Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs
The vampire Wulfe is missing. Since he’s deadly, possibly insane, and his current idea of “fun” is stalking me, some may see it as no great loss. But, warned that his disappearance might bring down the carefully constructed alliances that keep our pack safe, my mate and I must find Wulfe—and hope he’s still alive. As alive as a vampire can be, anyway.
But Wulfe isn’t the only one who has disappeared. And now there are bodies, too. Has the Harvester returned to the Tri-Cities, reaping souls with his cursed sickle? Or is he just a character from a B horror movie and our enemy is someone else?
The Bite Breakdown:
Quick Verdict
Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs is a tense, emotionally grounded installment that leans hard into consequence, responsibility, and the cost of power. It is not flashy, but it is deeply satisfying if you value character driven urban fantasy that trusts its long game.
At a Glance
- Genre: Urban Fantasy
- Subgenre: Paranormal Fantasy; Urban Fantasy Thriller
- Trope: Power Struggle
- Series: Mercy Thompson series Book 13; Mercyverse Book 33
- POV: First Person
- Romance Focus: Low to medium
- Tone: Dark, tense, politically charged
The Premise (No Spoilers)
In Soul Taken, the supernatural world presses closer to open conflict, and Mercy finds herself once again navigating threats that cannot be solved with strength alone. The story opens with a sense of pressure rather than spectacle, signaling early on that this is a book about decisions, responsibility, and fallout rather than monster of the week action.
As the plot unfolds, the danger grows in layered ways, blending political tension, ancient magic, and personal stakes. Mercy remains the connective tissue between factions that do not trust one another, and much of the tension comes from watching her hold that line while knowing that every choice closes off other options. The pacing favors escalation through implication rather than constant action.
This installment sits firmly in the later arc of the series as Mercy Thompson series book 13 and Mercyverse book 33. It assumes familiarity with long running relationships, supernatural politics, and unresolved threads that have been building across multiple books. Rather than resetting the board, Soul Taken tightens it, pulling past consequences into sharper focus and setting the stage for conflicts that clearly will not end here.
What Worked
What stood out most for me was the emotional maturity of the storytelling. Mercy does not get easy answers or clean victories, and the narrative does not pretend otherwise. Her strength comes from judgment, empathy, and the willingness to act even when the outcome will hurt. That consistency makes the tension feel earned rather than manufactured.
I also appreciated how restrained the book is with its magic and action. When something dangerous happens, it matters. The stakes feel heavier because the story refuses to drown them in constant spectacle. Patricia Briggs lets silence, anticipation, and aftermath do much of the work, which fits the tone of this stage of the series perfectly.
What Didn’t Work (or Might Not)
Readers who prefer fast paced, action forward urban fantasy may find this installment quieter than expected. The tension simmers more than it explodes, and several threads are clearly transitional rather than fully resolved within this book alone.
The romance, while emotionally present, takes a back seat to broader concerns. If you come to the Mercy Thompson series primarily for romantic progression, this book may feel more focused on partnership and trust than overt romantic development.
Romance and Relationship Dynamics
The romance here is steady, established, and rooted in mutual respect. I found it refreshing that the relationship does not rely on constant drama to stay interesting. Instead, it reinforces themes of loyalty, shared burden, and emotional safety, even when external pressures test those foundations.
- Violence
- Threats and peril
- Supernatural coercion
- Themes of power and consequence
Who Should Read This
This book is a strong fit for longtime Mercyverse readers who enjoy slow build tension, political maneuvering, and character driven stakes. It will especially appeal to readers who value heroines who lead through judgment and resilience rather than raw power. New readers, however, may want to start earlier in the series, as this installment relies heavily on established context.
Final Verdict
Soul Taken reinforces why Patricia Briggs excels at long form urban fantasy. I finished this book with a sense of weight rather than adrenaline, and that felt intentional. It deepens the Mercyverse instead of rushing it, trusting readers to appreciate the cost of survival and leadership.
Overall Rating: 4 Stars
This book delivers a grounded, emotionally resonant continuation that rewards patience and long term investment in the series.
Heroine Strength: 5 Crowns
Mercy remains a commanding presence through judgment, moral clarity, and the refusal to surrender agency, even when every option carries a price.
Spice Level: 1 Flame
Romance is present but restrained, with intimacy largely off page and easily skippable without losing story context.
A Calculated Unraveling
In Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs, Bonarata’s motivation sharpens into something deeply personal. He cannot tolerate that Mercy escaped his control in Silence Fallen, nor that the Tri-Cities alliance outmaneuvered him. Rather than striking openly, he turns to erosion, choosing tactics designed to destabilize trust, provoke fear, and force mistakes from the shadows.
His first moves are surgical. Bonarata imprisons Marsilia’s seethe, including the dangerously unstable Wulfe, and captures Stephen as well, removing key stabilizing forces from the political board. He then ensures the Soul Blade ends up in Wulfe’s hands, fully aware that Wulfe’s already fragile grip on restraint makes him the perfect weapon. The violence that follows is not random; it is aimed at spectacle, at visibility, and at shaking humanity’s belief that the supernatural treaty still holds real power.
What makes this escalation so effective is that Bonarata never needs to appear publicly to succeed. By pushing the supernatural community toward visible, undeniable brutality, he forces Mercy and her allies into constant damage control. The threat is no longer just Bonarata himself, but the growing risk that human belief will turn, treaties will collapse, and coexistence will become impossible. The ending lands with a clear message: this conflict is no longer about survival alone, but about whether trust can endure deliberate, calculated sabotage.
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