can find them all easily. It can be a link to Goodreads or a blog, or wherever you have a review (short or long).
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Observations and questions you shared from Blood Bound:
(Thank you so much for sharing!)
- I’ve read through the series twice and I always think after each book that the story is light and funny in parts with doses of chilling terror. Cory Littleton was frightening!
- I always wonder why the vampires seem a little threatened by what Mercy is (coyote shifter). Why would that be a threat to them?
- Does Stefan really love Scooby Doo?
- Why is Mercy so lucky to have two men (Adam and Samuel) in love with her?
- I wonder if Marsilia really put Andre up to the scheme.
- When Mercy was searching for Andre, why wasn’t anyone else actively looking with her?
- Why doesn’t it hurt for Mercy to change into a coyote?
- I wonder if Mercy can really have children.
Quotes you readers shared from Blood Bound:
(Thank you for sharing!)
“Why is it that in all the adventure movies the heroine doesn’t have to get up and go to work?”
“Adam wants to know what took you so long?”
“Tell him I had wild, passionate sex with a complete stranger.”
“So they came after your trailer with can openers?”
“We’d spent years as adversaries, two predators sharing territory and a certain, unwelcome attraction. Somehow, during all those years I spent outwardly acquiescing to his demands while making sure I held my own, I’d won his respect. I’d had werewolves love me and hate me, but I’d never had one respect me before. Not even Samuel. Adam respected me enough to act on my suspicions. It meant a lot.”
Schedule:
We are doing one book every 4 weeks, posting on Fridays.
Feb 28: Iron Kissed – Carole at Carole’s Random Life in Books
Mar 27: Bone Crossed – KC
Apr 24: Silver Borne – Berls at Because Reading
May 22: River Marked – Rachel at Waves of Fiction
Jun 19: Frost Burned – Jonetta at the Blue Mood Cafe
Jul 17: Night Broken – Jennifer the Book Nympho (now at That’s What I’m Talking About)
Aug 14: Fire Touched – Robin
Sep 11: Silence Fallen – Sophia Rose
Oct 9: Storm Cursed – Angela at My Guilty Pleasures
Nov 6: Smoke Bitten – Anne
Miss a post?
Jan 3: Moon Called – Anne
Jan 31: Blood Bound – Melanie
Be sure to enter the giveaways!!!
Giveaway:
Digital or Paperback copy of Bone Crossed from Amazon (US ) or Paperback copy of Bone Crossed from Book Depository (open Intl):
Grand Prize Giveaway:
I am still developing the complete grand prize package which I will update here as we go along in the Read-along. I know it will contain the MP3 audio versions of the books from Brilliance Audio, probably signed as I intend to go see Patricia Briggs at a conference or two this year. It will also contain swag from those events. There will be a Mercy Thompson enamel pin from AceRoc.
About Lorelei King
Lorelei King is one of the most successful and accomplished American actresses working in the UK today, appearing in numerous films and television shows. Lorelei is also a multi- award-winning narrator of audiobooks, recording the works of best-selling authors Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton and Patricia Cornwell among others.
Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Los Angeles, Lorelei now makes her home in London, where she lives with her husband, actor Vincent Marzello.
About Patricia Briggs
Patricia Briggs was born in Butte, Montana to a children’s librarian who passed on to her kids a love of reading and books. Patricia grew up reading fairy tales and books about horses, and later developed an interest in folklore and history. When she decided to write a book of her own, a fantasy book seemed a natural choice. Patricia graduated from Montana State University with degrees in history and German and she worked for a while as a substitute teacher. Currently, she lives in Montana with her children and six horses and writes full-time, much to the delight of her fans.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
Friend or follow me at Goodreads.
- 🎧 Echo by Tracy Clark @tracypc6161 @ChanteMcCormick #BrillianceAudio #LoveAudiobooks #KindleUnlimited🎧 - December 3, 2024
- Read-along & #Giveaway: Edge – Innkeeper by Ilona Andrews @ilonaandrews @reneeraudman @natalienaudus @AceBooksPub @nyliterary @TantorAudio @AudibleStudios #Read-along #GIVEAWAY #LoveAudiobooks - December 1, 2024
- Sunday Post –1 December 2024 @kimbacaffeinate @readingreality - December 1, 2024
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER Friends
Carole, what happened to Mercy wrecked me when I read it and still haunts me. Fabulous review!
Yeah, unfortunately for the power hungry Mercy is smarter, even in that state. She is one amazing woman.
I agree, Jonetta! I think I had an even stronger reaction to it with the audiobook than I did during my first read. This book has really stayed with me.
This one always gets to me. I’ve read and listened to it multiple times and even when I know what’s going to happen to Mercy, I still feel. This one is a tough one. Great review!
It is tough. And creepy. But it shows Mercy up for the strong, smart woman she is. And it also shows clearly who Adam is.
I agree.
It was fun to read through this, Anne. It sounds like a great readalong with a bunch of happy readers! I hope you continue to enjoy!
Thanks, this is one of my all time favorite series. Top 5 for sure.
Carole, you mentioned that this is a re-read and it hit you harder than expected. The same thing happened to me. I was near tears and I wasn’t like that the first read. I do love that this is a love triangle that was handled with such careful and realistic thought that I didn’t even mind one of my most hated tropes.
Great review!
I really got a lot more this time than I did the first time, or maybe I just don’t remember some things from the first time because it was 8 years ago.
I think that the audio just really had a much bigger impact on me. I remembered what happens to Mercy but I didn’t expect it to gut me as it did.
O.o this one was rough at the end. I was a mess the first time I read it and dread re-reading since I know what is coming. Still that said I agree with you that PB handled the aftermath very well. I remember this is when I started to really love Ben.
Yes PB handled it so well. I mean we know what happened but it wasn’t told in really explicit detail. We got more about what Mercy was thinking. It was a whole new view of Ben.
I think that Briggs did a fabulous job with this book. That had to be a really hard scene to write. It tore me up just listening to it so I can only imagine the feelings that went into writing it. Ben really did shine in this one.
This one is always tough for me to re-read. I have to be prepared for it emotionally.
Yes it is tough but it was treated carefully.
This one hit me harder the 2nd time around, too, Carole! I think because I knew what was coming. That’s what I said in my update review on Goodreads, anyhow. I’m going to try to start this series again soon to catch up with the re-read, but I’m nervous to re-read this one again because I felt so shattered for Mercy! I love Lorelei King’s narration, too! She IS Mercy to me. Fab review, Carole! 🙂
It is a fab review! I’m so excited to have you joining us Rachel. I think I could sit and just read them all one after the other (which is what I did the first time). But now I have ARCs to worry about finishing too.
I think that the audio made a big impact on me. Another factor might be that at this point, I really know and love Mercy so going back and seeing this happen to her all over again just got to me.
This is my favorite in the series and one of my favorite books, period. Briggs wrote a perfect book.
I think many of her books are excellent, and this one is also.
Thanks so much for sharing my review, Anne! This book holds a special place in my heart and I think that Briggs did a fantastic job with a very difficult situation.
I totally agree – it is a fantastic book. Thank you so much for sharing your review! I really appreciate it and it is an excellent review. I wanted to get people more connected so I also added the linkup so we can all share and read more thoughts as we go along. It’s fun.
I didn’t know there was a Mercy Thompson readathon going on! Where have I been?! I’ll try to play catch up because I’ve been meaning to re-read this series so that I dive into the two latest. Oh my goodness, I’m so excited!
I am thrilled to have you join us. I am completely enjoying the reread and can’t believe what I remembered and what I didn’t. This is one of my favorite series EVER so it’s not surprising I am loving it though.
This book (& series) just continues to get better no matter how many times I re-read it.
I agree with you! Thanks for joining us.
This was a very difficult book to read, even the second time around
Yes but I find avoiding things doesn’t mean they aren’t happening. I love Mercy’s strength and heart. Every experience is one where she learns and grows.