Review: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Night Broken
Author: Patricia Briggs 
Reviewer: Gikany and Una
Rating: A-

What We’re Talking About:

Gikany and Una are huge Patricia Briggs fans and we absolutely adore the Mercy Thompson series.  The latest release, Night Broken, was different from the previous offerings and yet just as wonderful!

Although it is possible to read Night Broken as a stand-alone, we don’t recommend it. The series is so well written, we suggest picking up Moon Called, the first in the series, to introduce you to this world.  This is a very rich and well-woven series.  Night Broken is so wonderful because of the journeys that have brought us to this point.

Mercy Thompson is a beloved heroine of ours.  In fact, she is one of the baselines we use to evaluate new urban fantasy series.  There is just so much to this world, the mythology, and the characters.  In Night Broken we see a more mature Mercy.  She is still full of her usual snarkiness (which we love), but she is calmer, and capable of thinking before acting.  We loved the growth we saw in her.  As the Alpha’s mate, she cannot just keep running head first into danger.  Night Broken is a defining moment for Mercy–taking the lessons she’s learned from the past and applying them.  Her restraint in dealing with Christy is super-human.  Gikany and Una agree we would never have been as tolerant or as forgiving.

Mercy’s inner monologue strengthens the novel.  We were able to listen to Mercy as she thought things through and struggled to accept what was happening.  We especially loved her wit when faced with the nonsense that is Christy, Adam’s ex-wife.  We also greatly enjoyed her interactions with Coyote and the relationship that seems to be tentatively growing.

Christy is present to cause problems for Mercy. The relationship between Adam and Mercy is affected by the mayhem that Christy inflicts via the pack.  Christy must have a master’s degree in manipulation and egocentrism.  Adding these complications to the destruction that Christy’s stalker ex-boyfriend Guayota creates, it is no wonder that Mercy contemplates letting him have her.

The overall plot of the novel is fascinating with the antagonist being a God on the loose.  The reasons why he has gone on a killing rampage both humanizes him and accentuates his other-worldliness.  However, there is always more to these novels than just Mercy versus the big bad.  Not only must Mercy continue to deal with Christy, she also must retrieve the walking stick from Coyote to avoid a deadly confrontation with the Fae.  It may seem like a bunch of moving parts, but it all weaves into the story nicely.  So much of it, as it usually does, works to Mercy’s benefit.

The conflict with the Guayota may be resolved at the end, but other conflicts still have some loose ends, which we hope to see resolved in the next novel.  We worry for Tad’s future and wonder at the state of the Fae.  They are still “holed” up in their reservations and we wonder what threats they may still pose.  We hope to find out where Christy lands – her plans at the end of the novel were sketchy.  With the Walking Stick finding its way back to Mercy, we wonder what the next adventure may be.  Compounding that, it seems Mercy has become interesting to Coyote which could mean anything from the trickster god.

Ms. Briggs has one more Mercy Thompson book under contract (and we desperately hope there will be more books in the future).  If you haven’t picked up the Mercy Thompson series, you should seriously pick it up.  This is one of the best urban fantasy series out there!  You just might have time to read them all just in time before the release of the next one.

Rating:  A- Enjoyed A Lot

About the Book:

Now, Mercy must deal with an unwanted guest—one that brings a threat unlike anything she’s ever known.

An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.

Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.

Release Date: March 11, 2014
Publisher: Ace
Series: Mercy Thompson #8
ISBN: #978-0425256749
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): Hardcover (352 pages), e-book, audiobook
Book Source: Publisher

Purchase Info:
Night Broken (Mercy Thompson #8)

Reviews in the Series:
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #1)
River Marked by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #6)
Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #7)