Friday, April 9, 2010

Review: Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs (& Contest)

Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson series, Book 5)
by Patricia Briggs
2010 Ace Books
Hardcover Edition; 342 Pages
ISBN:978-0-441-01819-2
Genre: Urban Paranormal

4/5 Stars

Summary (Press Release)
Mercy Thompson, car mechanic and shape-shifter, never knows what the day - or night - may bring in a world where "witches, vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters live beside ordinary people". But she is about to learn that while some secrets are dangerous, those who seek them are just plain deadly...\

Mercy is smart enough to realize that when it comes to the magical fae, the less you know, the better.  But you can't always get what you want.  When she attempts to return a powerful fae book she previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down.

It seems the book contains secrets - and the fae will do about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands.  And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side - leaving Mercy to cover for him lest his own father declare Samuel's life forfeit.

All in all, Mercy has had better days.  And if she isn't careful, she may not have many more...

My Thoughts
Silver Borne is the fifth installment in the popular Mercedes Thompson urban paranormal series.  I enjoyed this one tremendously, and as usual, it was the interplay between the characters that I truly enjoyed, not necessarily the plot around the Silver Borne, which I actually found really weak. 

In Silver Borne, we see Mercy struggling to deal with her relationship to Adam, alpha of the local werewolf pack.  Mercy, as a shapeshifting coyote, is strugging to fit into the pack, and is meeting resistance from many of the other werewolves who don't think she is equal to the task as Adam's mate or as part of the pack.  Trouble meets Mercy and Adam on one of their dates, as Mercy suddenly finds herself doing something wholly unexpected and dangerous, and discovers later that mind-control, from the pack, was used.  With Mercy's innate ability for certain kinds of magic and talents, she was able to fend off some of the mind-bending, but this raised awareness of how much danger and how many problems she and and Adam could face in the future.  I like how her relationship with Adam develops in this story and how it isn't such a smooth path as relationships are not always sweet and carefree.  It is interesting to see how they work through their problems and how they deal with their strengths and weaknesses in their relationship.  That it wasn't just about sex, but about love and respect and learning about each other is what fascinates me.

With Mercy's other talent being trouble, it is inevitable that it would find her in leaps and bounds in this novel.  When Samuel decides to hurt himself, she suddenly finds herself knee deep in more trouble, especially as she tries to protect him from others, the pack leader, and from himself.  Samuel is one of my favourite characters in this series and I really enjoyed this part of the book.  The relationship between Samuel and Mercy is very interesting and reminds me of a brother and sister who feud a lot, but when it comes down to it, will protect each with their very beings.  Mercy went out of her way, even to displeasing Adam, to protect Samuel and I was so glad she did.  She jeopardized other relationships by protecting Samuel and jeopardized other lives, innocent young lives, in doing so, but also had to pay the price for doing so.  I enjoyed the character development in this story and I think we saw Mercy grow up a bit novel as she realized how much her actions could really hurt others, and not just herself.

Silver Borne definitely moves swiftly from one scene to another, and is very densely plotted.  There are a few loose threads however, and some things did not always flow smoothly.  I was somewhat disappointed in the story line around the silver borne.  While I really enjoyed all of the characters and the events that happened were fun and interesting, the storyline itself was somewhat weak.  I am hoping that maybe it will be explained more fully in the next novel.  This is why I did not give the book five out of five stars.  I also have to admit that I missed the vampires in this novel.  It didn't make the novel any less interesting, but I really enjoyed that aspect of these novels in the past.  However, with a huge number of werewolves, a coyote, some fae, a fairy queen, and a gremlin, there are certainly enough otherworld creatures in the novel to satisfy anyone.

Verdict
Silver Borne is another excellent addition to the Mercy Thompson series.  It was fun, exciting, interesting, with a variety of quirky and fantastic characters that really make this series stand out.  The writing is superb and I was caught up in the action right from the beginning.  If there was anything amiss in this book, it was the silver borne itself, and its role in the story, which is one of the few things I found to be weak.  I can't wait to read more about Adam, Mercy, Samuel, and Ariana in future instalments of this series.

Silver Borne was sent to me as a review copy by Penguin Canada.

Contest Time

I have one (1) copy of Silver Borne to give away.

Here are the rules:
1) You must be a follower of my blog.
2) Leave a comment with your email address telling me about your favourite supernatural character (and why) from any book.
3) Contest is open to Canada and the US.
4) Contest closes April 30, 2010.

Good luck!

29 comments:

  1. I follow your blog!
    One of my favorite supernatural creatures is Jack from the Savannah Vampires series by Raven Hart. He is a hilarious vampire! But don't get me wrong, these books aren't all humor! Nope pretty scary stuff actually. Jack just adds a very hilarious element.
    candace_redinger(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great contest!

    I'm a follower :)

    xx,
    E.J.

    e.j.stevens.author[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm a follower! Vampires have always been my favorite supernatural creatures but I have a fondness for faeries as well.

    Ladytink_534(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  4. My favourite supernatural character is a werewolf called Nick from the book Need by Carrie Jones. He's just too sweet!

    aikychien at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. My fave is Lucien from Gena Showalter's Lord of the Underworld. His demon is Death and he has some unique powers which is pretty cool.
    throuthehaze at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. hi stephanis, thanks for coming over! reciprocating your visit, and am now follower!

    i thought i'd give your giveaway a whirl. my favourite is silas of the graveyard book by neil gaiman. he's the "undead" guardian of nobody owens, a boy who grows up with ghosts in the graveyard.

    glad to have found you via the hoP!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can't wait to dig into the Patricia Biggs books! I have had them for 6 months and they are the first on my summer reading list :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Stephanie
    I'm a new follower :)
    The 1st supernatural character that pops into my head is the fallen angel Patch from Hush, Hush :)

    Thanks!
    Mel
    hefollowedme AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love this series, but I haven't gotten my hands on the latest one yet.

    I'm following via Google Reader!

    Hmmm...my favorite supernatural character (or at least one of them) would probably be Samuel from the Mercy Thompson series. He's such a great friend to Mercy, and he's had to go through so much, yet he keeps trying.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

    ~Natalie
    n_monzyk_27(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm a follower and my favorite is Riley Jensen from Keri Arthur's series! tWarner419@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. New follower. : ) My favorite supernatural character is Alexia Tarraboti from Soulless... is it cheating since she's technically "preternatural"? lol. Thanks for the giveaway.
    ambience.of.rain {at} gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm a follower

    Chirth7@yahoo.com

    My favorite is Dante, he's a Vampire, in When Darkness Comes by Alexandra Ivy.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Follower. =) missyreadsreviews@gmail.com

    My favorite supernatural character is Gideon from the Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter. His book/story isn't actually out yet, he just always catches my attention.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Since I read tons of paranormal books, I have many favorite characters. One that I enjoy is Jenks from the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison. For a pixie, he has so much personality, loyalty, friendship, humor, a devoted father and husband, and sometimes the sanest one in the room, lol. He is totally entertaining and adds so much to the series.

    am a follower

    US

    caity_mack(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  15. I guess my favorite would have to be Bones from Jeaniene Frosts books. He is just so sexy and funny all at the same time.
    Thanks for the opportunity to win
    I'm a follower
    contestmom AT hotmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  16. I really hope to win this book. I can't wait to get my hands on this book.


    My Favorite is Mercy from Patricia Briggs books. I think Mercy is great because she can hold her own being the only coyote in a pack of wolves.

    I'm a follower
    US resident

    jellybelly82158 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  17. My favorite supernatural character would probably have to be Lestat from Anne Rice's Vampire chronicles series. I just love him because he's so dramatic, and that makes for good reading.

    -follower


    echs2007@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think my favorate supernatural character would have to be Faythe Sanders from Rachel Vincent's Shifters series. She's a kick-butt kind of gal but still down to earth. She's a well-rounded character and very believable.

    I'm a follower and US resident.
    wildthing309(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm a follower.

    My favorite would have to be Ivy from the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison. I just love everything about her.

    rae_reads@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. I’m a follower!

    One of my favorite supernatural characters(I have so many) is Eric Northman. He is a serious hunk and I’m so anxious for the next book in that series and the start of the new season of True Blood.

    Thanks!
    TheFictionEnthusiast AT Live DOT Com

    ReplyDelete
  21. I am a new follower, and a new book blogger! Check me out if you are interested at http://crazycatladyslibrary.blogspot.com/! I'd love to have you as a follower!

    My absolute favorite supernatural character right now is Faythe Sanders, the first female werecat enforcer in the Shifters series by Rachel vincent. I love cats, and would absolutely love to be a werecat myself! Another character that I have just recently added to my favorite list as number 2 is Dakota Frost, the skindancer and tattoo artist from Anthony Francis' brand-new skindancer series!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm a follower.

    Most favorite character, oh, so hard to choose. It would have to be either Mercy from Silver Bourne or Sookie (part fairy)from the Southern Vampire series since these are the only series I buy every book of. I think it's partly because I love the entire series, all the characters and the worlds created by the authors and they are the lynch pin of the two series.

    acm05@juno.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. Just started following.

    I really like Elena from Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series. Strong female character. She has faults, but she's not annoying or super self absorbed.

    kann0032(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  24. I'm a follower.

    My favorite supernatural character is Mercy Thompson. :") She's totally kick-butt and gets the job done.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I'm a follower.

    My favorite character is Rachel Morgan from Kim Harrison's Hollows series. We see Rachel learn and grow and suffer through all the ups and downs of her life. She is definitely under the category of the road to hell is paved with good intentions. :)

    heatwave96(at)hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. I am a GFC follower. My favorite is Edward Cullen from Twillight he is very alluring!
    epblack at zoominternet dot net

    ReplyDelete
  27. Mary D
    zenrei57 (at) hotmail (dot) com

    I am a brand new follower, and my Favorite is Jacob from the Twilight Series --- I love his energy, exuberance and wish Bella would pick HIM instead of Edward lol

    ReplyDelete
  28. I'm a US follower.
    I am another Eric Northman lover from the Charlaine Harris Sookie series. He is just so sexy and has such a sly sense of humor.

    eswright18 at gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  29. I'm a follower. My favourite is Stefan from The Vampire Diaries. I have a US address.

    aikychien at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete