Reviews with content warning for Confinement - L'Appel de la lune

Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

L'Appel de la lune by Patricia Briggs

8 reviews

dreamerfreak's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Mercy is half Native American, and a walker, she transforms into a coyote and was partly raised by a werewolf pack. This puts her in an odd position relative to the werewolves, as she’s somewhat entangled in their hierarchy but isn’t trying to be part of it.

As the first book in the series, MOON CALLED establishes the presence of various supernatural factions such as werewolves, vampires, witches, fey, and Native American people like Mercy. It focuses on the current precarious position in which the werewolves find themselves; many of the lesser fae came out in a controlled manner several years ago, but the werewolves are an open secret in military circles. This sets up those groups and some of the relationships between them, including between Adam’s pack and the Marrok’s pack in the mountains. It also establishes Mercy’s history with Sam and her current position relative to Adam (living nearby and taking joy in simple pleasures, like annoying him with the car in her yard).

The plot revolves around a strange werewolf who shows up in town and then is attacked in Mercy’s presence, setting off a string of conflicts which involve kidnappings and an elaborate plan. It has some twists and turns but is pretty easy to follow. The meeting with the vampires has always felt a bit out of place in this story, but it’s serving to set up some things that’ll come into play later on. It’s a solid story with a lot of ground to cover, and it does it well. MOON CALLED is a great start to the series.

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brennaa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

As much as I enjoy the story, the prevalent Christianity and cultural appropriation of Indigenous cultures and beliefs means I won't be spending any more money on this series.

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house_of_hannah's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is a book that I definitely would not have picked up normally. I dislike the cover, and the summary leaves a lot to be desired. However, I've been interested lately in trying out the Urban Fantasy genre as, besides Moon Called, I think I only read one book in this genre this year. Several Booktubers I follow have given this series some major praise, so I figured I'd give it a try and see for myself. In the end I'd rate this a high 3, because I do think it's above average, but a low 4.

To start off the pace of this story is slower than you would expect. Only a few days pass by in the entire book, but it feels like weeks. I did find it a bit difficult to stay invested in the book, so I did take a break from reading this for a few weeks to read some shorter stories. However, once I hit about the 60% mark of the book I couldn't put it down.

I do really enjoy the way that the Werewolves and Vampires are portrayed. Or at least for the most part. Their history and way of life is interesting, but the whole, "omg, there's two males in the same space as a woman, they are going to fight over her!!" shtick got old really fast. Essentially every male Mercy encounters wants to "make her theirs", so there's a lot of metaphorical dick swinging as everyone clambers over each other to get to her.

The mystery itself I found intriguing, and was a clever way to introduce part of the world the story takes place in. This is what I was invested in during the last half of the book, but unfortunately the climax is a little lacking. I found myself thinking, "wait, that's it?" and re-reading a few paragraphs to make sure I understood it right.

Overall, there is quite a bit of tension, action (the non-sexual kind), lore, and mystery in this novel. I did enjoy it more than I was expecting I would, but it's not without it's flaws. I am unsure if I will continue with the series, but if I do it will be a few months before I pick up the second book.

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