Soul Taken (Mercy Thompson Book 13)

Patricia Briggs has created a world that is consistent, exciting, involved and original. I love Mercy and her bond with Adam is pure, characters and relationships we sorely need. All of the books build together and all the characters earn your investment and affection.

I absolutely loved this story! It easily jumped to my top 5 favorites of the Mercy series.An evil artifact (sickle not scythe, please) is using a host to kill marginally magical people. There's a new movie about it. Tilly really wants it. Zee really wants it. Larry really doesn't want Zee to have it. And the Pack has internal issues to deal with and so didn't need this mess also! The main reason I enjoyed this so much is because Mercy has more agency. She has always been an independent character, but it seems as though a lot of recent Big Bads have been so powerful that she was reduced to hostage or punching bag to be saved by Adam. She does get hurt and take some lumps in this book, but her power and ingenuity are key to saving the day (and the people she cares about).The other reason I loved it - Wulfe. I love the stories that involve the local vampire seethe because of her complicated relationship with Stefan. And the delightfully creepy, scary and somehow sympathetic Wulfe. He is central to this tale, and we get some of his history and Stefan's as well. (And find out who Sherwood is!)This has fantastic character development, exciting action sequences and a whole lot of revelations. Five star read all the way.

Another great book in this series. I will never get tired of Mercy and all the characters. Some authors run out of steam in a long series and it’s starts to get old but not this one. Briggs is a very talented author and every book she writes is wonderful. I already have the next book on Pre-order and I hope it’s not the last in this series.

4.25/5⭐️Number 13 in series, this one finds Mercy and gang going up against an ancient and powerful artifact known as the Soul Taker who is taking prisoners and leaving victims in its wake. There’s also still an issue with Adam’s personal demons, Wulfe and the entire local vampire seethe has gone missing and a mysterious pack member’s identity is discovered. As usual lots going on.My only disappointment is that we haven’t seen more of Stefan in either of the last two books. He is such a complex and interesting character (not to mention always bringing the humor), and his very brief appearance here does not even feel like the character I’ve come to expect.The past two books have centered around Mercy and Adam’s relationship which is fine, but I’m definitely missing more of the beloved side characters that I’ve come to appreciate over the course of the series. But this book was still an exciting addition, and I was glad to get more background on some of the vampires in the series.

The Mercy Thompson novels are one of only two fantasy series that I still follow. Mercy is an endearing character who, although possessing some remarkable powers and abilities, retains her humanity and a clear sense of her failings and vulnerabilities. She’s smart, funny, sexy with her husband Adam, and remains ready to fight for the underdog. Crucial to the writing of any excellent fantasy, the author stays true to the parameters of the world she’s created. Nothing out of the ordinary happens that hasn’t already been established in the reality of Mercy’s world. In addition to the romance and action of the plot, the main characters are fully developed and relatable—despite being otherworldly. This latest installment is just the most recent episode in a series that both solves an immediate problem in each particular book but also moves the overarching storyline of the recurring characters forward in a most satisfying way.

I started this but only got a few pages in because it was referencing events in Smoke Bitten. So I read it again, which meant that I not only got more out of this book but I caught details in Smoke Bitten that did a better job of making this book make more sense.Needless to say, the daughter of Coyote is still in the habit of throwing herself into situations where bigger & more powerful people would have great difficulty surviving! Her ability to “smell” magic winds up being more important than usual. The event that happened when Elizavetta died are causing Mercy & Adam serious trouble to not only them, but she fears that their relationship is in severe danger.While a good “nudge” can help, it can’t fix everything…We learn more about quite a few people such as Stefan, Marsilla, and especially Wulfe. We get new insights into pack members & the structure of the Pack as well. This was both interesting and useful for the story.Patricia really delivered a good story that I hope will go on for a few more books & hopefully more!

A lot of plot advancement happened in this book and I was here for it! At the beginning of the book, Mercy and Adam finally find out who Sherwood was/is now that his memory has come back. I was hoping it would delve more into that but this book is focusing on Wulfe. From Wulfe’s introduction to the series, I was always intrigued by him. In this book you find out a lot about who Wulfe was and how it made him who he is today, insane.Wulfe goes missing and Mercy is not sure if it is a good thing taking into consideration that Wulfe is crazy. When Marsilia appears and asks for Mercy and Adam to find him, the duo realizes that all the vampires in the seethe are gone. Mercy can’t find Stefan either which is very concerning since they share a bond.Then a sentient sickle makes its reappearance after 40 years and starts murdering lower magical beings. Zee is acting like Gollum from LOTR when he talks about it and he wants it. Is it all connected to the vampires or are things just piling up separately?I honestly love Patricia Briggs. She is by far one of my top 3 favourite authors. I love all of the characters in their own ways. After 13 books in this series so far, she's still going strong! Can’t wait for the next book!

Pena que não tem ele em Português.Esse é o único defeito.🥺

Patricia Briggs schafft es Ihre Leser immer wieder zu überraschen. Die Eindrücke in das Leben von Wulfe vor langer Zeit waren einfach Klasse. Auch konnten sich die Charaktere wieder weiter entwickeln. Ich freue mich schon auf das nächste Buch

This series is at its best. I love that I can never predict what will happen next.It's on the same par as the Jane Yellowrock series

Che dire, Patricia Briggs ha viziato i suoi lettori fin dall'inizio di questa fortunata serie e non dà segni di voler mollare (fortunati noi!).Iniziamo dai tratti più prevedibili del libro: la formula usata dall'autrice si ripete anche questa volta con una trama che si dipana contemporaneamente su due/tre filoni: il primo è la storia principale, con la vicenda che prende spunto dai libri precedenti per dare sviluppo alle avventure travolgenti di Mercy e di tutti gli altri personaggi; il secondo concerne le dinamiche del branco di lupi mannari delle Tre Città, di cui si possono apprezzare alcuni elementi che umanizzano i membri del branco rendendo la vicenda consistentemente "realistica" (fra virgolette perché siamo pur sempre in un romanzo urban fantasy/paranormale).Il terzo filone fa riferimento alle vicende dei membri del branco del Marrok (in cui si addentra meglio la serie Alfa e Omega) in un crossover con la serie di Mercy Thompson particolarmente articolata e a mio avviso ben riuscita.In questa puntata l'autrice strizza l'occhio al genere horror ma lo fa con la consueta dose di ironia e senso del ridicolo. Fin dalla prima scena la nostra eroina inciampa sulla locandina di un film horror d'annata che viene riproposto nei cinema locali poiché il suo autore è originario delle Tre Città.Ovviamente il film prende spunto da una antica leggenda del posto e naturalmente inizieranno una serie di omicidi sospettosamente simili, nell'esecuzione, alla trama del film. Poi sparisce il più inquietante dei vampiri della zona e la storia decolla con l'entrata in scena di molti personaggi già conosciuti nei volumi precedenti.E qui a mio parere sta la bravura della scrittrice: infatti, quando si parla di esseri paranormali, vissuti centinaia, se non migliaia di anni, non è semplice far entrare il lettore nella consapevolezza del tempo trascorso e delle sue implicazioni nel presente. Si rischia di far passare tutti i personaggi come figure della contemporaneità appiattendo la loro personalità. Invece la Briggs utilizza la serialità di questi romanzi per introdurre gradualmente gli elementi che "mostrano" senza raccontarlo, la personalità complessa e mutevole di esseri che hanno attraversato la Storia e i continenti. Se ne ricava un affresco a tinte forti, dove le ombre e la luce si alternano e cambiano tenendo sulle spine il lettore (e la stessa Mercedes).Così accade che, pur avendo la trama principale una conclusione coerente, il romanzo lascia aperti alcuni interrogativi che verranno naturalmente sviluppati nei prossimi volumi. Che speriamo vengano pubblicati presto!