Iron Kissed - Patricia Briggs

When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to shapeshifting car mechanic Mercy Thompson to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not. And she'll have to choose between the two werewolves in her life-whether she wants to or not.

As mentioned in my last book review I couldn't resist starting this one immediately after finishing with Blood Bound. If, in the previous book, Briggs shows us the vampire world she has created then this one is mostly dedicated to the Fae.

There is a murder on the loose among them and Zee, Mercy's Fae friend asks for her help in smelling the crime scenes to see if she can help them. They prefer to solve it and keep it quiet so as not to alert the humans who look at them, and at werewolves and vampires, with distrust. But before Mercy can reach a definite conclusion the main suspect is found dead and Zee is arrested on suspicion of murder. With Fae ready to let him take the fall for all murders Mercy seems the only one interested in saving him and in investigating she manages to make a few more enemies.

Briggs also develops Mercy's love life... She is wooed by two Alpha werewolves, Samuel and Adam. Both in the last book and this one I think Briggs brought us closer to Samuel and I was wondering where that was going to lead. We know his motivations a lot better and he gets to spend more time with Mercy. I won't ruin it for everyone by saying who she finally chooses but I felt Briggs handled it beautifully and I really liked Mercy's conversation with the one she is leaving behind. We, and Mercy, are also made more aware of pack politics and the importance of being declared a mate by the Alpha and how that affects the whole pack in a negative way when it's not acknowledged. Although my romantic side would like to see the third party have his own book I am definitely happy that this situation is solved and that they can all go on with their lives and to new adventures.

But all is not well as the story ends on a very tragic note. I'm not sure where Briggs is planning to take us with that part of the storyline since it is obvious to me that Mercy won't be magically healed from this. We saw the beginning of that but I felt the book definitely ended with a darker tone and I am very curious to know what she will bring us in book 4.

Grade: 4.5/5