February 2017 Re-read 
 January 2016 Re-read: Buddy read with Sarah 
 This is probably one of my favorite books in the series. I always love the ones that deal with the fae a little bit more than the others. And this one definitely has the fae in spades. Beyond that we really get to delve into the issues that Adam's been having in his Pack. I like that things don't magically get better, but that it takes work and figuring out the problem to get to a solution. 
 Samuel. What can I say about Samuel. He breaks my heart in this book. I didn't always love him, but I always wanted him around. He wasn't for Mercy, but he was an amazing person and wolf. I still cry when I read a great many of Sam's storyline in this book. 
 My one complaint, and overall it's fairly minor, and probably something we just didn't see the consequences of - is (view spoiler)[her taking Jesse into Elphame! And then the fact that it was never brought up again. Adam never mentioned it. Yes, Jesse was ultimately safe, but Mercy knew before taking her in that she was putting Jesse at risk. And I hate that it's never, ever mentioned or anything. (hide spoiler)] 
 Still. I love this book. The Pack; Samuel, the fae - it's all perfect and heart-wrenching and suspenseful. 
 Original Review: 
 You know, when reading a series I should always write my thoughts down on the day I finish it - or the next day at the latest. I'm already a couple of days late on this one, and I've finished River Marked too. It makes it harder to separate everything out for me. 
 Mercy's newly mated to Adam and brought into their pack. There are some wolves that aren't at all happy about this, and use Mercy's unawareness of pack magic to make trouble. Maybe they just want Mercy out, maybe they want Adam out too and are using Mercy as a stepping stone. 
 When Samuel ends up seriously needing Mercy's help, she realizes she needs to take a step back and try to get a handle on everything. A call from Tad to look after that fae thing that was given her (and I just had a flash of the scene from Hackers "It's in that place where I put that thing that one time..."). Now Mercy's the target, along with the pack, of someone who wants it badly. 
 Lots of things going on in this one. The pack politics, followed closely by Samuel's story-line, were my favorites here. Which is what nearly makes it a five-star read for me. I loved how the pack stuff moved and was resolved (even if I'm a little grumpy at the light punishment some transgressions got). 
 Samuel nearly broke my heart, and that's pretty much all I can say without spoiling the hell out of it. I also liked that it wasn't dragged out for a long time (more than one book). 
 The fae "mystery" story-line was probably the weakest. It just didn't hold my attention nearly as much as the relationship (Adam&Pack/Pack&Mercy/Mercy&Adam/Samuel&Mercy/etc) dynamics going on with everyone else I cared about. 
 I love how strong and smart Mercy is, but that's she's not infallible. She does make mistakes, but there are consequences for them. There is one mistake in particular (view spoiler)[WTF was she doing taking Jesse into Elphame?? (hide spoiler)] that seemed to just be dropped when she was rescued. Just because I've come to expect it, I'm sure there was something that was said/happened because of this, but I would have really liked to see it. Otherwise it feels like a dropped thread that was put in there for no real purpose. 
 Overall, another great installment in the Mercy Thompson world with some minor things to niggle at me. 
 Up next: River Marked