Narrated by Lorelei King
Patricia Briggs is an automatic buy for me, and a go-to read or audio experience when I want an absorbing story. I am a long-time fan of the Mercy Thompson series, with its contemporary setting, kick-ass fantasy characters, and mystery plotline. As I have said before, Briggs has created a central character (a female auto mechanic) who is simultaneously strong, independent, and empathetically feminine. As a coyote shifter who isn’t fond of restrictive rules, Mercy Thompson has her own strong moral code, and her ethics in any situation make an interesting component to her thought process. One of the many things I love about Patricia Briggs’ storytelling is her ability to create three-dimensional transparency into a character’s motivation, making it a richer experience. You know why her characters behave the way they do; you feel their pain; and you can see the action taking place, as easily as if it were on a screen in front of you.
I was pulled right into Night Broken
Christy has been attacked and stalked by a lover, and the pack (most of whom know Adam’s ex-wife, and a few are still sympathetic to her) absorbs her into their home. This makes Mercy’s somewhat tenuous role (as the pack-leader’s wife and high in the hierarchy, even as a coyote among wolves) even more dicey. Those that were still questioning accepting a coyote are given more ammunition by Christy’s “poor-little-Susie-Homemaker-me” manipulations. When fire and death starts stalking the people (and animals) in their town, the mystery (and the cast of supernatural creatures) deepens. Nope, not going to spoil it for you – but the new villain would be fun to see in computer-generated graphics.
Night Broken is the eighth book in the Mercy Thompson series. You could listen to this stand-alone, but it would be a challenge. The world-building is significant and there are many reoccurring characters; it is a much richer experience listening to the series and building into this book.
I have listened to Lorelei King several times and she is very popular with many listeners. Fans of Mercy Thompson, in particular, have adopted her as a favorite narrator. Her evenly-paced delivery allows you to pay attention to the story and not get distracted by too much overly dramatic narration. Ms. King’s dialogue is pitched differently than the background narration; her enunciation is very crisp, and she keeps emotion out of any section that doesn’t contain dialogue (even thoughts).
With each Mercy Thompson entry, it takes me a long time to accustom myself to her style; I find it somewhat mechanical and there are sections of dialogue where I feel she misses some of the intended word emphasis. However I found myself thinking that my dad (who has trouble hearing unless people speak REALLY CLEARLY) would prefer her narration. Her accents are really strong (Stephen the vampire sounds like Vlad the Impaler, and there were some Texas twangs that boinged against your ear). I wouldn’t let this stop anyone from enjoying the story or determining if her style is right for you; she definitely lets the story take the central role (and I love the story).
Victoria
Narration: B-
Book Content: A
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: Escalated fighting (The sex is minimal, but you might keep the earbuds in for the violence; there is one scene in particular that sounds a bit graphic)
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Night Broken was provided to AudioGals for review by Brilliance Audio.
This is one of my top ten favorite series on audio. I love Lorelei King. She does a great job in bringing the story to life. While this is not my favorite book in this series, I did enjoy it. I wanted to punch both Adam’s ex-wife and Adam several times. Mercy handled it all like a champ.
I too am a big fan of the Mercy Thompson series. I totally immerse myself in the audiobooks rarely considering the narration which is an indication that I’m totally on board with what I’m hearing! There are a couple of things that occasionally pull me out of the story – Stephen is almost comically over-performed to my way of thinking and I agree with Victoria that the Texas accents can be a bit too much (but then I’m a Texan by birth and know a real Texas accent from a fake one). But I’m used to those things now and just completely enjoy myself.
Yes, I love this series on audio too. The only thing which drives me batty is (my opinion) that she mispronounces Aurielle (I think it should be Orr-ee-El, not Orr-ee-el-ee) and I think Stefan should be Steff-ahn. But her emotion is just right for me.
That drove me crazy!
Mispronouncing names is a HUGE offence in my book.:)
@Lea: I actually never understood “why” the twang. The series takes place in the Northwest which has a more Midwest accent influence than Texas or the South.
She only gets a pass because Adam. LOL
I haven’t read this series in audio yet, but I do love it. It was one of my first UF series and I agree with you – Mercy is such a great female lead – she’s not weak and she’s super independent and yet, she’s still feminine. I thought the twist of introducing Christy to their little world worked brilliantly in Night Broken – I wasn’t sure who I disliked more at times, her or the “real” bad guy. Glad you enjoyed it :) Great review Victoria!!
I swear, she only pronounced Aurielle’s name right ONCE. That mispronunciation is annoying as heck. It’s “ah ree ELL”. Ah ree ell lee does NOT exist at all as a name. I thought authors issued notes on how to pronounce their characters’ names to audiobook companies?
As much as I love her narrations this is definitely a pet peeve of mine!