Audiobook Review: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

TITLE: Moon Called

SERIES: Mercy Thompson, Book #1
AUTHOR: Patricia Briggs 

NARRATOR: Lorelei King
PUBLISHER: Penguin Audio
PUBLICATION DATE: September 1, 2009

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook, 9 hrs and 14 mins
GENRE: Urban Fantasy

Werewolves can be dangerous if you get in their way, but they'll leave you alone if you are careful. They are very good at hiding their natures from the human population, but I'm not human. I know them when I meet them, and they know me, too.

Mercy Thompson's sexy next-door neighbor is a werewolf.

She's tinkering with a VW bus at her mechanic shop that happens to belong to a vampire.

But then, Mercy Thompson is not exactly normal herself... and her connection to the world of things that go bump in the night is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble.

MY REVIEW: 

I am a huge fan of Patricia Briggs’ sister series, Alpha & Omega, and this series has been on my TBR list for a long time! With the seventh book in the series having been released this month, I thought I’d better get caught up!

Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson is an auto-mechanic and runs her own shop in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She is a “walker” and can shift to coyote, and she has the innate ability to sense magic. She believes that her paranormal abilities came from her father, who was a Blackfoot Native American and had special gifts of his own. He died when she was young, and her mother gave Mercy up when she found a cougar cub in the crib one day instead of her baby! Mercy was raised by a pack of werewolves in Colorado headed by Bran Cornick who is the Marrok, the leader of all the packs in North America. When she was 16 years of age, she left the pack and returned home. Mercy’s next door neighbour is the Alpha of the Tri-Cities Pack, Adam Hauptman, and he was asked by the Marrok to watch over Mercy. It appears, though, that he also has feelings for her. He is divorced and has a human 15 year-old daughter named Jessica.

A young werewolf, Mac, shows up at Mercy’s garage one day and asks for some work to make some quick money. He doesn’t realize that Mercy is a walker, so Mercy knows that he must be newly-changed. She likes him and agrees to hire him on for temporary work. One evening, Mercy comes across Mac with another werewolf and humans, and she overhears how Mac has been kept in a cage along with other werewolves and that the humans have been using them as guinea pigs to test different drug cocktails. Although werewolves are not supposed to be affected by drugs, it appears that the humans have discovered the right combination. Mercy shifts and nips one of the werewolves on the neck in an attempt to lead it away from Mac, and it does give chase but then bleeds out. Mercy saves Mac, and she calls Adam to let him know that there is a situation that he needs to deal with. Mercy fills Adam in on what is going on.

When Adam is attacked and his daughter is kidnapped, Mercy turns to the Marrok for help. He sends his son, Samuel, who is also Mercy’s childhood crush, to return to Washington with Mercy.

Mercy is a fantastic kick-ass heroine! She is tough as nails, and her compassion for her loved ones always shines through. She has a good soul and is kind-hearted, and I loved learning about her background. It was nice to become reacquainted with the Marrok and to learn more about Samuel, since his other son, Charles, is the one who is central to the Alpha & Omega series. My only disappointment is the lack of any romance, which was a bit of a surprise to me because the Alpha & Omega series revolves around Anna and Charles, who are smitten with one another. A romance between Mercy and Adam seems to be building, and I can’t wait to see where it is heading and whether a love triangle with Samuel is brewing.

Overall, I really enjoyed this first book in the Mercy Thompson series and can’t wait to read more!

Narrator Lorelei King is new to me, and I just love her! Her voice is clear and distinct, and she gave unique vocalizations for each of the characters. I was surprised at how well she voiced the male characters! I hope that she narrates the rest of the series because I want to hear more from her. 

MY RATING:

4 stars!! It was really good, and you should add it to your TBR list!

This book qualifies as: 
#24 for my 2013 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge
#24 for my 2013 Read-a-Latte Challenge
#11 for my 2013 Where Are You Reading? Challenge
#11 for my 50 States Challenge 2013    
#11 for my 2013 Quick Fix Challenge  
#19 for my 2013 Women Challenge   
#12 for my 2013 1st In A Series Challenge   
#19 for my 2013 Books-in-a-Series Reading Challenge
#12 for my Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2013
#12 for my 2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
#4 for my 2013 TBR Pile Challenge 
#13 for my Embarrassment of Riches Reading Challenge 2013
#11 for my 2013 Dusty Bookshelf Challenge
#7 for my 2013 Catch Up Reading Challenge
#13 for my 2013 Audio Book Challenge
#13 for my 2013 Audio Book Challenge
#13 for my 2013 Let Me Count The Ways Reading Challenge: Audio Version 
#7 for my Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance Reading Challenge 2013 
#12 for my 2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge   
#1 of Category #4 for my 2013 Immortal Reading Challenge  

#7 for my 2013 Feminist Reads Challenge

#21 for my Monthly Mix-up Mania: 2013 to 2015 Edition     
#8 for my What An Animal Reading Challenge VI    
#5 for my 2012 Patricia Briggs Werewolf Challenge  
#5 for my Take Control of Your TBR Pile: March 2013
#3 for my Spring Reading Thing 2013
#1 for my Once Upon a Time VII Challenge
#15 for my 101 Fantasy Perpetual Reading Challenge (Item #28 on the list)

View all my reviews