Third Time Around

I recently read IRON KISSED by Patricia Briggs, the third book in her Mercy series. I have read some of her fantasy, too, but this paranormal series is one of my favorites. I was anxiously checking my mail for the Amazon.com package that contained it (as well as KITTY AND THE SILVER BULLET by Carrie Vaughn and MY BIG FAT SUPERNATURAL HONEYMOON, sequel to the MY BIG FAT SUPERNATURAL WEDDING collection).

I loved the book, especially because the character finally resolves which man she is in love with. No, I won't give it away, but I will say that I was happy with the way it was handled. Love triangles are never easy to resolve in fiction (as in real life, I suppose). But this one was handled pretty gracefully, involving elements of the werewolf mythology as well as straight-up human motivations.

The action was pretty good, if convoluted for having so many characters. As with any series with continuing arcs, you end up with a lot of different names and events associated with them. Sometimes it's hard to keep it all straight. This is part of why I keep so many of my books - if it's part of a series, I nearly always end up rereading at least the previous book, if not all the of the previous ones.

Such is the case with SUCCUBUS ON TOP. I am only a few pages in, but I am feeling like maybe I need to do a quick re-read of the first book, SUCCUBUS BLUES, because I am feeling a bit lost. But I love Richelle Mead and re-reading her first book is not a chore.

So many books to look forward to this year. Kim Harrison, Sandra Hill, Rachel Caine, Lauren Willig, Pat Simmons - all have new books coming out this year. So far, I am off to a great start with my reading. How about you? Read any good books so far? If so, let me know in the comments.

Nicole