E10 Blood Bound 2: Self-Care for the Preternatural

E14 Blood Bound 06: Medicinal Vampirism

Message us (questions, comments, topics? Let us know!) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566095/fan_mail/new] Uncle Mike's Book Club dissect chapters 8-9 of Blood Bound from the Mercy Thompson book series. Join us and share your own tangents! They cover: From the End of Chapter 8 * Mercy Thompson meets Marsilia and Andre at Uncle Mike’s Tavern to get assigned hunting the demon-possessed vampire Littleton via a Trello card * White vampire fashion versus Dumb and Dumber suits  * Mercy’s backwards-chair Riker Maneuver from Star Trek: The Next Generation * Why Mercy Thompson is the only one who can hunt Littleton: “Something-something, walkers. Something-something ghosts… Go!” * “I am no man.” (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope,” and several increasingly questionable Star Wars impressions * Mercy will hunt Littleton with Andre in the worst college group project assignment ever * Mercy Thompson’s greatest superpower might just be knowing her own strengths: choosing exactly the right Christmas carol in a hostile Fae bar via malicious compliance * Bran, Uncle Mike, Welsh music lessons, and how much those ancient old schemers probably know about each other * Eric gets kicked out of the pack (again) * Is Mercy Thompson competency porn?  Chapter 9 * Mercy refuses to carpool with Andre (“Never carpool with vampires.”) * Naomi, Rachel, and Vampire 101: how Stefan tried for the most ethical vampire flock in the Mercyverse * Stefan tries to make vampires more politically correct. But apparently abandons the idea * “A dead vampire is ashes”…until Blind Date with a Werewolf  * Could Andre have warned Mercy about Littleton—or did he not know his own vampire could listen through him? * Littleton visits Mercy’s trailer and rips the siding off, along with a bunch more jokes about the improbable size of Mercy’s single-wide trailer * Creepy low-light dreams where you can’t turn on the light, ventriloquist vampires, and why this chapter is nightmare fuel * comparing Warren’s injuries to the 80’s movie Short Circuit: “No disassemble! Johnny 5 is alive!” * Why didn’t Littleton just tow the trailer? * The East Wing, West Wing, basement, upstairs, guest room, sleeping closets, and expanding floor plan of Mercy Thompson’s apparently TARDIS-sized single-wide * RE: Eric’s jokes: “You have your moments. Not many, but you do have them.” (Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back) * Mercy Thompson calls everyone she knows, leaves a trail of answering-machine messages, and demonstrates her legendary hatred of paperwork * Sleep deprivation, answering machines, pagers, and racing all over the Tri-Cities the clock to find Littleton before sunset * Mrs. Hannah, Adam, and why Mercy decides to tell everyone where she’s going As always, there are potentially spoilers for every single book published in the Mercyverse: shorts, the Mercy Thompson book series, AND the Alpha and Omega book series (everything through Blind Date with a Werewolf, anyway). It’s okay if you aren’t caught up, as long as you’re okay with spoilers for books you haven’t read yet.  Chapters: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:34 Recap Guy 00:01:01 Start Blood Bound Chapters 8–9 00:01:06 2 Vampires and a Walker Walk into a Fae Bar 00:05:31 Mercy’s Forfeit Song at Uncle Mike’s & Mercy’s Strengths 00:08:34 Eric Gets Kicked Out of the Pack 00:09:06 Wrapping Up Uncle Mike’s & Heading to Stefan’s House 00:11:03 Start Chapter 9 of Blood Bound 00:12:56 Mercy and Andre Visit Stefan’s Sheep 00:14:06 Mercy Gets the Vampire Crash Course 00:20:58 The Sorcerer Vampire Visits Mercy’s Trailer 00:28:37 Mercy Can’t Sleep After Littleton Leaves 00:34:58 Mercy Goes Looking for Littleton (Everywhere) Links: * Check out our “linktree” for-now website: https://shewhowrenches.carrd.co  * Subscribe to the Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566095/episodes/18525659 * Follow on YouTube (including unedited livestream recordings): SheWhoWrenches * Podcast RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2566095.rss * Patricia Briggs' official website with complete book list: https://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/  * Stories in timeline order (how they happen for Mercy): https://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/printabletimeline.html * Follow and message us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/shewhowrenches.bsky.social  Recording Date: 2026-04-10 YouTube version of this episode: https://youtu.be/VAyUlageM4Y

E13 Blood Bound 05: East Wing of Mercy’s Single Wide

Message us (questions, comments, topics? Let us know!) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566095/fan_mail/new] Uncle Mike’s Book Club discusses Chapters 7–8 of Blood Bound from the Mercy Thompson series. They discuss de facto rank changes in Adam’s pack over the years (and how that relates to Pokémon), a theoretical Pride Parade in the Tri-Cities, the origins of Uncle Mike’s Tavern, leaving a message on an answering machine, and, once again, how large Mercy’s single-wide trailer apparently is. After checking out Warren’s condition, Mercy gets a call from Marsilia to help defeat the sorcerer, and we finally meet Uncle Mike and learn how bad everything really is. Random things mentioned: Pokémon (okay, a lot of Pokémon), Star Wars Rebels, Arrested Development (with Star Wars, somehow?), Out and About in Pasco (https://www.facebook.com/ClubOutAndAbout/), Police Academy and the Blue Oyster, Benson Bubblers in Portland (https://www.portland.gov/water/about-portlands-water-system/bubblers, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benson_Bubbler), old-style answering machine tapes, bounced cheques, a theoretical South Park crossover with Mercy Thompson, Star Wars Rebels and how boring Kanan Jarrus is (spoilers!), then crossing that over with Arrested Development just because we’re us, back to Pokémon, AFK (away from keyboard), Pokémon again and how sorcerers are super effective against werewolves… how Uncle Mike exists to answer all the readers’ “what about…?” questions, “Ask Uncle Mike if Effluvia Is Right for You,” Listener question: As always, there are potentially spoilers for every book published in the Mercy-verse: the short stories, the Mercy Thompson series, and the Alpha and Omega series (everything through Blind Date with a Werewolf, anyway). It’s okay if you aren’t caught up, as long as you’re okay with spoilers for books you haven’t read yet. Links: * Message us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/shewhowrenches.bsky.social * Check out our (for now!) website: shewhowrenches.carrd.co * Patricia Briggs’ official website with complete book list: https://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/ * Stories in timeline order (how they happen for Mercy): https://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/printabletimeline.html Recording Date: 2026-03-20 Chapters: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:34 Recap Guy 00:02:33 Actually Start on Chapter 7: After Lunch with Tony 00:10:55 Is Kyle the Whole Tri-Cities Pride Parade? 00:11:50 The Actual Building That Inspired Uncle Mike’s 00:13:37 Benson Bubblers 00:16:26 Back at Adam’s with a Very Injured Warren 00:18:14 Answering Machines with Tapes 00:18:54 Is Stefan in the Spacious East Wing of the Single-Wide Trailer? 00:29:25 Back to Warren Again, and Cory’s Profile (Start Chapter 8 with Uncle Mike) YouTube version of this episode: https://youtu.be/eDtOs3X3kNU

E12 BloodBound 04: Here Lies Mercy, She Was Trying to Help

Message us (questions, comments, topics? Let us know!) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566095/fan_mail/new] Uncle Mike’s Book Club discusses chapters 6–7 of Blood Bound from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. The gang starts off the random references strong with quotes from Tommy Wiseau’s The Room (“How’s your sex life?” and “Hi doggie!”); Black/Beckworth corners Honey and Mercy to get the lowdown; Mercy’s been judging Honey, partially based on literal appearances; did Mercy start changing her mind about Honey because of the abuse, or because Honey sees herself as a monster?; puberty plus werewolf somehow isn’t a disaster??; sexist laws that persisted into the 1970s; what if Cara the teenage werewolf met Mercy; Teen Wolf-style van surfing on the Mystery Machine; how one might pronounce “Leah”; will Leah and Cara’s relationship change in the wake of the events in Wild Sign?; werewolves apparently get to fast-track their therapy; Mercy shows off Honey as the pretty side of werewolves; Mercy asks Bran not to show off his guessing powers while under threat; too many creepy alpha werewolves who would take advantage of a teen girl; Mercy’s lunch with Tony and the evolution of their relationship over the years; the Opel GT with the wrong-rotation engine; werewolves = Wookiees when they rip arms off?; Kelly says we all know what goes on Mercy’s tombstone: “Here lies Mercy—she tried to help”; and we’re totally not fake-sponsored by Lilly’s Piano Bar—you’ll be enthralled by every performance! As always, there are potentially spoilers for every single book published in the Mercy-verse: shorts, the Mercy Thompson series, and the Alpha and Omega series (everything through Blind Date with a Werewolf, anyway). It’s okay if you aren’t caught up, as long as you’re okay with spoilers for books you haven’t read yet. Links: * Check out our “linktree” for-now website: https://shewhowrenches.carrd.co  * Subscribe to the Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566095/episodes/18525659 * Follow on YouTube (including unedited livestream recordings): SheWhoWrenches * Podcast RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2566095.rss * Patricia Briggs' official website with complete book list: https://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/  * Stories in timeline order (how they happen for Mercy): https://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/printabletimeline.html * Follow and message us on BlueSky with your favorite ridiculous theory: https://bsky.app/profile/shewhowrenches.bsky.social  Recording Date: 2026-03-13 Chapters: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:34 Recap Guy 00:01:20 Reporter Tells Mercy and Honey About Teen Werewolf Daughter 00:17:34 Tony Asks Mercy About Preternaturals Over Lunch 00:26:26 Wrap Up 00:27:56 Outtake YouTube version of this episode: https://youtu.be/08c1ArGBsvA

E11 Blood Bound 03: Exact Recreation of Mercy’s Closet

Message us (questions, comments, topics? Let us know!) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566095/fan_mail/new] Uncle Mike's Book Club discusses chapters 5–6 of Blood Bound, the second book in the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Like, part of each chapter.  They cover: which member of the metaphorical Scooby-Doo gang Stefan would be; the challenges of intimacy around a werewolf pack and the related logistical conundrums; "Denny likes to watch" and yet another reference to the terrible movie The Room (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Room); why the Samuel-in-Texas scene makes us so uncomfortable; how surprisingly dark Blood Bound is compared to other Mercy books; more jokes about how much space there is in Mercy's single-wide trailer; True Blood's vampire-stashing places; where Stefan usually spends the day; Vampire HR; The Simpsons (including the Treehouse of Horror episode where Homer's horoscope predicts his death); the distinctive sound of pre-digital phone calls breaking up; sending Gabriel out for parts before Black shows up for a scene above his pay grade; Brittany's extremely obscure complaints about The Mandalorian's second- and third-season writing choices; and how Recap Guy really needs to improve his notes. As always, there are potentially spoilers for every single book published in the Mercy-verse: shorts, the Mercy Thompson book series, AND the Alpha and Omega book series (everything through Blind Date with a Werewolf, at least). It’s okay if you aren’t caught up, as long as you’re okay with spoilers for books you haven’t read yet. Chapters: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:54 Recap Guy 00:03:13 Which Scooby-Doo Character Do the Demon Hunters Represent? 00:06:31 Start the Book, Immediate Tangent to Adam and Mercy’s Relationship 00:11:26 Samuel’s Texas Backstory 00:19:17 Mercy Calls Bran About Samuel 00:20:44 Phone Crackle & Call Drops 00:22:37 Honey as a Bodyguard, Gabriel GTFO Links: • Check out our “linktree” for-now website: https://shewhowrenches.carrd.co • Subscribe to the Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566095/episodes/18525659 • Follow on YouTube (including unedited livestream recordings): SheWhoWrenches • Podcast RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2566095.rss • Patricia Briggs' official website with complete book list: https://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/ • Stories in timeline order (how they happen for Mercy): https://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/printabletimeline.html • Follow and message us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/shewhowrenches.bsky.social Recording Date: 2026-02-27 YouTube version of this episode: https://youtu.be/l2QbpkxyWek

E10 Blood Bound 2: Self-Care for the Preternatural

Message us (questions, comments, topics? Let us know!) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566095/fan_mail/new] In this episode, Uncle Mike’s Book Club discusses chapters 4–5 of Blood Bound from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. They discuss supernatural coping mechanisms; whether the Fae can listen to heavy metal like Iron Maiden (https://www.ironmaiden.com), Mötley Crüe (https://motley.com), and Led Zeppelin (https://www.ledzeppelin.com); comparing the vampire seethe court to various TV judges and discussing how vampire courts work; how strange Wulfe is and his similarities to Coach Beard from Ted Lasso (https://tv.apple.com/us/show/ted-lasso/umc.cmc.vtoh0mn0xn7t3c643xqonfzy); speculating about a DoorDash or Uber Eats service for vampires; a What We Do in the Shadows reference (“It’s not hygienic!”) (https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/what-we-do-in-the-shadows); the vampires’ “tell the truth chair,” how to speak “chair,” and Stefan and Mercy testifying while seated in it; “must acquit” references from the O.J. trial; Mercy’s amazing ability to think before she speaks; wrapping up vampire night court; Warren and Ben joining Stefan to hunt vampires; Mercy complaining about her bodyguards, which are apparently as hard to cancel as AOL in the early 2000s; and how much Mercy loves sparring at full speed with Adam. We are a fan-based Mercy Thompson Universe (aka the Mercyverse) reread-along podcast. Just some friends who love Mercy Thompson (and a lot of other stuff) sharing fan theories, joking around, teasing each other, and making weird references to other fandoms and pop culture. As always, there are potentially spoilers for every single book published in the Mercyverse: the short stories, the Mercy Thompson series, and the Alpha and Omega series (everything through Blind Date with a Werewolf, anyway). So if you aren’t caught up, fair warning. Links: * Subscribe to the Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2566095/episodes/18525659 * Podcast RSS feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2566095.rss * Check out our for-now website: https://shewhowrenches.carrd.co * Patricia Briggs’ official website with complete book list: https://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/ * Stories in timeline order (how they happen for Mercy): https://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/printabletimeline.html * Follow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/shewhowrenches.bsky.social  Recording Date: 2026-02-06 Chapters: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:51 Recap Guy 00:06:13 Supernatural Coping Mechanisms 00:07:16 Night Court at the Vampire Seethe 00:12:33 We Meet Wulfe, the Creepy Teen-Looking Vampire 00:16:23 Vampire DoorDash 00:17:39 Back to the Vampire Court 00:25:42 Mercy Complains to Adam About Honey as a Bodyguard YouTube version of this episode: https://youtu.be/C7O7ZYYMGhY