2009 Re-read Challenge (June): Bone Crossed

Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson series, book 4) by Patricia Briggs I had originally intended to read Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas for my re-read challenge book this month. But then, my Audible point became available (I have a monthly Audible plan that allows me 1 audiobook download per month) and I couldn’t resist ordering the Bone Crossed audiobook. I read the Bone Crossed when it originally came out in February. But, as sometimes happens with books I’ve been really anticipating, I blew through it in a little over a day, devouring it all too quickly. When I do this — I really can’t help myself and slow down — the book doesn’t really “stick” the way it would have if I had read it at a more leisurely pace. This also explains why I neglected to review it, considering how much I’d hyped its release. So, I decided to “re-read” Bone Crossed in audiobook format, and see how the different “reading” experience compared to the first one. Here’s the description:

Car mechanic and sometime shapeshifter Mercy Thompson has learned, the hard way, why her race was almost exterminated. When European vampires immigrated to North America, they found Mercy’s people had a hidden talent — for vampire slaying. Unfortunately for Mercy, the queen of the local vampire seethe has discovered her true identity. She’s also furious when she learns Mercy has crossed her and killed one of her vampires. Mercy may be protected from direct reprisals by the werewolf pack (and her interesting relationship with its Alpha), but that just means Marsilia will come after Mercy some other way. So Mercy had better prepare to watch her back.

Here are some things that really stood out to me upon “reading” Bone Crossed for a second time: An audiobook reader’s voice really impacts the way I enjoy a book. Lorelei King is an extremely talented narrator. I know her best from her work on Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. Over the course of the 14 books in that series, her voice “is” Stephanie Plum for me. So, it was with a little apprehension that I started listening to Bone Crossed. I have to admit that for the first few chapters, it was disconcerting to hear “Stephanie” say “Mercy’s” words. However, about halfway through the book I realized I had completely forgotten about this issue, and hadn’t thought about it for hours. (The audiobook is just over 9 hours long.) A funny thing about the audiobook, was that one of the characters that I saw so much more vividly, as a result of hearing him, was Bran. He only has 1 scene, but I got such a great mental picture of this youthful looking guy (who probably appears to be younger than his son, Sam) who is the toughest werewolf in North America. I think hearing his voice helped me fill in the image I had of him. Another character the audiobook helped me “see” was the vampire, Stefan. He’s such a lover of pop culture (especially all things Scooby Doo) that I forget he’s Italian. Hearing him speak in an accent threw me at first, but when I thought about it, it made perfect sense. So, on to the story! I was actually really worried when Bone Crossed was released. Mercy Thompson is one of my favorite uf series, and the preceding book, Iron Kissed, is my favorite in the series. I was afraid my expectations would be unrealistically high, and BC would be a disappointment. Luckily, that wasn’t the case, for either the first or the second read of Bone Crossed. Patricia Briggs is able to start the book on what would be considered a low note, picking up immediately after the tragic events of Iron Kissed, and launch the reader back into the action. BC isn’t just a wrap up of IK, however, because even as Mercy (and everyone around her) continues to process what has happened, she is thrust into a couple of new adventures. One storyline, is actually a large part of the book, though it isn’t mentioned in the blurb. I really liked the mystery that involved an old college friend, and her son who is being terrorized by ghosts. It explored much more in depth another of Mercy’s abilities that have previously been touched on, her ability to communicate with ghosts. At times, the story was quite creepy, and even gruesome. However, the connection Mercy makes with both the boy and the ghosts were really compelling. Final thoughts: Patricia Briggs has been able to take Mercy’s story past the Team Adam or Team Sam debate, and go deeper with Bone Crossed. I love how pack dynamics really come into play in this book, now that she’s chosen her mate. The road to acceptance within the pack isn’t easy for Mercy, but I love how PB takes us through not only her actions with in the pack but also her thought process of how rank and her being a walker come affect her position as the Alpha’s mate. While Iron Kissed is still my favorite of the series, Bone Crossed did live up to the high bar I have set for books in this series. Patricia Briggs’ site. Print excerpt for Bone Crossed Audio excerpt from Audible.com.

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