Mercy Blade

“Alarm stole over me on little kitten feet.”

The third book isn’t slowing down at all because there’s something always going on, central large mystery story-wise, small side mysteries, personal dilemmas for the main characters, AND personal dilemmas for the side-characters. An unusual thing about this series is that Jane is a form of shifter, although not considered a were – usually the first and second books involving shifters involve OTHER shifters as the main focus. Instead Jane Yellowrock has mainly involved vampires and witches until now.

A major theme in this one ends up being the weres – Jane didn’t even know they really existed until she found out in the first book – and I was intrigued on how they she’s react show more to them, and them to her, especially the were cats. The book opens with a trip to a local bar to negotiate with a rival of Leo’s, and already we run into werewolves who not surprisingly end up assholes. While the second book digs into some background lore of vampires, this one does with weres, but again my interest in the past isn’t as strong as it is in the present stuff going on. Still, her meeting with the werecats wasn’t much of a letdown, where Leo shows a douche side, but I am curious about her meeting a werecat someday that is attracted to her. Apparently in these books weres are turned off by her smell instead.

Gee DiMercy is introduced in this third book as well, a strange and mysterious rare creature that brings life to his scenes between impressive fighting and teasing stalking. Jane had witch roommates in the last book, but this time she has to deal with Molly’s sister. She’s just…okay, but gets on my nerves later with Bruiser distraction. There is a particularly cool scene where her magic backfires when Jane trusts her judgement on dealing deeper into her past.

The book opens with Rick and it closes with Rick, but this isn’t a Rick heavy story. It’s part of his downfall and the dislike most fans feel for his character. You’d think he would have tossed out the player ways since he and Jane have become an official item, but apparently not. He’s not a love interest so much as Bruiser is when the Primo steps up. Discarded from Leo temporarily, when Bruiser temporarily moves in on Jane’s territory it’s awesome. Their dancing outside on the patio ends up being one of the hottest, most magical scenes of the series. It’s drawn out several pages and the intensity of the genuine chemistry almost gets the pages actually sizzling. I always liked Bruiser before, but that scene majorly amps up the man’s appeal.

Throw in the shower scene and yikes! Bruiser becomes more focused and almost domineering in this one, which was a turn on, but he does make it clear in the end who his heart really belongs to so I can imagine the heart crush impact of that with Jane. I hold out for the Bruiser and Jane soul mate bonds, combined with Leo perfection hope sandwich someday.

Leo has gotten out of most of his grief-ridden killing frenzy, but he’s still unstable, especially during one street chase. The ending wraps this particular issue up well, but only in the afterword. With Jane getting the short end of the stick with getting blamed for stuff, getting into uncomfortable situations, I almost want her to leave the town in her dust while she’s taking off. She almost gets there too, but there’s that particular motorcycle showing up down the street…

Jane finds out a few more things about herself and battles it all out in an intense and violent ending battle scene that leaves her torn. The Katie dance scene was awkward but humorous, and there's some changes there. We get Beast time and a few shifts so that is all good.

Can a party go more wrong? Poor Jane. So much security went into the were meeting, but once you have unexpected guests, a vicious murder, and a returning Carrie coming in like Carrie from the prom, you have mayhem.

You get Jane being a truly badass rescuer who lives up to her lethal name, but those final paragraphs give us a nasty cliffhanger about Rick again. Overall the book is just as good as the first two, getting more involved with other creatures and world-building, finally Leo starting to move on from his loss, more development with existing characters, and Jane settling in farther with Beast. show less

I really liked this third book in the series; it seemed to be pared down and back to a straight ahead whodunit mystery. Of course, Jane Yellowrock is still a kick-butt kind of detective (well, vamp-killer to be specific), and in this installment she is trying to figure out how the werewolves got back into New Orleans and why there is hatred between vampires and werewolves. She's also started a romance with an undercover cop, Rick, who helped her move from her North Carolina cabin once and for all.

She's now sharing her home with Evangelina, a witch and older sister of Jane's best friend, Molly, who is transforming from being a short-tempered workaholic to a more dreamy, dance-y domestic type. Jane can't quite figure out why, or why show more Evangelina seems to have a pink glow suddenly.

The action begins at Leo Pellissier's home, a.k.a. Vamp HQ, and Leo is now the Master of Clans (MOC) for New Orleans since the events of the last book. Seems that the last book existed to winnow down which clans were going to exist in New Orleans going forward, and this book does not spend so much time on clan politics. Instead, it is about inter-species politics, including a shape shifting black leopard from Africa. With his televised transformation on the news, and his arrival at Leo's headquarters for an inter-species meeting of the red carpet variety, the event is turned into chaos with the arrival of the were-wolves.

More vampire and blood servant history is explored with compassion and insight, and the action is pretty straightforward. We don't get bogged down into Jane's multiple vamp killers or firearms with every single fight she gets into, and we also get a chance to jump into Beast's mind for some adventures. show less

I’m always on the lookout for the next Kate Daniels, and the Jane Yellowrock series comes close.



Like Kate, she lost parents to violence, and like Kate, she has unique skill sets, both supernatural and physical. Both are young women supposedly comfortable being on their own, working as security consultants and swords-for-hire. Yet, so much of Jane’s energy is caught up in her negative feels that it is quite distressing.



It begins with Jane and Rick, her boyfriend of a month, packing up her things in her old apartment when they both get a call to return to New Orleans ASAP. Rick drops her off with a quick kiss and disappears, presumably on an undercover police assignment. Jane is tasked with warning a prior associate of Leo’s, the show more head vampire, that the associate is ‘persona non grata’ in his territory. It turns into a battle with werewolves with an appearance by a mysterious supernatural. With a grudge against Leo, the werewolves are pursuing it both legally and illegally. At the same time, the African shapeshifters are in town and wanting to come to an arrangement with the city’s vamps. Jane’s duties involve security for the event, but as usual, also involve dressing up in expensive tailored clothes provided by Leo. Rick goes missing, and Jane tortures herself thinking that it is because she didn’t marry Rick before having lots of sex.



This book will likely appeal to fans of UF traditional vamps that have complicated politics, with grudges spanning decades, blood servants and secret lairs. Though Jane has spent years as a legal ‘hunter,’ killing vampires who have violated vampire/human laws, she’s been working for Leo, New Orleans’ head vampire, for some time and unsurprisingly, finds herself more caught than she would like. I generally found myself reading for the puzzle of the situation, and tried to ignore Jane’s repetitive self-doubt regarding Rick, her general attractiveness (as rated against all other vamps and weres) and her strange passiveness when another hot man puts serious moves on her.



The book comes shockingly close to failing the Bechdel test. Jane’s proud to be as tough as one of the boys–a bodyguard even mentions this with complimentary intentions, how like a man she is, except the chest part–and fit in with the bodyguard and mercenary boys. Had it not been for her ‘niece’ calling (who warned her about a male), an insane lady-vamp, and her best friend’s sister rooming in (who is interested in the man Jane is ‘not interested’ in), we’d have no positive female-female conversation at all, only females in opposition (one of them known only as a ‘were-bitch,’ a diminutive that inelegantly conceals her identity). I never think that it’s a good sign, third book in, that we can’t come up with any more lady-types to be a regular part of the team.



While I really wanted to like the series, I ended up stopping around book five, as vamp politics ended up playing the main role in most of the books I read. It was particularly tiring as Jane supposedly hates ‘bloodsuckers’ and yet continues to work with them (Kate Daniels took one contract from the vamps in all her books). Add the three competing lust interests and it just felt like character stagnation with changing boyfriend dynamics.

Given all that, I do like Jane’s personal mythology surrounding her shapeshifting and her Native heritage. The general world-building is usually well-done, and the humid New Orleans setting comes alive. The plotting is intriguingly complex, although it frequently relies on motivations the reader knows nothing about. One standout feature is that when it comes to writing, Hunter’s is above average for the genre, with only occasional missteps. At the end, I remain firmly on the fence. I’ll be working my way through the next couple to try and discover what went wrong. show less

I LOVED this book-the author certainly hit her stride. And she is an eeeevil woman based on the last line in the book. Contrary to another review I read, there was NOTHING confusing going on in the book. The plot was intricate, the narrator (Jane) was funny, vulnerable, and tough as needed and we got more of her backstory.

I re-read the previous books prior to reading this one and I highly recommend to really fall into Jane's world, but based on this book, I'm looking forward to much, much more in this series.

And if anyone is listening, can we also get some more Rogue Mage books?

Mercy Blade
4 Stars

As in the previous books, Hunter’s world building is original and her writing is both atmospheric and action packed. In this installment, we are introduced to a new group of supernaturals: Weres, whose origins and conflict with the vampires is fascinating.

The plot revolves around the return of the Werewolves and Werecats to New Orleans and Jane’s investigation into the murder of one of them at a diplomatic gathering hosted by Leo Pellissier, the vampire Master of the City. As the case progresses, conspiracies are exposed, secrets are revealed and loyalties are tested.

Once again, the most problematic aspect of the book is Jane’s love life. Following the events of Blood Cross, Jane has begun a relationship with show more Rick Le Fleur, but they are both keeping secrets from each other and to be honest, Rick is a bit of a shmuck and doesn’t feel right for Jane. In contrast, Jane’s connection with George “Bruiser” Dumas is far more tangible and their sexual tension is off the charts. If it weren’t for his role as Leo’s prime blood servant, he would be absolutely perfect.

One other small nitpick concerns the trend of including Christian overtones in UF novels - The Dresden Files, Mercy Thompson and now Jane Yellowrock?! Jane hunts and kills vampires for a living but has trouble being in a sexual relationship with a man she is not married to? Seriously?

All in All, the Jane Yellowrock series is highly entertaining and Khristine Hvam’s narration is out of this world. show less

Things are pretty interesting in Jane’s life lately. She has been dating Rick (which Beast totally likes), but Bruiser isn’t totally out of the scene either. Do I need to just totally give up on my shipper hopes of her and Leo? I always seem to pick sinking ships… oh well. One of these two will grow on me, I’m sure. They’re both decent guys.

Leo has a little werewolf problem. In this series, weres have just come out to the human population, and are not playing nice. Faith Hunter does a great job with her world-building as always. It’s a complex, well-thought out world with different species and cool histories and dynamics behind each coven and pack. Without spoiling anything, this gets SUPER COOL in the way something bad show more happens, and then Jane has to spend the book trying to untwist it. And then GAH the ending!!! Super cool job in creating the mythology on this one and I cannot wait to scoop up book four!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less

I really dig Jane Yellowrock and the world she lives in, as you may have guessed from the fact that I dared you to read Skinwalker a little while ago over on Team Tynga’s Reviews. It’s been a while since I’ve read the series so I’m behind, but that’s something I’m trying to rectify starting now.

Mercy Blade is Jane’s third novel-length outing and the last book I’d read previously. The book blurb is pretty vague but I promise you, Mercy Blade is a fast-paced action thriller and an emotional roller coaster all at once.

Jane is now on retainer with Leo, the master of the clans of New Orleans, working security and doing her badass Rogue Hunter thing. That isn’t such a big deal, but weres are coming out of the proverbial show more closet, making her job that much more difficult. And it’s not just werewolves, who happen to have a big hate for Leo and want to see him tried in human court. There are also were-cats from Africa, who have come to treaty with the vampires. Politics are really at the forefront of parts of this novel, and it was interesting to see Jane trying to function in this type of an environment since it’s definitely not one in which she thrives. And, of course, everyone wants to know what she is, including the newcomers. No one can figure it out (though they know what she’s not) but everyone wants to know, so I suppose it’s only a matter of time before someone other than Molly and Evan learn what Jane is. Can’t wait to see what happens what that bombshell gets dropped.

There are also some other neat developments in terms of expanding the universe, thanks to the introduction of the titular Mercy Blade. I won’t spoil it even though the book is a couple years old but I will say that I thought Gee was a neat character, both in terms of what he is and his role in vampire society. I hope he’ll show up in other stories because I found him super interesting.

At the same time, there’s a lot of emotional stuff for Jane in Mercy Blade. I love it when authors put their characters through some emotional turmoil and Jane is reeling at certain points in this novel. After all, she’s in a relatively new relationship with Rick but he’s gone back undercover and isn’t returning her calls, so she’s left feeling vulnerable and kind of stupid. And Bruiser is there, trying to get into her good graces and bed, with his century-old charm. And they definitely have some moments together, which I found kind of gratifying because I can see his appeal. (I can also see why he’s a good guy to stay away from, though, something Jane is quite aware of.) Plus, she believes in monogamy for religious reasons (even though Beast is pushing for her to go Bruiser) so she’s got lust pulling her one way, her heart pulling her another, and her soul, well, it’s just all confused. Awesome for readers, terrible for Jane.

And even though I’ve always been a bit more Team Bruiser, despite his loyalties, I’m really intrigued by Rick now, in ways I wasn’t before. There are some significant developments for Rick in Mercy Blade, despite his absence from Jane’s life, and I’m curious to see how things play out in future novels, which is why I’m going to start Raven Cursed soon.

If you’re looking for an excellent urban fantasy series, look no further than Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock books. They have action, magic, romance, and humour, and you won’t be sorry!

http://ireadgood.wordpress.com show less