That's What I'm Talking About

Note: This review contains spoilers from the previous three books.

Bone Crossed opens with the same scene that closes out the previous book, Iron Kissed, for which I was extremely thankful. Mercy is still recovering and dealing with the repercussions from her assault by Tim, and deciding to take Adam as her mate fills her with joy and panic. I appreciate the care that Ms. Briggs takes with Mercy and the realistic reactions Mercy deals with after being raped. Although the previous book leaves things open ended, Ms. Briggs sets Mercy and Adam on a positive forward course right at the start of Bone Crossed.

Once again, vampires are giving Mercy a bit of trouble, and we find out that the vampire queen, Marsilia, discovered Mercy killed one of her favorites, Andre. Marsilia tortures Mercy's friend Stefan and warns Mercy she, and those she loves, are all targets. On top of this, Mercy has been contacted by a college roommate to deal with a ghost plaguing her home. This sets Mercy in the sights of yet another dangerous vampire.

While I enjoyed Bone Crossed, I felt it was missing some of what made the first three titles so amazing. I did laugh more reading this title than any of the previous books. With statements like

"Thank you for tearing Tim into small Tim bits." and

"Vampire with shotgun - it seemed a little like Jaws with a chain saw, too much of a good thing."

I was seriously chuckling out loud during several moments of the book. Mercy's wit has sharpened, making her observations both insightful and, at times, down right hilarious.

However, Bone Crossed has a dark undercurrent that plagued my enjoyment of the story at times. Between the twisted machinations of Marsilia and the sheer evilness of the vampire Blackwood, I found myself upset at times and resigned to the fact that things cannot change at other times. One thing I've always admired about Mercy from the start is her fierce inner strength coupled with her "normalness" and lack of "superpowers." She perseveres and triumphs over even the most difficult situations. But at some point, Mercy needs a break. After all that she went through during the last book, I found that the continued violations on her person brought me down. But at the same time, I was frustrated that Mercy didn't seem angry or upset enough over what was happening. Maybe I expected more from Mercy - but I found that I didn't connect with her as much during this title as I had during the first three stories.

In addition, while I simply adore Mercy and Adam as a pair, I find their backwards approach to mating a bit frustrating. Mentally, I get where the author is taking the couple and don't necessarily disagree with her approach. But emotionally, things feel off to me. There is no passion between the couple. Part of it is the "behind closed doors" writing style the author uses, and part is the need to take things slowly because of their situation, but primarily, it's the reverse order of their mating that leaves things a bit wonky. Mercy and Adam are still in the "get to know you" stage, yet also mated and in love. They don't live together (and she's living with her first love), but they are dating. I don't feel a connection because Mercy is still keeping Adam at arm's length, even with some of the changes that do occur during the book. I hope that Mercy and Adam's relationship progresses more in the next title, or else I will be extremely frustrated!

All in all, Bone Crossed is a good addition to the Mercy Thompson series. Although I had some small issues with the characters and their reactions to different situations, I did enjoy the progress that was made. The two primary story lines with the vampires left me a little off center (they were not my favorite plots of the series), but I found them gripping and exciting. The Mercy Thompson series is still extremely enjoyable and I plan to start the next book right away!

My Rating: B- Liked It, but I had a few small issues