Review: Mercy Thompson: Hopcross Jilly – Patricia Briggs

Posted 22 July, 2015 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 6 Comments

*I received a free copy of Mercy Thompson: Hopcross Jilly from Diamond Book Distributors via Netgalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *

Review: Mercy Thompson: Hopcross Jilly – Patricia BriggsMercy Thompson: Hopcross Jilly by Patricia Briggs
Series: Mercedes Thompson Graphic Novels
Published by Diamond Book Distributors on 2 July 2015
Genres: Adult, Graphic Novel, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 168
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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4 Stars

Mercy is a shapeshifting coyote and honorary member of the Tri-Cities werewolf pack. When the pack stumbles upon the buried bones of numerous dead children, she shapeshifts into a mystery of the legendary fae - a mystery that draws Mercy's stepdaughter Jesse into the fray! The supernatural romance series Mercy Thompson continues in this all-new, original story by New York Times bestselling author, Patricia Briggs, exclusively created for the comic book medium!

Hopcross Jilly is a new story in the Mercy Thompson universe, and reading this graphic novel was fun!

My Hopcross Jilly review:

I was a little surprised to enjoy Hopcross Jilly so much, both because I’m not reading graphic novels very often, and because Jessie, not Mercy was the main character in this story. The illustrator did a really good job at portraying the darkness of the story, as many of the pages only had black panels, in which the characters were drawn as if they were in the shadows. I have to admit I still enjoy novels more than graphic novels, though, because I’m a word-lover, and of course, when big parts of the story can be told through graphics, there is less necessity for words.

Hopcross Jilly showed how difficult it was for Jessie to live with Adam and his pack, and how the other students treated her as if she was a shifter – and animal – because her father was one. Only a couple of girls would hang out with her, but there was a new girl who took an instant like to Jessie, and for a while, that was really neat for both of them.

At the beginning of Hopcross Jilly, Adam, Mercy and others from the pack found some skeletons in the ground outside of town. And those skeletons had been carefully laid out, and seemed to have been there for a long time. At first, the local police that showed up was not too happy about having the shifters there, but soon, they realized that it would be better to work together. With two seemingly distinct plotlines, Hopcross Jilly was an interesting story, and as I said, I always love visiting Mercy’s universe. It was also nice to get to know Jessie better, as she was seen a lot, both interacting with her family, and when she was away from them.

Even for those who aren’t overly familiar with graphic novels, Hopcross Jilly would work, because the characters we know and love from the Mercy Thompson series are easily recognizable, both when it comes to looks, the way they’re acting, and the way they talk. It is entirely possible to read Hopcross Jilly without having read the Mercy Thompson novels, there might be some relationships and dynamics that could seem a little hard to get, but I don’t think that would take anything away from the overall enjoyment.

Hopcross Jilly 1 - (un)Conventnional Bookviews

As you can see above, i is all very dark, and mysterious, and because the story involved the fae, some of it was a little creepy – apart from the fact that I finally got to see one fae I wanted to actually see 😉 And I loved the little character descriptions we got here as well.

Hopcross Jilly 2 - (un)Conventional Bookviews

In some places, it was a little hard to see what was happening, but that is probably what would have happened if this had been on a screen as well. And I enjoyed how the illustrator sometimes took one of the characters a little outside the panel the action was in, like the middle left panel up here. It made things seem fast paced and a little tense.

#COYER Scavenger Hunt item 16: Read a graphic novel (1 point.)

 

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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6 responses to “Review: Mercy Thompson: Hopcross Jilly – Patricia Briggs

  1. I really want to get this graphic novel. I’m not a big reader, but I have read a few from authors who I also read novels. I started out with Anita Blake and then added the Mercy books. I don’t know if I would enjoy graphic novels a lot for a world that I don’t already love. Have you read Homecoming? It is a prequel in the Mercy world. There is the cutest picture of Mercy as a coyote pup with Bran’s shirt in her mouth, him holding her by the scruff of the neck. It is adorable. Great review.

    Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons recently posted: Hunted Warrior Audiobook by Lindsey Piper (REVIEW)
    • I think you’d enjoy it, too, Melanie. The graphic novel does bring something new and fresh to the series, and that’s always a plus.
      I don’t think I’d read a graphic novel that wasn’t set in a universe I love, but I know other people who love graphic novels, and I really think this one can be read without any prior knowledge of the series.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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