"Moon Called (Mercy Thompson #1)" by Patricia Briggs

I loved the start of this book, but once I read past that- there were problems. Problems, which, may be in part due to strong personal preferences on my part- I'm horribly biased against certain male characters who rub me the wrong way. If the book is set in a patriarchal society and I begin to have flashbacks, it instantly nullifies any enjoyment I gathered from the book.

So how did this book overcome my strong dislike, despite this bias of mine? I liked the worldbuilding, the action, and pretty much everything but the male characters. Male characters were most of the cast, by the way- Mercy is one of very few women in this book. I also enjoyed that the characters were of diverse backgrounds, and that Mercy was a mechanic. However, the tug-of-war over liking/disliking this book meant it was somewhat of a chore for me to read.

The Plot (As Seen on Goodreads):
'Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water...'

As much as I liked Mercy, there were issues with my like of her too. It seemed every female she met who was around her age (not younger than her) ended up on her list of personae non gratae. I get it- you hang with the boys, so girls don't like you- except I don't. I think anyone should be able to have male and female friends, regardless of gender. Crazy, right? I understand that that might not come to fruition in the first book, but it really bothered me.

Onto the male characters. Although the author does sufficiently describe them so you get their individuality, I could not remember their names. The main issue was that their names were generic... and also, as much as they rubbed me the wrong way, they didn't strike me as being very different personality-wise from one another. The two male characters I was kinda-sorta okay with were Stefan (because he's a vamp) and Adam (he has his okay moments).

After reading the book, I was very curious as to where the author grew up- as it turns out, she was born in Butte, Montana. My problems with all those male characters likely stem from that- my "father" was from that area as well. I do have relatives I like there, but I'm still very, very uncomfortable around men from there.

Moon Called was a book I likely had too high of expectations for- and my biases kept me from liking it as much as I could have. However, I still bought another of the author's books (because: sale) and don't plan on avoiding her books until it becomes clear whether it's the writing or the books themselves I don't enjoy. If you've read my quandaries and still think this book would suit you, I wouldn't rain on your bookish parade. This book simply spawned too much hubbub with my personal opinions.

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars for a good start to a series I have very mixed feelings about.

Content: Ages 16+ for violence and sexual misconduct.

Page Count: 288 pages