Fire Touched

I read Fire Touched when it first came out, so this is my second time reading it. I seemed to remember not loving it at the time, and reading it again just confirmed that for me. It certainly wasn't a chore to read it again, but it just didn't thrill me, despite the fact that it had a lot of things going for it. There were some interesting plot developments, with the fae withdrawal taken in a direction that I hadn't anticipated, but which made a lot of sense. The book introduced a new character, Aiden, who I'm happy to see more of. It also re-introduced some characters I was glad to meet again—Thomas Hao, who appeared in Frost Burned and one of my favourite short stories from Shifting Shadows, Alistair Beauclaire, and Baba Yaga, who first appeared all the way back in Bone Crossed.

I think maybe there were too many things going in this book, and not enough time to really explore them properly. There was the introduction of Aiden and his trauma, there was the "what's going on in Underhill" plot, there was the intrigue among the Gray Lords, there was the Troll attack to investigate, there was the Thomas Hao and Margaret subplot, there were the ongoing developments in the Pack…just too many things going on, none of them developed as fully as they might have been, leaving the book feeling a bit empty despite its abundance of events. A slight let-down, but still a must-read for anyone who likes the series!

P.S. Am I the only one who finds the title of this book confusing? Yes, the plot mostly hinges on Aiden, who is called "the fire touched" within the novel, but his abilities with fire made much less of an impression on me than those of the volcano-god from the previous book. It doesn't help that this book's cover has what I assume is a tibicena on it. Both the title and cover feel like they ought to belong to the Guayota book (whose title, Night Broken, has never seemed to have much to do with the book's plot.) ( )

A great read, her best yet. ( )

Who knew trolls were brightly coloured down there. Something to keep in mind during your next internet argument.

Adam and Mercy's pack is quickly becoming the go-to problem solving group. Vampire dispute: call the pack. Wayward fae: call the pack. Troll rampaging on a bridge in town and threatening to kill everyone: call the pack. Since that isn't happening anywhere else, Mercy claims the Tri-cities as their territory and any and all are under their protection. Only took a few seconds for someone to take up the protection offer and give them another headache in the form of a fire-touched human hunted by the fae.

This instalment in the Mercy Thompson series sees some of the older conflicts resolved, only to be replaced by new conflicts as the importance of the Columbia Basin pack in the wider world grows. The way Patricia Briggs has gradually grown the Mercy's world, and the characters who live within it, has felt natural, whilst upping the stakes. Of course now that I'm up-to-date with the series, I have a fortnight to wait for the next instalment to be published. ( )

Mercy's b-a-c-k and we're back to the storyline expected of series. The last couple of books ... just weren't Mercy or Adam.

Not really much more to say in a review that I haven't already said in reviews of this series.

Adam does finally step up. ( )

Another really excellent installment in the Mercy Thompson series. Lots of great characters, lots of great supernatural action and some very scary fae, lots of heart-warming dynamics of loyalty, love, protection, heroism, bravery, fighting the good fight. ( )