Book Review: Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Book 11 of Mercy Thompson
Publisher: Ace (May 7, 2019)
Length: 368 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
At eleven books, the Mercy Thompson series has become a veritable saga at this point. Pack drama and supernatural politics, this one’s got it all! And believe it or not, many of these story threads are still developing and building upon everything that has come before.
This is the case in Storm Cursed, which takes us back to the Tri-Cities area after our eventful detour through Europe in Silence Fallen—which also means we return to Tri-Cities politics. Repercussions of Mercy’s past decisions have caught up to her, and while it felt like the right thing to do at the time, nothing could have prepared her for the pressures involved in taking responsibility for the safety of everyone living in the territory of the Columbia Basin pack.
As always though, Mercy has the full support of her husband and pack leader Adam, even if some of the other werewolves only barely tolerate her—and only because they have to. But what’s done is done, and now everyone is busy dealing with the aftermath of Mercy’s proclamation, including getting rid of any intrusions on their territory or threats to their people.
Still, some major power shifts are happening. The Tri-Cities area now has the reputation of neutral ground, where negotiations can take place between the US Government and the Gray Lords of the Fae. As a whole slew of important people descends upon their home territory, Mercy finds herself playing reluctant liaison between the politicians and the supernatural community. Meanwhile though, other troubling things are happening around the place, including the emergence of zombie animals and a massacre on the local witch’s coven. With all these fires needing to be put out, Mercy barely has time anymore to put in hours at her car mechanic day job, even though the garage has reopened since being burned down a few months back.
I’ll be honest—this wasn’t my favorite Mercy Thompson novel by far, especially coming on the heels of the thrilling installment that was Silence Fallen. After that nice little break, it appears the series has settled into holding pattern again, in that this one felt like a bridge book whose purpose is to establish a foundation for what’s coming next. There also wasn’t one central conflict in the story; instead, there were several all being developed in tandem, which resulted in a lack of focus. In addition, the political aspects dragged on, not to mention how some of those parts felt awkwardly shoehorned in when there were more urgent problems to worry about, like, oh, I don’t know, how about Elizavetta’s entire family being brutally tortured and murdered and the imminent takeover by a rival coven of black witches? It certainly didn’t feel like that bombshell was given the gravity it deserved, and it’s possible all these reasons made Storm Cursed feel comparatively less engaging than some of the books that came before.
That said, if you’re still following the series at this point, you’ll know what a delight these characters are to follow. It’s impossible for Patricia Briggs to write a bad Mercy Thompson book in my eyes, because each volume always introduces something new and interesting. One of my favorite aspects is seeing all the relationships develop, not just on a personal level between characters but also on a larger scale between all the paranormal communities (Fae, Witches, Werewolves, etc.) in the Tri-Cities. I also love how this book brought back a ton of familiar faces like Zee and Stefan, while still having room to introduce newer names like Sherwood and Larry. It’s true that all the characters get hard to keep track of sometimes, and even as someone who has followed this series closely, occasionally I get forgetful and lost when the story references some past events. This is definitely a series where you have to be up-to-date with the books, and to an extent also be familiar with the Alpha & Omega universe (which I don’t read, which is probably why I’m at a slight disadvantage).
At the end of the day though, even with the Mercy Thompson series’ highs and lows, each book is still an adventure where you never know what’s around the corner for everyone’s favorite coyote shapeshifter and the rest of the gang. While Storm Cursed was a bit of a mixed bag, with a lot of things going on and sections that were less engaging than others, overall I had a good time, and as always, I can’t wait for more.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Reread of River Marked (Book 6)
Review of Night Broken (Book 8)
Review of Fire Touched (Book 9)
Review of Silence Fallen (Book 10)
Review of Shifting Shadows (Anthology)
The BiblioSanctum 
A real saga indeed Mogsy! Astonishingly I have never tried her books. Maybe I am afraid it will turn out like Anita Blake…anyway excellent review and too bad it was not as good as the previous one!
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Haha, I can see why you would be worried, because Anita Blake was NOT GOOD, haha. Don’t worry, this one doesn’t go down that path! I would have quit a long ago otherwise 😀
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Excellent review, Mogsy! I have never read this series before. Judging from your glowing review, I need to check it out. 🙂
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I love it! If you’re into UF, you should try it 🙂
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I am three books behind in this series so I only skimmed your review. Sad it didn’t rate higher but you’ll have that with a long series. Do you think she has plans on ending it anytime soon? I hope it doesn’t drag on and on like Anita Blake (not that there’s a comparison because Anita started to drive me nuts and I only made it to book 8 – I love Mercy).
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I hope it doesn’t drag on either. Sometimes I feel like she needs to start winding this series down, but at others I also feel like she has more stories in her. I guess we’ll see! At least we can be thankful it hasn’t turned into a smutfest like Anita Blake, lol!
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You really can’t beat that cover, its stunning😊
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Agreed, I love all the covers for this series!
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Ah yes I quite agree with you as well for this one
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I think she’s setting up for something big 🙂
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It’s been a while since I’ve read a book in this series, but I love the sound of how interrelated everything is- when a universe feels living and breathing that’s always fun to see.
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Yeah, when your series gets into the double digits, I think she really has to start tying things together!
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Still stalled at book 1, and knowing there are 10 more (for now…) feels a little daunting, but it’s good to know that – with some highs and lows – this series keeps being interesting!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Haha, I know what it feels like to stall…I’m that way with the Toby Daye series and the Kate Daniels series…but one day I will continue!
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mercy 😀 I still hope they end soon
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I think she’ll have at least a few more books, but yeah, it can’t go on forever.
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My appreciation for Mercy Thompson books is still quite strong, though it diminishes with each new installment. This one… I’m not eagerly awaiting, but I will read eventually nonetheless. No high hopes for this one, though! I secretly believe she should have ended around Night Broken 😉
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Yeah, that’s a sure sign that an author should start thinking about wrapping things up. I think she’s got a few more books in her, but at some point, you gotta have an end in sight.
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I guess a ‘holding pattern’ book is inevitable in a series that has this many instalments. I need to catch up – I think I only read up to 8! Eek. I might have a binge read, April and May seemed to be so busy with review books that I’ve pegged back my requests.
Lynn 😀
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I know how it is, once you fall a book behind, it just starts piling up. I hope you can catch up soon 😀
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This is another series I really need to catch up on, I think I left off at book 5 or 6. At this point I may wait until an end is in sight and then binge, especially since there seem to be so many peaks and valleys with the individual books.
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Yeah, the books are all good, but some are better than others. The last book was amazing, so maybe that’s why this one felt a little bland in comparison.
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I really need to catch up with Mercy! I’m still a few books behind!
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Hope you get a chance to catch up soon!
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