Mercy Blade

Jane Yellowrock, Faith Hunters protagonist, is one of the genres best characters in a field where protagonists all are strong, snarky, sexy women, Jane is far more. Jane is a complete, rounded character, with a past that created her, nature and nurture, and also the ability to grow as a character and a woman.

The previous novel in the series emphasized her Cherokee background; this book puts more emphasis on the Christianity she learned in an Evangelical orphanage (I cant help but suspect that shed be happier had she been brought up by Catholic nuns same guilt as response to sin, but with a more systematic way of dealing with it).

For all the action and the Jane Yellowrock Novels are almost back-to-back action the series thus far is really about relationships. The most important relationship in Janes life is with the other would within her body, the cougar called Beast.

There are also her relationships with her closest friend Molly, who is a witch, with her employer, Leo, who is the vampire Master of the City, with her two possible romantic relationships, one an undercover cop and one with Leos chief blood servant and head of security. Janes introspection regarding these relationships and others are what make this series superior to many others in the strong snarky woman versus supernatural bad guysgenre.

Recommended.

I liked this book. I found the story and other characters entertaining, although Jane could have been a bit less guilt-ridden and anxty. Not all the bad things that happened in this world were her fault! If you enjoy being lost in a filled with paranormal people, you will like this book and the others that follow in the series.

The book had good detail, which I enjoy in a book. Jane does put herself in situations you’d think a security expert would know to avoid. But this is a fun series to read. Beast is funny and a cool twist, and the vampires are pretty interesting on their own. I look forward to enjoying the rest of the series….like that there are many books to follow as I like getting caught up in a world away from this one.

The continuation of Jane Yellowrock’s story is just as intense and riveting as her previous books. As a Cherokee Skinwalker, she is the only one left of her kind. She is able to turn into any animal of her choosing, using magic and her genetic inheritance.
Jane was found wandering in the woods at about the age of twelve. Scared and naked, she is placed in a Christian orphanage until she is eighteen. After several years, the memory of what she is comes back to her.
Using her ability to track, and her extreme weapons training, Jane becomes a vampire slayer, tracking and killing dangerous rogues.
If you like paranormal urban fantasy, this series is for you. Faith Hunter has built an amazing world with a deep historical background. Her characters are three dimensional and each story is meticulous in its reasoning. The books should be read in order or you won’t understand the context of what’s going on.
I highly recommend adding the Jane Yellowrock series to your keeper shelf. I have read these books more than once.

Unfortunately this series still fails to engage me. Similar to the previous instalment in the series this book is okay to read but only just.

As the book blurb states, the werewolves as well as a bunch of other weres have decided to come out of the closet and announce their presence to the mundane world. Unfortunately the werewolves have a bit of a grudge towards the vampires. Quite a bit of a grudge actually. In the underworld of the supernatural world of Faith Hunter, a grudge means nasty secret plots, blood being splattered around and general mayhem. Naturally Jane is caught in the middle.

The basic story is good and the writing is quite okay from a purely technical point of view. Jane have to do quite a bit of research and detective work as the story develops. There is no lack of action and those parts are quite okay as well. There is a fair amount of things going on though and it felt a bit like the author just threw in ideas that she had but never really developed them but rather used them as background props.

The author also continues to do a quite okay job of spinning together explanations as to the creation in the past and presence today of these supernatural creatures with events and recounts (with a bit of artistic freedom of course) from the human legacy of religious mythology.

My main problem with this book is that it fails to engage me. The story is told in such a way that it sometimes feels more like a historical recount than the action filled, supernatural adventure that it is. Jane herself really lacks charisma and she does not seem to develop in any larger degree either, neither as a character nor as a supernatural creature. There is little humour, wittiness, bantering or otherwise entertaining comments or dialogue in the book.

At this point I am a wee bit on the fence as to whether I want to continue to spend time on this series. It is not a bad series but it has left me with a bit of a meh feeling after the last two books. I really do not like to stop in the middle of a series though so it is likely that I will give it one more try.

I’m plowing through these Jane Yellowrock books on my kindle since a friend recommended the first book “Skinwalker” to me, and I love these novels by Faith Hunter. I’m a tried and true Laurell K. Hamilton fan with urban fantasy and the paranormal, and Faith checks all my boxes with this series too. I’m really intrigued by the fact the protagonist is a unique Cherokee shapeshifter, and the dynamic with vampires and witches also seems like world building unlike anything else I’ve read. I’m a fan, will keep reading and once all caught up, she’ll be on my buy list!

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