A review by beeboisourgod
Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
3.0
Okay, I'm using my small amount of data to post reviews because I have no control but reading the second book in this series left me with a wild, frenetic energy that may or may not have lead me to frantically purchasing the third book online at a totally reasonable three in the morning because at that moment I needed it as soon as possible. Once the third book arrived, some of that frenetic energy definitely carried over into it as well, but I found it was mostly residual and never quite as strong.
Don’t get me wrong, for a majority of this story, Iron Kissed was teetering on the precipice of four stars like its predecessor, maybe not as definitively, but I was considering it because while I didn’t find the fae as interesting as the vampires were in this case, the writing was still strong and fast paced, the world building was still solid, and the characters and mystery were still intriguing, but then... then it all fell apart in the main focus of the last few chapters...
Well, maybe “fell apart” is a bit too harsh of words, but either way: major content warnings for rape should be heeded, spoilers be damned.
Now, a lot of people make fun of fanfiction sites like AO3 and call younger readers spoiled when they voice their desire to emulate a similar tagging system in regular published novels. I’m not one of those people and honestly think the tagging system is a fantastic idea for many reasons, but one very prominent and overlooked reason for why the tags are particularly helpful is not only to filter tastes and tropes, but also content warnings, and even more importantly, consent to see that content. Some may argue that ruins the surprise of some stories, but I want to stop being surprised by the things that not only make me uncomfortable but can also be extremely triggering to others. The amount of times I’ve been thrown into a seemingly innocent book before being completely sidewinded by an incredibly heavy and sensitive gotcha plot point is too many to count. I just finished another book with a rape scene thrown in from left field then swept under the rug, and another a few months ago and yet another and another; now Iron Kissed has added itself to those ranks. While I do know it’s something many people, not only women, unfortunately do go through in the real world and something that does at times need to be explored in fiction because it’s a difficult issue that can’t just be glossed over or ignored, I also think in a lot of these cases, it’s not necessary to the story at hand. Though I do believe Patricia Briggs handles the topic better than some *coughs* Charlaine Harris *coughs,* the sheer number of times I’ve seen a plot point like this happening in stories like these is becoming so large, it’s horrifyingly starting to feel like a gimmick; like, it feels cheap, it feels slimy, and it feels like the only way writers know how to cause problems or relationship drama or quote unquote “weaken” and shake the confidence of their strong women characters, turning them into a victim, and I’m getting tired of it. I’m getting tired of having to see characters I like go through this, often to have them feel guilty, to again quote unquote “knock them down a peg,” to have a man come to their rescue, to stir up unneeded tension between them and said man, etc, etc. I’m tired, I’m tired, I’m tired, and Mercy deserves better. Granted, this series is not the worst offender I’ve seen—the event is at least treated with a decent amount of understanding and respect, though there is always a fine line to tread there—and on the other side of the coin, those with similar experiences may find comfort in Mercy overcoming her ordeal with time and if that’s the case, I can respect that and do believe I have to look at that perspective, too, but at this point, being not the first I’ve read even in the past two weeks, I’ve reached a boiling point and am not feeling particularly charitable on the subject.
Moving on though, if I were to keep going in this review with paragraphs like that, we’d be here for days, so I think the rest I will sum up in bullet points.
Other things I did like:
-I was worried there was going to be major focus on the love triangle between Mercy, Adam, and Samuel instead of the plot, especially since I’m not at all fond of Samuel, especially not as a love interest, but Patricia Briggs pulled through for me on that front, wrapping it up fairly quickly actually, though some of Adam's behaviour is putting him on thin ice in this installment.
-I like seeing Mercy connect with Ben more and seeing the other side of him, it’s a very small detail, but it’s interesting. His current role and some of his mannerisms, origin and appearance, though, do make me wonder, just out of curiosity, if at least part of his character was loosely inspired by Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, much like I wondered if that pianist vampire in the first book was inspired by Drusilla. No piece of media is going to escape my comparison to that show, okay, that show is practically a part of me, but anyway.
-Seeing a glimpse into the world of the fae, and the way their morality and politics differs to that of the vampires’ or werewolves’ was also interesting, though not quite as interesting as the vampires, it was neat to have the focus on them for once since they’ve only been briefly mentioned or shown in the first two books.
Other things I didn’t like:
-I know Mercy wasn’t happy with him, but I would have liked to see Stefan at least once, like even for a brief cameo or something, come on.
-Some of the “Indian” comments seemed in poor taste and a little outdated.
-The werewolf dominance stuff, romance and Mercy's submission or fear of submission to Adam, who becomes extra possessive in this book, takes a front seat here and it gets a little awkward and repetitive at points, but still not to the point of over-annoyance so maybe I'll let it slide... but... I don't know.
-Mercy feels very.... I won’t say out of character here, but she doesn’t feel quite like the person we first met in the series, though I think that may be the point of this book, it all feels just a little off, in her fears about Adam, in her guilt, in her doubt and everything in between. Again, I don't really know, it also just feels a little early to be shaking up the status quo so much. In a way, (yes, I’m going to reference it again), it reminds me of season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and contrary to most other seasons, that’s... not a compliment. Because the real villain of season 6 is not a demon, not magic, nor a monster; it’s life, and it tears all the characters down in such real, almost mundane ways, it hurts. It also happens to have an incredibly controversial rape story-line, so like I said, it’s getting tiring, and it's like it's being used for shock value.
Overall, I still think this book was written relatively well, but I also think it’s relatively heavy subject-matter wise and should be read with caution. I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as Blood Bound, which is disappointing, but I didn’t even come close to hating it, so that’s something. It’s a decent book that’s rough around the edges, and it has a lot of edges. After Blood Bound, I’ve come to really like the world and the characters, so I feel a fondness for it regardless, but Iron Kissed has left me on rather neutral ground in the end, and while I still want to read the next book very soon, I now do so with a new wariness.
Don’t get me wrong, for a majority of this story, Iron Kissed was teetering on the precipice of four stars like its predecessor, maybe not as definitively, but I was considering it because while I didn’t find the fae as interesting as the vampires were in this case, the writing was still strong and fast paced, the world building was still solid, and the characters and mystery were still intriguing, but then... then it all fell apart in the main focus of the last few chapters...
Well, maybe “fell apart” is a bit too harsh of words, but either way: major content warnings for rape should be heeded, spoilers be damned.
Now, a lot of people make fun of fanfiction sites like AO3 and call younger readers spoiled when they voice their desire to emulate a similar tagging system in regular published novels. I’m not one of those people and honestly think the tagging system is a fantastic idea for many reasons, but one very prominent and overlooked reason for why the tags are particularly helpful is not only to filter tastes and tropes, but also content warnings, and even more importantly, consent to see that content. Some may argue that ruins the surprise of some stories, but I want to stop being surprised by the things that not only make me uncomfortable but can also be extremely triggering to others. The amount of times I’ve been thrown into a seemingly innocent book before being completely sidewinded by an incredibly heavy and sensitive gotcha plot point is too many to count. I just finished another book with a rape scene thrown in from left field then swept under the rug, and another a few months ago and yet another and another; now Iron Kissed has added itself to those ranks. While I do know it’s something many people, not only women, unfortunately do go through in the real world and something that does at times need to be explored in fiction because it’s a difficult issue that can’t just be glossed over or ignored, I also think in a lot of these cases, it’s not necessary to the story at hand. Though I do believe Patricia Briggs handles the topic better than some *coughs* Charlaine Harris *coughs,* the sheer number of times I’ve seen a plot point like this happening in stories like these is becoming so large, it’s horrifyingly starting to feel like a gimmick; like, it feels cheap, it feels slimy, and it feels like the only way writers know how to cause problems or relationship drama or quote unquote “weaken” and shake the confidence of their strong women characters, turning them into a victim, and I’m getting tired of it. I’m getting tired of having to see characters I like go through this, often to have them feel guilty, to again quote unquote “knock them down a peg,” to have a man come to their rescue, to stir up unneeded tension between them and said man, etc, etc. I’m tired, I’m tired, I’m tired, and Mercy deserves better. Granted, this series is not the worst offender I’ve seen—the event is at least treated with a decent amount of understanding and respect, though there is always a fine line to tread there—and on the other side of the coin, those with similar experiences may find comfort in Mercy overcoming her ordeal with time and if that’s the case, I can respect that and do believe I have to look at that perspective, too, but at this point, being not the first I’ve read even in the past two weeks, I’ve reached a boiling point and am not feeling particularly charitable on the subject.
Moving on though, if I were to keep going in this review with paragraphs like that, we’d be here for days, so I think the rest I will sum up in bullet points.
Other things I did like:
-I was worried there was going to be major focus on the love triangle between Mercy, Adam, and Samuel instead of the plot, especially since I’m not at all fond of Samuel, especially not as a love interest, but Patricia Briggs pulled through for me on that front, wrapping it up fairly quickly actually, though some of Adam's behaviour is putting him on thin ice in this installment.
-I like seeing Mercy connect with Ben more and seeing the other side of him, it’s a very small detail, but it’s interesting. His current role and some of his mannerisms, origin and appearance, though, do make me wonder, just out of curiosity, if at least part of his character was loosely inspired by Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, much like I wondered if that pianist vampire in the first book was inspired by Drusilla. No piece of media is going to escape my comparison to that show, okay, that show is practically a part of me, but anyway.
-Seeing a glimpse into the world of the fae, and the way their morality and politics differs to that of the vampires’ or werewolves’ was also interesting, though not quite as interesting as the vampires, it was neat to have the focus on them for once since they’ve only been briefly mentioned or shown in the first two books.
Other things I didn’t like:
-I know Mercy wasn’t happy with him, but I would have liked to see Stefan at least once, like even for a brief cameo or something, come on.
-Some of the “Indian” comments seemed in poor taste and a little outdated.
-The werewolf dominance stuff, romance and Mercy's submission or fear of submission to Adam, who becomes extra possessive in this book, takes a front seat here and it gets a little awkward and repetitive at points, but still not to the point of over-annoyance so maybe I'll let it slide... but... I don't know.
-Mercy feels very.... I won’t say out of character here, but she doesn’t feel quite like the person we first met in the series, though I think that may be the point of this book, it all feels just a little off, in her fears about Adam, in her guilt, in her doubt and everything in between. Again, I don't really know, it also just feels a little early to be shaking up the status quo so much. In a way, (yes, I’m going to reference it again), it reminds me of season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and contrary to most other seasons, that’s... not a compliment. Because the real villain of season 6 is not a demon, not magic, nor a monster; it’s life, and it tears all the characters down in such real, almost mundane ways, it hurts. It also happens to have an incredibly controversial rape story-line, so like I said, it’s getting tiring, and it's like it's being used for shock value.
Overall, I still think this book was written relatively well, but I also think it’s relatively heavy subject-matter wise and should be read with caution. I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as Blood Bound, which is disappointing, but I didn’t even come close to hating it, so that’s something. It’s a decent book that’s rough around the edges, and it has a lot of edges. After Blood Bound, I’ve come to really like the world and the characters, so I feel a fondness for it regardless, but Iron Kissed has left me on rather neutral ground in the end, and while I still want to read the next book very soon, I now do so with a new wariness.