*ARC received from NetGalley in return for an honest review*

There is something about Patricia Briggs that makes all her books feel like comfort reads. Maybe it is because I read them under the summer sun in some of the places that they were set or that long winter night I read through most of the series to stave off the darkness. Whatever that element is Patricia Briggs has once again captured it perfectly. Mercy is a heroine I have come to love, though Anna still wins between the two, as has Adam. I got halfway through the book and was amazed at how far I had read in what felt like no time at all. The plot for this story was well paced with key elements that kept me reading long after I should have already set the book aside to sleep. I loved learning more about Mercy's powers and can't wait to see where they, and Coyote, take us next.

It seems witches are the issue in Storm Cursed, the newest Mercy Thompson installment. Same with the latest Alpha & Omega (a companion series), Burn Bright. And I think they’re going to be important in the books to come. While it’s not necessary to read Burn Bright before Storm Cursed there are a few connecting dots between the two books. I don’t want to detail the plot because I think it’s best going in not knowing much, but as soon as I started reading I didn’t want to stop! I will say Sherwood Post, Wulfe, Zee, Tad, Elizaveta were big players in this installment, and there are some intriguing surprises.

Mercy Thompson is a series that is consistently amazing and keeps me wishing for more even when the series is at eleven books! That’s not even counting the companion series, Alpha & Omega. I just recently did a re-read of both series, one right after the other, that’s how good it is! Patricia Briggs’ writing is smart, and her stories are well-plotted. I feel like she examines the motivations of each of her characters before setting them on a path of action. Even the fight scenes are well-choreographed and exciting. The relationship between Adam and Mercy is strong, they both lean on each other for support without question, and there’s always an undercurrent of passionate simmering under the surface!

Mercy Thompson is one of my all-time favorite urban fantasy series, and if you haven’t picked it up you are missing out! Best to start at the beginning and read the books in order. I have an e-ARC, but I also bought an audio copy and that’s how I ended up “reading”. Lorelei King’s narration is perfection! Her performance of both her male and female voices are amazing, and her comedic timing when there’s humor is spot on!

In an urban fantasy series as long-lived as Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson—which began with Moon Called in 2006, and recently reached its eleventh installment in Storm Cursed—the novels tend to begin alternating between mythology-driven adventures and more discrete forays into the characters and world. At this point it’s simply not possible for one book to touch on every single character we’ve met in the long years since a renegade werewolf first stumbled into Mercy’s mechanic shop and upended the delicate balance of her supernatural life. We have explored a lot with Mercy since then, from her origins as Coyote’s daughter, to her upbringing in the pack of North American uber werewolf the Marrok, to her semi-exile to the Tri-Cities in Washington state, to her courtship with Adam Hauptman.

The previous Mercy Thompson book, Silence Fallen, went heavy on the mythology of Mercy’s world, quite literally depositing her outside of her comfort zone as she was abducted and then escaped captivity in Europe, a tricky feat without a passport, money, or even clothes (her coyote form gave her no cover either, coyotes not being native to Europe). The book gathered together a veritable who’s who of supernatural figures, from the Master Vampire of Prague, to the head of the Tri-Cities werewolf pack, to a Goblin King, several witches, and even (briefly) the Marrok. By contrast, Storm Cursed centers on Mercy’s home turf in the Tri-Cities, and shines a light on a very specific group of people: namely, the witch Elizaveta Arkadyevna Vyshnevetskaya and her family.

Elizaveta has been part of the Mercy-verse from the beginning—a witch on retainer for the Columbia Basin werewolf pack bled by Mercy’s husband Adam. The witches are kind of like a law firm, except they clean up supernatural messes rather than legal ones. Adam and Elizaveta have always gotten along—he speaks the Moscow Russian of her youth—but Mercy has always been more circumspect around Elizaveta. There are three kinds of witches in her world: white, gray, and black, with the differentiations shaking out like one would expect. White witches are less powerful and as a result tend toward paranoia and secrecy; black witches earn their power through the torture and death of humans or other supernatural beings; grey witches strike a balance between getting eaten by black witches and doing their own killing. Elizaveta has always been a grey witch, but there’s a lot of grey area between torturing children and… not doing so, and that never sat right with Mercy.

The novel opens with Mercy and a few of her pack members dealing with the supernatural busywork her husband’s pack has taken on since declaring themselves autonomous from the larger North American pack. They must talk a possibly murderous goblin out of a barn; when that goes wrong, they have to bring his head to human law enforcement before they round up a dozen or so zombie goats. Mercy calls Elizaveta for help dealing with the latter problem, but an unknown woman with a Southern accent answers the phone. A coven of black witches has made play for the Tri-Cities, and has either taken Elizavata’s family hostage or already killed them all. Mercy and Elizaveta may not have been overly friendly, but she was a known quantity, and these black witches are bad news.

Over the course of Storm Cursed we learn a lot more about Elizaveta’s family, about witch politics, and about the practice of magic more generally. Though there is some mythology-building going on in the background—Adam and his lieutenants are largely off-screen while they act as security for an upcoming summit between the U.S. government and the fae—the concerns of the novel are more intimate and closer to home. Mercy learns a little bit more about the parameters of her secondary powers. The pack more clearly defines its relationship with both the government and the supernatural world. Mercy and Stefan have a conversation they’ve been avoiding. The villains aren’t figures from legend, but people Mercy has known for years. It doesn’t have the international scope of its predecessor, but in some ways, the stakes are so much higher when the fate of the world isn’t on the line.

Signed copies of Storm Cursed are available now from Barnes & Noble.

Mercedes Hauptman a coyote shape shifter has declared her town a safe haven from the Grey Lords and others; as a result she and her husband's werewolf pack get caught in the middle of the power struggle among the Grey Lords of the fae, the human military and and anti- non human bigots. Let the Storm Cursed struggle begin. As usual Mercy is fixing cars and sliding into trouble as her progenitor, Coyote, always does. Wonderful fantasy.

Another enjoyable addition to the Mercy Thompson Series. I liked that this title introduced a new, scary threat in the witches, as well as getting to know the mysterious Sherwood some more. Plus, Zee and Tad are one of my favorite characters in this series so I'm always happy to see them! One of the reasons why I really enjoy this series is the way in which Briggs delves into the relationships and backgrounds between all the supernatural beings, especially the Pack. However, I felt that that element was missing in this one and I was a bit confused on certain decisions made and why. Adam also seemed a bit OOC at times. There were also moments were I felt that there was just extraneous information provided, details that didn't have a purpose or moved the plot along and that took me out of the narrative. This title felt a bit more like a filler book to me, to introduce some new characters and setup upcoming story-lines in future titles. I like that Briggs is fleshing out such an interesting world, but I would like to return to some more werewolf-centric plot-lines in the future and delve more deeply into the intricacies of the Pack.

SO GOOD. The story is fast moving, witches are disturbing, and Mercy's pack is awesome. I liked that we got some Coyote, too.

Briggs can do no wrong. All of her series are amazing and her heroines are like personal superheroes to fans of this fantasy writer. Mercy is a lot of things - a coyote shapeshifter, a mate to the alpha of a wolf pack, a car mechanic, and a badass. There's problems - and there's always problems, but she takes care of them with the help of her vampire, werewolf, and everything in between posse. In 'Storm Cursed', Mercy and her group run into some quirky situations that will amuse readers while they also cheer the under coyote on. If this is the first book from the series you pick up, put it down, and start from the beginning!!! This is worth the wait.

4.5 stars. Storm Cursed, the eleventh book in Patricia Briggs’ MERCY THOMPSON urban fantasy series, kicks the series up a notch with some clashes with black magic witches, and no one is safe. Mercy, a coyote skinwalker and the shapechanger daughter of the god Coyote, is back in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state after her hair-raising adventures in Europe in Silence Fallen.

Storm Cursed begins with a seemingly tangential event: Mercy has tagged two of her husband Adam’s werewolf pack, firefighter Mary Jo and computer nerd Ben, to go on a goblin hunt with her, tracking down a goblin suspected of killing a policeman. She calls Larry, the goblin king who we met in Silence Fallen, to help. What this event discloses about Mercy’s evolving relationship with Mary Jo, and about a secret power held by goblins that is apparently unique among the fae, may have important repercussions in the future.

Indirectly this goblin hunt leads to a police request to help with a bunch of pygmy goats that someone has turned into zombies using witchcraft (interestingly, the pygmy goats are still adorable even though they’re dead and zombie-fied). When Mercy calls the witch family of Elizaveta Arkadyevna to help with the zombie goat problem, a strange woman with a soft Southern voice answers the phone and tells Mercy that Elizaveta’s family is “all tied up right now.” Not ominous at all! And then the family that owned the pygmy goats tell Mercy about a woman with a Southern accent who tried to buy the goats … and to get their young son to come to her car.

As Mercy and Adam investigate what has happened at Elizaveta’s house, and where the zombies are coming from, they find threats from both without and within their territory. Meanwhile, the Gray Lords of the fae are reengaging with humans, offering to meet with the U.S. government to negotiate a peace treaty, but the witch problem is threatening this process as well.

Black magic makes for a compelling but harrowing plot in Storm Cursed. Black magic witches are the most powerful of all witches in this world; far more powerful than white or gray witches. Their willingness to torture and kill both animals and people gives them a far greater boost to their magical powers than white and gray witches can access. That willingness to commit appallingly evil acts for the sake of power is front and center in Storm Cursed, and Briggs doesn’t pull her punches. (Sensitive readers are advised to tread carefully.)

Offsetting this darkness is the moral bedrock and decency of the key characters. It’s not just in Mercy and Adam, but also in Zee, a powerful fae who is Mercy’s longtime friend, Zee’s son Tad, and several others. We finally learn more about the mysterious past of Sherwood Post, a werewolf with a missing leg (supposedly an impossibility, since werewolves regenerate). Wulfe, an extremely powerful but unbalanced vampire, gets a chance to shine in Storm Cursed, and there are new revelations about his character as well.

Briggs pulls in plot threads and character arcs from prior books and takes them in unexpected but logical directions with each new novel in the MERCY THOMPSON and the related ALPHA AND OMEGA series, which are so closely interwoven that it’s definitely best to read all of the books in both series in order. In Storm Cursed, Briggs once again surprised me with her willingness to shake things up. No character is safe (well, perhaps other than Mercy and Adam), no matter how long they’ve been a part of the series.

Storm Cursed was fascinating reading, even though it had several disturbing scenes. It kept me glued to my chair. Sixteen books into the world of Mercy Thompson (counting both series), Briggs is still writing excellent urban fantasy and finding ways to keep it fresh.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
I am such a huge fan of the Mercy Thompson series. It is definitely one of my top 5 Urban Fantasy series. I love how even though there is a romance it is more in the background-- the focus more being on the current plot. Where we are now in the series, the romance is just heartwarming, absolutely wonderful.

The story this time around really felt like a set up. I kept waiting for something huge to be revealed, so I'm thinking something big is coming.
This book does go dark with the dark side of witches and blood magic being investigated.

I love how we get more time with some of the side characters. Seriously this series is so good about giving side characters personalities and time to shine. I am still holding out for more about Ben, who is my favorite character.

Looking forward to the next books in this world!

A compelling mystery with plenty of creep thrills for this latest entry to the Mercy Thompson series.

Book 11 in the Mercy Thompson series, Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs has Mercy dealing with the political issues that have fallen to her after her declaration at the bridge.

The Fae and politicians are arranging a meeting and the politicians have found a way to wrangle Adam and Hauptman Security into providing security for them during the talks. As an intermediate, Mercy has been nominated to make acceptable arrangements for the meeting. However, this is just a small portion of what Mercy needs to do to protect her territory.

Some black witches have arrived in town and a lot of deaths have turned up. Zombies are being created and must be dealt with. Even cute little mini goat zombies! It appears that these black witches are possibly connected to the big meeting, but it seems they were more there to take over territory.

I didn’t really feel much of a connection between the witches and the meeting, despite some of their actions. I saw the big intentions of the witches as taking over the territory. Especially getting rid of the current resident witches. Storm Cursed showed us how the witches gain power and even gives a surprise that devastates Adam.

Storm Cursed was a fast paced adventure with a lot of action in a short period of time. Coyote does make an appearance and helps out with some clues for Mercy. We do see some loss that affects some of our wolves. I had a hard time putting Storm Cursed down as there was hardly a pause in the adventure. Mercy moves from one problem to the next trying to save her territory from these black witches and the zombies they are making. This was a really enjoyable installment to the Mercy Thompson series. So many ups and downs. I do think that Bran had a hand in preventing some problems due to his sending a witch tortured wolf to live with Adam’s pack. I think he foresaw the issue that the pack was going to face with the witches and this was his way of contributing without being obvious about it.

I was definitely pleased with this installment and am also totally blown away by the cover! I love the cover art that Patricia Briggs has for her books. She has a very talented artist! This is another series I buy the hard covers for just to have those beautiful covers on my shelves!

Don’t miss this installment, even if you were frustrated with the previous book. I’m sure people will be happy with Mercy and the relationships in Storm Cursed!

Another great addition to the series! I’m already painfully eager for the next book, whether it features Mercy and her crew or Anna and Charles. This followed the same story flow as the others but introduced new elements into the story, both with regards to magic and character dynamics that made it feel fresh. I love how secondary characters get just as involved as Mercy in the solving of the mysteries and fighting of the battles. One of the things I love most about this series is how REAL it feels. Of course, not real as in I'm expecting werewolves to come forward to announce their existence (or maybe?) but in how the relationship dynamic is amongst the characters. I love how aware Mercy is of her limitations and how she respects them (to an extent) and also respects the fact that others worry about her and want her to make it out alive (lots of people, but specifically thinking of Adam). While she can be stubborn, she is not mule headed to the point of stupidity and will completely own when she is scared out of her mind (to those she cares about at least). Her and Adam's relationship is charming and solid in the best of ways. I love the carry over both of inside jokes from previous books in the series (nudge ;) ) and various triggers/worries/insecurities that also call back to previous events (the way she won't take drinks from the fae, Adam's worry about her even going to get eggs from the store). But even with these concerns, I love the give and take between her and Adam where she makes she he doesn't try to coddle or overprotect her, but she also concedes to some of his worries and requests to put his mind at ease. A great example of compromise in a relationship.

I’m very curious to see where Briggs is taking these two series together because I can’t tell if they’re kind of leading to the same point of conflict, with one major enemy that they are all (perhaps unknowingly) working towards defeating, or diverging to fight different major enemies while simultaneously existing in the same world. Either way, I very much want to read the next book and see how this world progresses. I wonder who it will be... I might have to reread the series already just to tide me over.

What happens when witches think they can take over Mercy's territory? They get killed! Lol . Holy Witchborn Batman was this book amazing! So many things happened in just this one book. So many connections and "I freaking knew it" moments it was hard to keep up with. It definitely takes a while for everything to be unpacked, because trust me there is a lot! But this one will NOT disappoint you.

Character breakdown;

Mercy: I have always loved mercy from the first book right down to this one. She has grown so much and learned so fast. What I love more is that she is learning how powerful she really is. Stop underestimating this little coyote she's tougher than she looks!

Adam: ever the helpful alpha. I also wish he had a little more faith in his wife, Mercy isn't that helpless as he thinks. And the more she knows the more she grows over time. I will always understand his apprehension for her but stop believing she is too fragile. But That she just had the weirdest luck lol.

Sherwood: because he was a huge part of this book. I knew he was more than what people speculated about him. What I wasn't expecting was for him to be who he actually was. And I gotta say I am loving how this storyline is going.

Wulfe: because he was so uncharacteristically not himself. But a lot was told about him and all that he knew (well some) it is weird that I find myself more intrigued with him than I was before! Also dude's funny!

Favorite quote: One by one, Two by two, The Hardesty witches Are traveling through. With a storm of curses, They call from their tomes; They will drink your blood And dine on your bones.

Now what I am wondering is what will happen in the next books that are coming. This plot with the witch family is being told in both series. The alpha and omega one and Mercy's one, and every time one comes out it answers the previous questions. Then leaves even more to ask, there is soooooooo much that I want to know and cannot wait to find out.

Mercy's back!! SILENCE FALLEN had Mercy by herself for a really big portion of the book, but STORM CURSED brought a lot of Mercy's allies along for her ride and I loved every minute of it.

STORM CURSED had a great pace and a great storyline. Even after 11 books Briggs is still able to bring us new and exciting things in her Mercy Thompson world.

I really enjoyed the glimpses into Mercy and Adam's relationship. They are a really strong couple and continue to get stronger with each book. Mercy's connection to the pack also get stronger with each book. One thing I REALLY want to see in a future book—but hopefully sooner than later—is BABIES for Adam and Mercy. PLEASE bring us babies!!!

I really enjoyed STORM CURSED and look forward to reading more. I think I might actually go back to book one and re-read the whole series just so I can stay in Mercy's world a little longer.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

STORM CURSED is action-packed, danger-filled, and full of good, bad and strange surprises. I believe it is the best of the Mercy Thompson series I have read in awhile. Author Patricia Briggs got our girl back to fixing cars and dealing with the pack life much like the earlier books. I loved getting back to seeing everyone's favorite grumpy mechanic Zee, his son Tad, visiting Uncle Mike and his bar all the while dealing with government officials who have no idea how to deal with the Fae, and even the return of vampires Stefan and the ever scary Wulfe.

Annetta Sweetko, reviewer for Fresh Fiction

Complete review can be found at: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=68431

Omg!

Humans. This book was so darmn good.

I think I love Wulfe, lol

Nudge!



These were my thoughts, straight after I finished Storm Cursed. With it being a couple weeks later, I still feel the same way.

To say I was excited to be back in this world, was a understatement. It was literally the best feeling, I can not believe we are in the 11th book already, I found that the author did include some recaps of the previous books to jog our memories, I guess that was a good thing for any new readers that have jumped into book 11 like its nothing to worry.

My one advice, is always the same is that with any series you should go and start at the beginning, see how it started, learn the characters, love the world and have an understanding of the overall story arc.



Black Magic witches, you guys it was so flipping good. I have not read a good witchy, witch book in so long. And Patty, brought her A game. This was creepy, mystery, and so many twist and turns. If I were watching it unfold my neck would be sore from the left, right motions.



We got, Wulfe, Zee in this instalment, be still my heart i adore these two characters.



Some Larry the goblin king, and Sherwood, the mysterious wolf, It made me want to go back and re read them again. I have no complaints, Patty, did a fantastic job and I am really curious to see where this series is heading in the future.



Adam and Mercy are one of my most favourite power couples, I enjoy them as individuals and as a couple, loved that they are growing stronger, even Mercy how far she has come with the pack and family.



I am not here to give spoilers for he 11th book in the series, I think if you are a reader looking for something new to start and are serious about it, thins is the one you should do.



5/5 Stars

Mercy is back in the tri-cities after her unwilling adventure abroad. She is reopening her garage but also dealing with the fall out of her declaration from back in [book:Fire Touched|25776210]. The government wants to have sit down meeting with the fae and it is making Mercy's life complicated. Plus there are witches in town and dark magic on the horizon.

This book is so full and I seriously wanted more. There is a some awesome Larry the goblin king and Mary Jo actually surprised me. There is a ton of Zee and Tad which made me very very happy. Also Mercy spends a lot of time with Sherwood Post who is freakin' amazing. Adam is great as always and coyote steals a couple of scenes. There wasn't quite enough of the rest of the pack, ie Ben, Warren and Honey but there is always the next book.

So I really kinda adored this book. I read it one sitting because I kept saying just get to the end of the chapter and instead I'm short sleep and finished with the book. But it was soooooo good. I seriously kept going back and rereading parts of it. I also could not read anything else for a couple of days, it was that good.

Overall it was fantastic!!!!!!

I read very little fantasy of any kind, so I'm hardly an expert on the genre. But what I can say is that as a nonfantasy reader, this book (this series) still absolutely thrills me. The black magic and zombie problems in this one were both terrifying and fascinating, and the culminating battle at the end was heart-racing and, by itself, worth the journey to get there. The relationships between the supernatural and the government is examined more closely in this one, and Briggs is so talented at making realistic social issues a part of this world. Definitely going to keep reading this series as long as it's published!

I really feel like it's been equally no time at all since Silence Fallen and forever since Silence Fallen. It's not until I start reading each new Mercy Thompson book that I realize how much I've missed Mercy in my reading life.

This time around Mercy is dealing with some mysterious witches who have a penchant for leaving zombies in their wake (miniature zombie goats anyone?). After attacking the family of Elizaveta (the witch on retainer for the Pack) they seem to set their sights on thwarting upcoming talks between the Fae and the government. Since declaring the Tri-Cities under the protection of the Pack, Mercy and Adam have no choice but to meet this new opponent head on.

Like I said above, I love being back in Mercy's world. Especially after the events of Silence Fallen that happened outside of the Tri-Cities.

Over the course of the series, we've seen Mercy come up against other werewolves, Fae, vampires, indigenous magics, and unsavory humans, but she's never faced off against witches before. It was strange when I started reading Storm Cursed and this fact started to dawn on me. I mean witches have been in existence in the Mercy universe from the beginning. Elizaveta is called upon in the very first Mercy book Moon Called. They've always been on the outskirts I suppose, but I really loved getting more depth to the witch mythology.

One of the things Patricia Briggs does really well, and has done really well throughout this series and it's Alpha Omega spinoff, is the way that she seamlessly continues to give depth and character development. I mean even Mercy's powers have been developing over the course of the series. Sometimes slowly and sometimes in huge bursts, I love it. Patricia Briggs is also particularly good at doing so with the secondary characters. Sherwood Post whom Bran sent the live with the Pack - a wounded wolf who suffers from amnesia - proved to get such treatment in Storm Cursed. The pieces of his story are slowly coming together, but ever the master, Patricia Briggs isn't one to reveal all too quickly. Instead she'll parse it out bit by bit until the end result can have the most impact. There are a few other such incidences throughout that I'm eager to see where they'll lead to down the line in the series. I mean even the main conflict, of sorts, can be traced back to Book 7 in the series [book:Frost Burned|13413589], which at first felt a little clunky for me as far as plausibility, but the more I think on it, the more I see the connections and appreciate the long-game that Patricia Briggs plays with her storylines and readers alike.

I loved the closeness of Adam and Mercy in this one as well as seeing Mercy interact more with Zee and his son Tad. It was nice seeing Mercy at her garage again. I'll admit I enjoyed how Silence Fallen switched between Adam and Mercy perspectives. I understand it's usage as a plot device, but I love seeing things from Adam's perspective. Maybe it's something that'll be revisited down the line.

Patricia Briggs has never disappointed and fans of the Mercy Thompson series will find plenty to like and mull over in Storm Cursed. With so many ties to previous books, this isn't one I'd recommend if you were new to the series or behind on a few. This has been a very solid series so if you're new, starting from the beginning shouldn't be any kind of hardship and if you're behind, you'll appreciate catching up so all the connections and repercussions from previous books really hit home.

I'm done with the book already and can't wait until the next one! I think there's a re-read of this series in my future!

Storm Cursed is the eleventh book in the Mercy Thompson series and can only be read as part of the saga. Too much character and world building take place in earlier novels for this story to make sense to anyone who hasn’t read those tales. You have to really like a series to read that far into it, along with the adjacent narratives (Alpha & Omega) that make up the Mercyverse and their various short stories. I have read everything, which makes this a review by a fan for other fans. My grade reflects that.

This review will contain spoilers for the books that came before it, as well as a tiny bit of information about a new crossover taking place between the Mercy Thompson series and the Alpha & Omega books.

Ever since Mercy proclaimed the Tri-Cities under the protection of the pack, the werewolves have been called upon by the area’s denizens to handle all sorts of strange supernatural problems. Today’s difficulty is a bit out of the ordinary but still typical enough not to raise too many concerns: a goblin has moved into a local barn and of course the farmer wants it gone. Backed by two trusty lieutenants, fan favorites Mary Jo and Ben, and with a large assist from Goblin King Larry, Mercy is able to roust the annoying, murderous creature from its hidey-hole and advise the barn owner the area has been cleared. There’s more going on here but I’ll leave the reader to discover that for themselves.

Just as she’s finishing tidying up that case Mercy receives another call: the Benton County Sheriff’s office is having trouble dealing with a marauding pack of miniature zombie goats. Mary Jo and Mercy head out to deal with this problem and discover it’s hiding a way bigger difficulty. A nasty band of witches have decided to come to town, bringing their cruel and appalling practice of black magic with them. They expect the pack to just let them take over, which shows just how little they understand about Mercy and her mate Adam.

Fans of the series will remember that an important group of witches played a role in the last Alpha & Omega novel, Burn Bright. In this one, we learn a lot more about that coven and watch Mercy, Adam and the Columbia Basin Pack tangle with this new enemy. We also take a joyous – not! – walk through ongoing political struggles between the U.S. Government and the Gray Lords, and discover a new talent Mercy has been waiting for just the right moment to use.

This story will make fans happy. We get to see our heroes kick paranormal butt, we hang out with old friends like Stefan, Sherwood, Zee, Tad, and Uncle Mike and old frenemies like Wulfe. We’ve got a nasty new enemy to hate and we find out about a new (to this series) mythical creature. Briggs’ world building is phenomenal and the universe she has created totally riveting. As always, I enjoyed the time I spent there.

The full conundrum the wolves and their allies have to deal with is intriguing and engrossing. I was completely engaged by what was happening and absorbed by trying to figure out just how a resolution would be reached. Naturally, I was equally invested in figuring out how various ongoing threads in the Mercyverse were progressing. It was all thoroughly engaging and I ripped through the book in a day.

Which means that the only reason this novel hasn’t received a higher grade is a problem that has cropped up in the last few books. They aren’t DIK novels. Don’t get me wrong, they are good stories and frankly, they are wonderful series books. Ms. Briggs has spent thirteen years creating an exceptional paranormal realm and peopling it with awesome characters and fascinating creatures. However, if Storm Cursed had been the first book in the series rather than the eleventh, I would have been far less impressed than I was by my initial encounter with the Mercyverse. These newer narratives just aren’t quite as compelling as the earlier works. That they are as terrific as they are is a testament to the author’s amazing talent but I just don’t feel the last few have been DIK quality. And again, this far into a series, I am not expecting that and am deeply thankful that they are as great and as much fun as they have been.

Additionally, Mercy is becoming too much of a Mary Sue. There is no challenge she and her friends can’t rise to, no enemy too great for them to defeat. The discovery of a new talent of Mercy’s is just one of the recent deus ex machina devices the author has resorted to in order to remind us how awesome our heroine is. I don’t need a character to be Wonder Woman for me to love her and I wish we were seeing more growth in other aspects of Mercy’s personality rather than just her awesome fighting capabilities and magical talents.

Storm Cursed is a must read for its intended audience, and will be a page-turning pleasure for fans. As stated before, it is definitely not the place to begin if you aren’t familiar with the series – that would be book one, the outstanding Moon Called – but I promise by the time you work your way through the excellent beginning novels and get to this one, you will be quite delighted with Storm Cursed.