Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #2)

Under the rule of science, there are no witch burnings allowed, no water trials or public lynchings. In return, the average law-abiding, solid citizen has little to worry about from the things that go bump in the night. Sometimes I wish I was an average citizen...

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places-and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary-and neither is the demon inside of him.

Blood Bound is book two on the Mercy Thompson series and it takes place months after the events of the first book, Moon Called.
If book one was the book that introduced you to the werewolves then book two is the book that throws you neck-deep into the world of the vampires.

This time, the threat is a demon-possessed vampire which just makes everything darker, scarier and bloodier than the first outing. Mercy is well and truly out of her depth here but in true Mercy fashion, her friends are threatened so she’s all in, even when the little coyote should run and hide!

There were lots of interesting dynamics on display in this book with the fae, the vampires and the werewolves.

We learn more about Warren - Adam the pack alpha's third - and I'm curious as to how the revelations there will play out in future books... I like him a lot and adore his friendship with Adam. I love how Warren can be himself with Adam, and Mercy, but I despised the homophobia that seems to run rampant through werewolf packs and how it clouds their judgement when it comes to Warren. He's good people, a strong wolf, but it doesn't seem to matter to the small-minded assholes in Adam's pack because he's gay. Grrr!
We also get to see more of Ben the bad boy werewolf from London! I must admit that I disliked Ben in the first book but he started to grow on me in this one. I really hope he's not guilty of what he was accused of back in London! Really really hope he is not.

Mercy's position in Adam's pack is also a curiosity and how they respond to her in Adam's absence was really telling... Adam may have claimed her years ago to protect the coyote from his pack of wolves but I think the fact she can exert dominance over even his second shows that Adam wasn't just taking protective steps - he is serious about it.
I hope this means the annoying ass love-triangle that is hovering like an annoying pigeon between Adam, Mercy and Sam is a moot point and that she chooses Adam very soon!
I wish there was a bit more romance in this book but alas... It's not that kind of series. However, I liked what we got!

One thing that annoyed me (and I know it's still early in the series but still) is that we’re still none the wiser as to why walkers are perceived as such a threat to vampires beyond being immune to most of their powers! Maybe that’ll be revealed as the series goes on, or maybe that’s all there is to say about it but I found it very disappointing in a book heavily featuring the vampires that it wasn't explored.

The book had a lot going on and both the story and the character development had me hooked from the first chapter. As you can no doubt guess, I'm becoming very attached to some of these guys and I can't wait to see what is in store for them next!

Favourite Quotes

“The problem with deciding to bend the rules was trying to figure out just how far you could bend them.”

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“Some wounds need to be pricked so they can drain. Others just need to be left alone.”

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“Sometimes the most interesting part of the conversation with someone who can't lie is the questions they don't answer.”