[Book Review] Fire Touched

Fire Touched / Patricia Briggs (Powell's Books)

Things don't stay quiet around Mercy, but it's not her fault that things in her life keep getting complicated.  Last time Adam's ex-wife brought rains of literal fire as she sought safety from a volanco god she shacked up with.  But even among the supernatural, Mercy's an rarity, and that attracts curiosity and animosity.

The fae have largely withdrawn into their "reservations," plotting their own games out of sight.  So a rampaging troll becomes a problem for the pack, and the following declaration of territorial protection afterwards ruffles a few feathers.  But the troll was chasing something the fae want back badly, a changeling child stolen long ago with a special connection to Underhill, and what happens next could either upgrade the cold war with the fae or establish a new treaty.

Thank you, Penguin RandomHouse!
Ok, so first of all, were you missing Zee?  I know I was.  We get Zee. Stuff with the fae get interesting, and we get some heavy hints about level of power some of Mercy's fae associates possess that have been kept well tamped down before.  I have to say, vampire power-games have nothing on those of the fae.

Things haven't quite settled down with the pack in regards to Mercy's role.  After all, she has been instrumental in some rather significant upsets.  But she and Adam are done with leniency.  It's taken quite a few books to get to this point, but the books generally take place over relatively short periods of time... and it is at the very least politic to try and not use the nuclear option to solve problems.

Fire Touched brings together many characters and elements that have built up through the previous books.  Alliances, alienation, politics, and sacrifice come solidly into play.  A great continuation of Mercy's story, and one that leaves me eagerly waiting for the next chapter.

Advance Reader Copy courtesy of Ace (Penguin RandomHouse) in exchange for an honest review; changes may exist between galley and the final edition.

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