Mercy's Fight, by T L Gray

Setting

Modern day

Asheville, North Carolina

Synopsis

Grace needs a new start, away from painful betrayal and the shelter of her parents' wealth and connections.  Her new position as director of the Hartsford Center for underprivileged children is the perfect fit for this driven, selfless woman, and the fact that it is hundreds of miles from home has its perks.  

Matt had finally overcome his painful past, or so he thought.  When Grace comes along, she turns his carefully planned life upside down. He is undeniably attracted to her from the start, even though she represents all that he despises and doesn't understand his world.  In fact, her naivety is sure to put those he cares about in grave danger, not to mention herself.  To top it all off, his growing feelings for her are forcing him to revisit things he thought he'd dealt with years ago.  Will he ever be able to trust himself, or Grace, enough to pursue the relationship they both long for?

Review

I had never read anything from this author before, and let me just start off by saying that I am hooked! The cover is what first attracted my attention. The image has so much emotion and I just couldn't resist taking a chance on this book. The text turned out to be just as riveting. This was a gritty look at crime, trauma and abuse, and how the resulting pain and insecurities can resurface even when they have supposedly been overcome.

Matt was such a likable, layered character. He is loyal and dedicated to the underprivileged children at the Hartsford Center. He would give anything to prevent them from suffering as he had. When Grace walks into his life, she threatens to crumble the walls of protections he has built around himself. I wanted so badly for him to let go of his painful past and trust himself enough to pursue a relationship with Grace, who has insecurities of her own. He tried so hard to fight it, for her sake, but the magnitude to which they are drawn to each other could not be denied for long, and their interactions had me riveted. When he finally trusted her enough to lay his heart bare before her, I ached for them both. This book was so real, and the romance scenes were descriptive in a way that was passionate, but not indecent. You can feel every emotion of the characters like you are right alongside them. Even the background characters were compelling.

If you want to dive into a story that digs deep into human emotion, addresses issues that are real and gritty, and has believable romantic interactions that get your blood pumping without crossing the line, this book is well worth your time! Highly recommended read!

Edgy Content

1)  Passionate romantic scenes are descriptive and deeply emotional, but I don't find them to be indecent in any way.

2)  Murder and severe physical abuse, portrayed as nightmares, are compelling but not over the top with detail.

2)  Depiction of crime and violence.  This is well done and very convincing without ever being gory.

3)  References to past, off camera, fornication.  I found that this added depth to the characters as they strove to keep their present relationship within the boundaries they have set.

First Impressions, by Michelle Sutton

Setting

Modern Day

Tombstone, Arizona

Synopsis

From her time in the military, Sammie knows the importance of uniforms.  Having so little experience with men, she is not comfortable with flirting.  She decides to volunteer to act as a saloon girl in old Tombstone, hoping that the disguise will give her the nerve she needs to learn and practice the art.  Sammie meets a handsome cowboy actor who seems disturbingly familiar.  Though her predicament is awkward, they fall head over heals for each other.  However, his strong convictions hold him back from fully acting on his feelings.  Will they ever come to some common ground that they both can live with?

Review

One complaint I have about this book is that it was too preachy for my liking.  This is only my personal preference, and not everyone would call it a flaw in the story.  Jimmy seemed a bit too self-righteous part of the time, although I do respect his determination to stick to what he feels is right.  I loved how fiercely he struggled with his attraction to Sammie, and how they slipped up a few times. It was true to life in that respect.  This book is refreshingly well written and has plenty of embarrassing and humorous scenes which were enjoyable.  The romantic connection between Sammie and Jimmy is believable and riveting.  The ending seemed a bit rushed, but there was so much good in the main part of the book that I can forgive that pretty easily.  All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a story that will get their pulse racing at a surprising speed, while still maintaining a strong Christian thread interwoven throughout.

Edgy Content

1) References to private body parts, normally largely avoided in tradition Christian romance novels 
2) Physical attraction is not tip-toed around at all, but sometimes with humorous, less blatant ways of portraying it. 
3) Sexual content and struggles with temptation, more similar to mainstream romance books than most Christian fiction. The main characters do some things that some readers might frown upon, but the author stops the scenes short of making them explicit. It was very realistic because, Christian or not, many people do struggle with how much intimacy to allow in their relationships.

The Shape of Mercy, by Susan Meissner

Setting

Modern day

Santa Barbara, California

1692

Salem, Massachusetts

Synopsis

Lauren gets a part-time job with an elderly librarian, transcribing the journals of Mercy Hayworth, who had fallen victim to the Salem Witch Trials centuries before. She quickly finds herself enthralled by this young woman's life and the long ago time in which she lived, one wrought with superstition, fear, and betrayal.  Lauren finds that her connection with Mercy has transcended time, and she finds herself questioning things in her own life and among her own acquaintances, including her relationship with a certain young man named Raul.

Review

This story is so compelling that I found myself riveted and unable to set it aside. This author has a way of layering the story and holding the reader's interest.  The characters are so well developed that they stick with you, long after you close the book and continue on with your life.  I really felt like I was there with Mercy Hayworth, not knowing who to trust, feeling her pain and her fears.  This story was creepier than the books that I normally read, due to the situations involved with the witch trials, but I couldn't help but be drawn to read more and more.  The characters felt so real, and so connected to each other, that I just had to know what happened to them.  This is a very well written book that I highly recommend.

Edgy Content

1) Reference to people being killed, since many were hung because of false suspicions.
2) Underlying feeling of evil, reference to witchcraft and bad spirits.  This is rather spooky if you are not used to reading these types of stories.  However, it was necessary in order to make the plot and characters realistic.  That really was a terrifying time for those people.