Iron Kissed

It needed a trigger warning

I love this series, I love Mercy, I love the world, but this book was hard to listen to. It takes an extremely skilled author to work with the themes in this book, so mad respect to Briggs for so deftly handling them. She evoked the terror and horror of the themes so well that they became real, as did King, such that I couldn't enjoy many parts of the book. The last book I read that has affected me like that was Kafka's "Penal Colony". Given that I reacted so viscerally to this book, even though I have never experienced anything like it, I would suggest that someone with PTSD from surviving rape, assault, or child abuse mentally prepare themselves before listening to this book.

That said, I really appreciated the philosophy that Briggs used to frame the events (ie, being supportive, not blaming the victim), and I loved how she developed the supporting characters, especially Ben. I find Ben one of the more compelling supporting characters, in contrast to Adam, who she didn't really flesh out. Adam remained a ManlyMan(TM) with no major traits other than being scary/dominant/overprotective, so Mercy's relationship with him feels clumsy. At least the awkward, obligatory-feeling love triangle was resolved. I'm hoping future books will make Adam more interesting, and re-introduce some of the characters from previous books, like the child werewolf and Adam's friend Christiansen.

The bottom line: I'm going to stick with the series, and my respect for Briggs and King as artists has gone up exponentially. I'm glad I listened to it, but it isn't something I want to listen to again.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Well written with great characters.

I suprised myself with how much I enjoyed this series and especially this book. I admit I consider Patricia Briggs a guilty pleasure as I don't think 30-something men are her target audience. But she tells a compelling story with a rich use of language and a deep understanding of how her characters think. I would recommend this novel to anybody looking for a no-brain escapist novel.

16 of 21 people found this review helpful

Really loving this series except.....

This was an excellent story. Loved the Faye folklore, murder plot, everything. I'm getting a good feel for the characters now and they are entertaining and well fleshed-out.
The only annoying thing is how the two main characters act like junior high kids in the love department. It is highly annoying and I expect them to start play-slapping each other saying,"You hit me.....no, YOU hit ME." I understand it's a plot contrivance to slow down the progression of the love affair, but knock it off. It's highly annoying and beneath the overall tone of the book.
Otherwise, I really enjoy this series and it is a pleasure to listen to.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Unhealthy character development

I wish there were more healthy ways than domineering men and rape scenarios to show how strong Mercy is... I have lived through these things in real life & it made this book really hard to listen and connect to.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

This one was tough.

Any additional comments?

NUMBER OF HEARTS: 4
This story broke me. I had to power through the ending of this book. It hurt so much to listen to what Mercy went through. But if anyone can come out the other side stronger it will be Mercy. I don’t like it when authors make their character suffer like this and I just hope that it doesn’t affect Mercy’s future.
Even with all that happened Iron Kissed was a good book. It was a turning point for many storylines for Mercy. We finally resolve the love triangle. We learn more about the Fae and the powers they hold. We get to see Adam in full Alpha mode. We learn a lot more about Ben, which makes me love this British pain in the backside wolf. There is so much more I could tell you but I won’t.
If you are a Mercy Thompson fan please be warned that Iron Kissed is heartbreaking. If you are new to this series do not start with this book. Start with book one, learn who Mercy is and fall in love with her and her wolfs.

Ms. King does an amazing job yet again. I am completely blown away by her talents as a storyteller. Her ability to make it through a tough book like Iron Kissed just makes me love her that much more.


Disclaimer:
I purchased this book from audible.com and this review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Much darker than the first two books

This book was much darker than the first two books. I'm not terribly sure how comfortable I was with that change but the story was well told

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

The series is going down hill

This book is primarily about the fae as Mercy tries to prove her friend, Zee, did not commit murder.

She is constantly in situations where she needs to be rescued by one of her friends and even calls herself 'stupid.' She makes a lot of mistakes that someone else has to fix. That is why I feel the series is going downhill. Mercy was not the strong woman she has been in former books. I am surprised that she came back from her “experience” as well as she did.

I don’t want to give anything away, but this is by far the most graphically violent book in the series. I am glad that Ms. Briggs didn't go into too much detail on the specific event and had the rest of the cast supporting Mercy through her trauma.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good Story, But...

Great story, I loved the ending, but I hated Mercy's attitude toward her whole Sam or Adam dilemma. Neither character is a good fit for Mercy, and are both quite dangerous. Mercy even comments at one point that she is afraid of them. I feel this makes her seem weak willed. It almost sounds like abuse victim mentality at one point. It takes an otherwise well written, strong female lead and cast her in the role of an abused damsel. One of the characters even says to her, "You are mine now, and I'm keeping you" and she accepts it! For a supposedly strong, independent, and downright obstinate female lead, this seems out of character.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Too much and disturbing!

Would you try another book from Patricia Briggs and/or Lorelei King?

I don't know.

Would you ever listen to anything by Patricia Briggs again?

Probably not. In addition to disliking the end, there is way too much internal dialogue, especially, during key moments throughout the book- it was annoying and distracting.

What about Lorelei King’s performance did you like?

I wasn't awed, but she was fine.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really.

Any additional comments?

Mercy's actions towards the end were naive and the consequces of those actions were extremely upsetting. I will not continue reading this series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Dang oh Mighty

Ok Seriously??? I don't like books that bring tears to my eyes. Dang oh freaking mighty! ARG! That part was both written and read well, I had to stop this book a few times. There are certain emotions I don't admit to having and I don't appreciate something bringing them out in me. Holy Smokes. Cheese is Crusty!! lol Some of the things Mercy says you just have to stop everything and write it down for future reference. This book goes over an event that no one should ever go through and the manipulation is so thick, I was ... Well I don't want to talk about it... If the next book exploits these emotions again, I don't think I will buy book 5.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful