Review: Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Fire Touched
Author: Patricia Briggs
Published: 2016
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Mercy Thompson #9
Rating: C+

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I started reading the Mercy Thompson books right smack-dab in the middle of the series. Since I had read all of the Alpha & Omega series, which is a spin-off, I actually found it really easy to fall into these books.

There’s been a war brewing between the Fae and humans ever since the human justice system failed to prosecute someone who had harmed a Fae’s child. In response to the growing tension, the werewolves have declared the feud none of their business and have worked to avoid getting trapped in the middle. This neutral stance is threatened when Mercy and her husband, Adam, decide to offer their pack’s protection to a child wanted by the Fae. To avoid all werewolves getting pulled into the war, Adam and Mercy’s pack is disowned and marked rogue. This leaves them completely on their own against the Fae and vulnerable to werewolves outside of their immediate pack.

Honestly, after finishing the previous book (Night Broken) I hadn’t planned to continue with this series. I had too many issues with the relationship dynamics, Mercy’s character and how several things were handled in that one. What changed my mind was reading a few reviews that stated a couple of the minor plot threads from “Night Broken” were wrapped up in this one and that Mercy wasn’t as much of a martyr.

I’m glad to say that I liked Mercy a little better and that the dynamic between her and Adam didn’t grate on my nerves as much. However, the two plot threads I had been interested in seeing concluded were a bit of a letdown. I saw a lot of fans excited to see the minor plot of the pack all hating Mercy get some conclusion. While I’m glad to see that one wrapped-up, I was disappointed with the way it happened. In the previous book, it felt like Mercy had gained a fraction of their respect at the end. Instead of seeing that continue to grow, the packs’ respect was forced (literally) by Adam putting his foot down. This felt almost like Briggs knew she needed to end the packs’ hatred of Mercy and took the easy way out.

The other minor plot thread that I had wanted to see concluded was the drama around Adam’s ex-wife, Christy. While she’s briefly in this one, I didn’t feel like that whole situation was resolved. Instead, she’s just… temporarily displaced.

Aside from those minor threads, the main plot really felt like a transition story. The pack protecting the child was used as a launching-pad to shake a lot of things up in the series. With the pack now disowned they’re left really vulnerable, but also free to make some decisions that they normally wouldn’t be able to. They’ve also firmly brought themselves into the conflict between the Fae and humans. All these changes make it exciting to see what shape the pack will take and what knew alliances/enemies will appear in future books.

While “Fire Touched” hasn’t turned me into an avid fan of the series, it hasn’t turned me off from continuing forward. I’ll probably read the next book, but I really don’t have any interest in going back and reading the earlier titles I skipped over. If you’re looking to give Briggs a shot, I’d recommend checking out the Alpha & Omega series.

Other Reviews for the Series:

• Night Broken (Mercy Thompson #8)