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Jane Yellowrock #3
Mercy Blade
Things are heating up in the Big Easy. Weres have announced their existence to the world, and revived the bitter tensions that run between them and their old enemies: vampires.
As a trusted employee of Leo Pellissier, Blood Master of the City, Jane finds herself caught in the cross fire. When Jane is attacked by a pack of marauding werewolves, she is thankful for the help of a mysterious stranger named Girrard. He explains that he used to be Leo's 'Mercy Blade,' a sacred position charged with killing vampires who have gone insane.
What Jane doesn't know is why this powerful assassin left New Orleans--or, more troubling, why he's now returned. It's definitely not to make Jane's life easier...
As a trusted employee of Leo Pellissier, Blood Master of the City, Jane finds herself caught in the cross fire. When Jane is attacked by a pack of marauding werewolves, she is thankful for the help of a mysterious stranger named Girrard. He explains that he used to be Leo's 'Mercy Blade,' a sacred position charged with killing vampires who have gone insane.
What Jane doesn't know is why this powerful assassin left New Orleans--or, more troubling, why he's now returned. It's definitely not to make Jane's life easier...
305 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 4, 2011
About the author
Faith Hunter
90 books5,634 followersFaith Hunter's Junkyard Cats novella series is available in Audible, eBook, and "ridiculously expensive" (her words) trade paperback books at this time.
Faith's Jane Yellowrock series is a dark urban fantasy. Jane is a full blooded Cherokee skinwalker and hunter of rogue-vampires in a world of weres, witches, vampires, and other supernats.
The Soulwood series is a dark-urban fantasy / paranormal police procedural /para-thriller series featuring Nell Nicholson Ingram, an earth magic user and Special gent of PsyLED.
Her Rogue Mage novels—Bloodring, Seraphs, Host, and the RPG Rogue Mage—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality.
Faith writes full-time, tries to keep house, and is a workaholic. She gave up cooking for lent one year and the oven hasn’t been turned on since. Okay – that’s a joke. She does still make cold cereal and sandwiches. Occasionally, she remembers to turn on Roomba (that she named Duma$$ because it fell down the stairs once.)
Faith researches in great detail, and tries most everything her characters do. Research led to her life’s passions – jewelry making, orchids, Japanese maples, bones, travel, white-water kayaking, and writing.
Jewelry-making was the occupation of two of her characters: Thorn St. Croix, the Rogue Mage, and the main character of BloodStone, written by her pen name, Gwen Hunter. She fell in love with the art form. Though she doesn't have time for jewelry as much as she used to, Faith makes, wears, and sometimes gives away her jewelry as promo items to fans and as prizes in contests. See her FaceBook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/official.fait... for pics.
Faith loves orchids. Her favorite time of year is when several are blooming. Pictures can be seen at her FaceBook page. And yes, she collects bones and skulls. Many of her orchid pics are juxtaposed with bones and skulls —a fox, cat, dog, cow skull, goat, and deer skull, (that is, unfortunately, falling apart) and the jawbone of an ass. She just received a boar skull, and the skull of a mountain lion (legally purchased from a US tannery) hit by a car in the wild.
Her latest love is Japanese maples, and she has managed to collect over thirty in one year.
She and her husband RV, traveling to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.
And that leads Faith to kayaking – her very favorite sport. Faith discovered whitewater paddling when she was researching her (Gwen Hunter) mystery book, Rapid Descent. She took a lesson and—after a bout of panic attacks from fear of being upside down trapped in a boat—discovered she loved the sport.
Faith is a voracious reader.
Under other pen names, notably, Gwen Hunter, she writes action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Gwen, she is a winner of the WH Smith Literary Award for Fresh Talent in 1995 in the UK, and won a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in 2008. As Faith, her books have been on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists, been nominated for various awards and won an Audie Award with Khristine Hvam, among other awards. Under all her pen names, she has more than 40 books, anthologies, and complications in print in 30 countries.
For more, including a list of her books, see www.faithhunter.net , www.gwenhunter.com , and www.magicalwords.net. To keep up with her daily, join her fan pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/official.fait...
Faith's Jane Yellowrock series is a dark urban fantasy. Jane is a full blooded Cherokee skinwalker and hunter of rogue-vampires in a world of weres, witches, vampires, and other supernats.
The Soulwood series is a dark-urban fantasy / paranormal police procedural /para-thriller series featuring Nell Nicholson Ingram, an earth magic user and Special gent of PsyLED.
Her Rogue Mage novels—Bloodring, Seraphs, Host, and the RPG Rogue Mage—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality.
Faith writes full-time, tries to keep house, and is a workaholic. She gave up cooking for lent one year and the oven hasn’t been turned on since. Okay – that’s a joke. She does still make cold cereal and sandwiches. Occasionally, she remembers to turn on Roomba (that she named Duma$$ because it fell down the stairs once.)
Faith researches in great detail, and tries most everything her characters do. Research led to her life’s passions – jewelry making, orchids, Japanese maples, bones, travel, white-water kayaking, and writing.
Jewelry-making was the occupation of two of her characters: Thorn St. Croix, the Rogue Mage, and the main character of BloodStone, written by her pen name, Gwen Hunter. She fell in love with the art form. Though she doesn't have time for jewelry as much as she used to, Faith makes, wears, and sometimes gives away her jewelry as promo items to fans and as prizes in contests. See her FaceBook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/official.fait... for pics.
Faith loves orchids. Her favorite time of year is when several are blooming. Pictures can be seen at her FaceBook page. And yes, she collects bones and skulls. Many of her orchid pics are juxtaposed with bones and skulls —a fox, cat, dog, cow skull, goat, and deer skull, (that is, unfortunately, falling apart) and the jawbone of an ass. She just received a boar skull, and the skull of a mountain lion (legally purchased from a US tannery) hit by a car in the wild.
Her latest love is Japanese maples, and she has managed to collect over thirty in one year.
She and her husband RV, traveling to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.
And that leads Faith to kayaking – her very favorite sport. Faith discovered whitewater paddling when she was researching her (Gwen Hunter) mystery book, Rapid Descent. She took a lesson and—after a bout of panic attacks from fear of being upside down trapped in a boat—discovered she loved the sport.
Faith is a voracious reader.
Under other pen names, notably, Gwen Hunter, she writes action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Gwen, she is a winner of the WH Smith Literary Award for Fresh Talent in 1995 in the UK, and won a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in 2008. As Faith, her books have been on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists, been nominated for various awards and won an Audie Award with Khristine Hvam, among other awards. Under all her pen names, she has more than 40 books, anthologies, and complications in print in 30 countries.
For more, including a list of her books, see www.faithhunter.net , www.gwenhunter.com , and www.magicalwords.net. To keep up with her daily, join her fan pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/official.fait...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 811 reviews
February 27, 2023
Things are pretty interesting in Jane’s life lately. She has been dating Rick (which Beast totally likes), but Bruiser isn’t totally out of the scene either. Do I need to just totally give up on my shipper hopes of her and Leo? I always seem to pick sinking ships… oh well. One of these two will grow on me, I’m sure. They’re both decent guys.
Leo has a little werewolf problem. In this series, weres have just come out to the human population, and are not playing nice. Faith Hunter does a great job with her world-building as always. It’s a complex, well-thought out world with different species and cool histories and dynamics behind each coven and pack. Without spoiling anything, this gets SUPER COOL in the way something bad happens, and then Jane has to spend the book trying to untwist it. And then GAH the ending!!! Super cool job in creating the mythology on this one and I cannot wait to scoop up book four!
Leo has a little werewolf problem. In this series, weres have just come out to the human population, and are not playing nice. Faith Hunter does a great job with her world-building as always. It’s a complex, well-thought out world with different species and cool histories and dynamics behind each coven and pack. Without spoiling anything, this gets SUPER COOL in the way something bad happens, and then Jane has to spend the book trying to untwist it. And then GAH the ending!!! Super cool job in creating the mythology on this one and I cannot wait to scoop up book four!
February 21, 2017
Oh Jane…How can you be so on point in your professional life and so totally messed up in your personal one. It is baffling to the mind.
Jane in her professional life…
Jane in her personal life…
Overall I think I’d like this if the story stayed more Urban Fantasy and less Paranormal Romance and by Paranormal Romance I mean love triangle/square/quadrangle tangles mess with self esteem issues.
So the things I enjoy in this story are all on the plot side:
◎ – Werecreatures have just come out of the closet and it seems part of them are in negotiations with Leo while the others have a huge grudge against him.
◎ – There is a new non-human thing Girrard DiMercy (Gee for short) running around with swords like Zorro and he used to be Leo’s mercy blade an age ago. He wants back into Leo’s good graces but Leo still hates Gee with a fiery passion.
◎ – The expanded history of the lore in this world and the origin story of the curse of Artemus or how werecreatures came to be and the curse on their species.
◎ – Katie coming back all Carrie style.
◎ – Derrek and the Merc crew. I love those guys and if Jane should be interested in anyone in this book it should be one of them.
◎ – The added backstory of Bruiser and how he came into Leo’s service. It was horrible the things that happened to him but I like that Leo took him in. Even if I semi-hate their relationship today it explained a lot about Bruiser’s loyalty to Leo.
◎ – The mystery of who might be trying to frame up Bruiser and implicate Leo in some murders.
◎ - Trying to figure out what Evangeline (Molly’s sister) is up to. I’m not sure she is on team good and I don’t see Jane and her being BFFs down the road.
But then there was all the stuff that really annoyed me and got in the way.
⍨ - Rick and Jane not really discussing anything about their job lives and it leading to a huge clusterfuck.
⍨ - The cheating Part I. Look maybe there is a really fine line here but I think that there was cheating all around and that one individual just took it farther than others. I absolutely hate that
⍨ - The Cheating part II. I actually like Bruiser and in the longer run I think he could be a better fit for Jane but I’m really not in love or shipping Jane with anyone right now. Still that said Jane knew that Rick had been seen with another woman but she didn’t know for sure what he was doing with her and since they hadn’t talked she was feeling weird about the entire situation. But I still hate that
⍨ - Jane being a lovelorn scorned woman with extraordinarily low self esteem that was making excuses for and pining over a man that most likely lied to her and was cheating on her. OMG….kill me now. He is a dick bastard get over it. You’ve been dating a month it is not the end of the world.
⍨ - Absolutely everything wanting to sleep with Jane. Men, Women, vamps, weres, humans and non-humans. Seriously what is up with that? It is like her smell is like a hit of Ecstasy or some other drug. It is annoying actually.
⍨ - And last but not least is that I felt like this book had a lot of holes in it. There are just so many things that are left dangling that because this is all in first person you have no idea what is going on with a lot of the characters. Like that hole line with Evangeline
⍨ - Actually this is last but not least. That ending I HATED IT!!! Seriously. I don’t get it at all, I thought our girl was tougher than that.
Since I’m reading this with a group I’ll keep at it and hope that FH starts to focus more on the UF than PNR but if I was on my own this might be my last book.
February 18, 2017
*** 4.25 ***
Another great Urban Fantasy series with my UF Wednesday Group @ BB&B!
This series is so much fun! Not ha-ha fun, but adrenaline rush kind of fun. This being the third book in the series, we already have a relationship with Jane Y., our Skinwalker rogue Vampire hunter. "Have steaks, will travel". She is Cherokee and with a very ambiguous history, but one thing is for sure - the soul of a large wild cat shares her body with her, after a magical accident in a moment of self preservation. This makes for very interesting thought patterns when they shift into any other animal but a large feline. Big Cat, or Beast as we know her, is very resentful of any time Jane chooses a form other than hers since, after all, what is better or more beautiful than Big Cat???
So, Jane is dating, hers and Beast's hormones are settling down, and just as they think life will be only getting better, Leo the Master Vampire of New Orleans, finds her another job. The sweet freedom of vacation is over. Shapeshifters have chosen to come out officially Infront of the world in order to take their proper and protected place in society. The vamps are not pleased and Jane is given the honor of delivering a warning and a "request" to either parley and come to some political agreement, or get out of his territory. But the newly open werewolves are not going to go gently... In fact, they have their own plans for whom they are going to stay civil with and who they are going to deliver revenge to. They also hang out with a weird, some type of magical creature, who seems to be playing games with all sides towards his own gains. It all hits a crescendo at a diplomatic meeting at Vampire Central between Leo and a delegation of African Cat Shifters. Add to the chaos Rick the undercover boyfriend cop, a houseguest witch with suspicious motives, and an old insane vamp, and we have a receipt for disaster! It's a good thing Jane and Beast have got each other's backs. ...
The book was very entertaining and engaging. The pace build up steadily and managed to end with a bang. And the end is so intense, I have to employ tremendous amount of restraint in order to wait until next Wednesday to start next installment!!! It is a story that all, not only fans of the genre, would enjoy!!!
I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you need in the pages of a book!!!
Another great Urban Fantasy series with my UF Wednesday Group @ BB&B!
This series is so much fun! Not ha-ha fun, but adrenaline rush kind of fun. This being the third book in the series, we already have a relationship with Jane Y., our Skinwalker rogue Vampire hunter. "Have steaks, will travel". She is Cherokee and with a very ambiguous history, but one thing is for sure - the soul of a large wild cat shares her body with her, after a magical accident in a moment of self preservation. This makes for very interesting thought patterns when they shift into any other animal but a large feline. Big Cat, or Beast as we know her, is very resentful of any time Jane chooses a form other than hers since, after all, what is better or more beautiful than Big Cat???
So, Jane is dating, hers and Beast's hormones are settling down, and just as they think life will be only getting better, Leo the Master Vampire of New Orleans, finds her another job. The sweet freedom of vacation is over. Shapeshifters have chosen to come out officially Infront of the world in order to take their proper and protected place in society. The vamps are not pleased and Jane is given the honor of delivering a warning and a "request" to either parley and come to some political agreement, or get out of his territory. But the newly open werewolves are not going to go gently... In fact, they have their own plans for whom they are going to stay civil with and who they are going to deliver revenge to. They also hang out with a weird, some type of magical creature, who seems to be playing games with all sides towards his own gains. It all hits a crescendo at a diplomatic meeting at Vampire Central between Leo and a delegation of African Cat Shifters. Add to the chaos Rick the undercover boyfriend cop, a houseguest witch with suspicious motives, and an old insane vamp, and we have a receipt for disaster! It's a good thing Jane and Beast have got each other's backs. ...
The book was very entertaining and engaging. The pace build up steadily and managed to end with a bang. And the end is so intense, I have to employ tremendous amount of restraint in order to wait until next Wednesday to start next installment!!! It is a story that all, not only fans of the genre, would enjoy!!!
I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you need in the pages of a book!!!
April 8, 2018
“Alarm stole over me on little kitten feet.”
The third book isn’t slowing down at all because there’s something always going on, central large mystery story-wise, small side mysteries, personal dilemmas for the main characters, AND personal dilemmas for the side-characters. An unusual thing about this series is that Jane is a form of shifter, although not considered a were – usually the first and second books involving shifters involve OTHER shifters as the main focus. Instead Jane Yellowrock has mainly involved vampires and witches until now.
A major theme in this one ends up being the weres – Jane didn’t even know they really existed until she found out in the first book – and I was intrigued on how they she’s react to them, and them to her, especially the were cats. The book opens with a trip to a local bar to negotiate with a rival of Leo’s, and already we run into werewolves who not surprisingly end up assholes. While the second book digs into some background lore of vampires, this one does with weres, but again my interest in the past isn’t as strong as it is in the present stuff going on. Still, her meeting with the werecats wasn’t much of a letdown, where Leo shows a douche side, but I am curious about her meeting a werecat someday that is attracted to her. Apparently in these books weres are turned off by her smell instead.
Gee DiMercy is introduced in this third book as well, a strange and mysterious rare creature that brings life to his scenes between impressive fighting and teasing stalking. Jane had witch roommates in the last book, but this time she has to deal with Molly’s sister. She’s just…okay, but gets on my nerves later with Bruiser distraction. There is a particularly cool scene where her magic backfires when Jane trusts her judgement on dealing deeper into her past.
The book opens with Rick and it closes with Rick, but this isn’t a Rick heavy story. It’s part of his downfall and the dislike most fans feel for his character. You’d think he would have tossed out the player ways since he and Jane have become an official item, but apparently not. He’s not a love interest so much as Bruiser is when the Primo steps up. Discarded from Leo temporarily, when Bruiser temporarily moves in on Jane’s territory it’s awesome. Their dancing outside on the patio ends up being one of the hottest, most magical scenes of the series. It’s drawn out several pages and the intensity of the genuine chemistry almost gets the pages actually sizzling. I always liked Bruiser before, but that scene majorly amps up the man’s appeal.
Throw in the shower scene and yikes! Bruiser becomes more focused and almost domineering in this one, which was a turn on, but he does make it clear in the end who his heart really belongs to so I can imagine the heart crush impact of that with Jane. I hold out for the Bruiser and Jane soul mate bonds, combined with Leo perfection hope sandwich someday.
Leo has gotten out of most of his grief-ridden killing frenzy, but he’s still unstable, especially during one street chase. The ending wraps this particular issue up well, but only in the afterword. With Jane getting the short end of the stick with getting blamed for stuff, getting into uncomfortable situations, I almost want her to leave the town in her dust while she’s taking off. She almost gets there too, but there’s that particular motorcycle showing up down the street…
Jane finds out a few more things about herself and battles it all out in an intense and violent ending battle scene that leaves her torn. The Katie dance scene was awkward but humorous, and there's some changes there. We get Beast time and a few shifts so that is all good.
Can a party go more wrong? Poor Jane. So much security went into the were meeting, but once you have unexpected guests, a vicious murder, and a returning Carrie coming in like Carrie from the prom, you have mayhem.
You get Jane being a truly badass rescuer who lives up to her lethal name, but those final paragraphs give us a nasty cliffhanger about Rick again. Overall the book is just as good as the first two, getting more involved with other creatures and world-building, finally Leo starting to move on from his loss, more development with existing characters, and Jane settling in farther with Beast.
The third book isn’t slowing down at all because there’s something always going on, central large mystery story-wise, small side mysteries, personal dilemmas for the main characters, AND personal dilemmas for the side-characters. An unusual thing about this series is that Jane is a form of shifter, although not considered a were – usually the first and second books involving shifters involve OTHER shifters as the main focus. Instead Jane Yellowrock has mainly involved vampires and witches until now.
A major theme in this one ends up being the weres – Jane didn’t even know they really existed until she found out in the first book – and I was intrigued on how they she’s react to them, and them to her, especially the were cats. The book opens with a trip to a local bar to negotiate with a rival of Leo’s, and already we run into werewolves who not surprisingly end up assholes. While the second book digs into some background lore of vampires, this one does with weres, but again my interest in the past isn’t as strong as it is in the present stuff going on. Still, her meeting with the werecats wasn’t much of a letdown, where Leo shows a douche side, but I am curious about her meeting a werecat someday that is attracted to her. Apparently in these books weres are turned off by her smell instead.
Gee DiMercy is introduced in this third book as well, a strange and mysterious rare creature that brings life to his scenes between impressive fighting and teasing stalking. Jane had witch roommates in the last book, but this time she has to deal with Molly’s sister. She’s just…okay, but gets on my nerves later with Bruiser distraction. There is a particularly cool scene where her magic backfires when Jane trusts her judgement on dealing deeper into her past.
The book opens with Rick and it closes with Rick, but this isn’t a Rick heavy story. It’s part of his downfall and the dislike most fans feel for his character. You’d think he would have tossed out the player ways since he and Jane have become an official item, but apparently not. He’s not a love interest so much as Bruiser is when the Primo steps up. Discarded from Leo temporarily, when Bruiser temporarily moves in on Jane’s territory it’s awesome. Their dancing outside on the patio ends up being one of the hottest, most magical scenes of the series. It’s drawn out several pages and the intensity of the genuine chemistry almost gets the pages actually sizzling. I always liked Bruiser before, but that scene majorly amps up the man’s appeal.
Throw in the shower scene and yikes! Bruiser becomes more focused and almost domineering in this one, which was a turn on, but he does make it clear in the end who his heart really belongs to so I can imagine the heart crush impact of that with Jane. I hold out for the Bruiser and Jane soul mate bonds, combined with Leo perfection hope sandwich someday.
Leo has gotten out of most of his grief-ridden killing frenzy, but he’s still unstable, especially during one street chase. The ending wraps this particular issue up well, but only in the afterword. With Jane getting the short end of the stick with getting blamed for stuff, getting into uncomfortable situations, I almost want her to leave the town in her dust while she’s taking off. She almost gets there too, but there’s that particular motorcycle showing up down the street…
Jane finds out a few more things about herself and battles it all out in an intense and violent ending battle scene that leaves her torn. The Katie dance scene was awkward but humorous, and there's some changes there. We get Beast time and a few shifts so that is all good.
Can a party go more wrong? Poor Jane. So much security went into the were meeting, but once you have unexpected guests, a vicious murder, and a returning Carrie coming in like Carrie from the prom, you have mayhem.
You get Jane being a truly badass rescuer who lives up to her lethal name, but those final paragraphs give us a nasty cliffhanger about Rick again. Overall the book is just as good as the first two, getting more involved with other creatures and world-building, finally Leo starting to move on from his loss, more development with existing characters, and Jane settling in farther with Beast.
July 11, 2016
4.5
Well, this was fun!
Only reason I didn't give it 5 full stars is because of the love relationship, I don't like that
Other than that, well, it was damn fun! I really liked the plot, the whole revenge thing, and the new character was absolutely lovely!
And the cliffhanger, gah! I'm off to read the next one!
Well, this was fun!
Only reason I didn't give it 5 full stars is because of the love relationship, I don't like that
Other than that, well, it was damn fun! I really liked the plot, the whole revenge thing, and the new character was absolutely lovely!
And the cliffhanger, gah! I'm off to read the next one!
July 8, 2017
I’m always on the lookout for the next Kate Daniels, and the Jane Yellowrock series comes close.
Like Kate, she lost parents to violence, and like Kate, she has unique skill sets, both supernatural and physical. Both are young women supposedly comfortable being on their own, working as security consultants and swords-for-hire. Yet, so much of Jane’s energy is caught up in her negative feels that it is quite distressing.
It begins with Jane and Rick, her boyfriend of a month, packing up her things in her old apartment when they both get a call to return to New Orleans ASAP. Rick drops her off with a quick kiss and disappears, presumably on an undercover police assignment. Jane is tasked with warning a prior associate of Leo’s, the head vampire, that the associate is ‘persona non grata’ in his territory. It turns into a battle with werewolves with an appearance by a mysterious supernatural. With a grudge against Leo, the werewolves are pursuing it both legally and illegally. At the same time, the African shapeshifters are in town and wanting to come to an arrangement with the city’s vamps. Jane’s duties involve security for the event, but as usual, also involve dressing up in expensive tailored clothes provided by Leo. Rick goes missing, and Jane tortures herself thinking that it is because she didn’t marry Rick before having lots of sex.
This book will likely appeal to fans of UF traditional vamps that have complicated politics, with grudges spanning decades, blood servants and secret lairs. Though Jane has spent years as a legal ‘hunter,’ killing vampires who have violated vampire/human laws, she’s been working for Leo, New Orleans’ head vampire, for some time and unsurprisingly, finds herself more caught than she would like. I generally found myself reading for the puzzle of the situation, and tried to ignore Jane’s repetitive self-doubt regarding Rick, her general attractiveness (as rated against all other vamps and weres) and her strange passiveness when another hot man puts serious moves on her.
The book comes shockingly close to failing the Bechdel test. Jane’s proud to be as tough as one of the boys–a bodyguard even mentions this with complimentary intentions, how like a man she is, except the chest part–and fit in with the bodyguard and mercenary boys. Had it not been for her ‘niece’ calling (who warned her about a male), an insane lady-vamp, and her best friend’s sister rooming in (who is interested in the man Jane is ‘not interested’ in), we’d have no positive female-female conversation at all, only females in opposition (one of them known only as a ‘were-bitch,’ a diminutive that inelegantly conceals her identity). I never think that it’s a good sign, third book in, that we can’t come up with any more lady-types to be a regular part of the team.
While I really wanted to like the series, I ended up stopping around book five, as vamp politics ended up playing the main role in most of the books I read. It was particularly tiring as Jane supposedly hates ‘bloodsuckers’ and yet continues to work with them (Kate Daniels took one contract from the vamps in all her books). Add the three competing lust interests and it just felt like character stagnation with changing boyfriend dynamics.
Given all that, I do like Jane’s personal mythology surrounding her shapeshifting and her Native heritage. The general world-building is usually well-done, and the humid New Orleans setting comes alive. The plotting is intriguingly complex, although it frequently relies on motivations the reader knows nothing about. One standout feature is that when it comes to writing, Hunter’s is above average for the genre, with only occasional missteps. At the end, I remain firmly on the fence. I’ll be working my way through the next couple to try and discover what went wrong.
Like Kate, she lost parents to violence, and like Kate, she has unique skill sets, both supernatural and physical. Both are young women supposedly comfortable being on their own, working as security consultants and swords-for-hire. Yet, so much of Jane’s energy is caught up in her negative feels that it is quite distressing.
It begins with Jane and Rick, her boyfriend of a month, packing up her things in her old apartment when they both get a call to return to New Orleans ASAP. Rick drops her off with a quick kiss and disappears, presumably on an undercover police assignment. Jane is tasked with warning a prior associate of Leo’s, the head vampire, that the associate is ‘persona non grata’ in his territory. It turns into a battle with werewolves with an appearance by a mysterious supernatural. With a grudge against Leo, the werewolves are pursuing it both legally and illegally. At the same time, the African shapeshifters are in town and wanting to come to an arrangement with the city’s vamps. Jane’s duties involve security for the event, but as usual, also involve dressing up in expensive tailored clothes provided by Leo. Rick goes missing, and Jane tortures herself thinking that it is because she didn’t marry Rick before having lots of sex.
This book will likely appeal to fans of UF traditional vamps that have complicated politics, with grudges spanning decades, blood servants and secret lairs. Though Jane has spent years as a legal ‘hunter,’ killing vampires who have violated vampire/human laws, she’s been working for Leo, New Orleans’ head vampire, for some time and unsurprisingly, finds herself more caught than she would like. I generally found myself reading for the puzzle of the situation, and tried to ignore Jane’s repetitive self-doubt regarding Rick, her general attractiveness (as rated against all other vamps and weres) and her strange passiveness when another hot man puts serious moves on her.
The book comes shockingly close to failing the Bechdel test. Jane’s proud to be as tough as one of the boys–a bodyguard even mentions this with complimentary intentions, how like a man she is, except the chest part–and fit in with the bodyguard and mercenary boys. Had it not been for her ‘niece’ calling (who warned her about a male), an insane lady-vamp, and her best friend’s sister rooming in (who is interested in the man Jane is ‘not interested’ in), we’d have no positive female-female conversation at all, only females in opposition (one of them known only as a ‘were-bitch,’ a diminutive that inelegantly conceals her identity). I never think that it’s a good sign, third book in, that we can’t come up with any more lady-types to be a regular part of the team.
While I really wanted to like the series, I ended up stopping around book five, as vamp politics ended up playing the main role in most of the books I read. It was particularly tiring as Jane supposedly hates ‘bloodsuckers’ and yet continues to work with them (Kate Daniels took one contract from the vamps in all her books). Add the three competing lust interests and it just felt like character stagnation with changing boyfriend dynamics.
Given all that, I do like Jane’s personal mythology surrounding her shapeshifting and her Native heritage. The general world-building is usually well-done, and the humid New Orleans setting comes alive. The plotting is intriguingly complex, although it frequently relies on motivations the reader knows nothing about. One standout feature is that when it comes to writing, Hunter’s is above average for the genre, with only occasional missteps. At the end, I remain firmly on the fence. I’ll be working my way through the next couple to try and discover what went wrong.
March 25, 2022
2022 Re-Read
I really had been planning to save this book for a while, a little reward for later. But I woke up this morning with pain in my gut and I spent the day feeling pretty awful. I needed comfort now, so I grabbed Mercy Blade. It kept my mind off my troubles, exactly what I needed it to do. I'm enjoying revisiting Jane's New Orleans and reminding myself of her history before the Soulwood series that I'm currently reading for the first time.
Original Review
I enjoyed this installment of Jane Yellowrock in spite of myself! It’s only book three, and already Hunter has introduced werewolves to the mix. Not that I mind them too much, just that I like vampires so much better. Jane runs into them by accident—or was it an accident? Can she know how much vampire master Leo is manipulating her life?
One of the reasons that I like Jane so much is that she bestows nicknames on the people around her. That’s one of my bad habits—giving names to those people who I see frequently, but don’t really know. I guess I’m glad to know that other people do the same thing.
If one thing troubles me, it’s that Jane is such a doormat when it comes to the men in her life. However, she is so ultra-competent in her professional life that she would be positively Mary-Sue-ish if she didn’t have a major flaw, and this is it. And really, who hasn’t been torn from time to time, wondering if you’ve chosen the right guy? Jane has the added complication of Beast to deal with—trying to please two strong female personalities is a tough job for one guy. She may need two or three!
A fun series and I will definitely continue on.
I really had been planning to save this book for a while, a little reward for later. But I woke up this morning with pain in my gut and I spent the day feeling pretty awful. I needed comfort now, so I grabbed Mercy Blade. It kept my mind off my troubles, exactly what I needed it to do. I'm enjoying revisiting Jane's New Orleans and reminding myself of her history before the Soulwood series that I'm currently reading for the first time.
Original Review
I enjoyed this installment of Jane Yellowrock in spite of myself! It’s only book three, and already Hunter has introduced werewolves to the mix. Not that I mind them too much, just that I like vampires so much better. Jane runs into them by accident—or was it an accident? Can she know how much vampire master Leo is manipulating her life?
One of the reasons that I like Jane so much is that she bestows nicknames on the people around her. That’s one of my bad habits—giving names to those people who I see frequently, but don’t really know. I guess I’m glad to know that other people do the same thing.
If one thing troubles me, it’s that Jane is such a doormat when it comes to the men in her life. However, she is so ultra-competent in her professional life that she would be positively Mary-Sue-ish if she didn’t have a major flaw, and this is it. And really, who hasn’t been torn from time to time, wondering if you’ve chosen the right guy? Jane has the added complication of Beast to deal with—trying to please two strong female personalities is a tough job for one guy. She may need two or three!
A fun series and I will definitely continue on.
August 22, 2017
This series gets better and better! A load of action this time involving were wolves and were cats, a grindylow and even a small time god! I really felt for Jane in this instalment as her love life takes a dramatic hit with Ricky- and hers and Beasts' hormones take a hit too with Bruiser. A lot of reviewers seem to not like the fact that Jane's love life is all over the place, but I personally think it keeps it real.
A great contribution to a great urban fantasy series.
Recommended, but start with the first one.
A great contribution to a great urban fantasy series.
Recommended, but start with the first one.
May 21, 2017
Deadpool and Harley Quinn sit in an all-night laundromat, doing their laundry, playing Chutes and Ladders and discussing Faith Hunter’s 2011 Jane Yellowrock novel Mercy Blade.
Deadpool: You’re going to need some more lemon juice to get the blood out of that.
HQ: Rats! I liked that T, so who’s hotter me or Jane Yellowrock?
Deadpool: You’ve definitely got that VW backseat attractiveness but I could take Jane home to meet my mom. But Jane may try to stake mom in under 20 minutes.
HQ: Your mom a vamp?
Deadpool: Harpy. I liked the idea of the Mercy Blade, a mythical being who deals with rogue vamps in much the same way that Jane does, except more as a coup de grace. Hell, I like that Hunter blends in varying elements of fantasy and world myth, makes for a better book.
HQ: Mixing in were-wolves and African were-cats and building a backstory about the dynamic between weres and vamps was cool. I also liked that we see Rick LaFleur again, or sort of.
Deadpool: You like that pretty boy? He’s more of a tool I thought.
HQ: I like Bruiser better, the whole idea about blood-servants and their symbiotic relationship with their vamp masters is cool. And Bruiser is hot, I think he and Jane will do the nasty sometime.
Deadpool: The old beast with two backs, I hear ya. I like the setting in New Orleans too, though I think we’ll see some more action in East Tennessee or North Carolina next.
HQ: True! You gotta love The Big Easy, but the witches in the Smokies is cool too, I like the strong women side of these stories.
Deadpool: Me too, makes me wanna SCHOOP!
HQ: Let’s go spray paint a cop car!
Deadpool: Let’s!
Deadpool: You’re going to need some more lemon juice to get the blood out of that.
HQ: Rats! I liked that T, so who’s hotter me or Jane Yellowrock?
Deadpool: You’ve definitely got that VW backseat attractiveness but I could take Jane home to meet my mom. But Jane may try to stake mom in under 20 minutes.
HQ: Your mom a vamp?
Deadpool: Harpy. I liked the idea of the Mercy Blade, a mythical being who deals with rogue vamps in much the same way that Jane does, except more as a coup de grace. Hell, I like that Hunter blends in varying elements of fantasy and world myth, makes for a better book.
HQ: Mixing in were-wolves and African were-cats and building a backstory about the dynamic between weres and vamps was cool. I also liked that we see Rick LaFleur again, or sort of.
Deadpool: You like that pretty boy? He’s more of a tool I thought.
HQ: I like Bruiser better, the whole idea about blood-servants and their symbiotic relationship with their vamp masters is cool. And Bruiser is hot, I think he and Jane will do the nasty sometime.
Deadpool: The old beast with two backs, I hear ya. I like the setting in New Orleans too, though I think we’ll see some more action in East Tennessee or North Carolina next.
HQ: True! You gotta love The Big Easy, but the witches in the Smokies is cool too, I like the strong women side of these stories.
Deadpool: Me too, makes me wanna SCHOOP!
HQ: Let’s go spray paint a cop car!
Deadpool: Let’s!
May 2, 2020
Continuing Jane Jellowrock's adventures as a hunter of rogues, we've set foot in Were territory at last. Not that I'm a huge fan of weres at all, mind you, but I was amused at how litigious they were. Or maybe I'm not all that surprised... :)
I wavered a little bit between 3 and 4 stars, settling on 4 simply because the worldbuilding continues to be above average for the genre.
I do have one little point I'd like to make: Rick was kinda turned into a MacGuffin. It might have been somewhat more interesting, except that Jane got all torn up over certain aspects that made me think she wasn't really as confident as she otherwise was.
Sure, sure, people can be strong in many different ways and weak in others, but that's just it... she HAD been strong in the sense of getting what she wanted out of relationships and had not come across as someone so susceptible to jealousy and/or outrage at betrayal. Indeed, all this focus on the negative side of relationship stuff has got me sitting on the fence. I both got annoyed with it AND I wanted to give the author props for going all the way with the consequences. The realistic touch was both good and bad in that it reduced my enjoyment of my otherwise escapist reading.
That's just my opinion. Mileage may vary.
Otherwise, I did enjoy the action and bloodshed, the mystery, and some of the romantic sparks. It is pretty average, however.
I wavered a little bit between 3 and 4 stars, settling on 4 simply because the worldbuilding continues to be above average for the genre.
I do have one little point I'd like to make: Rick was kinda turned into a MacGuffin. It might have been somewhat more interesting, except that Jane got all torn up over certain aspects that made me think she wasn't really as confident as she otherwise was.
Sure, sure, people can be strong in many different ways and weak in others, but that's just it... she HAD been strong in the sense of getting what she wanted out of relationships and had not come across as someone so susceptible to jealousy and/or outrage at betrayal. Indeed, all this focus on the negative side of relationship stuff has got me sitting on the fence. I both got annoyed with it AND I wanted to give the author props for going all the way with the consequences. The realistic touch was both good and bad in that it reduced my enjoyment of my otherwise escapist reading.
That's just my opinion. Mileage may vary.
Otherwise, I did enjoy the action and bloodshed, the mystery, and some of the romantic sparks. It is pretty average, however.
January 3, 2011
I came to add a review that said "I don't know what to think about this book" but before I did that, I read some of the other reviews. And found someone else had already left that review. Glad I'm not alone! The thing is, I didn't dislike this book. But I do know I also didn't feel satisfied when I closed it, and I had a harder time getting into this installment.
I think part of my difficulty with this book, and the series, is that I'm not really sure where it's going as an overarching series. It feels a little aimless to me. So I don't feel like each individual book is driving me towards a bigger story or plot, and that leaves me wondering why I'm reading.
This particular book was interesting, but it also felt as though it meandered a bit, and the author got bogged down by prose and description in areas where I thought we could have lived without them (for instance, the meeting between the vamp clans and the cat-shifters, the room and ambiance was described in detail for several paragraphs. Eh.)
Overall, I'm satisfied giving this book three stars, or a C, as being an okay read but not the best urban fantasy out there today.
Not really a spoiler, but a comment on my general feelings about the ending, so don't keep reading if you don't want to hear that part...
Also, I really (really) hated the ending. Especially in a series where we only see one release a year. I dislike feeling baited by a cliffhanger-type ending in a series that's already drawn out.
I think part of my difficulty with this book, and the series, is that I'm not really sure where it's going as an overarching series. It feels a little aimless to me. So I don't feel like each individual book is driving me towards a bigger story or plot, and that leaves me wondering why I'm reading.
This particular book was interesting, but it also felt as though it meandered a bit, and the author got bogged down by prose and description in areas where I thought we could have lived without them (for instance, the meeting between the vamp clans and the cat-shifters, the room and ambiance was described in detail for several paragraphs. Eh.)
Overall, I'm satisfied giving this book three stars, or a C, as being an okay read but not the best urban fantasy out there today.
Not really a spoiler, but a comment on my general feelings about the ending, so don't keep reading if you don't want to hear that part...
Also, I really (really) hated the ending. Especially in a series where we only see one release a year. I dislike feeling baited by a cliffhanger-type ending in a series that's already drawn out.
September 11, 2017
This might just the worst (best?) cliff-hanger ending of all time. Ever.
February 21, 2017
Wednesday buddy read with the UF group of BB&B.
Another instalment and another group of preternaturals added to the mix. Or rather two groups. The one was expected to show up sooner or later - the were-animals. They've chosen to reveal themselves to the general public and it leads to some interesting results. In most UF the author would start with the most common were-animal in existence - the werewolves. After all we're all familiar with them. Ms Hunter, however, chose to introduce werecats first. The werewolves joined soon after but it was the werecats that made the announcement. From that moment on one particular question kept repeating itself in my head. How do they relate to the skinwalkers? And more particularly how will they react to Jane, someone similar yet so different from them. And because I'm a biologist I wondered are they closely enough related to be able to interbreed and give viable offspring. I got answers to some of my questions and I hope other will be answered as the series progresses.
One of the things I really liked was the origin story of the weres. It's always interesting to see how one talented writer can spin an old tale and make it her own. And the werecats seem to be honorable people for the most part. The werewolves are another matter. They're all crazy and sick. There is something fundamentally wrong with them. The first clue to that was their insistence on involving human law into internal preternaturals matters. You see, human law is pretty inefficient on the best of days and has no way of handling a supernatural creature. The laws of conduct of these groups as a general rule are way to different for human law to be able to encompass. For example most animal species follow the strongest leader and in predator species it's often decided via dominance fights and the higher in the hierarchy the contestants are the bigger the chance it will be to the death. There's no way that can be integrated into human law. Because to us it is murder, to them it's just the way things are done. Their instincts won't allow for a different way to choose leadership. But of the werewolves invoke human law in one occasion then it must apply every time. You can't just pick and choose what suits you. The fact that they even thought that they can pull it off is the first clue that they're seriously bonkers. Because let me tell you, there were really good reasons for
The second group of preternaturals introduced in the novels were the anzu. Originally a Sumerian/Mesopotamian deity in the series it's more of a species with a special relationship with the vampires. We meet only one of them - Gee DiMercy, former Mercy Blade of the vampires in this region. Apparently his job was to kill the long-chained scions, the ones that will never retain their sanity. At first I was against his existence. It seemed like a cheat on the vampires' part to not have to clean up their own mess. It's easy to forget the consequences when you're not forced to face them. But the Mercy Blade has another much more important role - he keeps the vampires sane. Leo's erratic behaviour in the first two books can be explained with Gee's absence and Leo's descent into madness. Gee is an interesting character and he hints of things about Jane and her nature that have potential. And I won't mind if he becomes Jane's love interest.
Talking about love interests, Rick, Jane's boyfriends at the beginning of the book, proved to be total bust. I expected him to fail miserably as a boyfriend but kind of though that it'll take more than a couple of months for him to screw up. His lack of honesty, integrity and the failure of communication cost him dearly. I could see why he would do some of the things he did and felt that he's not as bad as the rest of my buddy readers though until I read the short story that picks up right after this book.
The other love interest - Bruiser - had a much better book. I still don't think he is a good match for Jane but at least they have a hell of a chemistry, something that was always missing with Ricky-bo. Ina way the real problem with Bruiser is that he will always put Jane second to Leo. It's the same thing with Gee so I'm not sure if Jane can have a real relationship with either of them. *sighs* I guess there'll be no little skinwalkers in the near future.
The series is getting more and more fascinating and I can barely wait to get my hands on the next book. Happy reading, people!
Another instalment and another group of preternaturals added to the mix. Or rather two groups. The one was expected to show up sooner or later - the were-animals. They've chosen to reveal themselves to the general public and it leads to some interesting results. In most UF the author would start with the most common were-animal in existence - the werewolves. After all we're all familiar with them. Ms Hunter, however, chose to introduce werecats first. The werewolves joined soon after but it was the werecats that made the announcement. From that moment on one particular question kept repeating itself in my head. How do they relate to the skinwalkers? And more particularly how will they react to Jane, someone similar yet so different from them. And because I'm a biologist I wondered are they closely enough related to be able to interbreed and give viable offspring. I got answers to some of my questions and I hope other will be answered as the series progresses.
One of the things I really liked was the origin story of the weres. It's always interesting to see how one talented writer can spin an old tale and make it her own. And the werecats seem to be honorable people for the most part. The werewolves are another matter. They're all crazy and sick. There is something fundamentally wrong with them. The first clue to that was their insistence on involving human law into internal preternaturals matters. You see, human law is pretty inefficient on the best of days and has no way of handling a supernatural creature. The laws of conduct of these groups as a general rule are way to different for human law to be able to encompass. For example most animal species follow the strongest leader and in predator species it's often decided via dominance fights and the higher in the hierarchy the contestants are the bigger the chance it will be to the death. There's no way that can be integrated into human law. Because to us it is murder, to them it's just the way things are done. Their instincts won't allow for a different way to choose leadership. But of the werewolves invoke human law in one occasion then it must apply every time. You can't just pick and choose what suits you. The fact that they even thought that they can pull it off is the first clue that they're seriously bonkers. Because let me tell you, there were really good reasons for
The second group of preternaturals introduced in the novels were the anzu. Originally a Sumerian/Mesopotamian deity in the series it's more of a species with a special relationship with the vampires. We meet only one of them - Gee DiMercy, former Mercy Blade of the vampires in this region. Apparently his job was to kill the long-chained scions, the ones that will never retain their sanity. At first I was against his existence. It seemed like a cheat on the vampires' part to not have to clean up their own mess. It's easy to forget the consequences when you're not forced to face them. But the Mercy Blade has another much more important role - he keeps the vampires sane. Leo's erratic behaviour in the first two books can be explained with Gee's absence and Leo's descent into madness. Gee is an interesting character and he hints of things about Jane and her nature that have potential. And I won't mind if he becomes Jane's love interest.
Talking about love interests, Rick, Jane's boyfriends at the beginning of the book, proved to be total bust. I expected him to fail miserably as a boyfriend but kind of though that it'll take more than a couple of months for him to screw up. His lack of honesty, integrity and the failure of communication cost him dearly. I could see why he would do some of the things he did and felt that he's not as bad as the rest of my buddy readers though until I read the short story that picks up right after this book.
The other love interest - Bruiser - had a much better book. I still don't think he is a good match for Jane but at least they have a hell of a chemistry, something that was always missing with Ricky-bo. Ina way the real problem with Bruiser is that he will always put Jane second to Leo. It's the same thing with Gee so I'm not sure if Jane can have a real relationship with either of them. *sighs* I guess there'll be no little skinwalkers in the near future.
The series is getting more and more fascinating and I can barely wait to get my hands on the next book. Happy reading, people!
February 17, 2017
Jane is taking a mini-holiday with her new boyfriend Rick, when she’s suddenly called back to New Orleans by her boss, Leo Pellisier, because Weres announced their existence to the world. And soon Jane is once again placed in the middle of a turf war, this time between vampires and their old enemy the weres. When Jane is sent to deliver a message for Leo, she’s attacked by a group of werewolves intent on sending a message to Leo, but she’s saved by an intriguing stranger, Girrard. Girrard who used to be Leo’s Mercy Blade, but who Leo now hates and wants dead.
What is the mystery between Leo and Girrard, and why has Girrand now suddenly come back when he’s been gone for many years? And it that’s not enough, Rick has stopped making contact with Jane, and soon Jane founds out he’s been seen with another woman. Everyone seems to be hiding things from Jane, things that could get her hurt, or worse killed.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Once again I find myself struggling with this series. I like Jane, the way she fights, how fond she is of her weapons, but I’m tired of how attractive she finds every other guy, and in this one her low self-esteem because of Rick the asshole really grated on my nerves. Also, why does almost every guy Jane meet want to sleep with her?? And how does Jane not lose her shit and tell everyone to fuck off when they keep on hiding things from her??
There aren’t a lot of things I hate more than love triangles and cheating, and both was in overabundance in this instalment. I’m really not surprised at Rick’s actions Then there was Jane and Bruiser. I know they have great chemistry, but her own reactions to him made me lose all respect for her. I would have preferred it there was no romance AT ALL in this series, because the plot is really captivating and interesting, but all the other unnecessary drama with all the love interests are ruining everything for me >: (
Beast was definitely the only thing that worked for me in this book. I just love her. Oh and Derek and Wrassler were awesome too.
I honestly don’t know if I’m going to continue with this series. I keep on thinking it will get better or that perhaps I’m just reading everything wrong….. but so far my feelings stay the same. This book was actually the worst so far :-(.
July 5, 2019
[3.5 Stars] That ending! Really enjoyed this one, but I do think that the ending was a little rushed. It was a bit much to take in. I can't wait to get to the next one because seriously that CLIFFHANGER (it isn't really one but then it really is at the same time)...
April 6, 2011
This was a fast paced gut wrenching read, and I will admit that I went to bed last night, right after I read the part where Jane goes to the restaurant to meet Rick for Breakfast, only he had already been there... Then I went to bed. And had ALL SORTS of little dreams about what happened, and what who Rick was doing. It was awful and I slept shallowly and debated whether to get up and read in order to assuage my curiosity. I didn't, but now I'm sleep deprived even more than usual, and I stole time to read the book all dam day.
It was great! The ending......... Geesh, way to kill me here Ms. Hunter!
When does the next one come out again? Say it's not a year, I think I might just scream along with Jane.
Also, as a major side note. I really, really, really hate Rick. There, I said it.
It was great! The ending......... Geesh, way to kill me here Ms. Hunter!
When does the next one come out again? Say it's not a year, I think I might just scream along with Jane.
Also, as a major side note. I really, really, really hate Rick. There, I said it.
August 5, 2021
I really like Jane and Beast and I wish the rest of the cast of characters lived up to their awesomeness. I’m frustrated by the number of potential love interests and I don’t really like any of them at all. It was especially annoying that as Jane said no to Bruiser in this one he continued….
But the romance aside I did like the the introduction of the weres and adding another out supernatural into this universe. I found the story to be interesting and the mystery, which was easily solved, was still fun.
But the romance aside I did like the the introduction of the weres and adding another out supernatural into this universe. I found the story to be interesting and the mystery, which was easily solved, was still fun.
January 4, 2011
Jane Yellowrock and her new boyfriend, Rick, are enjoying a brief respite from supernatural mayhem, staying at Jane’s residence in the Appalachians as they pack her belongings for a more long-term stay in New Orleans. Their peace is disrupted by an early morning news report that reveals the existence of werecats. As the story travels around the world, werewolves come out of the closet too, and one alpha werewolf appears on national television to accuse Jane’s boss, Leo Pellissier, of a long-ago murder.
Naturally, this means Jane is called back to New Orleans to help Leo with damage control. Rick’s work is back in full swing, too. He’s on an undercover mission that keeps him from communicating with Jane much at all during the book.
There are a ton of things going on here. At times I was confused by all the plotlines that were hitting the fan. It’s not just that I couldn’t guess the answers — I wasn’t quite sure what the most relevant questions were. Who really did commit the murders? Who and what is Girrard DiMercy, the enigmatic stranger who rescues Jane from a werewolf attack, and what is his agenda? How do the African werecats fit into all this? What’s Rick doing? Is Rick cheating on Jane, and if so, should she give Bruiser another chance? Why is Evangelina acting strangely? What is the grindylow doing? How did werecreatures originate? Why is Katie out of her healing stasis prematurely? What happened a hundred years ago in vampire politics that helped trigger the current events?
Truth be told, there’s always been an element of confusion in the JANE YELLOWROCK novels. Faith Hunter creates huge tangles of plot ideas and it’s sometimes easy to get lost in them. Some of this is because they’re mysteries, which presuppose a degree of obfuscation, but even as mysteries go, these books are complicated. Some readers will enjoy this intricacy more than others. In my opinion, the confusion was easier to stomach in Skinwalker and Blood Cross because Hunter was introducing Jane’s world and history in those two books. In Mercy Blade, with much of the background already built, the confusion is more frustrating.
Several of the confusing aspects become clearer at the end, and are wrapped up in satisfying and clever ways. Others seem convoluted even after they’re explained, though, and a few feel like pieces from the wrong puzzle, even after the book’s end.
If you’ve enjoyed the JANE YELLOWROCK books previously, there is still a lot to like in Mercy Blade. There’s plenty of motorcycle-riding, gun-toting action; a richly detailed New Orleans atmosphere; a healthy dollop of sexual tension; a beautiful scene of mysticism; and a few (though fewer than before) chapters told from Beast’s point of view. Especially amusing is Beast’s reaction to Jane shifting into a dog for part of her investigation. The lycanthropes’ history is also fascinating.
I’m a little disappointed in Mercy Blade overall, however. The behavior of certain recurring characters plays a role, as they become less sympathetic (though it’s to Hunter’s credit that she makes me care enough about these characters to get mad at them when they behave badly). The confusion, though, is the biggest problem. I can deal with confusion in the first book of a series. It’s more annoying in the third.
Naturally, this means Jane is called back to New Orleans to help Leo with damage control. Rick’s work is back in full swing, too. He’s on an undercover mission that keeps him from communicating with Jane much at all during the book.
There are a ton of things going on here. At times I was confused by all the plotlines that were hitting the fan. It’s not just that I couldn’t guess the answers — I wasn’t quite sure what the most relevant questions were. Who really did commit the murders? Who and what is Girrard DiMercy, the enigmatic stranger who rescues Jane from a werewolf attack, and what is his agenda? How do the African werecats fit into all this? What’s Rick doing? Is Rick cheating on Jane, and if so, should she give Bruiser another chance? Why is Evangelina acting strangely? What is the grindylow doing? How did werecreatures originate? Why is Katie out of her healing stasis prematurely? What happened a hundred years ago in vampire politics that helped trigger the current events?
Truth be told, there’s always been an element of confusion in the JANE YELLOWROCK novels. Faith Hunter creates huge tangles of plot ideas and it’s sometimes easy to get lost in them. Some of this is because they’re mysteries, which presuppose a degree of obfuscation, but even as mysteries go, these books are complicated. Some readers will enjoy this intricacy more than others. In my opinion, the confusion was easier to stomach in Skinwalker and Blood Cross because Hunter was introducing Jane’s world and history in those two books. In Mercy Blade, with much of the background already built, the confusion is more frustrating.
Several of the confusing aspects become clearer at the end, and are wrapped up in satisfying and clever ways. Others seem convoluted even after they’re explained, though, and a few feel like pieces from the wrong puzzle, even after the book’s end.
If you’ve enjoyed the JANE YELLOWROCK books previously, there is still a lot to like in Mercy Blade. There’s plenty of motorcycle-riding, gun-toting action; a richly detailed New Orleans atmosphere; a healthy dollop of sexual tension; a beautiful scene of mysticism; and a few (though fewer than before) chapters told from Beast’s point of view. Especially amusing is Beast’s reaction to Jane shifting into a dog for part of her investigation. The lycanthropes’ history is also fascinating.
I’m a little disappointed in Mercy Blade overall, however. The behavior of certain recurring characters plays a role, as they become less sympathetic (though it’s to Hunter’s credit that she makes me care enough about these characters to get mad at them when they behave badly). The confusion, though, is the biggest problem. I can deal with confusion in the first book of a series. It’s more annoying in the third.
May 5, 2011
Another 2.5. My masochism knows no bounds. The sad part is that, next year, I'll probably read the fourth installment when it comes out. Yeap, I do stupid things like that.
Writing a review for this one feels a little repetitive since little has changed in terms of what I like/dislike since the first book. In fact, I could copy the review of the second book verbatim and have it work this time as well.
In this one, two new species of supes make their appearance. One that we don't know much about it—the little we do know would be a spoiler—and the weres. Again, Hunter's supes are very well done and the weres are no exception. The explanation of their origin as a legend/history lesson was one of the only parts that worked for me. For that kind of thing, Hunter's descriptive style works really well. Sadly (for me, at least), she uses it for everything.
Writing this a few days after reading the book made me realize something else. I'm now in the middle of the 6th Mercy Thompson novel, River Marked, and I noticed another thing that might contribute to my not liking Jane a bit more. The (lack of) humor.
When Mercy thinks or says a stupid joke, I usually find it funny. Not all of them, of course. But that's alright because she never calls attention to her joking. We all say stupid things from time to time—some of us, most of the time. Some people will think a comment funny while others will think it odd, obvious, lame, a bit stupid, or possibly the product of an addled mind. Nobody can be universally funny all the time.
When I'm reading a book, only my sense of humor is the judge of what's funny and what isn't. Not calling attention to any comment will let my brain pick the jokes on its own. When there's a joke that I don't get or simply find lame, my brain will likely ignore it and only absorb the information in it. No harm done.
Jane's jokes do nothing for me, but I don't even have the chance of not noticing them, because Hunter punctuates each of them with a sentence about how Jane "almost laugh about it," or "barely managed to contain the titter bubbling up in her chest," or "would one day die because of her sense of humor." I think subtlety works better for this. Throw the joke out there without calling attention to it. The same number of people will find it funny, but at least you avoid pointing it out to those who don't.
So, not much else to say. Fans of the series will probably be very pleased with this book since I can say that, of the three, this one is the best one plot- and action-wise. People on the fence or waiting for some things to change in the characters will better skip it since it's pretty much more of the same.
Writing a review for this one feels a little repetitive since little has changed in terms of what I like/dislike since the first book. In fact, I could copy the review of the second book verbatim and have it work this time as well.
In this one, two new species of supes make their appearance. One that we don't know much about it—the little we do know would be a spoiler—and the weres. Again, Hunter's supes are very well done and the weres are no exception. The explanation of their origin as a legend/history lesson was one of the only parts that worked for me. For that kind of thing, Hunter's descriptive style works really well. Sadly (for me, at least), she uses it for everything.
Writing this a few days after reading the book made me realize something else. I'm now in the middle of the 6th Mercy Thompson novel, River Marked, and I noticed another thing that might contribute to my not liking Jane a bit more. The (lack of) humor.
When Mercy thinks or says a stupid joke, I usually find it funny. Not all of them, of course. But that's alright because she never calls attention to her joking. We all say stupid things from time to time—some of us, most of the time. Some people will think a comment funny while others will think it odd, obvious, lame, a bit stupid, or possibly the product of an addled mind. Nobody can be universally funny all the time.
When I'm reading a book, only my sense of humor is the judge of what's funny and what isn't. Not calling attention to any comment will let my brain pick the jokes on its own. When there's a joke that I don't get or simply find lame, my brain will likely ignore it and only absorb the information in it. No harm done.
Jane's jokes do nothing for me, but I don't even have the chance of not noticing them, because Hunter punctuates each of them with a sentence about how Jane "almost laugh about it," or "barely managed to contain the titter bubbling up in her chest," or "would one day die because of her sense of humor." I think subtlety works better for this. Throw the joke out there without calling attention to it. The same number of people will find it funny, but at least you avoid pointing it out to those who don't.
So, not much else to say. Fans of the series will probably be very pleased with this book since I can say that, of the three, this one is the best one plot- and action-wise. People on the fence or waiting for some things to change in the characters will better skip it since it's pretty much more of the same.
December 11, 2017
Since there are so many great reviews that express exactly how I feel, I’m not sure what I can add to the mix except that I am LOVING this series! At the risk of being redundant, here are the main thought points.
1. LOVE Jane’s character. There are few kick-butt heroines better in all of publishing today. And, as an extension LOVE Beast, as well. The writing is unique and distinct between the two characters, yet form one whole that is absolutely awesome!
2. HATE that such a strong character as Jane is so wish-washy in the romance dept. It goes completely against character and leaves me scratching my head ‘cause it just doesn’t fit. Shouldn’t one who has such a sense of justice and right and wrong and is willing to fight and die for it be a bit more stubborn in her demand for character and respect in the men she chooses?
And - a couple things that I absolutely adore about this series that others haven’t mentioned as much:
1. Completely LOVE how Ms. Hunter ties Jane’s committed Christian beliefs into her life, weaves them into her Cherokee heritage then bumps them against her lifestyle - all while addressing the conundrum of how they all work (or not) together. Very interesting take!
2. Not so much in love with the endless descriptions of every weapon Jane carries. A good basic run-down is sufficient - especially after the 10th or 11th time. If this continues throughout the series, it’s gonna get irritating... just sayin.
1. LOVE Jane’s character. There are few kick-butt heroines better in all of publishing today. And, as an extension LOVE Beast, as well. The writing is unique and distinct between the two characters, yet form one whole that is absolutely awesome!
2. HATE that such a strong character as Jane is so wish-washy in the romance dept. It goes completely against character and leaves me scratching my head ‘cause it just doesn’t fit. Shouldn’t one who has such a sense of justice and right and wrong and is willing to fight and die for it be a bit more stubborn in her demand for character and respect in the men she chooses?
And - a couple things that I absolutely adore about this series that others haven’t mentioned as much:
1. Completely LOVE how Ms. Hunter ties Jane’s committed Christian beliefs into her life, weaves them into her Cherokee heritage then bumps them against her lifestyle - all while addressing the conundrum of how they all work (or not) together. Very interesting take!
2. Not so much in love with the endless descriptions of every weapon Jane carries. A good basic run-down is sufficient - especially after the 10th or 11th time. If this continues throughout the series, it’s gonna get irritating... just sayin.
July 15, 2011
In this highly-anticipated third installment in Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series, Jane's headed to the Big Easy, to do a job for the Master of the City, Leo Pellisier. Not too much of a hardship, as her new main man--undercover cop Rick--is there too. But it's not too long before their jobs get in the way of their relationship...
To add to the man-undercover-angst, her boss Leo's not too fond of Jane right now (after the events in Blood Cross), so she also has stay-under-the-radar angst. But when trouble shows up in the form of weres (dogs AND cats), that doesn't stop her from trying to head off a revenge-motivated retaliation against Leo. Unfortunately for Jane, all of this action's just the side dish to Leo's main task for her: find the vamp who's returned to his territory, and tell him to get lost. Or else.
Character: Jane rocks. She's tough, mentally and physically. And yet she's still vulnerable, especially when trusting her heart to others. So you're totally with her when she starts having doubts about Rick, especially when she hasn't seen him in ages, and it looks like he's hanging with another gal. But I'd expect her to not be so darn wishy-washy about him. You get the facts and then deal with it. Not dwell in angst.
I really like Bruiser in this installment, his character's much more fleshed out, and if Rick weren't in the picture (is he still? I'm not telling!), I'd say take Bruiser for a ride! *wink* The werecats who show up could've been featured more, I think, but maybe that's just because I'm curious, darn it. Yes, yes, I know all about curiosity and cats... Still...
Pace & Plot: Well. Faith Hunter doesn't make you wait for the action, that's for sure. And when the plot gets going, you want to make sure you've got a chunk of time carved out for this book, because this is jam-packed with stuff. If this were an action film, there'd be car chase scenes and explosions and death-defying feats all over it... (cue Quantum Solace theme song... yes, I'm a Daniel-Craig-as-Bond girl...) But since it's a book, you just get fight scenes, fight scenes, and more fight scenes. Phew.
Lest you think it's all action and no substance, you also get Jane wondering about her and Beast, and why there aren't more of them... Some questions get brought up, and I sure hope they get answered! I'm impatiently waiting on the next one.
If you haven't read Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock urban fantasy yet, well, why not?
To add to the man-undercover-angst, her boss Leo's not too fond of Jane right now (after the events in Blood Cross), so she also has stay-under-the-radar angst. But when trouble shows up in the form of weres (dogs AND cats), that doesn't stop her from trying to head off a revenge-motivated retaliation against Leo. Unfortunately for Jane, all of this action's just the side dish to Leo's main task for her: find the vamp who's returned to his territory, and tell him to get lost. Or else.
Character: Jane rocks. She's tough, mentally and physically. And yet she's still vulnerable, especially when trusting her heart to others. So you're totally with her when she starts having doubts about Rick, especially when she hasn't seen him in ages, and it looks like he's hanging with another gal. But I'd expect her to not be so darn wishy-washy about him. You get the facts and then deal with it. Not dwell in angst.
I really like Bruiser in this installment, his character's much more fleshed out, and if Rick weren't in the picture (is he still? I'm not telling!), I'd say take Bruiser for a ride! *wink* The werecats who show up could've been featured more, I think, but maybe that's just because I'm curious, darn it. Yes, yes, I know all about curiosity and cats... Still...
Pace & Plot: Well. Faith Hunter doesn't make you wait for the action, that's for sure. And when the plot gets going, you want to make sure you've got a chunk of time carved out for this book, because this is jam-packed with stuff. If this were an action film, there'd be car chase scenes and explosions and death-defying feats all over it... (cue Quantum Solace theme song... yes, I'm a Daniel-Craig-as-Bond girl...) But since it's a book, you just get fight scenes, fight scenes, and more fight scenes. Phew.
Lest you think it's all action and no substance, you also get Jane wondering about her and Beast, and why there aren't more of them... Some questions get brought up, and I sure hope they get answered! I'm impatiently waiting on the next one.
If you haven't read Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock urban fantasy yet, well, why not?
April 15, 2015
5 This is the best yet Stars!
Audiobook
I really got to give it to the narrator, Khristine Hvam she is phenomenal!!! Her voice is incredible as Jane, as Beast and even when she switches characters. I don't know if I would truly love these books as much if I was actually reading them. I can't really say much about this one because it would give to much information away, I will say there was more steaminess and a cliffhanger at the end.
Audiobook
I really got to give it to the narrator, Khristine Hvam she is phenomenal!!! Her voice is incredible as Jane, as Beast and even when she switches characters. I don't know if I would truly love these books as much if I was actually reading them. I can't really say much about this one because it would give to much information away, I will say there was more steaminess and a cliffhanger at the end.
January 15, 2018
I'm giving up on this series. I want to know how Jane's story will end, but I will be perfectly happy with someone telling me about the ending without actually reading the whole story.
I still don't like Jane and since this was already third book in the series, it's becoming a real problem. Even though Jane knew Rick was undercover and probably couldn't contact her, she acted like a teenage girl abandoned by her boyfriend and even though she had a boyfriend, she kept getting wet over Bruiser. I don't like what Rick did and I want to see explanation for his actions, but I didn't like Jane's actions either.
I might have liked Bruiser, but I hate love triangles, so I was just annoyed every time he appeared.
To be honest, I'm probably not the right person to rate this book, since I basically skimmed the second half of it, but I just wasn't interested in the story.
The thing is, Hunter's books (at least to me) go like: a lot of boring descriptions - a little bit of interesting action that actually makes you care about the story - Jane acting stupid - boring descriptions - characters being unlikable - boring descriptions - another tiny interesting bit of story - Jane flirting with various guys who are NOT her boyfriend - boring descriptions - shocking revelations and interesting action.
And those interesting pieces are few and far between, and it's just not enough for me.
I still don't like Jane and since this was already third book in the series, it's becoming a real problem. Even though Jane knew Rick was undercover and probably couldn't contact her, she acted like a teenage girl abandoned by her boyfriend and even though she had a boyfriend, she kept getting wet over Bruiser. I don't like what Rick did and I want to see explanation for his actions, but I didn't like Jane's actions either.
I might have liked Bruiser, but I hate love triangles, so I was just annoyed every time he appeared.
To be honest, I'm probably not the right person to rate this book, since I basically skimmed the second half of it, but I just wasn't interested in the story.
The thing is, Hunter's books (at least to me) go like: a lot of boring descriptions - a little bit of interesting action that actually makes you care about the story - Jane acting stupid - boring descriptions - characters being unlikable - boring descriptions - another tiny interesting bit of story - Jane flirting with various guys who are NOT her boyfriend - boring descriptions - shocking revelations and interesting action.
And those interesting pieces are few and far between, and it's just not enough for me.
January 8, 2011
Jane the ancient skinwalker has stepped into a hornets nest when she accepts a job from the Master of the City to provide security for a meeting of Cat Were's for a parley. There are so many security dangers, Jane thinks she has most covered. Wrong, the political and back stabbing para community has so many dark shadows to throw at her she may never figure it out. Her current love interest is missing and her lust interest is circling her big time. She is captured by magics that confuse her thoughts and feelings, everything is different and lives depend on her clearing them up. Many new and dangerous creatures step into her story and some great myths to go with them.
Poor Jane my heart bleed for her. What a story, filled with action and intense mysteries. I loved all of the story. When is the next one, I was left with a light cliffhanger.
Poor Jane my heart bleed for her. What a story, filled with action and intense mysteries. I loved all of the story. When is the next one, I was left with a light cliffhanger.
May 11, 2016
I must be missing something because the majority of my friends on here love this series and so far it's just not working for me. I want to love this series. I don't know I'll probably do one more and see how it goes. Don't hate me! :-)
December 1, 2016
Still enjoying this series. So far it's consistently good. More good nick names like Zoro, snicker.
We have werewolves and others big cat shifters.
Jane rhymed her words and almost laughed while giving Leo bad news. He tires to kill her again.
What happened to beast at the end?
We have werewolves and others big cat shifters.
Jane rhymed her words and almost laughed while giving Leo bad news. He tires to kill her again.
What happened to beast at the end?
September 23, 2024
I am addicted to this series but I sometimes want to strangle Jane and do even worse things to the men in her life. RTC once I get back to a computer.
January 14, 2011
Faith Hunter has done it again: kept me at the edge of my seat, sending me on a journey of twists and turns through the latest installment in her Jane Yellowrock series, "Mercy Blade."
Our story picks up shortly after Blood Cross ended. Jane is now in a relationship with NOPD cop Rick LeFleur. And she has decided to move to New Orleans, for at least the next six months, to work as a security consultant for Master Vampire of the City, Leo. Jane is crazy about Rick, but things aren't perfect between them. He doesn't know she is a shapeshifter and they don't get to spend much time together because of some secret assignment he is working for the police.
The big news here is that the were-creatures of the world have decided to come out of the closet. And Leo is staging talks with the were-cats. Jane is to handle security for the big event. Leo has a long history of bad blood with the were-wolves, however. He sends Jane to meet with a mysterious man at a bar --to give him the message to leave town. When she gets there, though, it's full of werewolves and she mistakenly delivers the message to them. They would have killed her if Gee (the true mystery man) hadn't stepped in and saved her.
Like with every book in this series so far, there is so much going on. Rick goes missing... leaving Jane to question if he's in danger, if he's undercover, and/or if he is blowing her off. There is layer upon layer of intrigue surrounding vamp politics and where the weres fit in (not to mention who/what Gee is.) And let's not forget Bruiser, Leo's human servant. There is something very, very hot going on between him and Jane. There is still no on-page sex to speak of, but these two absolutely sizzle when they are together. Just one dance scene between them generates enough heat to make you melt.
As much as I enjoyed it... and I really did... I have to point out that I need a little help getting excited about Rick. For two books in a row, we've been treated to close-call encounters between Jane and Bruiser. But we haven't seen that betwen Jane and Rick. We've had narrative saying more has happened, but it's all off page. I'm not saying Bruiser is right for Jane. All of her reservations about him are warranted, but I do wish the author would help me out in rooting for Rick as a HEA. The closest we've had to a love scene with him was with the mayor's wife in book one.
There are many revelations --especially in the second half of the book. All of them make perfect sense, but I didn't see any of them coming.(I won't spoil you, though.) And the very last line opens the door to huge possibilities in the next book. If you are a Jane Yellowrock fan, you won't want to miss this one. 5 stars.
Our story picks up shortly after Blood Cross ended. Jane is now in a relationship with NOPD cop Rick LeFleur. And she has decided to move to New Orleans, for at least the next six months, to work as a security consultant for Master Vampire of the City, Leo. Jane is crazy about Rick, but things aren't perfect between them. He doesn't know she is a shapeshifter and they don't get to spend much time together because of some secret assignment he is working for the police.
The big news here is that the were-creatures of the world have decided to come out of the closet. And Leo is staging talks with the were-cats. Jane is to handle security for the big event. Leo has a long history of bad blood with the were-wolves, however. He sends Jane to meet with a mysterious man at a bar --to give him the message to leave town. When she gets there, though, it's full of werewolves and she mistakenly delivers the message to them. They would have killed her if Gee (the true mystery man) hadn't stepped in and saved her.
Like with every book in this series so far, there is so much going on. Rick goes missing... leaving Jane to question if he's in danger, if he's undercover, and/or if he is blowing her off. There is layer upon layer of intrigue surrounding vamp politics and where the weres fit in (not to mention who/what Gee is.) And let's not forget Bruiser, Leo's human servant. There is something very, very hot going on between him and Jane. There is still no on-page sex to speak of, but these two absolutely sizzle when they are together. Just one dance scene between them generates enough heat to make you melt.
As much as I enjoyed it... and I really did... I have to point out that I need a little help getting excited about Rick. For two books in a row, we've been treated to close-call encounters between Jane and Bruiser. But we haven't seen that betwen Jane and Rick. We've had narrative saying more has happened, but it's all off page. I'm not saying Bruiser is right for Jane. All of her reservations about him are warranted, but I do wish the author would help me out in rooting for Rick as a HEA. The closest we've had to a love scene with him was with the mayor's wife in book one.
There are many revelations --especially in the second half of the book. All of them make perfect sense, but I didn't see any of them coming.(I won't spoil you, though.) And the very last line opens the door to huge possibilities in the next book. If you are a Jane Yellowrock fan, you won't want to miss this one. 5 stars.
March 12, 2013
More twists and turns and gut-wrenching moments with Jane Yellowrock. We learn more about the big cat Jane shifts into, Beast.
Faith Hunter continues the experience of Jane Yellowrock with more dynamic scenes of Jane seeing more visions/reality of her soul home. Friends she trusts turn out to have hidden agendas. More great action with blow by blow tension building precision. The moment you finish the book, it's like coming up for air to get that breath you've been holding. We get to see more of Jane herself, including her deep belief in Christianity and doing the morally right thing (not always easy for a rogue vamp killer). Always the awesome details of Jane getting dressed in her leathers, getting weaponed up, and jumping on Bitsa to head to the next crisis. Fantastic read
Faith Hunter continues the experience of Jane Yellowrock with more dynamic scenes of Jane seeing more visions/reality of her soul home. Friends she trusts turn out to have hidden agendas. More great action with blow by blow tension building precision. The moment you finish the book, it's like coming up for air to get that breath you've been holding. We get to see more of Jane herself, including her deep belief in Christianity and doing the morally right thing (not always easy for a rogue vamp killer). Always the awesome details of Jane getting dressed in her leathers, getting weaponed up, and jumping on Bitsa to head to the next crisis. Fantastic read
October 27, 2017
Mercy Blade is a dark urban fantasy, with a skinwalker as the protagonist, maybe the last of her kind. Apart from the vampires and witches usual to the series, this installment is spiced with weres, both the lupine and feline variety.
“You know how to cook steak?" he asked, his voice warming slightly.
"Light a match under it. If it doesn't kick, it's dead and done.”
Lucky I found this series, now I have something to read while I wait for the next Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson book to be published.
“You know how to cook steak?" he asked, his voice warming slightly.
"Light a match under it. If it doesn't kick, it's dead and done.”
Lucky I found this series, now I have something to read while I wait for the next Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson book to be published.
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