Another great installment in the Mercy Thomson series.
Mercy and co face threats on all sides. I thoroughly enjoy the way Patricia Briggs mixes folk and fairy tales into her writing. I had an inkling who the big villain was, but the way it turned out was fabulous.
I also enjoyed the focus on Mercy and Adam's relationship. It was a horrible thing for the characters, but my romantic heart loved they way they had to fight for their love;).
I just realised it has been some time since I've read all the books, so I am seeing a re-read in the not to distant future.

Smoke Bitten was a wonderful installment in the Mercy Thompson series with a nice balance of action and character drama. Briggs does a great job developing her large cast in small ways, enough that there is a good sense of realism about their choices and interactions. Occasionally I was left asking "Wait, Mercy can DO that?" but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the book as a whole. Overall, the plot had complexity without being overwhelming (lots of moving pieces and some mystery) and solid explanations of events and feelings without hand-holding. Finally, this book demonstrates some relationship problems between Mercy and Adam which is both heartbreaking for characters you love but realistic for long term relationships with flawed individuals. I look forward to future books.

Patricia Briggs cannot write a bad book, I'm convinced! Smoke Bitten was another amazing addition to the world of Mercy Thompson. The only downside to this books is that I have to wait for the next one! Will be adding to the library collection.

The latest Mercedes Thompson book hits the ground running ... and lands on a plateau. As per usual, Mercy encounters a new evil thing early in the book, as well as struggling with her bond with her husband, alpha werewolf Adam. The action remains fairly constant but not remarkable, and Mercy's attention seems utterly divided throughout, so the reader never really feels the whole of the situation. Though the big bad and the uncommon personal angst should lend themselves to a great good time, Smoke Bitten never really gets very juicy.

Another great installment in the Mercy Thompson series. I really enjoy the interaction of the pack and the Fae. This was a good enemy, and an interesting leftover piece from the witches of the last book. Also, Underhill/Tilly continues to cause trouble for everyone which always makes the world-building interesting.

I lOVE the Mercy Thompson books and am always so grateful when I am given an ARC to review. The hardest thing is waiting for the next!

This book started a little slow for me but when things started happening it really picked up! Mercy and her pack never disappoint. Ms Briggs does such a good job of interweaving fairy tales, folklore and ordinary life that you don't question when goblins, werewolves, fae, witches and vampires enter the story.

If you are not a fan of supernatural fiction, try this series. You too might get hooked!

Book twelve in the Mercy Thompson series does not disappoint! I absolutely love this series. Mercy Thompson once again finds herself in a situation not entirely of her making and this time we get to see more of her werewolf pack than ever before! Patricia Briggs tends to rotate her storylines to have the main plot driver focus on a different villainous group, the last novel was witches, before that vampires, and before that the Fae. So when this one brought us back to a focus of the wolves with a touch of all of the rest thrown in for good measure, if was a home-run!

Mercedes Athena Thompson Hauptman is the daughter of Coyote and married to a werewolf. She has claimed the Tri-Cities as there territory and it is the only place where fae, werewolves and humans can mingle safely. Except that something has escaped from Underhill, a monster that can overpower another's will and then use them to kill others. Mercy and her pack need to stop this power that can turn into smoke and just disappear...

Why I started this book: Mercy is one of my favorite characters and a series that I return to over and over. I'm always eager for the next edition, and I was thrilled to find it on Netgalley.

Why I finished it: Honestly, because I just sat down and read it in one go. Who needs sleep or to finish your grown-up chores. Those things can wait when you have another Mercy book. I loved that this story could spend more time with the pack, as they struggle to help Mercy defend her territory from the monster that Underhill released.

There is tension in the pack at the start of the book and it underscores the tension between Mercy and Adam. It has to do with what happened with the witches in the previous book. Tilly has decided to place a door to Underhill in Mercy’s backyard because she wants to visit Aiden. When she does this something came through the door with her and is now killing people and has Mercy in its sights. Along with this problem it seems there are some other wolves wanting to take over the pack. A war on two fronts and internal strife in the pack makes everything that much harder. Overall a good story and I did love Mercy’s response to when asked what she is.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

As always Patricia Briggs did not disappoint. Smoke Bitten has a lot of action as well as a deeper look into the dynamics of the pack as it is now. I liked the angst between Adam and Mercy in this book. I think they needed to have this out so that they could grow and change. I am very much looking forward to the next book.



I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkeley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Relationship woes affect even the best of us, especially when each of us brings our baggage from the past into the present, and Mercy and Adam are no exception. Of course, when you throw a bunch of supernatural into the mix, you have to expect a lot of hard to go along with the easy.

Also, it's really hard to deal with personal things when preternatural smoke monsters that control minds and can look like anyone show up. (It's best not to think of LOST when reading this book, even if smoke monsters made you go straight there!)

Throw in a handful of great side characters (Warren, Kyle, Honey, George, Ben, Jesse, Tad, Zee, etc), some mysterious ones (Underhill, Aiden, Marsilia, etc) and a handful of obnoxious ones (I dunno, Auriele ringing any bells?) and you've got yourself some chaos!

Honestly, while I'm a huge fan of this series so my opinion is a little biased, this might be my favorite in the series so far. It's definitely up there.

Patricia Briggs has done it again. I finally got around to starting the Mercy Thompson series last year and quickly burned through all of the published books. The twelfth book in her series, Smoke Bitten, does not disappoint. The relationship struggles are in full force once again between Mercy and Adam. We are introduced to another dangerous creature and the story strongly hints of the dangers that are to come. A wonderful addition to the continuing adventures of Mercy Thompson.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!

This is book 12 in the Mercy Thompson series. It is rare these days to find a series that I will get this far into. Usually there is too much repetition and the female lead never seems to learn any lessons or grow. I have now finished book 12 and looking forward to the next book. Mercy and Adam are back but new characters are added and old ones come back. They have new challenges to face which kept me interested. When is the next book? Thank you to Netgalley for getting early access to this book.

Underhill is a terrifying creature. Mercy is awesome. Adam's ex is still a PITA. The usual characters show up for another adventure that is, as always, a truly enjoyable read.

This book was a tougher one to read with because there was a lot of emotional fallout after Storm Cursed’s wild ending, but it was still a solid entry in the series and not to be missed. I devoured it.

Mercy and the gang spend much of this book dealing with the fallout of their last big fight with the witches. Some of the pack has left, Adam's still coping with the betrayal (and maybe something else?), and a new pack of wolves may be making a play to take over. And, because nothing can be easy, Wulfe is being creepier than usual, there are more fae shenanigans, and, maybe worst of all...Christy is causing trouble again. The story is action packed, as usual, with some nice emotional moments for the crew.

*ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I have to admit that I ignored all my other arcs right after getting this book. I had been looking forward to it for months and was so excited to finally have a book I know will be a comfort read. This series has always been that way to me and I love coming back to it.

While I was a little overwhelmed by so many name droppings of people I could not remember, George was at the top of that list, this book was one of the best in quite a while. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that Mercy and Adam had quite a bit of time together talking about their relationship and feelings. This is a plus relationship time right here that I was looking for. Their whole plot is what makes this book a five stars to me. I just want more of them sitting around talking about how much they love each other please.

As usual Patricia Briggs did not disappoint.

All is not well in Mercy Thompson's (recently Hauptmann's) life and it's coming from a totally unexpected quarter. Ms. Briggs knows that to keep a story interesting you have to keep going places that readers want to be sacrosanct, but secretly thrill when they're not. For me, it helps keep things based in reality -- which is where I love my urban fantasy to live!

On top of her personal difficulties, Mercy's plate in this latest volume is overflowing with contributions from all over the place. Wulff acting stranger than usual; Stefan not answering her calls; invasions from strange wolves; internal pack politics -- the Werewolves are getting just as bad as vampire "seethes" or "kisses" with this internal politics bull!

And Mercy handles it all with the depth and honesty of purpose I have always loved in her. Thanks (again!) for this really great series, Ms. Briggs!

Mercy has survived miniature zombie goats, vampire attacks, the fae, angry werewolves, a rapist, and her own bad luck. Now she needs to survive an unknown fae who has escaped Underhill, a rogue group of werewolves, the tension in her own marriage, and killer bunnies. (Monty Python would be so proud.)

For some reason, Adam, her husband and werewolf mate, has shut down their mating bond, while also spending late nights at work and sleeping in the guest room, effectively cutting Mercy out of his life. Mercy is trying to be patient and wait him out, but some people need a little offense instead of waiting in defense.

Tilly, the physical manifestation of Underhill, has dropped a door to her land in the Hauptman backyard in order to be closer to their semi-adopted son and former Underhill resident. Upon entering this world, she lets out an unknown fae who can take over the minds of its victims and make them do evil things to the people around them.

There is a group of werewolves who have decided that now is the perfect time to try and take over their pack.

There's Wulfe, who has become radically changed after the events of the last book and who is now even more scary and unstable than ever before.

And there are killer bunnies...

With all the juggling that Mercy must do now, she should probably join a circus.

Final thoughts: I love new Mercy books and this is no exception. She is such a strong character who knows her own mind and heart. She also seems to be the focus of a lot of bad juju, compliments of her father, Coyote. I hope that she gets a few days off of the crazy someday, although that will probably mean that I won't have anything to read and that would be sad. As with all of her books, Briggs has a complicated and convoluted story that makes sense at the end and makes better sense after a reread or two. I LOVE the return of some characters that we haven't seen for a while. I can't wait for the next book.

Rating: 4.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs, I cannot say how much I love this series and Briggs delivers another successful installment with Smoke Bitten!