I love this series and this was an entertaining and engrossing read.
The author can surely write a novel that will keep you hooked and entertained and this one was no exception.
The world building, the characters and the plot are as excellent as usual and I can't wait for the next instalment.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

By book twelve in a series you kind of know what to expect. Mercy Thompson is one of my favourite urban fantasy series, with Mercy herself being one of my favourite protagonists, with all of her big, no-nonsense attitude and her little quirks, and once again she was a joy to read about. It's been a long time since I read book 10, but in my view this series continues to stay fresh without resorting to cliffhangers or cheap plot devices.

I gave it four stars because sometimes the writing was a little off - was there really a need for half a page of Mercy describing a traffic intersection? Especially unnecessary in a book that only clocks in at a little over 300 pages. But reading this series has always felt like a much-needed balm to my soul, and in that respect Smoke Bitten ticked all the right boxes.

I love the depth and complexity of the Mercy Thompson series. We benefit from all the previous stories’ histories as they pay the new plot line forward. This really is a series and story with heart and this particular installment tests the bond between Adam and Mercy even more than usual. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Oh, how I’ve missed you Mercy!

This review may contain unintentional spoilers for anyone who has not read books 1-11 of the Mercy Thompson Series.

Smoke Bitten (No.12) is the most recent novel released by author Patricia Briggs. The main character, Mercedes (aka Mercy) Thompson Hauptman, is one of my favourite fantasy heroines (marketed to an adult readership rather than YA).

Mercy is a larger than life, badass part Native who is a coyote shape shifter. She also has magical powers that she utilises, more or less, by the seat of her pants. She grew up under the care of werewolves and, at the time of this novel, is married to the Alpha/Pack Leader of the Tri Cities Werewolf pack, where she now lives.

Mercy’s world is loaded with a variety of supernatural creatures, magic, and action. As usual, she is smack dab in the centre of it all. Smoke Bitten takes place as the pack is recovering from the events that occurred in Storm Cursed. Adam – Mercy’s husband – seems to be suffering the most. He has gone so far as to shut down the mating bond between him and Mercy. She isn’t happy about it. Before Mercy can fix it she needs to find out why, and Adam isn’t talking.

As if this isn’t enough to contend with, it’s only the beginning. Underhill has erected a door in Adam & Mercy’s backyard (without consent). Something is biting and killing people. A vampire has become so obsessed with Mercy that he is stalking her. A rouge werewolf pack shows up intent on challenging Adam’s pack by targeting the people they care about. Unsurprisingly, Mercy rises to every challenge.

If you enjoy strong heroines who are fiercely loyal, protective of the people/creatures they care about, and love their families and friends to a fault, you just might fall in love with Mercy too.

Storm Cursed released on the 28th of January 2021, and I urge you to treat yourself to the chaos and action that kept me reading late into the night.

4.5/5 🌟

Thank you to Netgalley, Little Brown Book Group UK (publisher), and Patricia Briggs (author) for granting me an ARC of this exciting novel in exchange for an impartial review.

Smoke Bitten is the 12th book in the Mercy Thompson series and it is one of the best Urban Fantasy series out there. Briggs is a master in creating a wonderful and detailed world, complex characters and once again in Smoke Bitten Mercy is facing a foe like no other, along with whatever is bugging Adam, Mercy's husband and mate.

I loved this book and I love this series and can't wait for the next installment of this series or in the Mercyverse.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for eARC of this book.

It’s been a while since I read a Mercy Thompson book and I was a little out of touch when I picked up Smoke Bitten, which is already a twelfth in the series. But that didn’t matter at all. Briggs has a very reader friendly writing style and I was soon brought up to speed about what had happened and who was who, and had no trouble following the story.

This book is slightly smaller in scale than some of the previous ones when it comes to the size and lethalness of the enemy and attack on Mercy and her werewolf pack. Not that a killer who can turn into a smoke is easy to face. To add tension, a portal to Underhill opens to Mercy’s backyard, a rouge pack threatens Mercy’s, and Adam is suffering from a magical problem he’s not willing to discuss with Mercy, creating tension between them.

The story opens with an emotional punch, followed by a deceptively slow unfolding of the main plot. Little things happen here and there, and all of a sudden it’s time for the final confrontation. Everything works out to satisfaction in the end, and Mercy learns new things about herself and Adam. All in all, a good addition to the series.

I love these books so much and this is another nail biting addition to the series, I seriously have anxiety reading most of the books all the way through, they’re that good. I love Adam and Mercy but I’m getting sick of Christy and as much as I love Adam, if I were Mercy he’d be on way way thin ice now, I do love these but I am getting sick of her being used as a tool to become between Adam and the pack. But it’s still brilliant, I just hope this situation will be resolved in the next book.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

vampires were wolves fae and killer bunnies are all in this fun filled book

have to say this is my first book from this author and probably not the best one to start with...being as its number 12 in the series but i have to say thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the characters in this book

mercy is up against it this time with a body snatching smoke creature running amok and adam the alpha pack male not being his usual self and a bunch of were wolves trying to overtake his pack there is a fair amount of work to be done

mercy and adam are up against a formidable foe...interesting times ahead...

will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors work

4.5 stars

I love the Mercy Thompson series and this one was engaging and as always ended too soon. What I love most about this series is the way our main character has integrated herself with the pack yet remains independent. With this book in particular I feel like you got to see that more than in previous books, we also got some pack drama - even a phone call from Bran I always love his cryptic wisdom!

Another aspect of this book that added greatly to my enjoyment was that we also got to see more of Adam and Mercy’s relationship. In the last few books I feel like they have been too preoccupied with the latest incident, and their relationship has been a steady backdrop rather than a plot point so it was nice for it to come slightly more into the plot. When it comes the main plot it was another perfect balance of magic, mystery and murder.

I love this series and will go back to my wait for the next book!

*A thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for eARC of this book*

What a welcome back to the world of Mercedes Hauptman Thompson - a much awaited book 12 in our mechanics world and life .

Mercy has problems not just on one front but three - what is Adams problem ? he has been distancing himself from her . Underhill has opened a gate into Mercy's back garden - Why , what is her motive ? it can't be good .
And who or what has brought foes from different dimensions into her life .
Can Mercy's life get any more complicated ? People are dying ……………. who or what is killing them and why ?

This book was a complete emotional rollercoaster , fast paced and with threats from all sides it is only with the help from her usual cohorts and a couple of unlikely sources that Mercy manages to gain the upper hand .

I cannot wait for the next instalment from this wonderful Author whose worldbuilding and superb characters
make for a great read .

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story takes you for a ride at a great pace just go with it and you won’t be disappointed. I would recommend reading earlier books involving Mercy to place the characters in this story. Mercy is a great character that you will wish to follow into future adventures.
Centuries ago the Fae dwelt in Underhill now the one of the prisoners has escaped! Or was he let loose? Mercy is mated to Adam leader of a pack of werewolves. When her friends are been Bitten and enveloped in smoke chaos occurs. Will Mercy’s heritage or special powers help her?
I was given an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Mercy Thompson is a coyote shape-shifter raised with werewolves and is now the mate of Adam, the Columbia Basin's alpha. This book is a return to form for Mercy with a story based entirely around her home ground. A gate to Underhill appears in Mercy and Adam's back yard and something has come through it - a smoke monster that can take over the mind of a human with one bite of its jack-rabbity teeth. Mercy's former neighbours are its first victims. But there's another threat to the werewolf pack. Interlopers, werewolves without a pack of their own, are planning to take over the pack. And as if that wasn't enough Mercy and Adam are having personal problems. Patricia Briggs is a buy on sight author for me and her Mercy Thompsons are always a delight to read. This is very much what we've come to expect from a Mercy Thompson book: peril, relationships (pack and personal), new monsters to fight and a thoroughly well written background of magic and mundane intertwined. Great stuff.

A great addition to the Mercy Thompson series. If you like urban fantasy and you’re invested in this series then you’ll love this. It follows the formula set by the previous books and really delivers. This episode features a triple threat for Mercy and her friends. It’s fast paced and gripping. Definitely the finer kind of popcorn book

Mercy Thompson, if you are delving into this series at the 12th book good luck, although I suppose you would probably fare as well as me, who can't remember what she had for breakfast yesterday let alone the twists and turns in this momentous series.

Anyhoo, things are not all sweetness and light at the pack house. Adam's ex-wife is creating tension and Mercy is getting the blame, unfairly. To escape the tension Mercy wanders off to her old home and encounters the ghost of her near neighbour, who apparently has just been murdered. Soon Mercy is on the trail of an entity which bites its victims, forces them to kill innocents and then assumes their bodies for a short period.

But this being Mercy she isn't just hunting down a dangerous creature, oh no, she is also trying to understand what is wrong in her marriage, deal with a stalker, fend off an attempted coup by another pack, cope with a doorway to Underhill on her land, and hold together what is left of her own pack.

I liked this but I didn't love it. It felt shorter than usual (352 pages which is about the same as the last couple) and less intense than other books. Having said that, I am totally chuffed with myself that I put the clues together (can't say more than that because spoilers), which I NEVER do with Mercy Thompson books. So maybe this is one of those slightly more humdrum books in the series, yanno after the drama of the witches and Elizaveta in the last one.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.