The Mercy Thompson series is UF at its best. The series grows and changes as the main (and side) characters build deep relationships. I think we are so used to insta-lust/love/friendship that the slow building nature of this series takes a few books to establish itself.
Mercy is my favorite type of heroine. She's not obnoxious or snarky and doesn't throw one liners around to try to demonstrate how much smarter she is than everyone else. Instead she's smart, she listens, and she actively builds relationships. She's compassionate, protective, and absolutely never gives up, no matter how overmatched she appears to be. Like the rest of the series, the underlying romance between Mercy and Adam is slow to start, but then grows and builds in the best of ways.
