A review by loverofromance
Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 
 This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review. Also my tags may have spoilers in them so be forewarned before checking out full review.

 Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞💞
 Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖📖
Narration:🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧
 Overall View: ✨✨✨✨✨

“It's only fair to warn you that you sealed your fate tonight. When you knew you were in trouble, you came to me. That makes twice, Mercy, and twice is almost as good as a declaration. You are mine now.... Ben says you might run. If you do, I will find you and bring you back. Every time you run, Mercy. I won't force you, but. .. No more excuses, Mercy. You are mine, and I am keeping you.”

First Impressions
Iron Kissed is the third installment in the "Mercy Thompson" series and this is the story where we see the results of the love triangle finally come to an ending between Mercy, Adam and Sam. There is also a plot that builds with Mercy in her attempts to assist a friend from the fae reservation. It starts out with a very simple mystery, but the story quickly develops into something so much different than you would expect. I am not going to lie, this book is a hard one to read. I would recommend checking out the trigger warnings for this one, because it does have some scenes of non consent and sexual violation and mental violence that will not work for everyone. I felt like it was very true to the story and the author crafted it just right. The romance truly comes together and this is where the decision is made and I was not surprised at all, this love triangle wasn't super equal all between all parties involved, even from book one I knew who she would end up with in the end and very fascinated to see where it goes from here on out.

 It was Adam, but he was too late. He couldn’t love me anymore. He would be so angry with me. I had to hide. He didn’t love me so he might hurt me when he was angry. When he calmed down, that would hurt him. I didn’t want him hurting because of me. There was nowhere for a person to hide. So I wouldn’t be a person. My eyes fell on the shelves that lined the far back corner. A coyote could hide there.
 

First Line
"A coboy, a lawyer, and a mechanic watched Queen of the Damned," I murmured

Summary
Mercy is reached out to for help by a old mentor, Zee, when there are a series of murders happening on the fae reservation, she is asked to come out and investigate them. But through a course of events, her mentor ends up being the sacrificed lamb for his own people and Mercy knows he isn't guilty and is determined to help him, no matter the cost to their friendship. She is still living with Sam, her oldest friend and childhood lover. But her soul is crying out for the alpha next door, who while he scares her at times, he also makes her feel things she never imagined she could experience. But she will have to make a choice before the worst happens between two dominant werewolves....but there is an enemy, one she won't see coming, one that could ruin all the hope and love she is craving for the future...

 “Just as I’ve always known there are monsters in the world, monsters and things even more evil, I’ve always known that it is God who keeps evil at bay.”


What I Loved
Iron Kissed is the story I have been waiting for with this series. I have never been a fan of love triangles and even thought its not a true equal three way love triangle, its still a love triangle and I always wanted her to really get things going with Adam and this is the book where their relationship takes a new turn. While she does have a good history with Sam and friendship with him, they don't have a true passion and connection like what she has with Adam and seeing this turn of events really worked for me. I have always been on Team Adam and glad she finally got her choice made, although how it happens is NOT how I expected it to happen. But I did find it a refreshing turn of events.

 There is something about having someone take care of you, even when you don’t need it – maybe especially when you don’t need it.

Then we have the actual plot of the story. Mercy is really put through the ringer in this book. To be honest I was NOT expecting that third act, not at all. I was really expecting something totally different and seeing what Mercy goes through and how she has to work through these self doubts and learning what it takes to heal from such trauma was truly so poignant at times. The way we see Adam care for Mercy throughout the book was a delight. I love his mannerisms around Mercy, its very true to who he is as a dominant alpha but also the caretaking moments just left me breathless. But also in return the way that Mercy knows how to handle Adam even when she is scared of him, was brilliant. She knows her place in the pack world and she understands the complexities of the pack dynamics and works around those issues. She knows when to stand up for herself to Adam, but she also knows when she needs to submit and be accepting of his nature. They truly balance each other out so well. I am not sure what I was expecting from these two, but they were full of surprises in this one.

 The warmth of his body shouldn’t have felt good. He was angry and every muscle was tense. It was like being leaned on by a very heavy, warm brick. A sexy brick.

What I Struggled With
I just wish the ending was a bit longer with them finally embracing their relationship, like come on....I need more than a kissing scene haha I am crossing fingers the next book in the series will have a bit more focus on their intimacies.

Narration
This narrator is just perfect for these books, she really brings out the character dynamics just right and the vibe of the world building is portrayed just right for the reader.

Overall View
Iron Kissed is a story that kept me spellbound, the culmination of breathless emotion, vibrant world building and the delicate storytelling that builds into a crescendo of brilliant connection and thrills captivated this reader from beginning to end! A TRUE MASTERPIECE!

 He took two quick steps forward, wrapped a hand around the back of my neck, and held me for his kiss. I hadn’t expected it—not while he was still so close to changing. I’m sure that’s why I didn’t pull out of his hold.
The first touch of his lips was soft, tentative, asking where his hands had demanded. The man was diabolical. I could have resisted force, but the question of his kiss was an entirely different matter.
I leaned into him because he asked with the light touch and the gentle withdrawal of his lips that begged me to follow where he led. The heat of his body, welcome in the over-cooled house, rewarded me as I leaned closer to him, as did the hard planes of his body, so I was drawn to press even tighter against him.
He danced like that, too. Leading instead of pulling. It had to have been deliberate, something he worked at, because he was as dominant as they came—Alphas are. But Adam was more than just dominant: he was smart, too. And he didn’t play fair.


Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Urban Fantasy
Character Types: Alpha Male, Single Dad, Kick Ass Heroine, Blue Collar Heroine
Themes: Heart/Touching, Book Boyfriend, Leading Lady, Laughs/Giggles, PTSD Abuse
Tropes: Fated Love, Love Triangle

Book Perspective
3rd POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
A blend of both

If you like these authors, I recommend This Book
Ilona Andrews
Ileen Weeks
Nalini Singh

Song This Book Inspires
Million Reasons by Lady Gaga

Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes

Steam/Spice Explanations

Simmering cup of tea---soft warm touches and light intimacy

Narrators:
Lorelei King 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence