Keri Arthur: Mercy Burns

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Dell; Original edition (April 19, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440245702

Mercy Reynolds is a reporter in the San Francisco Bay area, but she’s also more—and less—than human. Half woman, half air dragon, she’s a “draman”—unable to shift shape but still able to unleash fiery energy. Now something will put her powers to the test.

Mercy’s friend Rainey has enlisted her help to solve her sister’s murder. Then a horrible accident claims Rainey’s life, leaving Mercy only five days to find the killer: If Mercy fails, according to dragon law, Rainey’s soul will be doomed to roam the earth for eternity. But how can Mercy help when she herself is a target? With nowhere else to turn, she must join forces with a sexy stranger—the mysterious man they call “Muerte,” or death itself, who’s as irresistible as he is treacherous. But can even Death keep Mercy alive for long enough to find her answers?

  The problem I have with Keri Arthur's most recent novels is their brevity. Most authors take two or three books to develop the mythos of their worlds. Arthur barely takes one. Her first novel in her Myth and Magic series, Destiny Kills, began to create her world where dragons exist in "cliques," which I can only assume are sort of like eagle eyries. However, I wouldn't know because she doesn't bother to explain very much. For the first book it's understandable, as the main character has amnesia, so she's discovering right along with the reader.
  This book, if anything, should have expanded that universe. Instead, we stayed within the same bounds for the most part, focusing entirely on saving Rainey's draman soul. We get a glimpse into the abuse Mercy suffered as a draman living in a dragon clique, but we already had some vague ideas about that from book one. We learn nothing new, but we get some hints of a mystery awaiting in the Jamieson clique. Is the king involved? Probably. How so? Who knows. I can only hope that the series picks up a little steam and we can finally delve into the universe of the book more fully and understand what is going on.
  Characterization was nice. It wasn't holy-crap spectacular, but it wasn't completely void, either. We got more into Mercy than "Muerte" a.k.a. Damon. All we know is his father died in the service (his grandfather, too, if I remember correctly) - and I don't mean military, I mean assassin - so he has an early death complex. That is the basis for all the romance-drama. Stay tuned for how that turns out. Other than the giant ass of a bad guy, these are the only two characters of any importance, so on characterization I give her a B-.

  Overall: B
  The plot was fast moving for all of its lack of information, and it was action packed. I flew through the book in less than a day, when I probably should have been doing other things. I would give the book a lower score, except Arthur knows how to keep pacing up, so the book always keeps your attention and it's honestly difficult to put down.