By Scarlett Moore
 Meet Mercy Thompson, a stubborn, shape-shifting female mechanic that wears her heart on her sleeve. Mercy is a "walker", a supernatural being that can shape shift into the form of a coyote. Although she's not linked to the werewolf race or the cycles of the moon she's much stronger and faster than most humans.
In Iron Kissed, Book 3 in the popular contemporary fantasy series by Patricia Briggs, Mercy becomes involved in a local fae problem. It seems that a mass-murderer is on the loose and Mercy's talents are needed to catch the killer. Although Mercy is reluctant to assist because of the cunning nature of the fae she eventually agrees to help when asked by friend. What follows is an engaging adventure of intrigue and suspense.
The Story:
Mercy's former boss and mentor Zee, himself a member of the fae community, requests that Mercy accompany him to the fae reservation to investigate a recent string of mysterious murders. Because Mercy possesses an enhanced sense of smell while in the form of a coyote, Zee is hoping she can sniff out the
identity of the person (or being) responsible for the murders. Mercy is forewarned not to ask questions about what she might see during the visit because although the fae announced themselves to the human race several years ago they try to maintain a low profile. The facade presented to humans is that of a kindly, jolly race; think elves and fairies. Their true nature is more deadly and they're known to use any means necessary to preserve the illusion.
Mercy's trip to the fae reservation proves to be productive: she's able to identify the killer. However a series of circumstances lands Zee in jail for murder. Because he's a friend Mercy attempts to prove his innocence but this exposes her too many of the fae's well kept secrets. Unfortunately Mercy's curiosity about their culture gets the best of her and she finds herself on a fairy hit list.
On top of that Mercy is forced to come to terms with her feelings for Adam and Samuel. Iron Kissed provides more back story on the two werewolves vying for Mercy's affections. Patricia Briggs does a brilliant job of delving into the psyche of the werewolf culture by highlighting their humanity while preserving the traditional mythology surrounding their violent and aggressive nature. The precarious and delicate mentality of two werewolves in particular is explored, providing insight into their motivations without emasculating them in any way.
An important arc occurs near the end of the book that represents a life changing event for Mercy. Loyal fans may be shocked by the tragedy but the event further humanizes the main characters. Briggs must be commended for her courage in introducing this development. It significantly strengthens the storyline.
With Iron Kissed Patricia Briggs has written another entertaining and believable fantasy adventure. As with the other books in the series the storyline is nicely balanced with action, humor, and a little romance. Reading Moon Called and Blood Bound, the first and second books in the series respectively, is recommended but not required. Patricia Briggs has a talent for providing just enough back story for new readers while maintaining the interest of return readers. Read the first books because they're just as enjoyable and captivating as this one.
Overall, Iron Kissed represents a solid winner for Briggs. It will undoubtedly score entries on several Must Read lists for 2008.
Scarlett Moore writes reviews of urban and contemporary fantasy books written by award winning authors like Kelley Armstrong and Chris Marie Green. Come explore your darker side at http://bestfantasystories.com.
Coin Book Reviews: A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars by Q David Powers
By Keith Scott
 The 2nd edition of "A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars, A complete History and Price Guide" was released in paperback form on March 31, 2005.
The first chapter discussed the appeal and challenges of collecting Morgan Dollars and a few tidbits about the history of the Morgan Dollar. While only 5 and 1/2 pages long, the first chapter is filled with interesting facts. As you enter chapter two, the book goes back a ways and discussed the history of dollar coins in general going back to the Spanish Milled Dollars, then the Mint Act of 1792 and how US coinage began. There are several paragraphs discussing the early dollar coins, there popularity, or lack thereof, and how the dollar was eliminated and replaced with the Trade Dollar.
The book does a very decent job of describing the events that were happening during this time period such as the troubling times for silver companies and the political involvement to help them out that eventually led to the Morgan Dollar. Chapters 3 and 4 are packed with excellent information on the design process for the Morgan Dollar and them the minting process. For a new collector, this is very good information.
Chapter 5 discusses the five, yes five different mints that produced Morgan Dollars, although the Denver mint only produced Morgan Dollars for one year, the year 1921. Chapter five also gives a little bit of history about each of the mints.
Chapter 6 discusses the various hoards of silver dollars discovered long after the demise of the dollar. Some once thought scare dates were now plentiful as the US Treasury began releasing and selling Silver Dollars held in vaults for years.
Chapter 7 delves into the variety of ways you can collect Morgan Dollars. If you are at all familiar with Morgan Dollars, then you know that there is a multitude of ways to collect this coveted coin. Chapter 7 will give you many ideas to help you narrow down the way you may want to collect this series
Chapter 8 discusses grading and the ANA grading scale. If you are familiar with the scales, then there is not much new here. Also, this is also where I think the book could stand some improvement. There are pictures providing examples for each grade, but like most, if not all books about grading, there are only descriptions for MS60 and above. I would have liked to see large pictures for each MS grade. This would give collectors a clear indication of the impact of bag marks in regards to grading.
Chapter 9 discusses the many varieties within the Morgan series while Chapter 10 is where the real meat of the book is. Chapter 10 contains a page for each and every year and mint of the entire Morgan Dollar series. Each page contains information on keys to collecting, circulation strikes, prooflike coins, price guide, availability guide, mintage and distribution and varieties. Each page is jam-packed with information very specific to each date and mint. In addition, there is a summary for each year that discussed things going on at the time and other general information about Morgan Dollars for that year. This type of information no doubt took years to gather and is invaluable to the serious Morgan Dollar collector.
Chapter 10 is buy far the longest and provides incredible detail for each and every year and mint of the Morgan series. There is one page for each date/mint that provides information such as optimal collecting grade, PCGS population (although outdated as more coins become certified), estimated field population, total mintages, varieties, etc. In addition, there is a page for each year that discusses collecting and how life was during that particular year. In all, chapter 10 is for the series Morgan Dollar collector.
In summary, if you are a series Morgan Dollar collector, or just a beginner, this is a must have book. The information provided in this book is incredible and provides the collector with incredible information into collecting one of the most popular coins collected today.
This book gets 4 1/2 stars.
If this book had blown up pictures of Mint State type coins, it would have rated a 5. Since the Morgan Dollar is most desired in Mint State, it puzzles me as to why graded pictures are not provided.
Keith Scott has been a collector for over 30 years. His website has Coin Book Reviews. He also writes Coin Collecting Articles for fun. Visit his websites for a history of US coins, metal market updates and news about your favorite coins.
The Power of Book Reviewers in Book Marketing
By Ray Subs
 Writing, editing, and getting a book published is a lot of hard work, unfortunately it does not guarantee any tangible sales. In fact, most books published each year fail to sell more than a few dozen copies, creating a very competitive and cut throat book marketing industry. There are many ways people will tell you to market a book, however the most effective is usually attributed to book reviews.
Custom book reviews not only provide an author with substantial buzz for a new book, it also lends the book a sense of credibility that would be otherwise void. There are certainly no shortage of great books on the market today, however only a small percentage of them have the necessary book reviews to urge people to take action.
Next time you are on a book merchants website, have a look at a book that has no reader reviews and ask yourself if you buy this book? Chances are you would pass on buying this book in an effort to find a better, more reviewed book that people can give you some information on before buying it. The bottom line is that book reviewers provide a valuable service to book buyers by taking the mystery out of buying a book.
For whatever reason book merchants typically supply a short and concise review of the book by the publisher. This review offers often too little information for a book buyer to take action. It is therefore up to the book reviewers to provide all the needed info that persuades a book buyer to get their wallet out and click the purchase now button.
Book reviewers are unfortunately a rare breed, as the population of the world turns more and more to TV, DVDs, the internet, and other forms of entertainment. This creates a large demand for high quality book reviews, and thus the price is driven up by major publicity firms that offer such services. Thankfully there are several firms that specialize in affordable book review services, allowing authors to reap all the benefits of custom book review without the big price tag.
Affordable book reviewers can be found, and should be sought out for those interested in gaining major publicity without having to get a second mortgage on their home or put the family dog to work delivering newspapers each morning just to pay your PR firm bill. Further the author that utilizes book review services can see an immediate result in their publicity efforts because book reviews can be completed in a minimal amount of time.
There are many reasons why authors choose to get their books reviewed, but most reasons seem to stem back to the fact that book reviews actually work, and thus it is a safe investment for the author to make.
Ray Subs is a book review expert and staff member of the innovative affordable book review service Reader Spoils. For more information about him and his book review services visit www.ReaderSpoils.com
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