Review: Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep

So, guess what? I signed up for the gym again this year and today was the first day I went to work out. I still don't like it at all, but I really need to move and do something as I've gained even more weight :( At least, this time, my sister signed-up with me... so hopefully, we'll be able to motivate each other.

Aside from that, nothing much is going on in my life. I was hoping to get this review up earlier, but now is not too late :) I hope you enjoy!!

By the way, who plans to wake up to watch the royal wedding? LOL, I know I won't, but apparently, my sister and mother are going to try :P


***Warning: There are spoilers in this review. Read at your own risk!***

Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep

published by Simon & Schuster

I’d rather face a dozen lethal assassins any night than deal with something as tricky, convoluted, and fragile as my feelings.

But here I am. Gin Blanco, the semi-retired assassin known as the Spider. Hovering outside sexy businessman Owen Grayson’s front door like a nervous teenage girl. One thing I like about Owen: he doesn’t shy away from my past—or my present. And right now I have a bull’s-eye on my forehead.

Cold-blooded Fire elemental Mab Monroe has hired one of the smartest assassins in the business to trap me. Elektra LaFleur is skilled and efficient, with deadly electrical elemental magic as potent as my own Ice and Stone powers. Which means there’s a fifty-fifty chance one of us won’t survive this battle. I intend to kill LaFleur—or die trying—because Mab wants the assassin to take out my baby sister, Detective Bria Coolidge, too.

The only problem is, Bria has no idea I’m her long-lost sibling... or that I’m the murderer she’s been chasing through Ashland for weeks. And what Bria doesn’t know just might get us both dead...

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Elemental Assassin series, Book #4

The Story: Tangled Threads takes place only a few weeks after the events of Venom in which the Spider, i.e. Gin, has declared war to Mab Monroe. As Ashland's underground lord, Mab is not about to let herself being threatened and has taken the necessary measures against Spider - hiring an assassin of her own, Elektra LaFleur. LaFleur fits right in Mab's crowd as not only is she good at killing people, but also enjoys it. However, the Spider is not the only name on LaFleur's list and when it comes to Bria, Gin's long-lost sister, all bets are off. Also, Gin continues to struggle whether to let Bria know of her identity, as both Genevieve and the Spider. As if she has not enough things on her plate to deal with, there is also this new relationship with Owen Grayson... the man who seems to accept who and what she is and is content...

My Opinion: Overall, as a fan of this series, I was satisfied after reading Tangled Threads. I think that Ms Estep did a good job and delivered a solid installment. However, as a reader, the more I thought about this book, the more I had issues with it ^_^; I'm not going to go too much into the details of the storylines or the characters because I've gone through it in the previous reviews :)

As a fan, I was satisfied because I enjoyed the story that was told; it was interesting, fast-paced, action-packed and a nice continuation from the previous events. I enjoyed the characters and their dilemmas, especially Gin. There's a lot going on in her life and she also has to worry about Bria and her new relationship with Owen. All in all, I liked how everything was handled and resolved. I liked seeing the familiar faces - Gin is having quite the entourage for an assassin :) I also liked that some light was shed on some issues - that's always nice. Also, I thought that Bria's reaction to Gin's identity was quite realistic and obviously, she'll need time to come to terms with it which I guess is what we'll see in the next book.

My favorite part of the book was without doubts the growing relationship between Gin and Owen. It bothers me a little that Gin is still so uncertain of Owen - especially since the man has been such a rock, but then it's only been a few weeks they've been together. I really like Owen and he's really what Gin needs. He doesn't condemn her and understand the path she's taken. I'm actually surprised though, I thought Owen was a bit darker and grimmer than he really is. In any case, it's a joy to see their relationship deepens.

All in all, I think that if you've enjoyed the series so far, you'll like Tangled Threads :) Ms Estep takes what has worked in the first three books and continues with it in Tangled Threads which explains why this is a good installment... At the same time, it's essentially where my first issue lies. There's nothing new to Tangled Threads. In the beginning, I felt that the writing style and the character were refreshing and original; however, after three books, they've become familiar. This is not a bad thing, familiar is good, but it also means that you have to compensate somewhere else and this is usually done through details or storylines. Unfortunately, there hasn't been many twists and surprises in the Elemental Assassin series. It seems to me, when Ms Estep sat down and thought of this series, she wrote down an outline of the main events that would happen and she's been sticking to that outline a bit too closely and too much to the point. And because of this, the series has become a tad too predictable. I mean, at the end of Web of Lies, when the new detective is mentioned, I knew right away it would be Bria. From the events in Venom, I knew that Bria would learn of Gin's identities in Tangled Threads... In the next book, I know that there will be a big show-down with Gin whose magic has grown so much and Mab. What I'm saying is that there's not enough subtlety in Ms Esptep's writing. If it's in the story, then there's a reason to it and from there, you can extrapolate and there's not a thousand possibilities ^_^; While it doesn't stop me from enjoying this series and Tangled Threads, I think it is holding back the storyline from being an absolute wowzer.

The other issue I had with Tangled Threads and this one with a lesser impact was the amount of recaps the book had. Gosh. I understand the need to remind the readers and inform the newcomers what has happened, but in this case, it was too much and simply bogged down the storyline and probably made the book thicker by 1/3 ^_^; Usually, main lines are fine but in Tangled Threads' case? It was every single event of importance from Spider's Bite to Venom: Fletcher's death, Gin's past, all the secondary characters, Donovan Caine, the previous books storylines, Gin's magic and so on. Really too much! Obviously, Tangled Threads cannot be read as a stand-alone and I'm sorry but for those who have short memory, well too bad for you!

My Grade: At first, after reading Tangled Threads, I was going to give it a B+. However, upon reflection and to be fair, it's really a B. I enjoyed Tangled Threads, there's no question about it; it was definitively a solid installment. Unfortunately, there are issues that cannot be overlooked and need to be rectified if the 5th and final book is going to be a wowzer.

Review: Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

Woohoo, a review! About time, right? LOL. I had plans this week-end about blogging and blog-hopping... and I ended up sleeping ^_^; Ames says it's because I was so tired because of the presentation, and I guess yes, I was... but I don't know, it's unfortunate, no? ^_^;

Anyway, here is my review of Chasing Fire! A week late, but at least, I've written it :) Hopefully, there'll be more to come this week! Enjoy!


Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts
published by Putnam in April 2011

Little else in life is as dangerous as fire jumping. Flying past towering pillars of smoke, parachuting down to the edge of an all-consuming blaze, shoveling and sawing for hours upon hours, days at a time, all to hold the line and push back against the raw power of Mother Nature.

But there's also little else as thrilling - at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are one of the most exclusive fire-fighting squads in the nation, and the job is in Rowan's blood: her father is a legend in the field. She's been fighting fires since her eighteenth birthday. At this point, returning to the wilds of Montana for the season feels like coming home - even with reminders of the partner she lost last season still lingering in the air.

Fortunately, this year's rookie crop is among the strongest ever - and Gulliver Curry's one of the best. He's also a walking contradiction, a hotshot firefighter with a big vocabulary and a winter job at a kid's arcade. He came to Missoula to follow in the footsteps of Lucas "Iron Man" Tripp, yet he's instantly more fascinated by his hero's daughter. Rowan, as a rule, doesn't hook up with other smoke jumpers, but Gull is convinced he can change her mind. And damn if he doesn't make a good case to be an exception to the rule.

Everything is thrown off balance, though, when a dark presence lashes out against Rowan, looking to blame someone for last year's tragedy. Rowan knows she can't complicated things with Gull - any distractions in the air or on the ground could be lethal. But if she doesn't find someone she can lean on when the heat gets intense, her life may go down in flames.

Genre: Contemporary romance, Romantic suspense
Series: None

The Story: Rowan Tripp is the heroine of Chasing Fire. With her mother walking out when Rowan was still a baby, it's only natural that she has a very close relationship with her father, Lucas "Iron Man" Tripp, whose been her life pillar. Following into his footsteps just seemed the thing to do and as a result, Rowan has been jumping since her 18th birthday and is one of the most experienced smoke jumper there is. However, this new season is different. Everyone is still reeling from last year's tragedy when one of theirs died in the fire; especially Rowan as it was her partner for that jump... but life goes on, fires have to be put out and the new crop of rookies to train.

Gulliver Curry has been a hotshot firefighter for a number of years in California. However, his ultimate goal is to become a smoke jumper like the Iron Man Tripp and that's why he's come to Montana. Meeting his ideal woman in Rowan is just a bonus. Although Rowan has a rule about not hooking up with people she works with, that'll only mean Gull will have to use his charms and convince her he's worth breaking the rule for.

As the season advances, the relationship between Rowan and Gull deepens. Unfortunately, this season, Rowan and Gull, the whole team and community have more than the fires to deal with: murders, sabotages and accidents... The questions are who is being this and why?

My Opinion: LOL, I guess I could have skipped the synopsis, since it's not offering much more than the blurb ^_^; What's great about Nora Roberts is picking up one of her books, you know what to expect: great characters and interactions/dynamics, excellent writing, a nice romance, good research and an interesting plot. Personalities, details and setting change, but the recipe is the same because it works. The only question you got to ask is "how much will I enjoy this?" For me, I've found that as long as I don't binge on Ms Roberts books, her books work for me and Chasing Fire was no exception :)

I enjoyed Chasing Fire. I think what made this book for me were the characters, especially the H/H. I thought Rowan was unusual, different. She's tough, very straightforward and has a temper :P And I'm not talking about grumpy temper, but more like she doesn't let people walk over her and really, good for her :) That scene where she discovers what Dolly has done and goes after her? I thought it was great LOL. I also really liked her relationship with her father - I love daddy's girl, perhaps because I'm one - and really, it's so natural for Rowan and Lucas since they were each other's life center. I thought that Rowan's reaction to Lucas meeting someone, especially since it was the first time, was very realistic and very well handled. While I liked Rowan, I loved Gull!! LOL. He was just such a great guy - charming, nice and patient. The way he wooed Rowan - *swoon* LOL. He really was great and I thought balanced, complemented Rowan very well. It was just great to see the two of them interact and Gull making Rowan realizes thing in his fun, casual way. They made for a very nice romance, in my opinion.

Before getting my hands on Chasing Fire, I looked for some reviews and found out that some people thought there were too much material about smoke jumpers. I do agree that sometimes, Ms Roberts get carried away with her research; however, in this case, it didn't bother me at all. I felt the amount of details and scenes set the atmosphere and the pacing really well for Chasing Fire. I didn't really know much about smoke jumpers before this book, but from reading it, I know that the season is really intense, tiring, non-stop and thrilling... and I felt Ms Roberts did a great job at conveying this to the readers by the amount of research she included in the storyline. Yes at times, I would have liked to know what some of the abbreviations/acronyms meant ^_^; But like I said, it didn't really bother me. Though I do think it took away from other aspects of the book a little such as the secondary characters. Oh, we are introduced to a colorful cast - I especially liked Dobie LOL - , but they didn't seem to be as well developed as they usually are. I also felt the relationship between Lucas and Ella was a bit rushed or at least, didn't get too much screen time, but overall it still worked well in the story.

As for the overall storyline, the intrigue, it was okay. Ms Roberts makes it works. Unfortunately, I have the very bad habit of reading the ending ^_^; So I can never guess who the culprit is, because I already know... However, I think that in the end, everything was tied up well and made sense.

My Grade: B. All in all, I think that once again, Ms Roberts delivered a solid book and I'm a happy camper :) If I had to rank Chasing Fire, I'd say that I enjoyed it more than Black Hills, but it wasn't as good as The Search :)

Hauling Sunday XL

Happy Easter everyone!!

Who here celebrates? For me, Easter is a nice 4-days long week-end and I'm sure going to take it LOL. Sorry I've been MIA last week. That presentation really took a lot of my time and even after I was done, I was beat ^_^; Notice that it's when we or actually I have a plan/schedule for blogging during the week that things happen and my plans go awry. Ah well. Should stop me from planning, right? LOL.

All right, let see. The presentation went okay. I got cut, because I was over-time; we were on a very strict timeline, especially since we were already 40 minutes late because of the fire alarm and ensuing evacuation ^_^; The presentation was supposed to be only 7 minutes, but even reading very, very, very fast, I was at 8 minutes. So getting cut was unavoidable... not that I really cared. I think what mattered is that we got our results out there, people in the department got to know what we were working on... and in any case, my presentation was almost identical to my co-worker's. Actually, our work is the same, just different context. And he won a prize :) So that was all good for the lab! (I was not in the running, because I'm a research assistant, not a student or resident, but then not being able to finish my presentation, I doubted I could have won anyway...) Otherwise, it was a nice day and the dinner was great :)

Now, onto books right? Well I was lucky to score some books quite early this time around... and the books are:

Dark Descendant by Jenna Black - This book caught my attention with its cover and the blurb. Love, love the cover and the story is about children of gods, a bit a la Riordan, but for grown-up :) Plus, I've been wanting to try Ms Black's writing, but her other series didn't seem to suit me.

Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep - A given, no question asked :)

Master of None by Sonya Bateman - This book has been on my radar since it was released last year. It's the cover, I really love the wolf on it :) I just wasn't sure on the story... The second book has been released and well, reviews have been favorable. Plus, both Dark Descendant and Tangled Threads were Simon & Schuster Urban Fantasy novel... so I thought another wouldn't hurt if it's in the same vain. Yes, that's my logic LOL.

So yes, instead of memorizing my presentation, all I wanted to do was read... which is what I did LOL. Dark Descendant and Tangled Threads were both quick reads and enjoyable books and reviews to come :P However, now that my presentation is done and I have time to read - 4-days long week-end!! - I'm kind of hitting a wall and I'm not feeling the books I'm picking up. Sigh. You know, stress is not good, but post-stress seems worst! The good thing though is that there's still a week to April :)

By the way, I have a little ERRATUM for last week... Chasing Fire was not the only book I've bought. Indeed, I forgot that I picked up at the UBS:

The Texan's Reward by Jodi Thomas - Seems like reading the Texas trilogy by Lorraine Heath has put me in the mood of western... Who would have thought LOL. I've had Texan's Wager by Jodi Thomas in my TBR pile for a couple of years and decided to give it a go. One of the interesting character in that book for me was Lacy, which gets her story in Texan's Luck... but only found The Texan's Reward.

So yeah, that's my week. Book-buying-wise, it was great, because I really scored some of the books early... but hey, I can always hope for an even better one, right? :) What about you?

Presentation Jitters

Hey everyone!

how are you all doing? Hopefully, better than me. I thought I'd have time to put up a review yesterday or today, but instead, been busy with the presentation ^_^; The seminar starts today at 1pm and I'm scheduled to talk at around 5pm... It's only 7 minutes long, but I have a lot of material. So far, the presentation is not totally memorized yet and I have to speak really, really, really fast ^_^; We'll see how it turns out. Another problem is staying awake during others' presentation... but given the jitters, that should be feasible LOL. Then, the event is capped with a dinner and award presentation (for which I'm not in the running because I'm a research assistant - boo!)... so yeah, this day is long and means I'm probably not writing a review tonight either :(

Anyway, have you been reading anything good? I've just finished Dark Descendants by Jenna Black and Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep and have enjoyed both books very much :) Think I'm on a roll... hopefully, it'll continue :)

Hauling Sunday XXXIX

I hope everyone had a very nice week-end! Me, it was the week-end from hell :( This Wednesday, I have a 7 minutes presentation and I had to work on it the whole week-end. Even had to go to the lab, because my boss will not be in for the next two days. Ugh, nothing worst than having to go to work during the week-end, really :( As a result, not only am I tired (because I waited till the last minute to work on the presentation), but my reading has suffered greatly as well. I don't think it'll recover till after the presentation :( Luckily, beginning of the month was great.

All right, all right. The whole week-end wasn't too bad LOL. I did find a new manga that I'm really enjoying. It's called Bartender and it's about, well, a bartender LOL. Seriously, mangaka can make everything interesting. I've also started watching TVB new series, Relic of an Emissary. Yes!!! Finally some decent fighting scenes!!! It's really cool to watch, because it's really about the choreography of the moves. I wished they'd have taken out the special effects completely, but at least, they've kept it to a minimum. The costumes are okay, looks a bit too fake, and the story is quite interesting :)

What about you?

On the book buying front, I was once again a good girl. Okay, not totally true. I did only get one book...

LOL, I don't need to tell you why I got this, right? :) The only thing is I had already pre-ordered a copy online... but it didn't arrive on Tuesday and for some reasons, I was really, really, really in the mood to read Chasing Fire... so I bought a copy at the store ^_^; Yeah, I know, I have absolutely no patience... but hey, it was kind of justified, since I finish reading Chasing Fire before my pre-ordered copy arrived on Friday. In any case, I was a good girl and did go and return the pre-ordered copy...

Totally me, right? LOL. Just because I've been through all this trouble, expect my review for Chasing Fire this week! :)

Review: Sugar Creek by Toni Blake

Nothing much going on with me, except I swear, my boss is going to drive me crazy with next week's presentation. Ugh, I've been working on the powerpoint slides the whole week and gosh, he is so picky. Ugh. Otherwise, I'm really looking forward to the week-end... except that I have to go through the clinic first, sigh. Ah well, can't have it all, right? :)


Sugar Creek by Toni Blake

published by Avon in May 2010

Welcome to Destiny, Ohio—where two families have been at odds as long as anyone in town can remember.

Rachel Farris returned to her childhood home with one mission in mind: get Mike Romo out of her family's apple orchard business and out of their lives. But hard-nosed and totally hot Mike, who happens to be the law in Destiny, is convinced the Farris clan stole the land from his family fifty years ago and he's not backing down. Even when shapely trouble shows up in a pair of designer blue jeans. However, neither the hunky cop nor the sexy prodigal hometown girl can anticipate the electricity that heats things up whenever they're together — adding new sizzle to an ongoing feud that's raged for generations, and soon putting both their hearts at risk.

Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: Destiny series, Book #2

The Story: The last thing Rachel Farris wants is to return to Destiny to help her grandmother with this year's apple harvest, especially when the advertising company she works for is down-sizing and her job is on the line. However, Rachel doesn't have much choice even though she suspects the real reason she was called is that Edna is lonely. Unfortunately, she has not even made it back yet that she is pulled by sexy, hunky cop Mike Romo. For three generations, the Farris and Romos have been feuding over the Farris' orchard, although neither Rachel and Mike know how it all started. Between the feud and the speeding ticket, let just say Rachel and Mike are off to a bad start... and things don't get better when Rachel learns that Mike has intentions to buy the orchard from Edna... Despite everything though, sparks fly between the two and when the two give in to passion, fireworks explode. However, Mike is rooted to Destiny because of his past and Rachel can't wait to go back to Chicago...

My Opinion: Okay, I love contemporary romance - it's my favorite genre - and really, these days, they're getting scarcer and rarer... So I should be jumping all over Ms Shalvis, Ms Phillips, etc. However, I don't know if it's me being too picky or what, but most of them are misses for me and seriously, it is so frustrating! Unfortunately for me, Ms Blake and Sugar Creek fall into the miss category :(

For Sugar Creek, it wasn't so much Ms Blake's writing style that bothered me, but the heroine. I really had issues with Rachel. It wasn't so much her personality - I think that in that aspect, Rachel was your typical career-orientated woman who made it from a small town to a big city. She's strong and determined, enjoys her success, the sophistication of her life and is reluctant to come back to Destiny. Fair enough. However, what bothered me is that it seems to me Rachel didn't care about family or more specifically, Edna. Yes, Rachel is often helping out her relatives financially, and yes she loves Edna... but when you look at what she has done for Edna over the year, it all felt like empty words. Seemed to me, Rachel was so absorbed in her life and the big city to realize what was going on with her grandmother.

For example, Edna is elderly and has to take care of the orchard and nobody helps her. Really? Like Rachel has to be summoned in order for her to take some time off and go help and apparently, over the years, different cousins/relatives have had their turns. It just felt totally wrong for me. How hard would it be for each of them to take some time off to head for Destiny to help out? That way, everyone would be helping out and would spend time with Edna. Sounds like the perfect solution, right? However, definitively not the case, since Rachel has not returned to Destiny once since she left. Also, Rachel was not even aware of the yearly apple festival - that Edna implemented by the way - that kept the orchard afloat. How could you not be aware of it when it's been going on for 10 years. It just showed me how disconnected Rachel was from Edna and I really wonder if Rachel cared for Edna that much. Also, the suspicions that Rachel had about Edna making up stories about her weak knees because she was lonely - that rubbed me the wrong way as well. Even if Edna did make up story, if her relatives were taking better care of Edna, perhaps she wouldn't be so lonely and wouldn't have to make up the stories. Anyway, to me, it was just wrong and it really affected the way I felt about Rachel. Couldn't bring myself to love her character :( Another bad point is when Rachel learned that Mike wanted to buy the orchard and Rachel was so outraged. Well really, none of her family is interested in the business... so what did she expect? It was just frustrating.

Other than that, well I didn't really connect with Mike either. I didn't get a feel for him. Yes, his character was developed, but his past and his reasons for being a cop and all, it just didn't reach me. The romance was okay, I mean two persons that dislike each other, but can't help but be attracted and start a fling. Then, they deny that it's becoming more serious. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything I haven't read and without characters that stood out, well the romance didn't either. The sex scenes were hot though :) Plus, I did like Edna's character and her story :) Edna was a hoot, but also one tough lady. I think Rachel learned a lot from Edna throughout the story and that will only make her a better person :) The friendships - Rachel with her best friends, reconnecting with high school friend and Mike with his respective best friend - really add to the book as well :)

My Grade: C. This book was not badly written or anything. It's simply that I didn't love the H/H, didn't connect with them and thus, it was a miss for me. There is just so much the writing, setting and secondary characters can do to save a book.

Review: River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Woohoo, I finished this review! When I woke up this morning, I thought I needed a review for the blog today and I knew I wanted to review River Marked. However, I didn't have time at all during the day to work on it... Then, today, I got home late and I also got my hands on Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts... Plus, I have some articles to read for work... so yeah, I was really doubting whether I'd be able to finish this review or not... but guess what? Yeah, screw the articles ^_^; I'll try to read them tomorrow morning instead. Yes, I'm such a bad little worker ^_^; but really, 24 hours in a day is definitively not enough!

Otherwise, life is the usual. I have another presentation next week (boooo!!) - hence, the literature readings :( Plus, I've been working on slides - sigh, my boss can really be picky ^_^; And I don't know if it's because of the presentation, but I've had a little BPPV relapse :( Been feeling fine for the past two weeks and oups, since Sunday, the vertigo came back :( It's not too bad, phew... but still very annoying, grrr. Luckily, my reading is going strong... Actually, very strong, so life is good :) And when reading is good, life is good... at least for me LOL.

Okay, I'll let you get to the review! Enjoy!


*Warning: I usually do my best to keep the spoilers to a minimum in my reviews. However, it wasn't possible for this one. Therefore, read at your own risk!

River Marked by Patricia Briggs
published by Berkley in March 2011

Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.

An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help...

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Mercedes Thompson series, Book #6

The Story: River Marked takes place not too long after the events of Silver Borne and opens with Mercy and Adam's wedding :) Then, for their honeymoon, Adam has organized a camping trip to Columbia Gorge. However, it turns out that the fae have not suggested the location out of good will; instead, they have been sent there because one of the fae had a vision and feels that something big will happen and that Mercy and Adam need to be there. Mercy and Adam quickly figure out that something is wrong... especially when they rescue a terrified man from the Columbia River. However, they never could have expected the River Devil, a creature from Native's myth able to yield some powerful magic. Luckily for Mercy, she won't be facing the monster on her own as she has the help of someone she never expected to meet... her father.

My Opinion: All right, onto the review. First, I'm really sorry about the spoilers, but I feel it was really hard to recap the book without them ^_^; True, the blurb was able to, but seriously, you don't really get a sense of the story from it, in my opinion.

Hmmm, there was some good and some bad in River Marked, but all in all, the good far outweighed the bad. Overall, I think the storyline was good and well executed, with a good pacing and lots action like most Mercy books... However, ultimately, I feel the storyline didn't matter that much, because the lure of River Marked was something else - Mercy's origins.

Still, I liked how the book started with some fun scenes - Mercy getting together with her friends Warren, Kyle and Stefan. I'd say those three are my favorite secondary characters in the Mercy Thompson series, so it was really a joy to catch up with them :) Then, there was the wedding. LOL, only Mercy would get a surprise wedding. Then again, it makes sense since I can't see Mercy planning a wedding LOL. If you leave the details to others, well yes, you'll get surprised :) What I liked the most is how everyone showed up for Mercy and Adam's wedding - not just Adam's pack, but Zee, Bran, Charles, etc. I really like how Mercy has an entourage around her, that she has friends she knows she can trust. Too many heroines in urban fantasy series are loners, with trust issues... so it's nice that in that aspect, Mercy is different :) Anyway, I really liked the wedding because it was light-hearted and fun, but also because it kind of tied up the loose ends. It feels like the series is ready to move into a different direction, that the love triangle is finally settled and Mercy's position in Adam's life, secured :)

Once Mercy and Adam embarked on their honeymoon, that's when the action started :) Like I mentioned, I thought the storyline was good - it was interesting and combined with a fast pacing, it resulted into quite a suspenseful book. Plus, I think Ms Briggs weaved in the Native American beliefs and myths in and connected the whole thing with Mercy's origins really well. To me, that was the major plus for River Marked in my opinion, readers finally finding more about Mercy's origins and background. I think it really lived up to our expectations and explained why Mercy is so special :)

It feels like I should say more about the storyline or this part of the book, but really I don't know what to say ^_^; I loved seeing Mercy and Adam's relationship... it's one of the rare time they've truly been alone and they enjoy each other. I also liked the new characters that were introduced, all those Native "myths." I truly hoped we get to see them again in the future... At the same time, it feels like their appearances is taking the series into another direction. I'd love for Mercy to meet other skinwalkers in the future - which seems to be a true possibility. Also, it seems like we might be headed for a big showdown with the vampires and that would really be interesting :)

To me, there was only two weaknesses to River Marked. The first was the absence of the Pack for most of the book. For me, what really makes the Mercy Thompson/Alpha & Omega werewolf world stand out is the dynamics of the Pack, the interactions between the werewolves. I kind of understand why Ms Briggs didn't include them in this book... without them, she got to focus on Mercy and Adam's relationship and also the whole Native aspect and Mercy's origins. I do admit that with the Pack, it might have been too much... However, it doesn't change the fact that I really missed them :(  Especially since I waited a year for my werewolf fix ^_^; The second weakness - and this is a complaint that I've had for quite a few books - is that I feel that Mercy is a bit of a "Mary Sue" heroine ^_^; It feels like at the end of the day, she's always the one saving the world. Okay, granted, she's the heroine and of course, the story revolves around her... however, it's not as subtle as some other books. Like in River Marked, it does make sense why Mercy has to be the one confronting the River Devil... yet, I can't shake the feeling. I mean, at the end, Mercy is the one who almost lost her life, but lo and behold, against all expectations, she came on top and survived... with a lot of injuries ^_^; And unfortunately, it's a bit of the same thing with Anna in Ms Briggs Alpha & Omega series.

My Grade: B+. River Marked remains a good installment to the series and fans will enjoy it, if only to find out about Mercy's origins :) Once again, I'm already looking out for my next Ms Briggs werewolf fix ^_^;